Wow. I have had to let that simmer a little. Most of us start this ministry journey needing to become 'specialist generalists'. We are called to spin many plates. As we learn the ropes of loving the King and loving his bride, we collide with our propensity toward self sins - self protection, self gratification, self promotion, self ambition... Slowly the eternal hands of mercy coaches, coaxes and catalyzes us towards self death and the unspeakable joy of dying to ourselves daily. This is a victory we never achieve but by dying to all these self values. Only then do we fully understand.
I started preaching on the streets of Durban some 34 years ago. That is where the journey began. On the beachfront, before tourists and friends alike - but Jesus was worth the embarrassment wasn't he? All these years later, by 'Journeying with friends' I am so stirred to live that one sentence. When we look over our shoulders, M and I have not done much well. I guess our sentence will read something like: "Establishing key hub churches and empowering very believer to be a leader". What is yours?
Genesis Collective is not about Chris and Meryl. It is about a collective of Ephesians 4 gifted friends, who, through organic partnership want to empower churches and all expressions of leadership on their journey. For the next 12 months or so, we will anchor some of the Genesis role around these spaces:
- Walking alongside leaders on face to face time around dining room tables - desiring sons to become fathers / daughters becoming mothers,
- Strategic partnerships with churches and plants, that we are seeking to empower on their journey,
- Visit these churches around the world, to expand their God story, keep the gospel the center piece and ever shape the architecture, as they evolve on their journey,
- Exploration - our monthly convo here in OC / LA for pastors and planters on matters on common interest,
- Plant OC / LA - a monthly meal with planters, simply to hear their stories and breathe wind into their sails,
- Marketplace Leadership - in collaboration with Rock Harbor and Southlands Church, a conversation to equip marketplace believers to be leaders in their world,
- Traveling through Timothy - taking novice and new believers as well as some weary old warhorses through the text to ready them for the next chapter of their leadership story,
- C2C - this conversation is for those who are or planning to be church planting or replanting, by letting current planters tell their story - also the major catalysts will be Jeff Vanderstelt and Terry Virgo,
- Urban Renewal - which Alan Frow and the Southlands crew lead but we back fully - a Word and Spirit on Mission gathering that annually explores the genius of this journey. I do so enjoy it,
- Church Planting training assessments and training will be ongoing,
- Leading Large Churches is a conversation we are planning for April 2012 for some from around the world, who are in that space and feel like they need some voices to retrain them for this new task,
- "Dubai Dialogue" has been our forum of friendship, collaboration, partnership with friends who are leading their own apostolic movements, to dialogue, learn from, enjoy...
What do you think? As always, there is more, but that reflects the Genesis heart. This is pretty exciting you would agree. I am so loving my friendships with new and old friends, from here in LA to some who are fighting the good fight around the world. When I met Dudley in 1983, I believed that I would journey for life with friends. I never wanted to spend my life building an organization and then expend enormous effort trying to uphold it. It is about doing life with friends... that is what Jesus did. That is what the great apostle of love - John taught us. I want to be part of that story - and all for the sake of the Gospel!
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