Genesis Collective - The Anchor Pieces

Thanks for letting me dream with you. The challenge of any new chapter in our lives, is knowing which parts of our past we carry over into the future. Secondly, which parts were great but remain in the last chapter of the great God story and thirdly, which parts were poor, maybe destructive, and unhelpful - definitely needing to remain as lessons learnt, wounds we carry or simply mistakes we made. There is always the possibility of an immature knee-jerk reaction whereby we want to dismiss all the past as painful and miss the Joseph lesson of seeing the Father's hand in it all - thus "throwing out the baby with the bath water".

The Genesis Collective is our third chapter in a church planting, leadership development story. The 70's into the early 80's saw us part of a "Jesus People" styled church planting journey that imploded. Then we spent 25 years or so, in a remarkable brotherhood committed to planting churches in the nations of the world. I loved those years and continue to love these men and their families. Sparked by the theology of multiplication, I knew that "sons had become fathers" and had to be celebrated and empowered to leave home and start their own journeys. That brought me to this evolving revelation.

The Genesis Collective is an Ephesians 4 collective of friends, who, inspired by the Genesis account of creativity, increase, multiplication and all nations, seek to empower leaders to transform their communities, cities and countries.

The Anchor Pieces are really continuing what we have been doing for the last 30 years or so. However, we do have a new understanding that we are trying to reach and minister into a totally different world today, therefore needing to apply the sacred texts to a new culture / context conversation. The forms of this collaboration include:

• Resources - using our website, making available writings, blogs, books, training manuals and various forms of instructions, podcasts of relevant teachings that reflect our DNA, for all forms of leadership;
• Leadership Development - in all its forms, from leadership of self, to the home, the church and becoming leaders in the marketplace are all on our radar;
• Planting - through personal investment and Bible conversations, we desire to aid churches to recognize, raise up and release these church planters to plant gospel centered communities around the world;
• Replanting - so much of the pioneering nature of the great commission will include "replanting the ruined... and desolate places" [Ez 36:36] by journeying with churches that have become stagnant and decaying, to partner with them to reinvent and re-calibrate themselves once again to become key, strategic and vibrant for the gospel;
• Mega-churches - to transition these churches from the mono-vision of simple increase to the theology of multiplication by becoming apostolic movements in their own rights.

Each of these anchor pieces are pivotal and weighty. They can only be achieved around the world by this collaboration of friends. It it not to set up new networks, denominations or organizations. We believe the E4 grace is to walk alongside in gospel partnership with these churches, leaders and marketplace missionaries... but more of that in the next blog.