Month: March 2010

by Joel Comiskey

The cell church movement has experienced significant pitfalls in the last 30 years: castle building, numerology, model sicknesss, cell church legalism, and many other dangers. Some  churches have abandoned the cell vision due to following questionable leaders, unrealistic expectations, and not starting with a firm theological foundation for cell church ministry.

On the positive side, God has allowed many churches to avoid the pitfalls and grow into healthy examples. This past week, I’ve witnessed some of these churches up close here in Brazil. These healthy Portuguese speaking cell churches owe a large part of their success to the resource ministry of Ministerio Igrega em Células, led by Robert Lay. Bill Beckham and I (along with Brazilian pastors) spoke at the 9th annual cell church conference of Ministerio Igrega em Célula near Sao Paulo, Brazil. 1400 pastors and leaders registered for this event, and the number has been growing each year.

Since the initial seminar in 2001, Ministerio Igrega em Células has trained over 14,000 pastors and leaders in cell church principles and values. The goal of this ministry is to resource pastors and leaders to then apply those cell church ideas in their own denominations and contexts. Throughout the year they teach four different modules on how to transition to the cell chruch model. They now do two national conferences and five regional conferences per year. They’ve also translated over sixty cell church books into Portuguese.

The results? After nine years of consistently teaching the values and principles, there are now large, healthy cell churches from many, many denominations in Brazil. Yesterday, I sat on a panel to answer questions with three national pastors (one Presbyterian and two Baptists). These pastors had all gone through the transitioning process, intimately understood cell church principles, now had 100s of cell groups, and were able to give keen insights to the hundreds of pastors who came to the question/answer time. Those listening  certainly didn’t need Joel Comiskey to answer their questions. They had their own Brazilian experts who had worked through the principles in real-life church ministry.

I’ve been reminded afresh that cell church ministry requires consistency, faithfulness, and persistence. It also helps to have resource ministries like Ministerio Igrega em Células to help avoid the pitfalls along the way.

Comments?

Joel

by Mario Vega

Jesus was a public figure. Crowds followed him wherever he went. Groups of six to seven thousand people usually followed him and considering the time in which Jesus lived, this percentage represents a high percentage of the province of Israel.

Sometimes the crowd was so numerous that he had to get into a boat to move away, so he could preach to everyone. At other times, he had to move away becuase the multitude would have crushed him. Yet, the Master of the crowds was also the Pastor of the people. He made time to minister to the Samaritan woman. He had time to dine with the Pharisees. He went to the house of Zacchaeus and Simon the leper. He was a close friend of Lazarus and his sisters.

In his missionary practice, Jesus worked with both large groups and with smaller groups. Through His example, Jesus paved the way for the common practice in the New Testament church, which also worked with large groups and with small groups, the celebrations and the meetings in houses.

Dr. Ralph Neighbor has called these two components the two wings of the church. The two wings are designed by God to help the church soar to new heights. The modern cell movement represents an effort to rescue this common new Testament practice, which was first initiated by the Master Himself.

Comments?

Mario

Translation into Spanish

La práctica misionera de Jesús

Jesús fue un personaje público y multitudinario. Dondequiera él se mova, multitudes le seguan. Grupos de seis mil a siete mil personas eran usuales tras él en una época cuando tales cantidades representaban porcentajes elevados de la población de la provincia de Israel.

A veces las personas eran tantas que él deba subir a una barca para alejarse a una distancia prudente para que todos pudieran escucharle. En otras ocasiones los necesitados eran tantos que le opriman y le aplastaban.

Pero ese Maestro de las multitudes era también un Pastor de personas. Dedicó tiempo a la mujer samaritana. Tena tiempo para conversar con fariseos en cenas a las que le invitaban. Fue a casa de Zaqueo y de Simón el leproso. Era estrecho amigo de Lázaro y sus hermanas.

En su práctica misionera es fácil identificar que Jesús trabajó tanto con grupos muy numerosos como con grupo más pequeños. De alguna manera, con su ejemplo, guiaba a lo que sera la práctica común de la iglesia del Nuevo Testamento: el trabajo con grupos grandes y con grupos pequeños. Las celebraciones y las reuniones en las casas.

Esos dos componentes que el Dr. Ralph Neighbour ha denominado la iglesia de dos alas es la que pudo remontarse a la altura de las expectativas de Dios. El movimiento celular moderno es un esfuerzo por rescatar la práctica de la iglesia del Nuevo Testamento y la práctica misionera de Jesús.

by Jeff Tunnell

The professor asked the incoming freshman class to take out a piece of paper on their first day in class and write down the answer to the following question: “What books do you read?”  Everyone dove into what seemed to them a simple, although potentially lengthy task, with fervor.  After just a few minutes the professor interrupted them and clarified.  “You are obviously writing lists of all the books you HAVE READ.  This is not my question. I am asking you to tell me what books you have read and continue to read again and again.  What books do you READ?”

In turn I am asking today, where are you deriving your regular input for living?  How do you maintain freshness in your pursuit of life itself?  What books do you find yourself returning to over and over for insight, encouragement and wisdom?  The ‘Preacher’ states in Ecclesiastes 12:12, “Of making many books there is no end, and much study is wearisome to the flesh.”  We can wear ourselves out trying to read everything!

The list written by the students should have been relatively short and more thought provoking, in my opinion.  The professor was wise and so is the Preacher.  Now, how about you, what do you read? Would you suggest a couple of personal, meaningful titles that others would benefit from?

On this blog we focus on cells and cell church, so those are fair game titles also. What books help you stay the course for your cell-driven ministry?

By Rob Campbell

www.cypresscreekchurch.com

When I think about defining a “cell,” these components come to my mind: discipleship, community, telling the story of Christ to others, consistency, “others” centered, and a “set of relationships.” You may suggest other critical components such as multiplication. For sure, multiplication is a HUGE component of cell life.

Joel Comiskey writes, “Cells are born to multiply. The DNA of the cell is to give birth to a daughter cell. This is so essential that it will demand the total church concentration to make this happen. In fact, it won’t happen under busy pastors who have too many things on their mind. Only through total concentration and focus will cells have the necessary resources to truly make them work.” I concur.

I trust that you have experienced the JOY of seeing a cell multiply. It’s encouraging to see an individual receive Christ, grow in Him, and have a desire in his/her heart to lead a cell. I trust you have experienced the pain, toil, and hardship of multiplying a cell as well. Let’s face it—multiplying a cell can be quite difficult, and many times, heart wrenching. For certain, cell multiplication offers an interesting spiritual and emotional dichotomy.

Let’s share some ideas with each other concerning cell multiplication. How do you multiply cells? What has worked? What mistakes have you made? Maybe you have a question that you would like to submit to this community.

Eventually, I would like to add a few thoughts concerning cell multiplication that I’ve learned along the way that may prove helpful to you. So, share your thoughts with us. It’s not necessary to write a dissertation, right? You are much too involved in your day for such a task. I encourage to share a few sentences… three or four bullet points… a paragraph or two on this topic. BLOG ON IN!!

Rob

by Joel Comiskey

“How did the apostle Paul win the world without PowerPoint?” These were the words I twittered last Friday, March 05, when my PowerPoint presentation failed before 500 people. I was forced to depend on the Spirit of God during my presentation, and everything worked out wonderfully.

Sometimes we depend too much on technology. I know I do. God wants us to depend on Him.

Last Friday in Guatemala, I was prepared to speak with PowerPoint, having received repeated assurances that all I had to do was plug my computer into their system, and my PowerPoint slides would instantly appear on their screens. Five minutes before my opening talk to initiate the seminar, the bewildered tech person came into the room with bad news: nothing worked. We tried nervously to remedy the situation with zero success.

God drove me to trust His guidance. I gave my talk more spontaneously in a personal way, as I depended on God to give me the words. I remember thinking to myself, “God, I trust in Your sovereign grace to lead and guide every word.” Afterwards, I was flooded with compliments. The lead pastor of the host church said, “You have to share that message tomorrow when my elders are here.”

God does want us to diligently prepare, and I do love the added benefit of PowerPoint. However, I was reminded once again that God’s anointing is far more important than human techniques and often God rearranges our circumstances, so we’ll depend on Him completely.

Cell ministry demands the same dependence. I wrote in my book, How to Lead a Great Cell Group Meeting,

Logic and technique, while necessary, can’t teach the when and how of small group dynamics. The Holy Spirit works inside the cell leader so he or she can minister from the overflow of the heart. You can know all the practices and techniques of small group dynamics and fail to meet the deep needs of the group. You need a guide-The Holy Spirit. Do yourself and your group a favor. Cease all cell preparation at least one-half hour before the cell begins (e.g., lesson, refreshment preparation, etc.). Take that time to prepare your heart before God, asking Him to fill you with the Spirit. So many unexpected things happen in the course of a normal cell group: the ringing phone, the unexpected non-Christian visitor, the forgetfulness of Susan to prepare the icebreaker, the broken guitar string, and John’s job loss. When John shares about getting fired during the ice-breaker, should you pray for him immediately, give him more opportunity to share, or wait until after the lesson (perhaps you know John has the tendency to talk a lot)? You’ll need the Spirit’s wisdom.

The best cell leaders and pastors allow God to lead them.

God has been showing me lately that I need to allow the Holy Spirit to guide every thought throughout the day. I realize that I can’t perfectly hear the voice of God every moment, but God’s grace is sufficient to overcome my own failures and shortcomings.

Let us commit ourselves afresh to allow God to have His way in our lives, families, and ministries. Let us allow Him to change our plans and guide us through the difficult times, as we depend on Him to work through us.

Comments?

Joel