Steve Addison's Blog, page 15
June 4, 2023
An email from Bill
According to Robert Clinton, few leaders finish well . Here’s one movement catalyst who’s an exception to the rule. What can you learn from his email to friends and supporters?
To a few friends.
Tomorrow I leave for a two-week trip to Sierra Leone, West Africa. Good Lord willing & the creek does not rise, I should be back home early next month. I greatly appreciate your prayers for me, John, traveling with me and the local believers hosting us.
Travel is always sketchy. From home in North Carolina outbound there are five airports in three countries, one small boat across a river delta, one borrowed four-wheel vehicle and several two-wheel vehicles. Return is also five airports in four countries. Daily we will be traveling to varied teaching locations about forty-five minutes one way on a local obstacle course dodging goats, potholes, big trucks and meandering herds of cows. Meal plans are yet to be determined. I am up to date on my malaria meds. Prayer for traveling safety is appreciated.
John has been coaching three local team leaders online. This will be the first time for all of us to meet face-to-face. Prayer is needed for bonding, and good cross-cultural communication as we will operate in several languages.
I have been to this country many times. I have never met these three local believers who are working in a part of the nation I have not previously visited.
The local majority religion is about a week away from completing fasting month. Most of our participants were formerly part of that culture. A few were well-recognized leaders in local communities. During this month of religious zeal, it is not uncommon for ordinary events to generate conflict. It is always possible for conflict here to move from verbal to physical violence. Intercessions that our guardian angels will be especially vigilant for our hosts and us appreciated.
We look forward to hearing the testimonies of new family members. We plan to model activities that can safely be celebrated in homes. Many have already been dunked. Some are already hosting home groups. Our visit supplements and complements the excellent online equipping John has been providing. A solid foundation has been laid. I anticipate many late-night sessions of good book discovery expeditions.
We have been asked to prepare subjects such as persecution, multiplying disciples in villages and neighborhoods, how to lead and multiply discovery Bible studies, dealing with conflict both inside and from outside, and how to sustain churches of former members of the majority religion. A perennial favorite is walking through the life of the Messiah and tracing lessons learned from the Book of Acts.
The trip will provide the opportunity to continue training face to face which I much prefer to Zoom.
In the last month, I have helped teams in Somalia, Lebanon, India, the Middle East, Indonesia, Pakistan, and one team in the Washington DC area. As much as I praise God for the internet that allows us to connect around the globe, I really enjoy the face-to-face and multi-hour sessions, especially around meals.
Our lodging has promised that they have internet, but electricity may be intermittent. I’ll try to contact Susan regularly.
Special thanks to several who have contributed support and those who have donated good books that are hard to find in that country.
Bill
When I grow up, I want to be like Bill.
May 30, 2023
Why don't we see a movement of God?
Another Pentecost has just come and gone, yet are we any wiser regarding the identity and calling of God’s people?
When the day of Pentecost dawned, one hundred and twenty mostly Galileans were gathered for prayer believing Jesus would soon fulfill his promise and pour out the Holy Spirit on them.
Jesus had risen from the dead and restored his scattered band of disciples. Over forty days he taught them from the Scriptures explaining how God’s purposes were fulfilled in a suffering and rising Messiah and how they would take this Gospel for the forgiveness of sins would go to the ends of the earth. The Spirit was coming in power on all of God’s people to equip them for the task.
This is a movement of God. Like Jesus, they are under the authority of God’s Word, depending on the Holy Spirit, and faithful to the core missionary task.
Why should we expect a movement of God in the West if we bend and break the Word of God in an attempt to flow with the latest cultural trends? Why should we expect a movement of God if we limit the work of the Spirit to our meetings instead of bearing witness to Jesus in a lost world? Why should we expect a movement of God if we promise heaven on earth without the message of the Cross and the call to repent and believe?
In Acts, the Word is on the move in the power of the Spirit from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth—every people, every place. The Word and the Spirit combine to bring salvation and to create communities of disciples who are learning to follow Jesus and fish for others.
Our identity and calling as God’s people are on display at Pentecost. Until we return to who we are, we won’t see a movement of God.
May 25, 2023
Pentecost and the Movement of God
Jen Norton
I like to imagine what would happen if the Spirit fell upon a group of disciples today, just as he did at Pentecost. Imagine the sensation. Within hours there would be a live video feed going out to the world as the crowds made their way to this holy site.
Then the debate would erupt on social media as to whether this is a genuine move of God.
We are in as desperate need today for the power of the Spirit as that first generation of disciples. But how are we to recognize a work of the Holy Spirit? Pentecost shows us that when the Spirit moves in power, we’ll see the life and ministry of Jesus lived out by disciples in communities, spreading from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth.
The Spirit serves the expansion of the Word. Luke says it is the Word, not the Spirit, that grows, and the outcome is communities of disciples. And so, on the day of Pentecost, the outpouring of the Spirit reaches its climax in the proclamation of the Word to the nations and the formation of the church in Jerusalem.
Out of the nations of the world, the Holy Spirit creates the people of God—Jews, Samaritans, Ethiopians, Romans, Syrians, Greeks, Galatians, Lycaonians, Macedonians, Achaians, and Asians—united in their faith in Jesus as Savior and King. This work of the Spirit is at the heart of God’s mission.
The Spirit breathes life into this movement of God, directing, intervening, propelling, correcting. There are apostles, prophets, evangelists, teachers, and elders, all gifted by the Spirit, but they don’t direct the movement; the Spirit does, and he uses whomever he chooses.
As the movement expands, it is the Spirit who forms new disciples into churches and strengthens the life of the churches, enabling them to live in the fear of the Lord, encouraged and increasing in numbers. When Ananias and Sapphira deceive the community, it is the Holy Spirit who protects the purity of God’s people. When the mission to the nations languishes, the Spirit uses persecution to get Philip to Samaria. When the Samaritans believe, the Spirit confirms their place among the people of God. It is the Spirit who brings Peter to the house of Cornelius; and as Peter preaches, the Spirit falls upon Gentiles, demonstrating acceptance by God through faith in Christ alone. The Spirit is given to the Samaritans and the Gentiles, just as it was to the Jews at Pentecost. The Samaritans and Gentiles will also bear witness to Jesus throughout the world. When the barrier between Jewish and Gentile disciples must be removed, it is the Spirit who guides the Jerusalem Council. The Spirit appoints both leaders within the churches and leaders who multiply churches in new fields.
It is the Spirit who blocks Paul and his missionary band from pushing further into Asia Minor, and it is the Spirit who then flings open the door into Europe. After his final mission as a free man, Paul is compelled by the Holy Spirit to go to Jerusalem, which brings about his arrival in Rome, where he will bear witness to the emperor. The book of Acts ends with Paul in chains, awaiting trial in Rome. The missionary is bound, but the Word still goes out in the power of the Spirit. The mission will continue, despite what happens to Paul. The story is not finished, and so the Holy Spirit continues to work, as a new generation of disciples accept the challenge of taking the gospel to the ends of the earth.
Without the work of the Spirit, there would be no proclamation, no conversions, no churches, no power to release Satan’s captives, and no missionary movement.
When the Spirit came in power at Pentecost the Word went out into Jerusalem bearing the fruit of disciples and churches to the glory of God. That’s the “why” of Pentecost—a missionary movement headed to the ends of the earth. Every people. Every place.
This is an edited extract from Acts and the Movement of God .
May 24, 2023
302-Acts and the Movement of God (3)
My third and final author interview with Josh Howard on my latest book, Acts and the Movement of God.
We talk about the spiritual battle and how the church in Jerusalem became a multiplying movement of disciples and churches.
Find out more at: movements.net/acts
Buy on Amazon Buy @ Koorong AustrliaMay 21, 2023
Acts and the Movement of God — Author Interviews
If you listen to my podcast you’ll be as cool as this guy
I’ve been doing podcast interviews for the release of Acts and the Movement of God.
There’s some overlap in content but I’ve also tried to vary the stories and focus of each one.
Each of these podcasters is focused on multiplying movements of disciples and churches, so check them out.
May 16, 2023
301-Acts and the Movement of God (2)
My second author interview with Josh Howard about my new book, Acts and the Movement of God.
We discuss the church in Jerusalem as the role model for every church. We learn that discipleship and church formation are two sides of the same reality. We identify the pattern of engagement in Acts between the movement of God and a lost world. We see how the movement advances through both miracles and martyrdom, signs and suffering. We hear how the movement of God is advancing today in the redlight district of Mumbai and an Islamist-controlled neighborhood in the Middle East.
buy on AmazonMay 14, 2023
Countdown to the Launch Party!
Join us for the launch of Steve's latest book on Facebook Live. Discover how to bridge the gap between the movement of God in Acts and our experience.
Three copies of the book will be given away. Steve will take questions about the book and share some of its most important insights.
Check the date and time for your location.
May 10, 2023
300-Acts and the Movement of God (1)
I talk with Josh Howard about the release of my latest book: Acts and the Movement of God: From Jerusalem to the Ends of the Earth.
We discuss how Luke wrote to help us bridge the gap between our experience and the movement of God in Acts. We talk about how Jesus launched a missionary movement that was under the authority of God’s Word, dependent on the Holy Spirit, and on the way from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth with the gospel. Finally we ask, What can Acts teach us about the people God uses to fulfill his mission?
Download the Acts Discovery Worksheet: bit.ly/4-FieldsDiscoveryActs
BUY ON AMAZON
May 3, 2023
299-NoPlaceLeft Romania
Kevin Weigelt talks about his story of pursuing NoPlaceLeft in Romania.
Find out more: europemultiplyteam.com
