Leadership Summit Day 2, Session 1
Pastor Danny speaks
Personalizing The Great Commission
(The ‘send’ part of our ‘seek, school, and send’ mission)
Of 88,000 Bible-believe churches only 2000 churches are involved in missions to unreached people groups. There are no churches in 20,000 out of the 42,000 barangays total. So many statistics that just emphasize the need.
Pastor Danny emphasizes the need to reach all people groups with the motivation drawn from the verse: And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come (Matthew 24:14). This was followed by usual words shared. ‘He who has an ear, let him hear.’; The Parable of the Sower.
Question – We know the Great Commission, but do we understand it?
Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”Matthew 28:16-20
Are we about to get into exegesis of this particular set of verses? Apparently so.
And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”Mark 16:15-18
Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”John 20:21
Interesting how the historical records cover the travails of the original 11 Apostles, and though their Acts have their own book in the New Testament, it’s the epistles of Paul that were in the New Testament. I have reason to believe the documented letters, the written words have made just as much impact, or even more than our brothers who have gone to the unreached people groups. This is not to discount the works of the missionaries; I guess what I’m trying to point out here, or what I’m trying to draw out of my heart here is out of anticipation that mission works would be glorified more than Christ.
Not that Christ needs any help in glorification – He already has it all, and all that’s left is to be thankful.
Continuing Pastor Danny’s words – He points out the ‘basic commands of Jesus’ as was mentioned in Acts 2:38-47, among other verses:
And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.
And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
Not really excited about what’s coming up. I’m sorry but as I’m listening to Pastor Danny, everyone else sees a good man – I do too, and I do respect him. The man has been through a lot. But I just wish Pastor Danny is coming from the motivation of Christ and His finished work, versus putting the focus on following commands and the threat of the religion of Christianity seemingly losing ground in this world.
He says that we should personalize the Great Commission, but are we even personalizing Christ?
Pastor does have a point, though – we do need to train ourselves. We do need to be ready to ‘defend’ the Gospel that transformed us.
Pastor Danny and Pastora Ruby share that there are certain roles when it comes to missions: Goers, Senders, Mobilizers, and Welcomers.
And when he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them. And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, “Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic— “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.” And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”Mark 2:1-12
Mobilizers – Frontliners, short term missions, missionary care teams, etc.
Senders – ‘Rope holders’; Prayer warriors, resource providers, funders of the Great Commission
Goers – Folks who are planning to go, and are planning to stay (note difference between mobilizers and goers)
Welcomers – Those who welcome folks from other nations, and sharing the Gospel while they stay here.
In an ideal situation these roles would have equal numbers, with no excuses.
And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
Matthew 24:14 brought back up again. Verses from different parts of the Gospel state that this Good News shall be preached to the whole world, all creation, and all nations.
Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest.John 4:35
Pastor Danny was saying look up, but it says ‘lift up your eyes’ (lateral view).
And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”Matthew 9:35-38
Christ is being presented as an example – He went to cities and villages. He taught in synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom. He healed every disease and every affliction. We see His hindrances – The crowds were harassed and helpless. They are like sheep without a shepherd. In Christ’s words – the harvest is plentiful, and the laborers are few.
But check this out – He told His disciples: Pray to the Lord of the Harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. And here’s the thing – Pastor Danny made this a case for us to have ‘revival’ of prayer: “A prayerless church is a powerless church”.
Presenting the purpose of the Temple:
“These I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.”
Isaiah 56:7
“And He was teaching them and saying to them, “Is it not written, My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.”Mark 11:17
All this talk on the Temple, but what do we say about our being the temple of the Holy Spirit? I should look into this a little deeper.
We’re told that we have to have a ‘burden’ for souls to have compassion for them. Would probably want to ask myself – What compassion has Christ had for me, that I would remember to have compassion for everyone else?
Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.Acts 13:1-3
Prayer and fasting being brought into the forefront. ‘If we do, the Holy Spirit shows up’
“Early Church Pattern”:
- Leaders came together to fast and pray
- Led by the Holy Spirit
- The Spirit is the Sender, Jesus is the Sender
- More fasting and praying
- Commissioning by laying of hands
- Sending
Questions for the churches:
- Is your church praying for nations to be saved?
- Can you name some reason why churches stopped or not praying enough for the salvation of nations?
- Can you mobilize your church to pray for nations now?
You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.
2 Timothy 2:1-2
-Session Ends-
Leadership Summit Day 2, Session 2
Pastor John speaks
A reminder of our vision, involving transformed lives through the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. A reminder of our mission: To inspire people to follow Jesus by engaging them in the life and mission (to seek, school, and to send) of the Good News Community Church.
We’re in a crisis and a comfort zone at the same time. And apparently discipleship is how we’re going to get out of the ‘mess’ we’re in. Discipleship in his point of view involves investing time just as much as any other resource – and speaking of resources, discipleship also involves our plans and our ideas shared.
The skills he has to share to us in management are:
Clarify The Win – Define the win in every level. Derive the win from individuals to more macro levels. His win for us is to have disciples, and for our disciples to have disciples. And we’re to enjoy the win. What’s nice is that beyond the wins we have that are attainable, Christ has already won the victory that matters – the Victory of Victories, done by no less than the King of Kings.
Think Steps, Not Programs.
The rest of this seems to be coming from ‘Seven Practices Of Effective Ministry” by Andy Stanley, Reggie Joiner, and Lane Jones. Yep, he followed this up with Narrowing The Focus. Then, Teach Less For More.
I could keep noting it all down but let me just throw it in here and… I don’t know, rave and ramble:
Listen To Outsiders. Replace Yourself. Work On It.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I think we really need to draw the line between self and flesh. What’s wrong with having our own agenda?
I think we really need to go even deeper than the ‘basics’ that are being told. If we need to be trained and retrained on anything it is Christ always, now and forever.
I’m being led to just think – I seem to know what I don’t like, but what do I like? I just want us to understand, enjoy, and celebrate Christ on an individual level, and systematically on a level of gatherings and fellowships. There’s the stark difference – We’re CELEBRATING Christ, not working FOR Him – PARTNERING with Him, walking WITH Him.
I’m quick to lampoon anyone who shares methodologies, saying that they are works, but what are my own methodologies? How has Christ worked on me?
What am I holding onto, to the death? To the end of me?
Invest in tech. Code obfuscation. Divide the mind, and conquer.
If I’m going to disciple others, I ought to be discipling myself. I ought to understand how Christ disciples me specifically.
We have much to learn.
I have much to learn.
May Christ be glorified above all.
To 40 more years.
JB's Personal Brain Defragmenter 
Leave a Reply