Book Review:
Some Personal Notes on
"PROPHETIC INTELLIGENCE FOR APOSTOLIC ARCHITECTURE"
- book by Wolfgang Simson
- by Grace Wiebe, Winter, 2006
INTRO
---------------------
I want to begin by thanking Wolfgang Simson so very much for writing this
book!!! For myself, personally and for the Church!!
I am personally very grateful for having been given the opportunity to read
it, and I am looking forward to getting the final hard copy book when it’s
out so I can read it a few more times!!…something I generally don’t
do with books…
I was sent this book at a very key time personally!
God has indeed been using it to confirm to my heart many things Wolfgang wrote about - things which have also been growing in my heart the past years and which I have been in the process of praying through and slowly developing as the Holy Spirit leads here locally.
I have been thinking and praying through aspects of this with a couple other local folks who share this sense of direction and call and have been praying about how to be sharing this with / presenting this growing perspective to other local folks involved in house / simple church networks here in the Greater Vancouver region (as well as through the newsletter that goes out to the local and international networks). Therefore, I am so very grateful for Wolfgang's book which lays it out there from his perspective, which is very much how I see things, too!
He has further clarity on this than I have had, and so his added insights have been very helpful to me, personally, but will, I trust, also be very helpful for the many who read his book!
The book basically helps to give clearer vision into the new paradigm that the Holy Spirit seems to be inviting and wooing us into more and more, step by step...
CONTENTS
NEW TERRITORY – THE BEST IS YET TO COME
------------------------------------------------------------------
I realize that all of us are going into new territory here, so we don’t
know exactly what this will all mean since we as the Church have not been
this way before! Therefore, it’s not exactly something that can be written
about from experience very much at this point – so it’s rather difficult
to write about these things in some ways, although the clearer God makes things,
it seems like it’s already happening in many ways to a large extent…and
God's purposes are a 'done deal' in the spiritual realms and will continue
to become clearer as we keep walking by faith and not by sight!
As amazing as things were in the book of Acts and in the New Testament, it
seriously blows my mind to think that the Bible teaches that in the last of
the last days into which He is transitioning us, it will be even more of an
adventure with God because the Kingdom has been growing from being a seed
and the Church is to become mature (at long last!!!!!) – so even the
amazing things that we potentially envision, such as the things mentioned
in Wolfgang's book, are not even as great as what God wants to do! Incredible!!
Leaves one speechless at His wonder and might!!
I have been reminded again this week of the awesome passage in Job 26. I would
encourage you to read through this SLOWLY, envisioning in your mind’s
eye what’s happening in each verse… (I think the Rahab part refers
to a city, in this passage, if I recall correctly)…
Here goes (vs. s from NIV):
"...Vs.
7…He spreads out the northern skies over empty space; he suspends the
earth over nothing.
8 He wraps up the waters in his clouds, yet the clouds do not burst under
their weight.
9 He covers the face of the full moon, spreading his clouds over it.
10 He marks out the horizon on the face of the waters for a boundary between
light and darkness.
11 The pillars of the heavens quake, aghast at his rebuke.
12 By his power he churned up the sea; by his wisdom he cut Rahab to pieces.
13 By his breath the skies became fair; his hand pierced the gliding serpent..."
And
the following vs. totally boggles my mind!!!!! I suggest reading it a few
times and meditating on it…. : )
"...14 And these (incredible things!!!!!!)
are but the OUTER FRINGE of his works; HOW
FAINT THE WHISPER WE HEAR OF HIM! (and
then the punchline!!) WHO THEN CAN UNDERSTAND THE THUNDER
OF HIS POWER?"
Wow!!!!!………..so even as far as our imaginations can go, and
I think God has allowed those that He’s already been sharing these things
with (as forerunners - ie. Josh 1 talks about some preparing the people to
move forward to enter into and possess the land) some pretty incredible vision…but
no matter how incredible, I think it will be nothing compared to what He actually
has in mind!!!…but at least it gives us something to move towards, and,
AS WE GO – as Abraham was asked to go without knowing what the journey
would hold or where He was headed, I believe that THE WAY will continue to
unfold the way before us step by step….
That reminds me of something I have on my living room wall which has encouraged
me many times over the years:
Don't
look to the bigness of your need
Look to the bigness of your God!
Your circumstances are hindrances to seeing
MY ABILITIES...
If
you keep your eyes on your circumstances, the devil will
use your circumstances to defeat you
and accuse the Word of God
...the written and the Living Word.
YOUR VICTORY
is
in keeping your eyes on the bigness
of your God and HIS ability.
HE HAS PROMISED
to
take you STEP by STEP by STEP...
not all at once...
But step...
By step and...
Each
step will be a Miracle!
By Morris Cerullo
Because of Wolfgang's experience and connections God has given him because
of the role He has him in, he was able to bring some further clarity and some
further answers to some of the questions I’ve had about more specifics
of what it might look like to move forward on these things.
I’ve been convinced this is the way forward, but now, thanks to his book (and to some of the other books that are now coming out - such as Paul Vieira's excellent JESUS HAS LEFT THE BUILDING), it is more clear to me than it was.
I kept being surprised over and over and over when he would write a whole section about things I’ve discussed and prayed about with some folks here that increasingly share this kind of vision!! – it almost feels like I could have written the book, but I wouldn’t have been able to fill in as many of the blanks as he has at this point. I suspect many of you will feel the same way as you read it!
I believe God has enabled Wolfgang to process more of this than He’s allowed me to so far. So it is very encouraging and affirming, and especially since he's been in contact with many around the world that are moving in the same directions or sense the Holy Spirit moving them in these directions, too!
I truly believe that in the midst of the growing darkness, THE BEST IS YET TO COME!!
CONTENTS
ENCOURAGING OUR BROTHERS & SISTERS TO TAKE THE
LAND
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I’m reminded of Joshua 1 (I’ve just been sensing so much lately
that we are indeed at the place as it refers to in this chapter…Moses
is dead….and we’re about too go in and take the land…(and Deut,
esp. 6,8,11, etc.)
And then it says this: “…10 So Joshua ordered the officers of the
people: 11 "Go through the camp and tell
the people, 'Get your supplies ready. Three days from now you will cross the
Jordan here to go in and take possession of the land the LORD your God is
giving you for your own.' " 12 But to the Reubenites, the Gadites
and the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joshua said, 13 "Remember the command
that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you: 'The LORD your God is giving
you rest and has granted you this land.' 14 Your wives, your children and
your livestock may stay in the land that Moses gave you east of the Jordan,
but all your fighting men, fully armed, must cross over ahead of your brothers.
You are to help your brothers 15 until
the LORD gives them rest, as he has done for you, and until they too have
taken possession of the land that the LORD your God is giving them. After
that, you may go back and occupy your own land, which Moses the servant
of the LORD gave you east of the Jordan toward the sunrise."
It’s like He’s moving us forward, like Joshua and Caleb, to spy out the land and give a GOOD REPORT to the people in spite of the giants in the land. We’re to go ahead and bring the others with us.
The
Wilderness and GILGAL
----------------------------------------
Wolfgang also talks about the wilderness as part of the preparation…yes,
that certainly is a big part of the training and preparation, isn’t it?!!!
(by the way, here are some helpful resources to possibly encourage some of
you as you go through your wildernesses - http://disciplethenations.org/Seasons.html#SS)
A thought came to mind as I was reading about that in his book… both because of the book of Joshua and what I have been experiencing in my life….and that’s this:
It seems I have gone through various types of wildernesses over the years, with some periods of relief in between.
However, in the past couple of years, and especially this last year, I have gone through the fire like never before - -the intensity was/has been waaaaay more than the previous wildernesses!! And near the beginning of this increased intensity, I kept sensing that the Lord was telling me I was going through the GILGAL experience, which of course is after crossing the Jordan just before going in to take the land of Canaan….Josh 5 – which has to do with the circumcision and laying them out in total weakness just before they were to take the land… so a much deeper circumcision of the heart at this point, etc., it seems.
I think this chapter speaks very timely words to us as well considering what Wolfgang has written…how during this circumcision in Gilgal God rolled away the reproach of Egypt from them and they were to remain there until they were healed…which Wolfgang also counsels in his book.
I also appreciated what he said about ‘Heating up the furnace again – p 153.
CONTENTS
THE ARTS
-----------------
I was thrilled that Wolfgang kept bringing up the role of the arts, among
many other aspects like politics and business, etc. in seeing the Kingdom
of God advancing, and the often prophetic role of artists, etc.
This has been a long-time conviction of mine and something I have felt God calling me to as a large part of my role for years (to encourage God’s artists and musicians regarding their role in God’s BIG PICTURE, and to help encourage them to develop a Scriptural understanding of the arts and God’s heart and role for His artists in the great commission and indeed in working together with the rest of the Body in advancing the Kingdom of God.
In getting to know God, more, the past years, as God the Artist, and increasingly recognizing His huge use of the arts in Scripture and in communicating with mankind, as well as His own delight in His creation worshipping Him in response to who He is, and His use of parables to communicate his Kingdom to folks, etc., and in a day and age where people are so influenced by and drawn to the arts, I’ve really been sensing the past months that He’s wanting me to develop ‘parables through the arts’ as a way of communicating His Kingdom in these days.
The arts have been something that, especially in the past 3 years, God seems to be having me focus on more and more, personally, as well…(long story about my artistic journey and having to die to music in my life before He resurrected it again), but while it was dead He, in the past few years has birthed some new artistic gifts which I feel He has given me for such a time as this. It seems He's suddenly developing 'new' artistic and creative gifts in His people all over the place...things they never had learned, they are suddenly picking up and learning and seeming to be taught by the Lord!
Here are a few pages which you might find encouraging or helpful for you or others along these lines …for example:
EthniClay - how this started was actually a total miracle!! The story is here.
Why I brought this up, mostly, in addition to acknowledging Wolfgang's confirmation of the arts as a vital part of what God is wanting to do, is to share with you some of the figurines/note cards that I have been making as I've sensed the Holy Spirit leading me through my intense Gilgal (etc) season this past year especially. Perhaps they will be of encouragement to you folks?
The
Journey – Processes God Brings His People Through
There are also my more recent artistic developments and it seems more on the horizon if the Lord continues to confirm those directions…
Following are some of songs and poems I’ve written (some still need to be further tweaked) which I was reminded of as I read Wolfgang's book. May they also be of encouragement to your hearts:
Now
Is the Time (to make ready a people prepared for the Lord) - poem
Hosea:
Your Redeeming Love - poem
Arise,
My Darling – Song of Songs 2 - song
Let
My People Go - song
The Brook
Dried Up - poem
I’ll Build My
Church - song
CONTENTS
BUSINESS & KINGDOM ECONOMY
-------------------------------------------------
I’m also very glad Wolfgang brought up business in context of the advancement
of the Kingdom of God…this is also something I have felt will be increasingly
vital and is also a direction I personally feel God has been increasingly
leading me into, as well, though how that’s all to work out is not clear
yet, nor the timing of it…but I don’t think it’s too far away.
I’m also very grateful that he included the kingdom finances / economy
section. I agree with him that this major paradigm shift will be a huge change…probably
the most difficult transition for us as the Church to make in many ways...but
also very necessary if we are to see God accomplish His purposes through us.
I can certainly see how that could free one up at deeper levels, to be / do
all that God is calling one into in the coming season!
This is something I’m just beginning to learn more about.
CONTENTS
HE & HIS WIFE'S PERSONAL STORY / IES
------------------------------------------
I also greatly appreciated the fact that both Wolfgang and Mercy shared their
personal journey story with us! It is helpful to hear of other’s journeys
and how they came to write this book.
CONTENTS
KINGDOM OF GOD & Apostolic/Prophetic Architecture
FOCUS
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I am thrilled about his Kingdom of God focus and how he connects the apostolic
and prophetic architecture with that – I strongly believe this is where
we are at in Canada and in our region here in Greater Vancouver.
I don't think that we can really KEEP MOVING FORWARD INTO ALL THAT GOD INTENDS for us if we don’t build further on proper biblical foundations, starting with Christ Himself.
As many have been starting
house / simple churches and moving in these directions over the past years,
it seems to me we’ve been learning, experimenting, growing and transitioning
and learning many good and helpful things about the Lord, learning to KNOW
HIM better and not just 'about' Him, walking more closely in His Presence,
learning about deeper relationships, hearing the Lord's voice, walking in
His Spirit, ministering to each other and together as a team, etc., and learning
to get out of Babylon and into God’s paradigm to some degree (and experiencing
Him removing more of Babylon from our hearts), but
I, too, feel that we will stall or worse, derail and self-destruct
if we don’t soon begin to move ahead in these directions that Wolfgang
further clarifys, as the Holy Spirit leads.
I’m also thrilled about his focus on the King’s heart and right
to rule His kingdom as He desires.
It seems to be such a process for Him to get our hearts to that place, though!!
So often, the past several years, I’ve thought about my relationship with Him as my King / our King and realized how little I know of what it means to be a loyal, obedient kingdom citizen, since I’m from a democratic country and we’ve never had that kind of direct rule that kings have often had throughout history and in other parts of the world.
Even Queen Elizabeth’s rule is not such that would inspire or require the kind of loyalty to death that we are commanded to have as Kingdom citizens. We just don't seem to recognize that kind of authority...just as we don't seem to really grasp, yet, with our hearts, the amazing Father heart of LOVE He has for us which we wants us to experience in its LENGTH, HEIGHT, WIDTH AND DEPTH SO THAT...we may be FILLED TO THE MEASURE OF ALL THE FULLNESS OF GOD! (Eph.3)
In the process of praying about and meditating on these things, He’s let me see how lawless we as the Church have tended to become, and my heart as well, and how He is graciously willing to keep making the needed on-going changes in my heart to get me where He wants me. I have, by His grace, been experiencing this to some degree in this area, as well, especially this past year, but I know more is needed, and thankfully He keeps working!
CONTENTS
CITY REACHING & TRANSFORMATION
-------------------------------------------------------
Wolfgang's book is timely and much needed to help assist ‘house churchers’
(for lack of a better term at this point), I believe, in moving into the season
God is leading His Body into – apostolic/prophetic architecture, etc.
in seeing the Kingdom advancing.
I also believe it is a very important message for those involved in city reaching
and transformation – and agree that as wonderfully encouraging as these
growing developments are, and though they seem to be a HUGE step forward into
what God is leading his Church into, that they of themselves are not able
to sustain long-term reproducibility/multiplication – also similar re
diaconal actions such as Wolfgang mentions, etc. – many outreaching ones,
though perhaps not yet very infused with supernatural demonstrations of the
Kingdom, are seeming to move in the right directions and in a transitional
period, as well.
I believe that all of these things, as he says, are part of the transition process and that God can and is certainly using them to help move the Church in full Kingdom directions, as long as we don’t get fixated on them, and as long as we keep moving as the Holy Spirit keeps moving us, and don’t settle at ‘transformation / city reaching’ just because it’s more than we have seen so far.
CONTENTS
NEW KINDS OF TRAINING – including training in
healing / deliverance
-------------------------------------
I'm grateful that Wolfgang also included a section about new ways of doing
training and raising up multipliers / fathers / mothers, etc. I believe this
is very much what God is increasingly bringing to pass, as well.
Myself and others locally and in other regions have also felt strongly that
healing and deliverance needs to be a vital part of the foundational discipleship
training that is used to develop effective mature sons & daughters of
the Kingdom which can then effectively reproduce and multiply.
In prayerfully considering ways in which people can be discipled more effectively, one of my dear friends/kindred spirits and I have also been thinking and praying about some of the training that rabbinical training included - such as the lamad approach, which is very interactive and includes learning and then DOING, and not just collecting head knowledge which seems to be our major focus in our traditions of western training.
I personally believe that much of our western style of teaching/training, which has been focused, for the most part, on head knowledge, has actually brought on us as the Church, through our churches and theological training centers, deception...and why we are so lukewarm... I'm reminded of the verse which says that if we are hearers and yet not doers of the Word, WE DECEIVE OURSELVES...so if we are soaking in, soaking in and soaking in the Word and studying (we are actually commanded to MEDITATE, not to memorize or 'study' - the vs.s which include the word 'study' apparently are mistranslated), and if we are not learning and then DOING, learning and then DOING so that we really LEARN things as a whole person and not just from the intellect, we DECEIVE OURSELVES...
And so we, too, believe that our whole approach to discipling God's people needs to go through a paradigm shift, as well, and that we focus on training the WHOLE PERSON and not just a part here or there... Jesus discipled them in every way through living life with them.
Wolfgang has mentioned some examples of training that are transitioning into new paradigms - ie. Getting Started, Luke 10, Greenhouse, Master Training, etc. You'll need to contact him for their web site info if they have that, or read the book to find out more about them :)
CONTENTS
STARFISH PUBLISHING
--------------------------------
I also appreciate very much their vision/goals re the Starfish Publishing
platform through which they desire to help to network and resource the Body
of Christ to bless the Body re Kingdom purposes and which is done in a way
which promotes unity, working together, discourages competition, encourages
collaboration, etc.
CONTENTS
RE-THINKING EVANGELISM/DISCIPLESHIP
--------------------------------------------------------------
Having been involved in missions for my whole adult life, and church planting
for most of it as well (traditional and house churches), I had constantly
wanted to grow in my effectiveness in reaching out to the lost.
So I took all kinds of evangelistic training courses, especially in the earlier years, but for some reason, I could never get any of them to work for me, though, occasionally, bits and pieces of various approaches would come to mind as I depended on the Holy Spirit to lead me, but usually the approach I seemed to experience the most effectiveness in was to be led by the Holy Spirit, and just show love to the person however I would sense I was being led to do so at the time, whether through listening, through word or deed or just being together.
Looking back, I think God probably kept me from being successful with these various approaches or I may have become dependant on them.
Because
these approaches didn’t work for me, I had to keep praying and trusting
God and would often be totally surprised at the open doors He would give me,
naturally, through relationship.
Although evangelism does not seem to be one of my ‘gifts’, it is
something that has been deeply on my heart and which I’ve been praying
to become bolder and more effective in. I have long been praying for growing
measures of His love to be flowing through me, and to be more effective, etc.,
while recognizing that I’m much more of a seed-planter and discipler
and love to team up with evangelists (and those with other spiritual gifts)
so we can work together.
Over the years I’ve become more and more disillusioned with the popular
evangelistic approaches, as they generally seemed to me to be rather disconnected
from DISCIPLESHIP, and even our traditional understanding of discipleship
has moved so far away from the biblical model of discipleship that I realized
that there is no way we could reach this generation with the ‘tried and
true’ approaches of evangelicalism.
This began, many years ago, a huge prayerful search and re-thinking of evangelistic
approaches (especially in considering how to reach post-moderns and multi-cultural
and non-Protestant groups) and how they could become integrated with discipleship/house
churches/the Kingdom of God, etc. It has been a lot of trial and error over
the years as I’ve sought to learn from Him.
Some friends and I have been sensing God leading us more deeply in this over
the past few years, but we still have soo much to learn! Even recently God
seems to be clarifying some of this further in our lives, and it was again
so encouraging to read what Wolfgang wrote about healing and deliverance being
a big part of that, and prophesying to folks in the marketplace, and interpreting
dreams, etc., all of which are things we’ve also been praying about and
are seeking to move into as the Holy Spirit leads more and more.
He also mentioned teaching skills for free – like at community colleges,
or in larger meeting rooms in townhouse complexes, etc.
Teaching the arts is also something I’ve been wanting to do as soon as my health permits, and I’ve been experimenting with that a bit already by teaching art to kids in my home – with their Moms, etc. It’s been great!
I first did it with
families from the house churches but hope to start doing it in my neighbourhood
or wherever the Lord leads – senior citizen’s homes, with the homeless,
with local refugee families, etc.
I am severely disabled and have a body that has many of the health struggles
of senior citizens, as well as many of their ‘props’ like wheelchair,
Scooter and a long list of things. So in the past year I have been noticing
how God keeps using these things to open doors for me which I never had before,
not only with senior citizens but also with many of them because they can
see that I can relate to some of their struggles.
I’ve been praying about potentially teaching art to some of them or encouraging
them in their arts, and possibly doing this with some of the refugees in the
next block, too, in order to develop relationships as the Lord leads, and
hopefully through loving them, opportunities will arise to share prophetic
words or interpret dreams or pray for healing or deliverance, etc.
God also seems to continue to bring New Agers and multicultural peoples into
my life, and growing numbers of artists!!!
I’m have a friend that I've been in relationship with for several years, now, who is a New Ager (also an artist) who used to run a psychic shop in town, and after knowing her for several years, praying for her, being a friend to her and sharing bits and pieces with her about the Gospel as I felt led to do so, etc., suddenly this week things seem to be breaking open and I’ve been able to share more with her than ever before, and about the Kingdom of God, and she is taking it all in, it seems, and wanting more!
I also have a couple other artistic New Age friends who run a nutritional store and Yoga Center who LOVE to talk about spiritual things together. I used to be terrified of communicating with New Agers because of fear of getting trapped into their way of thinking or whatever, but realized I was walking in fear instead of faith, and fear instead of love...I was trusting more in the devil to trip me up than in God to protect me and give me His wisdom and to lead me, and I was trusting more in the devil's ability to keep my friends from the truth than the Holy Spirit's ability to do His job!! I was focusing on the enemy and not on God - but I'm to KEEP MY EYES ON JESUS! I needed God's heart/perspective on how to view them instead of the fear-based thinking I had picked up from traditional Christian backgrounds I was raised in, but thank God we don't have to stay in those traps and that He is changing our paradigms so that we CAN become EFFECTIVE, by His grace!!
I think New Agers and
many post-moderns as well as many multicultural peoples tend to be very open
to the kind of Christianity we read about in the New Testament!! And that
really encourages me!!
Over the past decade or so, since I’ve been almost completely homebound
due to my health, I prayed for God to give me a strategy to enable me to reach
out while I DID get out once or twice a month to run errands.
What I felt He put on my heart was a plan to keep running errands at the same
places all the time – small businesses run by Sikhs, Mu*sl+ims, etc.
The reason to keep going back was to trust God to somehow reveal His love
to them through me as I would build deliberate, loving relationships over
time, as He led me, that would hopefully also provide open doors to share
His love and the Gospel in God’s ways and timing. But also to keep loving
them even if they didn't decide to follow Jesus. It has been amazing to me
the kinds of opportunities He’s given – usually very unexpectedly.
By God's grace, I’ve
had numerous opportunities to pray with them about various things, right at
their front desks (if they didn’t have customers right then), and have
given some the Jesus video in their language, or worship music in their ethnic
musical styles, and have felt led to make plasticine figurines of them doing
their profession –as a gift to show appreciation for their services and
friendship, etc. The Bible says the gift opens the way for the giver, and
I have certainly seen this to be true with giving them these figurines. Interestingly
most of them end up on their front counters and they often mention them and
how they have become a conversation piece with their customers.
Recently I’ve been sensing that it’s time to start making them another
figurine for each of them, but this time expressing a spiritual truth to them,
and see where that leads.
There are about 25-30 non-believers, including my health care professionals,
cashiers I regularly see, gas station attendants that I have gotten to know,
mecahnics and delivery personnel that I see regularly, etc., that I have been
developing relationships with over the years - most of them international
folks.
The multicultural folks
tend to really appreciate having visits cause they are so busy keeping their
small business going that they don’t get much time for relationships.
Plus, most of them are from cultures where relationships and spiritual things
are a high priority, so it has been an amazing journey for me to see God open
doors through this!
I think of my Taiwanese hairdresser that I had been praying for opportunities
to share with over about 7 years! Suddenly, one day, out of the blue, she
point blank asked me how to become a Christian!! I nearly fell out of my chair!
She owns the shop so can say what she wants and so the whole shop heard our conversation! She then invited me to her house to start having Bible studies and prayer with her, and her Hungarian supposedly-atheist husband always wanted to sit in on them – he liked to try to start arguments (in a humorous way) but I wouldn’t go for his bait and would be happy to respond as able but just love him anyway. It was really funny because in spite of the fact that we knew we disagreed with each other and even though I wouldn't back down, although I respected his right to his opinions and took the time to listen to his perspectives, he seemed to really like me and would often send home a bunch of bottles of vitamin supplements with me to try to help my health improve.
Although she got so
busy that eventually we quit with the studies, (she had also started going
to a Chinese church where she got very disillusioned and has again more recently
been saying that she and I need to start getting together again, so I'm praying
for her and her husband who I seem to run into at the mall on occasion when
out on my Scooter. His eyes light up when he sees me, which always surprises
me since he was so opposed to what I stand for. He comes and talks with me
for about an hour while standing there!
His wife did become a believer and everytime I have had a haircut since her
initial question about how to become a believer, she always wants to talk
about spiritual things when I come in and the whole place hears it all cause
it’s small and she talks very loudly.
These are just a few
examples of how I've seen God gradually teaching me more and more lessons
about relational evangelism. It has been a wonderful and adventurous journey
so far, and I feel like He's taught me a lot, but I still feel like a total
beginner!! Every situation is different and requires asking God how He wants
to handle it.
Interestingly, God seems to be connecting me, relationally, with more New
Age artists, and interestingly, almost all the folks in the house churches
I’ve been/am a part of are also artists or artistic, and most of the
unsaved folks I’m in relationship with are artists, as well.
I’ve been wanting to see things go further and see the harvest come in.
One of my close friends who shares Kingdom passion and wants to also proclaim
and demonstrate God’s Kingdom as we’re commanded to do, also has
been re-thinking evangelism/discipleship with me. We’ve also been wanting
to see prophecy, dreams and visions and other gifts used ‘out there’
to reach the lost, and healing and deliverance and some of the other things
Wolfgang includes in his book. I believe it will encourage you, too, to see
God increasingly breathe His new life into your relationships as you seek
to have Him love others into His Kingdom through you!
We’ve also felt that evangelism needs to be holistic and integrated–
as mentioned earlier - like a father or mother would care for their child
– not just feeding them info, but caring about all aspects of their lives
– dealing with them as whole people like Jesus did with His disciples.
Again, as mentioned earlier, a well, It seems to me that, traditionally, evangelism
has been rooted mostly in fear and guilt, instead of motivated by love…it
has been largely fear-based instead of faith-based. I believe God is also
in the process of changing our perspective on this as He is healing our hearts
and changing our hearts to see/act from His perspective.
A verse which has been greatly impacting me the past months along these lines,
too, is:
Galatians 5:6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision
has any value. The only thing that counts is
faith expressing itself through love.
The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself
through love!!! Wow….that is profound and powerful!! Ties in soo
well with the fathering/mothering lifestyle of Kingdom life and discipleship
Wolfgang also mentiones 'think tanks', etc. I think that is something that
is much needed if we are to be a part of His restoration and Kingdom-building!
One of the issues that I would love to see local networks of believers pray
about together and work together on locally as the Holy Spirit leads, is emergency
preparedness so we can be cities of refuge etc. to bring people into the Kingdom
as we walk with them through disasters, etc. There are others on my heart
as well.
I have been communicating with a couple other thinkers in a couple house churches
in my province regarding the whole aspect of re-thinking evangelism, too,
and this is very interesting! I’m sure some of this will come out in
some future editions of the newsletter.
CONTENTS
SELF-APPOINTED APOSTLES & PROPHETS
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I appreciate so much Wolfgang's thoughts on self-appointed prophets and apostles!
This is something I’ve struggled with over the years, as well –
the dime a dozen kind who get pushed through training and suddenly they’re
Apostle so and so and training others!
I have seen a very different training ‘school’ of God for His prophets and apostles, throughout Scripture, and have found myself on a very similar path over the years – not the quick path which comes through a course aimed at the intellect. I'm sure many of you will be able to relate to this - if not experiencing it in your own lives, then seeing it in other's lives whom God is preparing for His timing.
CONTENTS
CLARIFICATION OF APOSTLES & PROPHETS WORKING
TOGETHER
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I also really appreciated Wolfgang's further clarification of the apostolic
and prophetic gifts and how they work together in a local (and beyond) setting,
advancing the Kingdom.
I think this will be super helpful…and that he included aspects of how to potentially recognize them and what to look for, etc. This is another section where he filled in more of the gaps that I have been waiting for God to provide further clarification on, so I am very grateful!
CONTENTS
MISSIONS – STARFISH PARTNERSHIP
----------------------------------------------------
It is so encouraging to also see that Wolfgang and others have also been experiencing
the Holy Spirit leading them to see God's new paradigms, too, in how He wants
local house / simple church networks, etc. to work together with the Body
of Christ for Kingdom purposes in order to function together in unity to effectively
be carries of the new wine and bring in the harvest. I am looking forward
to seeing how this develops!
My own long-term historical roles in missions and church planting and desires to see cities and nations discipled and transformed as His Kingdom increasingly comes and is done on earth as it is in heaven, is also something I have been praying much about as I've been wanting to move into His new paradigms in these ways. It is not yet clear to me, but gradually getting clearer and clearer. Again, Wolfgang's thoughts have been a helpful addition to prayerfully factor in.
I totally agree that things HAVE to move beyond networking to more covenantal partnerships which will be able to withstand the pressures to come!
CONTENTS
GOD’s HEART FOR CITIES AND NATIONS
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I was also very happy for what he included about God’s heart and destiny
for cities and nations! I was thrilled to see that he included Pieter
Bos’s very helpful book about that, named THE
NATIONS CALLED!!
THE
NATIONS CALLED:Theology of the Nations and Their Redemption - Pieter Bos
http://www.servingthenations.org/booktnc.htm
volume 1 of a planned Trilogy "The City Redeemed."
ISBN 1-85240-307-1
To wet your appetite, see the core paragraph of the book: "God's covenant
with the nations." It describes the beauty of nations in general and
of 16 specific nations; the nine anti-covenants with which the evil one tries
to block nations from covenanting to God; and the responsibility of the Church
towards its nation.
Can your city or nation be redeemed? What does Scripture say about the destiny
and the spiritual role of cities and nations? What is the source of nationalism
and of discrimination, and what is the church's response to it? How can the
Church discover God's plan for her nation and help her to prepare for the
endtime? - see more at: http://www.servingthenations.org/nations.asp
CONTENTS
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There is so much more I could write, but I will leave it at this.
----
Grace
Wiebe has a passion to see the Church working together in unity as they are
led and empowered by the Holy Spirit, in order to see the purposes of God
accomplished. She longs to see His heart for restoration, His desire/command
to see the nations discipled taking place and the Kingdom of God advancing
in this crucial time in biblical history as He is preparing us for His soon
return. Grace is a net-worker in the Body - casting vision; seeking to bring
together, encourage, resource and release (as able) those that God is calling
with similar vision - whether that's God's musicians and artists, those involved
in multicultural ministries, those involved in simple / house churches, Christians
in business, etc. http://DiscipleTheNations.org"
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Canadian House Church Resource Network