Fantastic Cell Video!

Please view these videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioWUjYteKwg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1nqMPZlSoc&feature=related

I have been so blessed by the way the Regeneration Church in Dnepropretskov, Ukraine has absorbed the entire Equipping Track! They are now completing the final Daily Growth Guide that shows how to reach responsive (TYPE A) unbelievers. In the seminar, attended by 1,800 cell members seated by Triads (Little Child>Young Man>Father) they identified over 5,300 "men of peace" they knew. At the close, each Triad team was anointed with oil to set them apart to harvest among the group and then to focus until March 10 on developing relationships with the families of the new converts. Then they will have a Harvest Event to finish the first cycle of the Equipping Strategy.

Vladimir Matveyev and his new bride, who also speaks English, labored to do a voiceover in English for the Russian video the church prepared to promote cell life on their web site (http://vo.org.ua/). I have provided links to them here. This is a wonderfully insightful presentation explaining why equipping the new believer is so crucial.

Please pray for this dear congregation. They will have to go to two services now because the auditorium is so stuffed with chairs that when the invitation is given for people to come forward to accept Christ there is no room between the front row and the platform...so the music team backs off the platform so the harvest, often exceeding 125 souls, can stand on the platform where they are then led in a prayer and counselors come to get their information for follow up!

Truly this is an expression of the "Last Days" church! The sacrificial giving of the congregation that averages $360/month income is astonishing. When they faced a need to purchase their first "Temple" many of the leadership team sold their wedding rings to contribute to the funds required.

I am so blessed to be a part of this dear family of Christ followers!

Pictures of Spiritual Formation Weekend, Regeneration Church

Dnepropretskov, Ukraine: wonderful community of cell groups!
Watch here

Paradigms: Our Prison Cells

Imagine you are born in a huge room. There are lots of other people in the room. You grow up thinking that room is all the reality there is. All the other people feel the same way and teach you how to act in the room. As long as you "act right" you are accepted as "normal."

But you are curious. There is a skylight that sometimes lets a lot of light in and sometimes it does not. You are aware there is a light source "out there" that gets turned off in some magic way on a regular basis. You wonder about it but you are told, "That is just the way it works. Don't ask questions!"

Strangely, the people in the room seem afraid of the two windows and the door leading out of the room. No one ventures near the door: who knows what danger lurks outside? It's safer to stay in the middle area of the room.

But you have a deep curiosity and so you drift over to the windows. They are too high to look out of but occasionally you notice there are blue or white or gray colors on the other side and you wonder why? You ask about it but you are told, "That is just the way it is. Don't ask questions!"

You try to climb up on a table to look out the window, but several people rush over and quickly pull you down, saying, "You must not do that. In this room, we have agreed no one should try to look out the windows!

You saunter over to the door, thinking you might look out. A big heavy woman who looks like she could be a wrestler is standing there. "What do you think you are doing? Don't you know it is forbidden to look out of the door? Get back in the middle where you belong!"

You begin to question why everyone is so fearful of "what's outside" when no one has been there. You begin to think about "what's inside the room" and you get disillusioned with the system that seems  to make the room a kind of prison cell. You decide you will take the risk and sneak out of the room when the light from above has gone dark and everyone is sleeping. You carefully make your plan. Finally the moment comes.

Your heart is beating big time! What if there are steep cliffs all around the room and going out the door would cause you to fall and fall and die? What if there are the dragons you have seen in your nightmares that have never existed in the room but might really exist "out there?"

Finally, with great courage you tiptoe to the door when the room is black. You gingerly step through the door and find there is a solid mass under your feet. In the dark it seems a bit spongy as you walk on it. You feel it and it seems to be about 4 inches deep and made of small, soft blades. It's nothing like the carpet in the room!

Then you look up and you see thousands of little lights glowing all over, but very far away. As you circle around looking at them, you see a very large dim light that seems closer than the rest! You are amazed. You think, "Wow! Why don't the people in the room want to see this?"

You are getting sleepy, so you lay down on these soft blades that have an interesting smell and soon you are fast asleep. When you awake, you see the blades are green and there are beautiful red and blue plants sticking up between them. Your eyes look to the horizon  and you see many beautiful tall objects that stick way up and have green ovals hanging all over them. Amazed, you watch a little object with multicolored wings flitting by, going from plant to plant.

This is all too much! It is so beautiful! You must tell the people in the room what's "outside," that it is not only perfectly safe but amazingly beautiful here. Surely they will want to know what you have discovered . . .

You run back to the door. As you enter, the Lady Wrestler grabs you by the collar and throws you down on the floor: "You cannot enter here! You may have a disease that will kill us all!"

"No, no!" you cry; "I am perfectly healthy." To the watching crowd, he shouts, "There is a beautiful world out there. You are trapped in a dull room. Please come and see what I have seen!"

Sadly, the people shake their head in dismay. As they walk away they are saying, "He is no longer one of us. He does not belong here. We must ostracize him."

++++++++++++

Two years after I left the "room" of the Southern Baptist Convention to "see" the Kingdom of God in all its beauty as I discovered the Basic Christian Communities, I spoke to a very high official in a denominational meeting. I told him I had been "outside" and had seen the precious Body of Christ living in true community instead of meeting in packaged denominational "programs," that there was a prototype that could bring new life to the deadness of the room he/we were living in. His terse comment:
"Ralph, we didn't ask you to do that and we don't want what you offer!"

++++++++++++

If you are a "traditional" Christian, and if you have the courage to step out the door, please read the most important book I have ever written. It is called Christ's Basic Bodies (Available on Amazon). If you do read it, you may decide you do not ever again want to live in the room . . . be careful!

"Cell Groups" or "Small Groups" - Contrasts?

Let me preface this by thanking all the hundreds of staffers in American churches retained to lead the "small groups" in local churches. You are devoted to the work of the Lord and I honor you! The other day I eavesdropped on a webinar for small group leaders and was shocked to discover that many of the pastors were asking the moderator, "What is the difference between a cell group and a small group?"

I am shocked! It revealed to me that the Cell Church movement is virtually unknown to pastors, even though it is the most mature of all contemporary church structures. One fellow said, "Do cell churches have Sunday services?" Another said, "Do they use buildings?" I was unaware that this modern small group movement leadership has been sheltered from experiencing the sacred "Basic Christian Community" theology.

You see, the radical distinction between a "Small Group" and a "Cell Group" is a contrast between traditional and biblical. Here's what I mean, illustrated by Jesus' discussion with Nicodemus:

Nicodemus was a traditionalist, a scholar, a man of the Temple. He was disturbed because Jesus had called that sacred building a "den of thieves." Dr. Nicodemus was a "hired holy man" who saw himself as superior to those who came to worship.

Jesus, on the other hand, was a man who gathered commoners and trained them to do the work of God. His radical ideas threatened the Pharisee's way of life. He taught that all believers were priests, even smelly fishermen.

So it was that a night visit, undetected, was made to the Galilean - not to get spiritual help, but rather to gather evidence to have him arrested!

Jesus was an "Upstairs" man. Nicodemus was a "Downstairs" man. The contrasts became evident as Jesus pointed out that with all his formal religion he could not "see" what was Upstairs without having new eyes, and to have those eyes he would have to have a spiritual birth. Further contrasts were made: "Downstairs" there is a wind in the trees; "Upstairs" there is a Spirit whose activity is observed; "Downstairs" there is the serpent on the pole; "Upstairs" there is a greater reality: Christ on the cross.

"Downstairs," there is a world of shadows. "Upstairs," there is the Shekinah glory.
"Downstairs," there are human activities performed in the flesh. "Upstairs," there is Power and Presence and supernatural lifestyles.

This will introduce us to the contrast between the Upstairs "Basic Christian Community" and the Downstairs "Small Group."

The great contrast is the work of the Holy Spirit who calls men to come Upstairs and baptizes them into intimate communities that exist as the literal Body of Christ in our era.

The Small Group is a program sponsored by a traditional church to create "holding tanks" for church members, never revealing to them that they should not just be a group for fellowship and prayer and Bible study.

The Cell is described in 1 Corinthians 14:24-25 as a community where all prophesy (see 14:3 for the definition) and where God is so powerfully revealed that unbelievers fall on their face!

I could go on and on. But let me just say there is an Upstairs and Downstairs difference between a Cell and a Small Group. I am wondering why we settle for what's Downstairs, when even a cursory reading of Paul's letters will reveal how important it is for us to know we are NOT a "small group." We are the literal Body of Christ! Every "small group" robs the members of their true positions in Christ: to be baptized into an intimate community and become the body Christ occupies to draw all men to the Cross.

If you really care about this, Small Groups pro, take the time to download my Christ's Basic Bodies from www.touchusa.org and educate yourself! Why settle for "Downstairs?"

Comments?

Permítanme prologar esto agradeciendo a todos los cientos de miembros de equipos pastorales de las iglesias estadounidenses contratados para liderar los «grupos pequeños» en las iglesias locales. ¡Ustedes están consagrados a la obra del Señor y los honro! El otro día yo estuve espiando un seminario por Internet para líderes de grupos pequeños y quedé conmocionado al descubrir que muchos de los pastores estaban preguntando al moderador: «¿Cuál es la diferencia entre un grupo celular y un grupo pequeño?»

¡Quedé sorprendido! Eso me reveló que el movimiento de iglesia celular es prácticamente desconocido para los pastores, aún cuando es la más madura de las estructuras eclesiásticas contemporáneas. Un participante dijo: «¿Tienen las iglesias celulares servicios dominicales?» Otro preguntó: «¿Usan edificios?» Yo no era consciente que este liderazgo del movimiento moderno de grupos pequeños había sido privado de experimentar la teología sagrada de la «comunidad cristiana básica».

Ya puede usted ver, la distinción radical entre un «grupo pequeño» y un «grupo celular» es un contraste entre lo tradicional y lo bíblico. Esto es lo que quiero decir, ilustrado por la discusión entre Jesús y Nicodemo:

Nicodemo era un tradicionalista, un erudito, un hombre del Templo. Estaba turbado porque Jesús había dicho de este edificio sagrado que era una «cueva de ladrones». El Dr. Nicodemo era un «hombre santo contratado» que se veía a sí mismo como alguien superior a aquellos que venían a adorar.

Jesús, por otro lado, era un hombre que reunía a gente común y los entrenaba para hacer le obra de Dios. Sus ideas radicales eran una amenaza para la manera de vivir fariseaica. Él enseñaba que todos los creyentes son sacerdotes, aún los malolientes pescadores.

Así que aquella era una visita nocturna, sin ser detectado, hecha al galileo, pero no para lograr ayuda espiritual, ¡sino que para obtener eviden-cia para arrestarlo!

Jesús era un hombre «del piso superior». Nicodemo era un hombre «del piso inferior». El contraste se hizo evidente cuando Jesús señaló que aún con toda su religión formal él no podía «ver» lo que sucedía «en el piso de arriba» sin tener nuevos ojos, y para tener esos ojos él tendría que tener un nacimiento espiritual. Se hicieron mayores contrastes: «en el piso inferior» hay un viento sobre los árboles; «en el piso superior» hay un Espíritu cuya actividad es observada; «en el piso inferior» hay una serpiente sobre un asta; «en el piso superior» hay un realidad mayor: Cristo sobre la cruz.

«En el piso inferior» un mundo de sombras. «En el piso superior» hay una gloria Shekiná. «En el piso inferior» hay actividades humanas llevadas a cabo en la carne. «En el piso superior» hay Poder, Presencia y estilos de vida sobrenaturales.

Esto nos introducirá al contraste entre las «comunidades cristianas básicas del piso superior» y los «pequeños grupos del piso inferior».

El contraste mayor es la obra del Espíritu Santo que llama a los hombres a venir al piso superior y ser bautizados dentro de comunidades de intimidad que existen en nuestra era como literales Cuerpos de Cristo.

El grupo pequeño es un programa patrocinado por la iglesia tradicio-nal para crear «tanques de almacenamiento» para los miembros de la iglesia, nunca revelándoles que podrían ser no solamente un grupo de compañeris-mo, oración y estudio bíblico.

La célula es descripta en 1 Corintios 14:24 – 25 como una comunidad donde todos profetizan (ver 14:3 para la definición) y donde Dios es tan poderosamente revelado ¡que los incrédulos caen de bruces!

Yo pudiera seguir y seguir. Pero sólo déjenme decir que hay una diferencia «piso superior» y «piso inferior» entre una célula y un grupo pequeño. Me pregunto por qué nos conformamos con lo que hay «en el piso de abajo», aún cuando una lectura superficial de las cartas paulinas nos reve-larán cuán importante es que nosotros sepamos que no somos «un grupo pequeño». ¡Somos literalmente el Cuerpo de Cristo! Cada «grupo pequeño» le roba a los miembros sus verdaderas posiciones en Cristo: ser bautizado dentro de una comunidad íntima y llegar a ser el cuerpo de Cristo incluye atraer a todos los hombres a la Cruz.

Si a usted realmente le interesa esto, le invito a conseguir mi libro «Los Cuerpos Básicos de Cristo», publicado por Touch-Oikoslatino. ¿Por qué conformarse con «el piso inferior»?

¿Comentarios? 

Think Bigger

The following article was published in Winter 2011 issue of Biola Magazine, written by Fred Sanders, theologian:

The Trinity is a biblical doctrine, but let’s admit it: There’s something annoying about how hard it is to put your finger on a verse that states the whole doctrine.

The Bible presents the elements of the doctrine in numerous passages, of course: that there is only one God; that the Father is God; that the Son is God; and that the Spirit is God. We can also tell easily enough that the Father, Son and Spirit are really distinct from one another, and are not just three names for one person. If you hold all those clear teachings of Scripture in your mind at one time and think through them together, the doctrine of the Trinity is inevitable. Trinitarianism is a biblical doctrine and all the ingredients are given to us there. Just add thought and you have the classic doctrine.


Like most evangelicals, though, I would prefer to have a doctrine be stated clearly and concisely in one place. I like my doctrines verse-sized. I sometimes wish there were one verse that said, “God is one being in three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.” The doctrine of the Trinity, though, is simply not verse-sized. Sometimes that feels like a disadvantage, but in fact it’s an advantage. The doctrine of the Trinity is a massive, comprehensive, full-Bible doctrine that serves to expand our minds as readers of Scripture. In Scripture, God is leading his people to understand who he is as Father, Son and Spirit.


For example, set aside for a moment the desire to fit the doctrine into one verse. Look instead at how it shows up in a slightly larger (three verses) passage, Galatians 4:4-6: “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son … to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’” Paul is describing God’s greatest acts in the history of salvation, and those acts are specifically Trinitarian: The Father sends the Son and the Spirit to save.


Or think even bigger: in a crucial passage of Romans, Paul summarizes his message in five verses, and there is a necessarily Trinitarian cadence to his summary: “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. … We rejoice … because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Rom. 5:1–5).


Or try to take in 12 verses at once: Ephesians 1:3-14 is one gigantic sentence (in Greek) that surveys all of God’s plans and intentions from eternity past, through our present salvation, and on to final redemption. Three times it points us to the kind intention of God’s will, and three times it points us to the praise of his glory. The fundamental movement of the passage, though, is from the Father’s choosing and predestining us in love, through the beloved Son’s death for our forgiveness, to the Holy Spirit’s work sealing us for redemption.

Once you learn to see the Trinity shaping these larger stretches of Scripture, you’re ready to notice how entire books of the Bible are structured by the same Trinitarian logic. In Galatians, for example, Paul proves his gospel of faith against salvation by works in a three-part argument: The Galatians received the Spirit by faith, God promised Abraham that he would justify the Gentiles by faith, and Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law. The great arc of Romans runs from the Father’s judgment through the Son’s propitiation to the Spirit’s deliverance.

If you want to catch a glimpse of the Trinity as the big story behind the Bible, the best thing to do is to read the Gospel of John fast, in one sitting. Your dominant impression during the first half will be that the Father and the Son love each other, and in the second half the Holy Spirit will burst into your attention as the fulfillment of the revelation.

There are a handful of verses where the three persons are named in one place, such as Matthew 28:19 and 2 Corinthians 13:14. These classic passages have the advantage of being comfortably verse-sized. But when we move on from the partial glimpses of the Trinity we can get from single verses, we are led on to larger stretches of argument, wider vistas of insight, and a more inclusive expanse of God’s self-revelation through Scripture. And that prepares our minds for the biggest Christian thought of all: The whole Bible is one complete book that reveals the Trinity. That fact is what the ancient church fathers meant when they summarized the Christian faith in the Apostles’ Creed: “I believe in God the Father … and in his only Son, our Lord Jesus Christ … and in the Holy Spirit.”

The Trinity is a biblical doctrine, therefore, in a very special sense: not in any one verse, but as the key to the entire book.

The chief end of man is to enjoy God forever!

It is natural that every aspect of you should hunger for God. This is really not a supernatural thing, but rather it is what you were created for. Your relationship with God is not some obscure issue relegated to the unseen realms of the spirit. Even for the uninitiated, it is not a spooky thing. Even your physical body was designed to be a host, a carrier of Him. He fits you like a glove. Your mind, your decision making processes, your emotional life and even your natural body yearn for the harmony that comes when the eternal God steps inside of you and wears you like a garment. In fact, Adam wore God like clothing! He didn't know he was naked in the Garden of Eden because he never was until sin entered. As we are clothed with His glory presence, we become lost in the divine. God rests inside of me, and I walk inside of Him-spirit, soul, and body.

Movements Change With Each Generation

We may define "movement" as a "coordinated change to replace present conditions with a new lifestyle."

The wide chasm between "Clergy" and "Laity" had existed for centuries when Martin Luther broke with Rome, proclaiming "The just shall live by faith."
With these words, Luther unknowingly triggered a "Reformation Movement"--a rejection of the papal control of the church.
As we evaluate what happened, we can learn about what always happens when a movement is launched.
1. THE FIRST GENERATION IS LAUNCHED WHEN TOTAL DISSATISFACTION WITH PRESENT CONDITIONS BOILS TO THE SURFACE.
Some decide they will not tolerate the present condition and begin to ask, "How can this be changed? What can I do about it?" Instead of owning a vision, the first generation is owned BY the vision. No price is too great to pay to make the change take place.
So it was: Luther had a fire in his belly. He would not rest until he let the world know how he felt. The 95 Theses were posted on the wall of the church in Wittenburg. It is not extravagant to say "all hell broke loose." Even assassination was attempted to shut him up.
Early Adopters then follow, encouraged to join the movement. They also burn with a fire in their belly.
This is what can be said of the first generation: they have a fire burning within! The cause is more important than their own existence. It is important to repeat: they do not own the vision. The vision owns them.
2. THE SECOND GENERATION IS LAUNCHED WHEN FOLLOWERS DECIDE THERE MUST BE MORE STRUCTURE TO GUIDE THE MOVEMENT.

Luther hammered the rebellious document on June 15, 1520. Melancthon participated with him from the beginning, but his humanistic convictions quenched the fire. His attempts to synthesize the theological foundations of Luther occupied him. In 1560, his "Corpus Philippicum" paved the way for the next generation. He never threw an inkwell against the wall. For him, the Reformation was all about doctrinal issues. The fire was replaced with a focus on dogmatics.
3. THE THIRD GENERATION THEN LAUNCHES WHEN FORMS CONTROL THE LIFE OF THE MOVEMENT.

Lutheranism, narrow and harsh, appeared full blown in 1580 with the Formula of Concord. In only 60 short years, the fire had turned to structure and structure birthed a frozen state of formal religion.

THE CELL CHURCH MOVEMENT IS REFLECTING THESE CYCLES.

I remember back in the 1950's when I was told by Donald McGavran I should meet Yonngi Cho. We were just a few guys here in the States who had decided the church lacked New Testament community. Sitting dismembered body parts in pews and treating them like children to be taught instead of soldiers to be trained was untenable. We shared ideas, compared notes, sarcastically said "Copyright means the right to copy." We would find a better way! Cho's model became copied by many. But alas! The theology of community was totally missing and many pastors found themselves discharged for their passion. Only a handful of men in the USA moved into the cell church theology and practice. Overseas, where community and persecution drew the people of God together, the movement flourished. Not in the USA.

What did happen? Those who wanted to "modernize" their church structures began to add the "Small Group Pastor" to the staff. He had one job: create "holding tanks" so members would not become restless and cruise to the competing church across town. Give them "busy work" to keep their idle hands busy. But never, ever, tell them there is NO distinction between the hired holy men and the tithers in the pew. Just give them something to feel they are "serving God" in any sort of small group.
I truly believe we will run out of gas soon. I sense there is a generation of people leaving the organized church and sitting at home, forming little "house churches" that are in reality one more expression of dismembered body parts, "not discerning the body"--which always has two wings: the small Basic Community and the glorious gathered assembly that celebrates the glorious Body of Christ that is all over the earth.
If you want to ponder this even more, pick up a copy of my last book, Christ's Basic Bodies.