Alan Hirsch

Ive been at Forge Mission Conference and the Youth workers and interns conference this weekend, they're all tied in together. Its been pretty good. My highlight so far has been listening to Alan Hirsch.

He's basically told us that we have been getting discipled by our culture, through materialism, consumerism etc and that the church is in decline in the one third world. Both statements are true. He then goes on to say that China which rose from 2 million people to 130 million people in 60 years without "leaders and buildings" is the pattern for us to follow.

People ask him how they did it. And he likes to get people in a room and not let them get out or get a drink until they've worked out how. "Everybody knows how, they just dont act on it." I believe this is true. Often we overlook how simple the message is. We also have a problem with leaders. That is, we rely on them.

The Biblical way of leadership is not based on "leadership" but rather what we are set to be... Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Shepherds and Teachers. (Ephesians) Then he says when they all work together it works. It creates a movement. But we dont operate in that system. "Every movement in decline is driven by shepherds and teachers." You need the APE at the front, they're the ones that pick up steam. I could say so much more, but I'll leave it for my next post...
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Heres a couple of quotes for you to look at in the mean time...

"In my redemption is the redemption of the world.

"Our loss of eschatology has led to a loss of urgency

"Father Christmas (Santa Clause) is a materialistic pedophile

On consumerism, tv etc "Everyday we are being discipled into another story.

"The culture is discipling us, not Jesus

He explained how in Australia we have the Tall Poppy Syndrome, where we cut down to size our leaders, heroes etc This makes leading people hard... In the USA they have Heroe Worship, ite easier to lead people as they follow champions... We need to find a new Champion following...

"The basic message is "Jesus is Lord." Easy to understand, hard to follow...

"The best critique of the bad is the practice of the better.

"Pacify now is spiritual and moral cowardice.

"You're designed to achieve what your already achieving.

Sad stats

Read the Booth quotes below... but hat tip the following stats to CC via SC...

AUS Territory Stats
1996 senior soldiers: 12,129
2006 senior soldiers: 10,978 (9,318 in 2007 year book, reflecting stats for 2005)
1996 junior soldiers: 2,402
2006 junior soldiers: 1,158
1996 active officer strength: 650
2006 active officer strength: 534
1996 number of corps: 186
2006 number of corps: 165
1996 number of outposts: 33
2006 number of outposts: 5

Maybe we have lost our vision/mission/purpose! Aren't we suppose to be winning the world for Jesus? It shows we need more people evangelising! We need more people starting up outposts and corps. It shows every person is important to the mission of the Salvation Army. The Salvation Army needs you, infact, the world needs you! Fight addiction, depression, despair and sin! Join up today!

Evangelsim

Ive been reading a great book by Reinhard Bonnke called Evangelism by fire. Ive only read the first chapter but already Im impressed... Heres a few quotes...
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It struck me that the Gospel is not good news to people who dont hear it - that an unpreached Gospel is no Gospel at all!

Yet one fact faced me - there had never been revival without aggressive evangelism!

Plodding along mechanically might be called faithfulness, but our primary concern in evangelism is effectiveness, not a twisted type of faithfulness!

Entertainers are not needed or wanted. From Captain to the cook all hands are needed on deck for soul saving. The church that does not seek the lost is "lost" itself!

The devil is no match for the mind of the Holy Spirit. If we plan, preach, witness and evangelize as men, satan will foil us. He can handle psychology and propoganda. The answer is - move in the Spirit and preach the Gospel as it is!

Theres so many more quotes Id like to put in but that will do for now.
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The thing thats bugging me at the moment is that there are so many people within the church that think we need to be mature Christians to be able to do Gospel work. That not just anyone can pray for a stranger. That not just anyone can give a Spiritual Reading. (A word from God) Its so annoying because God doesnt give the Spirit to the mature, NO! He gives it to the willing!

If the Army is to move forward we need to give the Youth a go! We need to empower them, not lord it over them because we are smarter, older and more mature! The Army would not be where it is today if the youth didnt take on leadership, if the youth werent given responsibility! And Im not talking young adult age either! Im talking teenagers!
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Go get someone saved!
Pray for the sick! Raise the dead! Drive out demons! Rejoice that youre saved!

Heres a COMMAND from JESUS:
Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. Matthew 10:8

Havent blogged for a few days! Had lots of thoughts though. Heres a couple!

Just a passing thought but have we as an Army left our apostles in places for too long, not building up replacements, then not left pastors in places long enough?

Heres my thinking, our apostles (that i see at the moment) tend to stay in a place for a while then their ministry almost becomes stagnant. The corps/outpost etc stops growing rapidly. Is the reason for that because they are called to start something up, but then they fail to hand over to a good pastor who can then take it further?

Then on the flip side, do we give our pastors enough time to do their thing? And do they have the accountability that if they're doing no good we find something else for them to do or relieve them of their duties? (William Booth use to do that...) just some thoughts...
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Doncaster shopping town (big mall) is getting a massive facelift. Theyve decided to put in a whole lot more shops. Someone told me they were spending a billion dollars on it. (dont know how true that is) But Ive learnt something from it.

They already had a good business. But to make it better they had to close alot of shops. They then had to pull down a bunch of shops and car parks. Then they started renovations, then they started completely new things. Then eventually it will be ALOT bigger and better than it was before.

Surely this is what we need to do as The Salvation Army?
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Hers some AFL for you. There are a bunch of coaches teams that are under performing. Coaches that havent done their job properally/successfully. The team then reviews whats happening then decides whether it is the coaches fault, whether the coach is heading in the right direction, and whether there are others who could do better. Then they fire or rehire.

Think about that.
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Plenty Valley is going well! New name for our Youth stuff, I think it is going to be REVOLUTION! Not original but says what we want. Also, youth group possibly called riot. Please pray! We need good solid leaders! Thank you Jesus!

I havent been blogging anywhere near as much as I would have liked but ive been busy! Its good though. Beginning to see some fruit from all the work we've been doing at Plenty Valley!
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heres a couple of thoughts, 1) Isnt it amazing how when some leaders ask you to go out of your way to do something you will plainly say no, but when a different leader, one who has earnt your trust and respect asks the same thing you willingly say ok? Im amazed at Johnothan sticking up for David in 1 Samuel...
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Salvo Surfers was fantastic! Had a ball! Got some waves and had alot of fun! A big thank you to Torquay Surf Academy for cheap wetsuit hire and another big thank you to Torquay Holiday Resort for the cheap camp site! God bless those people!
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The other day I was kicking the footy at church when a youth walked past. I ran up and introduced myself etc. Then today I got a phone call from a youth ive been hanging with a bit and asked if Id come play basketball with him. Of course I said ok, but what blew me away was that the guy who I asked the other day is this guys next door neighbour and he brought his friend aswell to come and play today! hahaha God is here!
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Prayer points! Got lots starting up at Plenty Valley Youth this term! Gonna get real busy!
1) Homework club
2) Youth Group
3) Youth Church with small groups etc
4) Basketball team
5) Salvo Surfers
6) Kids Church
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Blogs coming up:
some surf culture Kingdom lessons
lots of LISTS

Wholistic Mission

God is good! More prophetic confirmation today!

Also, been thinking about wholistic mission. Heres what I'm thinking, if we choose to do only 'part' of our mission, (e.g social work OR evangelism) then we are in effect compromising our mission. If our social centers are not wholistic then they are a compromise of our mission. More importantly I think, if Corps are not engaged in wholistic mission they too have a compromised mission. Both are a waste of resources.

Jesus was asked whats the most important commandment, He replied, "LOVE God and LOVE others." If we do both of these we cant go wrong. Jesus' greatest command was wholistic! However how many Corps and Social Centers are missionally compromised?

I'm not saying the work they do is bad, wrong, or not worthwhile! Far from that. We do HEAPS of GREAT work even when our mission is compromised! What I am saying though is that it is not complete.

As The Salvation Army we are trying to accomplish our mission right? So many of us don't believe we're doing that, its too big a mission! Then what is the point? I want to see our mission completed! Our mission is there because The Salvation Army was raised up to accomplish that mission. If what we are doing does not accomplish that mission then why do we keep doing it?

We have two ways forward. 1 is to keep going about things slowly, gradually trying to change the culture of the Army. Eventually it might work out. 2 is aggressive. Its to take a stand right now, to change structures, procedures, thinking, and to join the rEVOLution! Slash and burn to build up a strong new force that will see Australia and the world impacted by Jesus' wholistic commandments.

How are you LOVING God and your neighbor?

Authority

Ive been reading 1 and 2 Samuel. I'm always amazed at David in the Old Testament. Saul tried to kill him on several occasions. He tried to kill him in the palace, then tried to get the Philistines to kill him in battle, and then he chased him all over the place for yonks! He had to hide in caves, and even had a chance to kill him, but didnt! What was he thinking?

Saul was an idiot. He would clearly disobey God. David should have been the King. Saul was not who was meant to be King, he was doing the right thing. Why didn't David just kill him? It would have saved time, pain, and everything would have been sorted out much quicker? I don't get it?

People talk about how all authority comes from God so we should submit to those in authority. I find that terribly hard to believe. What about Saddam Hussein? Hitler? Constantine? Mohammad? Saul? How does that work? They clearly disobey God. Clearly sin! And sin ALOT! And David killed Goliath! Thats just as much of a sin as killing Saul isnt it? Goliath was in authority, how come he didn't bow to that?

I know God is King of Kings and Lord of Lords and He gets our 1st Submission, against Him we cannot go. But how does that work with David? He could have killed him, or atleast overthrown him and stopped such sin from happening. Gee, I sound like I'm saying we need to sin sometimes to do good! AAAARRRRRGGGGHHHH!

Anyways, I believe if people in authority are sinning, arent repenting even though theyve been warned, we need to step up sometimes. But does anyone have something smart to say about this compared to my dribble? Is there a differernce between authority in the church and worldly authority? how do we get rid of bad leaders in the church? hahahaha im too tired for this!

Workers Needed

WE NEED YOUR HELP!

DO YOU LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOU HAVE? DO YOU LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOUR AS YOURSELF? DO YOU WANT TO SEE PEOPLE SAVED FROM SIN BOTH IN THE NOW AND FOR ETERNITY?

THERE ARE PLENTY OF OPPORTUNITIES WITH THE SALVATION ARMY PLENTY VALLEY YOUTH FOR PEOPLE WHO LOVE GOD AND LOVE PEOPLE. WE HAVE HEAPS OF CONTACTS WITH YOUTH BUT ARE IN SHORTAGE OF COMMITTED MEN AND WOMEN OF GOD WHO CAN BE READILY AVAILABLE TO GO AND DO WHAT GOD REQUIRES OF THEM.

WE ARE WANTING TO SERVE THE YOUTH IN THE COMMUNITY AS BEST WE CAN WITH SCHOOL BREAKFAST CLUBS, HOMEWORK CLUBS, SPORTS TEAMS, MENTORING, AND OF COURSE LEADING PEOPLE TO CHRIST. AS WELL AS WITH MANY MORE IDEAS AND PLANS THAT WE HAVE.

THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE IN THE PLENTY VALLEY AREA ARE SADLY GOING TO HELL, AND SOME FEEL AS THOUGH THEY ARE ALREADY THERE.

IT DOESNT NEED TO BE LIKE THAT! WE DONT WANT IT TO BE LIKE THAT!

WE NEED MEN AND WOMEN WHO LOVE GOD, HAVE A BURNING PASSION FOR PEOPLE GETTING SAVED BOTH TEMPORALLY AND ETERNALLY. PEOPLE WILLING TO GO THE EXTRA MILE. WE NEED UNASHAMED SERVANTS OF JESUS TO SERVE THIS COMMUNITY. PEOPLE WHO WILL LOVE PEOPLE UNCONDITIONALLY!

IF YOUVE GOT WHAT IT TAKES, OR WANT TO LEARN HOW TO SERVE GOD THEN COME JOIN THE PLENTY VALLEY YOUTH TEAM. CONTACT ME!

LETS SAVE THE WORLD!

IM SO EXCITED IM GOING TO SCREAM! GOD IS DOING AWESSOME THINGS IN THIS TERRITORY AND HAS BIG THINGS COMING UP!

STEPHEN COURT AND DANIELLE STRICKLAND, TWO HEROES OF MINE HAVE BEEN APPOINTED TO OUR TERRITORY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Stephen - Assistant Personel Secretary: Leadership/Officer DevelopmentDanielle - Territorial Social Justice Director

RRAY FOR THEM!!!!! BRING ON REVIVAL!!!

what makes a leader a good leader?

Think of your favourite leader...

Why are they your favourite? What made them so good?