GS-Primer-Leader-Guide-1
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LEADER GUIDE
Conversation 1:<br />
Operating<br />
System
:<strong>Leader</strong> <strong>Guide</strong><br />
3<br />
Outcome<br />
Overview<br />
Discuss and develop an operating system<br />
(OS) for the church that is driven by Gospel<br />
Saturation.<br />
The conversation that follows is meant to take<br />
place in one, large group meeting among<br />
pastors, church leaders, and disciple-makers<br />
in a region or city. Ideally the conversation<br />
will take at least three hours to complete in a<br />
meaningful fashion. In order to maintain the<br />
flow of the conversation, attempt to allow<br />
for breaks between the various parts of this<br />
conversation and not in the middle of these<br />
various parts. You will likely find it most helpful<br />
to provide a meal either before or after the<br />
conversation in order to allow for relationships<br />
to form among those in attendance.<br />
Flow<br />
Part I<br />
Part II<br />
Part III<br />
Part IV<br />
Starting the Conversation<br />
Welcome and Introductions (20 min)<br />
Prayer (10 min)<br />
Whiteboard Questions (15 min)<br />
Personal Testimony (5 min)<br />
Developing the Conversation<br />
Reader: Section 1 (20 minutes)<br />
Large Group Discussion (20 minutes)<br />
Deepening the Conversation<br />
Reader: Section 2 (10 minutes)<br />
Round Table Discussion (20 minutes)<br />
Group Debrief (15 minutes)<br />
Continuing the Conversation<br />
Reflection Questions (5 min)<br />
Prayer (10 min)
:<strong>Leader</strong> <strong>Guide</strong><br />
4<br />
Part I: Starting the Conversation<br />
Welcome &<br />
Introductions<br />
Prayer<br />
Whiteboard<br />
Questions<br />
Welcome the group by providing a time for<br />
each participant to introduce themselves<br />
and describe their current church and their<br />
role within the church. You should assume<br />
that many of those in attendance will likely<br />
know one another, but some will not. To<br />
level the relational playing-field, make<br />
sure to allow everyone time to hear a brief<br />
snapshot of each other’s ministry. Tip: Use<br />
a timer on a phone to set a 90-120 second<br />
alarm so that you keep the conversation<br />
moving.<br />
Ask the group to divide into smaller groups<br />
of 3 or 4 and spend time praying through<br />
the UP (love for and worship of God), IN<br />
(love for His disciples), and OUT (love for<br />
the lost) aspects of our love for God, those<br />
we are investing in and leading, and those<br />
we are seeking to disciple and reach from<br />
the harvest. You might also encourage<br />
these groups to pray about any needs that<br />
were presented during the large group<br />
introduction time.<br />
Keep the room divided into these same<br />
small groups and transition out of the time<br />
of prayer by asking the groups to discuss the<br />
following questions. You may want to write<br />
the questions on a board in your meeting<br />
room or have them on a slide so that<br />
everyone can refer back to the questions<br />
and stay on track. Due to the nature of these<br />
questions, you can expect the conversations<br />
to lead in all sorts of divergent directions.<br />
Make sure that you prod the groups to work<br />
through each of the questions and help<br />
them avoid chasing rabbits that are not<br />
central to the discussion at hand.
:<strong>Leader</strong> <strong>Guide</strong><br />
5<br />
[1] How does the average church pastor/<br />
leader/planter in America define<br />
success?<br />
[2] How would you define success for your<br />
life and ministry?<br />
[3] How does the Bible define success,<br />
both for you as an individual and for the<br />
church?<br />
[4] What tension do you see between the<br />
three? If so, how do we resolve this<br />
tension?<br />
Personal<br />
Testimony<br />
Take five minutes to share a personal story<br />
regarding your own efforts at defining<br />
success properly. Use this time to be<br />
vulnerable with those in attendance, as<br />
this vulnerability will set a culture for the<br />
group in future discussions. As you share,<br />
make sure that you emphasize why this<br />
conversation is important to you and why<br />
you think it is vital for the future of the<br />
church in North America.<br />
Part II: Developing the<br />
Conversation<br />
Introduce the Gospel Saturation <strong>Primer</strong> and<br />
ask the participants to skim back through<br />
chapter 1. As they read, encourage them to<br />
reflect on their reading by placing a star (*)<br />
beside the main ideas, an exclamation mark<br />
(!) beside points that stood out, or a question<br />
mark (?) beside ideas they didn’t understand,<br />
had questions about, or disagreed with.
:<strong>Leader</strong> <strong>Guide</strong><br />
6<br />
Discussion<br />
Questions<br />
Discuss the following questions based on<br />
the group’s reading from the first chapter.<br />
While the larger group setting may not<br />
give everyone an opportunity to share, it<br />
will allow for those in attendance to hear<br />
from diverse members of the group and<br />
should create a sense of community and<br />
shared frustration with the normative<br />
operating system. You, as a leader, will have<br />
to be diligent to make sure you keep the<br />
conversation moving, avoid mere church<br />
bashing, and prod people to go further<br />
than mere deconstruction to dream about<br />
a better reality for the church in North<br />
America.<br />
[1] What forces and voices perpetuate the<br />
OS of church growth? How do you, as a<br />
leader, feel the pressure for growth in<br />
your ministry?<br />
[2] What types of Apps do you see used in<br />
the church today? Which ones are most<br />
effective? On which operating system<br />
are they running?<br />
[3] What are we doing, as church leaders, to<br />
perpetuate this faulty operating system?<br />
What would need to change in order<br />
for a better operating system to take its<br />
place?<br />
Part III: Deepening the Conversation<br />
Discussion of the final question in the<br />
preceding section should allow you a<br />
perfect segue into the four practices<br />
outlined below.
:<strong>Leader</strong> <strong>Guide</strong><br />
7<br />
Discussion<br />
Questions<br />
This time ask the group to divide into<br />
smaller groups with members from the<br />
same church in a group together. For<br />
example, if you have a pastor there with a<br />
staff member and a lay leader, make sure<br />
the three of them are in a group together. If<br />
there are people who came by themselves,<br />
ask them to jump in with a church that<br />
is in a similar life-stage as they are. For<br />
example, if you have a church planter<br />
there by himself, ask him to get in a group<br />
with another new church. Or, if you have<br />
a deacon from an established church in<br />
attendance, make sure he is in a group with<br />
another church that has been around for a<br />
good while. Prompt the groups to discuss<br />
the following questions:<br />
[1] What evidence would you observe in a<br />
church defined by Gospel Saturation?<br />
What would the church look like? What<br />
would you hear them talk about? What<br />
types of Apps might they prioritize?<br />
[2] Which of the four priorities outlined in<br />
chapter 1 do you find the most difficult<br />
to accomplish in the life of your current<br />
church? Why?<br />
[3] What might make it difficult to implement<br />
these changes in the current life-stage<br />
of your church?<br />
Group<br />
Debrief<br />
Once the groups have finished their<br />
discussion, call the group back together<br />
and give them time to share as a large<br />
group. Ask for people to share briefly and<br />
succinctly the reflections that stood out to<br />
them during their group’s discussion. Listen<br />
for common themes and make sure to note<br />
these to the group. You might even find it<br />
helpful to keep a running list of the main<br />
ideas on large Post-It notes to hang up<br />
around your meeting room.
:<strong>Leader</strong> <strong>Guide</strong><br />
8<br />
Part IV: Continuing the Conversation<br />
We believe that in order to develop the<br />
convictions that a transition to a Gospel<br />
Saturation OS demands, we need to<br />
continue the conversation after we leave.<br />
Each one of us needs to wrestle with the<br />
implications of Gospel Saturation thinking<br />
in our own hearts, in our homes, and in the<br />
household of faith that we are a part of.<br />
Until we gather again, spend some time<br />
answering these questions in your personal<br />
journal. You might also find time to continue<br />
to discuss these ideas with someone you’ve<br />
met today.<br />
Reflection<br />
Questions<br />
For your heart...<br />
[1] What concepts presented in our first<br />
conversation provoked something in<br />
you? Where did you find yourself angry,<br />
frustrated, or nodding your head in<br />
agreement?<br />
For your home…<br />
[1] How would a Gospel Saturation OS<br />
change the way I lead my family and<br />
spouse?<br />
For your church…<br />
[1] Who is one leader within your church that<br />
you need to have a conversation with<br />
about Gospel Saturation? When are you<br />
going to have that conversation?
:<strong>Leader</strong> <strong>Guide</strong><br />
9<br />
Prayer<br />
Before you conclude, ask the group what<br />
specific steps need to take place between<br />
now and when you meet again in order<br />
to move the Gospel Saturation agenda<br />
forward?<br />
Dismiss your time together by asking the<br />
groups to pray in smaller groups of 2-3<br />
individuals. Seek to orient these prayers to<br />
asking God’s favor on the coming months<br />
of conversation. Ask Him, by the power of<br />
His Spirit, to prompt the changes that are<br />
necessary for the Church to thrive in North<br />
America in the days ahead.
Conversation 2:<br />
Movement
:<strong>Leader</strong> <strong>Guide</strong><br />
11<br />
Review and<br />
Reflect<br />
In our first conversation, we discussed the<br />
normative operating system in the church in<br />
North America and presented the need new<br />
operating system that would flow out of God’s<br />
intention that the earth would be filled with<br />
His glory. Spend a few minutes reviewing the<br />
major concepts that were presented in your<br />
first gathering:<br />
• nThe normative OS in the church in North<br />
America is driven by church growth;<br />
• nChurch leaders develop Apps that are<br />
created to run on the operating system of<br />
church growth and wonder why the church<br />
seems to be making little difference in the<br />
broader culture or in the lives of so many<br />
far from God;<br />
• nThe problem is not that we have the wrong<br />
Apps, but that we have the wrong operating<br />
system;<br />
• nA new operating system requires us to ask<br />
the “why” question behind all that we do<br />
as a church and seek to understand God’s<br />
purpose for the church;<br />
• nA new, biblical operating system would be<br />
driven by Gospel Saturation and seek to<br />
ensure that every man, woman, and child<br />
has a repeated opportunity to see, hear,<br />
and respond to the good news of Jesus<br />
Christ;<br />
• nThis OS overhaul would result in four<br />
shifts in our priorities: 1. From collection<br />
to mobilization, 2. From attendance to<br />
transformation, 3. From competition to<br />
collaboration, and 4. From addition to<br />
multiplication.
:<strong>Leader</strong> <strong>Guide</strong><br />
12<br />
Rapid-Fire<br />
Testimonies<br />
Prayer<br />
Ask the group to share “ah-has” they’ve had<br />
since the last gathering. Where did the light<br />
bulb come on? What questions are they still<br />
asking? What implications rise to the surface?<br />
How are they encouraged or discouraged?<br />
Remind those who share to introduce<br />
themselves and their church so as to continue<br />
building familiarity among the group. Also,<br />
push those who share to be brief so that<br />
everyone who would like has a chance to<br />
share. You, as a leader, should use this sharing<br />
time as a teaching opportunity. As participants<br />
share points of value, make sure you affirm<br />
their observations. When they communicate<br />
ideas that lack clarity, attempt to restate<br />
what you’ve heard in your own words and ask<br />
probing questions to drive them further in<br />
their thought. Remember to set an alarm to<br />
a predetermined amount of time in order to<br />
keep the conversation moving.<br />
Ask the group to divide into small groups of<br />
2-3 and spend time in prayer. Use the Lord’s<br />
prayer in Matthew 6:9–15 to guide your<br />
prayers. Break Jesus’ model prayer into short<br />
phrases and write them on a board or place<br />
them on a slide. Following each petition,<br />
ask the groups to ask God for the specific<br />
outworking of this prayer to be evident in your<br />
cities and churches. Use the following as a<br />
model:<br />
Our Father in heaven, hallowed by Your name.<br />
God, we pray that those who live in our<br />
neighborhoods, work in our businesses, and<br />
attend our churches will see You as glorious<br />
and worthy to be praised. We pray that<br />
You would save the lost and empower the<br />
saved to live on mission to spread Your glory<br />
throughout the earth.<br />
▼
:<strong>Leader</strong> <strong>Guide</strong><br />
13<br />
Prayer cont.<br />
Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on<br />
earth as it is in heaven.<br />
God, we ask that our cities would reflect Your<br />
Kingdom. Would You, by the power of Your<br />
Spirit, remove the various aspects of our area<br />
that do not rightly reflect You. Use believers to<br />
make our city look more and more like heaven<br />
until we see You face to face.<br />
Give us this day our daily bread.<br />
God, we trust that You will supply all that we<br />
need to fulfill the mission You’ve put before<br />
us. Give us deep and abiding trust in You and<br />
allow us to point to the only One able to meet<br />
the deepest needs of those in our city.<br />
And forgive us our debts as we also have<br />
forgiven our debtors.<br />
God, drive us to model Christ-like love to all<br />
those we come in contact with today. May the<br />
aroma of Christ be evident in all we say and do.<br />
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us<br />
from evil.<br />
God, protect us, and the disciples in our<br />
churches, from the sin that so easily entangles<br />
our lives and hinders our mission. Allow us<br />
to run with perseverance the race You have<br />
marked out for us.<br />
Conclude the prayer time by leading the group<br />
in a prayer, asking God for grace for your<br />
meeting today.
:<strong>Leader</strong> <strong>Guide</strong><br />
14<br />
Part II: Developing the Conversation<br />
Ask the group to reflect on their reading from<br />
chapter 3. As they read, encourage them to<br />
reflect on their reading by placing a star (*)<br />
beside the main ideas, an exclamation mark<br />
(!) beside points that stood out, or a question<br />
mark (?) beside ideas they didn’t understand,<br />
had questions about, or with which they<br />
disagreed.
:<strong>Leader</strong> <strong>Guide</strong><br />
15<br />
Discussion<br />
in Pairs<br />
Before you move on to the next section, ask<br />
the group to pair up with one other person in<br />
the room who serves in their same capacity.<br />
For example, as a lead pastor to pair with<br />
another lead pastor, a staff member to pair<br />
with another staff member, a small group<br />
leader with another small group leader and<br />
so on. Ask them to discuss what they’ve read<br />
using the following questions as a guide:<br />
[1] What warning signs are you seeing<br />
concerning the inadequacy of growth as a<br />
final destination for your church or ministry?<br />
[2] Are you fulfilled in your current mission<br />
in life? What part is the most frustrating,<br />
disappointing, or unfulfilling? What part of<br />
your current mission in life is fulfilling to<br />
you? Why?<br />
[3] How would you currently define your<br />
church’s destination? How would your<br />
church likely define the destination? Based<br />
on this definition, what are the major milemarkers<br />
that show you are actually making<br />
good progress towards your destination?<br />
Personal<br />
Reflection<br />
and Prayer<br />
Be prepared for this conversation to be a<br />
bit weighty for the groups. You’ll likely find<br />
that there will be pastors or church leaders<br />
who begin to realize that the thing that has<br />
gotten them out of bed for the last 30 years<br />
is inherently flawed. You may have church<br />
planters who realize that the work they’ve<br />
done over the first two years in building a core<br />
group has been done whiling aiming at the<br />
wrong target. These individuals are likely to<br />
feel shame, guilt, frustration or even anger at<br />
the thought or the years they’ve squandered<br />
and the work it will take to redefine the<br />
destination.<br />
▼
:<strong>Leader</strong> <strong>Guide</strong><br />
16<br />
Personal Reflection<br />
and Prayer cont.<br />
Here’s your chance as a leader to pastor those<br />
in attendance. Use this time to share a word<br />
of gospel-filled hope and encouragement.<br />
Consider reading Joel 2:25–32 and reminding<br />
your brothers and sisters that we stand in<br />
a long line of people who have blown it. If<br />
anyone wasted their potential, it was the<br />
nation of Israel, and yet God promised that He<br />
was able and willing to restore the years that<br />
they’ve ruined because of their sin. In the same<br />
fashion, we can find hope in the fact that God<br />
has not abandoned us and continues to have a<br />
role for us to play in His mission, even if we’ve<br />
made a mess of it up to this point. Conclude<br />
this time by asking the pairs to pray over one<br />
another, asking God to renew the passion and<br />
joy that should define those who are caught<br />
up in God’s grand mission.<br />
Part III: Deepening the Conversation<br />
As you move into part three of the second<br />
conversation, consider two options of how to<br />
present the material that follows. First, you<br />
could do what we’ve done up to this point and<br />
allow each individual to read and reflect on<br />
their reading from section 4 on their own. Or<br />
you might consider teaching this material if<br />
you notice that your group is struggling with<br />
focus and would not do well with another<br />
time for individual reading and reflection.<br />
This second approach doesn’t have to take<br />
the form of a sermon, but can simply hit the<br />
main points of the content in chapter 4. If you<br />
choose this route, you might encourage the<br />
participants to read section 4 on their own in<br />
the time between conversation 2 and 3.
:<strong>Leader</strong> <strong>Guide</strong><br />
17<br />
Group<br />
Brainstorm<br />
Attempt to organize your group into smaller<br />
clusters of churches who meet in close<br />
proximity to one another. For example, you<br />
might make four quadrants from your city’s<br />
center (northeast, southeast, northwest,<br />
southwest) and ask those who attend churches<br />
in these regions to cluster together. Or, if your<br />
group reflects a number of small suburbs,<br />
you might align the groups around these<br />
geographical pockets. It may be that your city<br />
has clearly defined boundaries known to all<br />
who reside there: such as those who live on<br />
one side of a railroad track versus those who<br />
live on another side, and so forth. Give each<br />
group a big piece of poster paper and ask the<br />
clusters to draw a rough sketch of their defined<br />
geography. Using the map, do the following:<br />
• nPut a star on the map at the location of the<br />
churches represented in your group;<br />
• nPut a circle at the location of other churches<br />
who are prime targets for collaboration<br />
towards a movement;<br />
• nPut an x in or around the major areas of<br />
lostness or brokenness represented in<br />
your geography. This might be a certain<br />
neighborhood, school, or business sector<br />
that is known for ungodly practices. Think of<br />
these x’s as the first places you would likely<br />
notice a change if a movement of God were<br />
to break out;<br />
• nPut an exclamation mark on the map in<br />
places where you sense God is already at<br />
work doing something unique. This might<br />
be a school with an inordinately large<br />
percentage of professing believers, a prison<br />
where many inmates are coming to faith, or<br />
a neighborhood where you know that a large<br />
number of believers are living on intentional<br />
mission;<br />
Talk with your group about the observations<br />
you make from your map. How does this inform<br />
your thoughts, prayers, and actions? Close your<br />
time in prayer over your defined geography and<br />
the evidences of God’s grace and the needs<br />
represented therein.
:<strong>Leader</strong> <strong>Guide</strong><br />
18<br />
Part IV: Continuing the Conversation<br />
Concluding<br />
Challenge<br />
Ask the group to list the name of one other<br />
person in your circle of relationships who<br />
is wrestling with some of the facets of the<br />
discussion we’ve had up to this point. This<br />
might be another pastor with whom they meet<br />
regularly, a staff member of their church, or<br />
someone else in their local church. Before we<br />
meet again, ask them to set up a time to meet<br />
with this person and share with them what<br />
they are learning. It’s a common truth that we<br />
retain very little of the content that we merely<br />
hear. Process truth with others to ensure that<br />
true understanding has taken place creating a<br />
catalyst for lasting transformation. Encourage<br />
your participants to continue to pray for a<br />
gospel movement between now and when<br />
you meet again next month to consider the<br />
second principle for an operating system<br />
defined by Gospel Saturation. Before you<br />
conclude, ask the group what specific steps<br />
need to take place between now and when<br />
you meet again in order to move the Gospel<br />
Saturation agenda forward?
Conversation 3:<br />
Kingdom
:<strong>Leader</strong> <strong>Guide</strong><br />
20<br />
Objective<br />
Overview<br />
Refocus our perspective on the Kingdom of<br />
God and our local church’s role within that<br />
Kingdom.<br />
The conversation that follows contrasts the<br />
Kingdom of God with the local church. As<br />
with the conversations up to this point, the<br />
discussion that follows is meant to take place<br />
in one, large group meeting among pastors,<br />
church leaders, and disciple-makers in a<br />
region or city. Ideally the conversation will<br />
take at least three hours to complete in a<br />
meaningful fashion. In order to maintain the<br />
flow of the conversation, attempt to allow<br />
for breaks between the various parts of this<br />
conversation and not in the middle of these<br />
various parts. The following outline should<br />
give you an overall perspective on the nature<br />
of the conversation, though you should feel<br />
the freedom to adjust the time suggestions to<br />
best fit the nature of your group.<br />
Flow<br />
Part I<br />
Part II<br />
Part III<br />
Starting the Conversation<br />
Review and Reflect (10 min)<br />
Story of a Win (15 min)<br />
Prayer for Others (20 min)<br />
Developing the Conversation<br />
Reader: Section 5 (20 min)<br />
Group Conversation (20 min)<br />
Deepening the Conversation<br />
Reader: Section 6 (20 min)<br />
Personal Reflection and Discussion (30 min)
:<strong>Leader</strong> <strong>Guide</strong><br />
21<br />
Part IV<br />
Continuing the Conversation<br />
Concluding Challenge (5 min)<br />
Part I: Starting the Conversation<br />
Review and<br />
Reflect<br />
Welcome the group back together and briefly<br />
reflect on the previous two gatherings in<br />
which you have examined the ideas of Gospel<br />
Saturation and movement. At this point you<br />
may observe some attrition among those who<br />
attend month to month. The reality of most<br />
of our lives is that we tend ignore or minimize<br />
matters that have the potential to reshape our<br />
priorities and ministries because other lesser<br />
issues constantly vie for our attention. This is<br />
true of pastors and ministry leaders as well—<br />
the pressure of the old OS will war against the<br />
concepts you discuss. Fight the temptation<br />
to grow discouraged by this fact and keep<br />
sowing seeds among those who continue to<br />
process with the implications of the new OS.<br />
Begin your time with a brief reflection on<br />
Jesus’ Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:1–23).<br />
Certainly, the focus of Jesus’ story regards<br />
those who sow seeds of the gospel among the<br />
lost; however, the implications clearly extend<br />
to all believers as well. The odds are not<br />
encouraging, as three out of four of the seeds<br />
that are sown do not produce a harvest. Yet,<br />
some seeds last. And not only do some seeds<br />
last, but the source of our hope is found in the<br />
super-abundant harvest that results from the<br />
seed that falls on the good path.<br />
The same is true with those in your group,<br />
as you find that the majority of churches and<br />
leaders are quite comfortable with the old OS<br />
and see no need to change. Or, it may be the<br />
case that they understand the liabilities of the<br />
old OS, but are unwilling to do the hard work<br />
required to install a new one.<br />
▼
:<strong>Leader</strong> <strong>Guide</strong><br />
22<br />
Review and Reflect cont.<br />
Rather than lamenting this fact, invest in those<br />
who prove to be “good soil”. Care for them.<br />
Talk with them. Encourage their meager<br />
efforts. Push them to keep going. It’s likely<br />
that by the third conversation you will know<br />
those who are good soil and can prioritize<br />
accordingly.<br />
Use the opening of this month’s conversation<br />
to point the participant’s attention to the<br />
hundred, sixty, and thirty-fold harvest that<br />
results from the good soil. Challenge them to<br />
not grow discouraged when it seems the odds<br />
of change are stacked against them but to<br />
trust in a God for whom nothing is impossible<br />
(Lk 1:37).<br />
Story of a<br />
Win<br />
Prayer for<br />
Others<br />
Encourage these leaders to persevere by<br />
holding up a number of examples of the fruit<br />
that comes from a new OS. Consider someone<br />
in your city or state who has implemented<br />
the ideas discussed in this primer. Some may<br />
have participated in a group that used this<br />
material before, while others may have been<br />
uniquely prepared by the Holy Spirit to begin<br />
wrestling and implementing many of these<br />
ideas already. Invite a pastor or leader of one<br />
such church to come and share his or her story<br />
with the group. Allow them to testify to God’s<br />
grace and cast a vison of what could be for<br />
those in attendance. You may find it helpful to<br />
conclude this portion by opening up a time of<br />
questions for the one sharing. These questions<br />
will likely expose the fears or frustrations that<br />
your group members have and should inform<br />
your focus as you continue through this <strong>Primer</strong>.<br />
Use this person’s story to remind your group<br />
of the value of praying for other churches<br />
and believers in your city. This will serve as<br />
a helpful connection to the consideration of<br />
“Kingdom” in this month’s study.<br />
▼
:<strong>Leader</strong> <strong>Guide</strong><br />
23<br />
Prayer for Others cont.<br />
Point out the way in which prayer reflects the<br />
orientation of our hearts, either towards the<br />
old or new OS. The old OS will be reflected in<br />
inward prayers—prayers for our own individual<br />
needs, ministries, and churches. The new OS<br />
will show itself in prayers for others and the<br />
churches they represent. To model this, first<br />
lead the group in a prayer for the person who<br />
just shared his or her story. Then ask the group<br />
to form small groups of 3-4, and ensure that at<br />
least three different churches are represented<br />
in each group. From there, ask each member<br />
of the group to share two or three specific<br />
prayer needs related to the new OS and have<br />
the other group members pray for these<br />
needs.<br />
You, as a leader of these conversations, may<br />
find a desire to rush into the content of each<br />
month’s gathering. Resist the urge to cut<br />
corners on these times of prayer and sharing.<br />
Not only do they model a dependence on<br />
God, but they also establish the relational trust<br />
among the members of the group essential<br />
for lasting transformation and ongoing<br />
partnership. Trust that God is doing a good<br />
work, even when you may not be able to see it.<br />
Part II: Developing the Conversation<br />
Ask the participants to reflect on their reading<br />
of section 5. As they do, encourage them to<br />
reflect on their reading by placing a star (*)<br />
beside the main ideas, an exclamation mark<br />
(!) beside points that stood out, or a question<br />
mark (?) beside ideas they didn’t understand,<br />
had questions about, or disagreed with.
:<strong>Leader</strong> <strong>Guide</strong><br />
24<br />
Group<br />
Conversation<br />
Ask the group to divide into small groups of<br />
3-4 people, ideally with some others they<br />
have not shared a group with in the previous<br />
months. Prompt them to use the following<br />
questions to discuss attempts at collaboration<br />
in their cities:<br />
• nHow do you define the kingdom? How does<br />
your definition of Kingdom influence the<br />
way you lead your church?<br />
• nIn what ways have you tried to form<br />
relationships and work with other churches<br />
in your city? Which have you found easier:<br />
building relationships or working in mission<br />
together? Why?<br />
• nWhat challenges have you faced when you<br />
try to work with other churches on strategic<br />
mission endeavors?<br />
• nWhat cultural factors in North America<br />
influence partnership at this level?<br />
• nWhat experience do you have in seeing<br />
local churches work together at The Church<br />
to demonstrate and declare the kingdom<br />
of God in a city? What traits did these<br />
experiences have in common?<br />
Following a time for the groups to discuss<br />
these questions, call everyone back together<br />
and ask for someone from each group to<br />
share their conclusions. In particular, hone in<br />
on the last question and attempt to make a list<br />
of the traits of effective Kingdom partnership.<br />
Groups may share traits such as: a key leader<br />
or church who initiated the effort, an easily<br />
accessible shared mission need like you might<br />
experience after a natural disaster, or a joint<br />
time of prayer among the pastors in the city<br />
for a true movement of God to take place.<br />
Leave the list on the board for the remainder<br />
of your time together and refer back to it at<br />
points in the following portion of this month’s<br />
conversation.
:<strong>Leader</strong> <strong>Guide</strong><br />
25<br />
Part III: Deepening the Conversation<br />
You will be well-served to provide a break<br />
between parts 2 and 3 of this month’s session.<br />
Allow the participants time to have informal<br />
conversation during this extended break.<br />
This time will allow them to converse with<br />
others who were not in their group and further<br />
discuss the implications of the material in this<br />
month’s reader. At an appropriate time, call the<br />
group back together and ask them to follow<br />
the pattern they’ve used up to this point as<br />
they reflect on their reading from chapter 6.
:<strong>Leader</strong> <strong>Guide</strong><br />
26<br />
Personal<br />
Reflection<br />
and<br />
Discussion<br />
The following questions are meant to allow<br />
participants to reflect on this month’s reader<br />
in more depth. The nature of this conversation<br />
is quite personal, demonstrating and exposing<br />
the heart-orientation of your group. Often, when<br />
sharing with a small group we are all prone to<br />
angle the truth to make ourselves look better<br />
than we actually are. No one wants to admit<br />
that they are a part of an inwardly focused,<br />
collecting community, much less that it is their<br />
teaching and strategy that has created such a<br />
community in the first place, thus the need for a<br />
time for personal reflection. Ask the individuals<br />
to take some time to reflect on the following<br />
questions in their own journal. Remind them<br />
that the benefit of these conversations will only<br />
occur when they are honest and vulnerable with<br />
themselves and others.<br />
• nHow do you feel when other churches<br />
succeed?<br />
• nHow is your church currently sacrificing for<br />
The Church in your city?<br />
• nDoes the orientation of your church’s staff,<br />
programs, and teaching ministry demonstrate<br />
a desire to be a collecting community or a<br />
mobilizing community?<br />
• nWhat role have you personally played in<br />
creating this culture in your church?<br />
• nWhat changes would need to take place<br />
in order for your church to clearly and<br />
compellingly prioritize the Kingdom?<br />
After a time of personal reflection, allow the<br />
group to reflect on this exercise using one of two<br />
models of discussion. Choose the version that<br />
best fits the nature of your group. You might ask<br />
the participants to pair up with someone they<br />
know or with whom they have built a relationship<br />
in the previous weeks. Ask them to share with<br />
one other person the primary ways they were<br />
convicted and challenged by their answers. Or<br />
you might call the entire group back together<br />
and ask them to share their reflections with the<br />
group as a whole. The first method would likely<br />
work well with a larger group that does not know<br />
one another as well, while the second method<br />
would work well with a smaller group of friends.
:<strong>Leader</strong> <strong>Guide</strong><br />
27<br />
Part IV: Continuing the Conversation<br />
The desired outcome of this <strong>Primer</strong> is to do<br />
more than foster six conversations. By God’s<br />
grace, the momentum that begins in these<br />
months will continue in ongoing, Kingdomwork<br />
in the years ahead. Stimulate this process<br />
by encouraging the participants to connect<br />
with at least two other people from the group<br />
before you meet again. This could be a lunch<br />
meeting or a coffee conversation. Ask them<br />
to use this time to talk about the mission of<br />
the local church and the way in which they<br />
are processing with the content of the <strong>Primer</strong>.<br />
Pray that God would, by the power of His Spirit,<br />
enliven these conversations to produce gospel<br />
fruit.
Conversation 4:<br />
Harvest
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Objective<br />
Overview<br />
Define the scope of Kingdom work through<br />
a thorough consideration of the nature<br />
of an individual and corporate “Circles of<br />
Accountability” (COA).<br />
The conversation seeks to compel God’s<br />
church into the harvest so that men, women,<br />
and children can see and hear the good news<br />
of Jesus. As with the conversations up to this<br />
point, the discussion that follows is meant to<br />
take place in one, large group meeting among<br />
pastors, church leaders, and disciple-makers<br />
in a region or city. Ideally the conversation<br />
will take at least three hours to complete in<br />
a meaningful fashion. This month it will be<br />
important that you maintain a dual focus<br />
throughout the conversation. On the one<br />
hand, you are going to want to encourage and<br />
challenge the participants to own their own<br />
COA and engage it with gospel intentionality.<br />
On the other hand, you should seek to<br />
challenge them to leverage all of God’s people<br />
in the churches they serve to own their shared<br />
COA as well.<br />
Flow<br />
Part I<br />
Part II<br />
Part III<br />
Starting the Conversation<br />
Demographic Overview (25 min)<br />
Prayer (10 min)<br />
Developing the Conversation<br />
Reader: Section 7 (20 min)<br />
COA Group Discussion (40 min)<br />
Deepening the Conversation<br />
Reader: Section 8 (20 min)<br />
Church Planting and Revitalization Discussion<br />
(30 min)
:<strong>Leader</strong> <strong>Guide</strong><br />
30<br />
Part IV<br />
Continuing the Conversation<br />
Concluding Challenge (5 min<br />
Part I: Starting the Conversation<br />
Demographic<br />
Overview<br />
Prior to this month’s conversation, research the<br />
demographics of your city. There are various<br />
tools that will allow you to define a certain<br />
point in a city where your local congregation<br />
gathers for corporate worship. It can either be<br />
a radius from that location defined by miles<br />
(1, 3, or 5) or it could be defined by roads,<br />
waterways, neighborhoods, zip codes, or any<br />
other natural divisions. Attempt to ascertain the<br />
demographics of those in that COA. If possible,<br />
print a unique report for each of the churches<br />
represented in your group. This report will<br />
give the participants various hard-data on<br />
their immediate geographies, including overall<br />
population numbers, ethnicities, socioeconomic<br />
data, household size, and a host of<br />
other factors. Ask your group to kick off this<br />
month’s conversation by discussing these<br />
reports. For groups with at least two churches<br />
represented in each group, you will likely find<br />
that the most fruitful conversations will happen<br />
if the churches in each group share a common<br />
place in the city. Ask them to use the following<br />
questions to guide their discussion:<br />
• nWhat did you learn?<br />
• nWhat surprised you?<br />
• nWhat convicted you?<br />
• nWhat form should mission take?<br />
As you respond to these questions, make sure<br />
to review the concepts you’ve discussed in<br />
the first three conversations. This review with<br />
further instill the ideas in the minds and hearts<br />
of the participants.
:<strong>Leader</strong> <strong>Guide</strong><br />
31<br />
Prayer<br />
After a time of discussion, prompt the groups<br />
to pray specifically for the geographies<br />
represented in each group. Pray that every<br />
man, woman, and child in this circle will have<br />
repeated opportunities to see, hear, and<br />
respond to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Pray<br />
also for God to mobilize the churches in these<br />
circles to engage their geographies with<br />
gospel-intentionality.<br />
Part II: Developing the Conversation<br />
Ask the participants to reflect on their reading<br />
from chapter 7. As they do, encourage them<br />
to reflect on their reading by placing a star (*)<br />
beside the main ideas, an exclamation mark<br />
(!) beside points that stood out, or a question<br />
mark (?) beside ideas they didn’t understand,<br />
had questions about, or disagreed with.
:<strong>Leader</strong> <strong>Guide</strong><br />
32<br />
COA Group<br />
Conversation<br />
Divide the group into smaller groups that<br />
represent various churches in the city.<br />
Ask each group to choose a reasonablysized<br />
area that represents the majority of<br />
their congregation or some subset of the<br />
congregation. For example, some groups may<br />
choose a certain small group to use as the<br />
basis for their COA. Ask the groups to provide<br />
a thumbnail sketch of their COA by asking, and<br />
answering, the following questions:<br />
• nWho lives in this circle?<br />
• nWhat are the various types of people<br />
represented?<br />
• nWhere are the natural boundaries for this<br />
circle?<br />
• nWhat is in your circle (neighborhoods,<br />
schools, nursing homes, apartments,<br />
businesses, prisons, parks, etc.)<br />
• nWhat other churches or organizations care<br />
about the health of this circle (para-church,<br />
government, non-profits, etc.)<br />
Then, based on this thumbnail sketch attempt<br />
to answer the following more challenging<br />
questions:<br />
• nWhere is God already at work in your circle?<br />
• nHow representative is your church of this<br />
circle?<br />
• nWhat are the three biggest needs of those<br />
in the circle?<br />
• nWhat other information would you need to<br />
know in order to develop a clear missionary<br />
strategy?<br />
• nWhere in the COA are your people already<br />
embedded in a strategic COI?<br />
After you’ve given each group sufficient time<br />
to answer these questions, call the entire<br />
group back together and ask each subgroup<br />
to present their COA in five minutes or less. Ask<br />
the overall group what they might add to each<br />
group’s presentation or what observations they<br />
have about Gospel Saturation in each location.<br />
Allow extended time for the group to discuss<br />
and dream together.
:<strong>Leader</strong> <strong>Guide</strong><br />
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Part III: Deepening the Conversation<br />
Discuss the group’s reflections from chapter 8<br />
of the <strong>Primer</strong> using the following questions:<br />
• nWhat captured your attention?<br />
• nWhat implications did you note for your<br />
church?<br />
• nWhat will you do as a result?
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34<br />
Church<br />
Planting<br />
and<br />
Revitalization<br />
Discussion<br />
Ask the group to spin back to their COA<br />
maps. This time the focus is going to be on<br />
the existing believers and churches in that<br />
circle. Ask the groups to answer the following<br />
questions. If they do not know hard numbers<br />
to these questions, then encourage them<br />
to make educated guesses at the answers<br />
for now and take time after this month’s<br />
conversation to attempt to clarify their<br />
assumptions:<br />
• nWhat is the overall population of your COA?<br />
• nHow many evangelical churches are<br />
represented in that circle? Hint: if the<br />
number of churches is too large, then<br />
you may have a circle that is too large<br />
as well. For example, if you have drawn<br />
a 3-mile radius from the place in which<br />
your church gathers and you can name<br />
30 or 40 churches in that circle, then you<br />
may be better served to narrow down to a<br />
one-mile radius with only 10-12 churches<br />
represented.<br />
• nWhat is the weekly attendance of those<br />
churches?<br />
• nBased on these numbers, what is the<br />
percentage of the population of your COA<br />
in church on any given Sunday? At this point<br />
you might be tempted to argue, “Yes, but<br />
many people from our circle are driving<br />
out of the circle to attend a church across<br />
down.” This is certainly true in most cities in<br />
the United States. But, the same premise<br />
works in reverse as well. Many of those who<br />
attend your church likely drive from outside<br />
of your circle to attend your church as well.<br />
No percentages are perfect, but this ebb<br />
and flow would likely result in a relatively<br />
accurate percentage within your circle. For<br />
those who drive out of the circle there is a<br />
corresponding person who drives into the<br />
circle, so the percentages hold fairly steady.<br />
Once the groups have defined their circles, it is<br />
now time to dream about the work of church<br />
planting and revitalization using the following<br />
questions:
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35<br />
Church<br />
Planting<br />
Church<br />
Revitalization<br />
• nWhere do we need new churches in our<br />
circle?<br />
• nAre their certain methodologies or<br />
denominations that are underrepresented<br />
in our circle?<br />
• nAre their certain ethnicities or people<br />
groups who are underrepresented?<br />
• nIf you had the power, the money, and the<br />
leader to plant a new church in this circle in<br />
the next 18 months, where would you put it?<br />
• nWhat churches are without a pastor or clear<br />
leadership presently?<br />
• nWhat churches are not healthy and in need<br />
of revitalization? (Warning: Be very careful<br />
to avoid church bashing at this point. The<br />
intention is not to point out how messed<br />
up another church is, but to consider how<br />
you could play a role in nurturing them to<br />
health).<br />
• nIf you had the power, the money, and the<br />
leader to revitalize an existing church in the<br />
next 18 months, where would you begin<br />
and why?<br />
Conclude this time by asking the groups to<br />
pray for the dreams they discussed. Remind<br />
them that God is capable of doing the<br />
impossible! While their dreams may seem<br />
far-fetched, God loves to surprise us with His<br />
goodness.<br />
Part IV: Continuing the Conversation<br />
Concluding<br />
Challenge<br />
This month’s conversation has focused on<br />
local circles. Though we mentioned the<br />
concept of telescoping we intentionally left<br />
this out of the group conversations so that they<br />
could prioritize their immediate geography.<br />
Ask the participants to spend time before<br />
next month’s conversation reflecting on the<br />
international mission work of their local church.<br />
▼
:<strong>Leader</strong> <strong>Guide</strong><br />
36<br />
Concluding Challenge<br />
cont.<br />
Your group likely contains a wide assortment<br />
of pastors or lay leaders so don’t assume that<br />
they all have inside knowledge on the method<br />
by which their church goes about international<br />
missions. Explain that they may need to have<br />
conversations with other leaders in the church<br />
to assess the work their church is currently<br />
doing. Ask the participants to consider the<br />
effectiveness of their church in telescoping<br />
the OS of Gospel Saturation to these locations.<br />
What would need to change to be more<br />
intentional? How can they personally be<br />
involved in helping implement these changes?<br />
The answers to these questions will serve as<br />
the introduction to next month’s conversation.
Conversation 5:<br />
Disciple
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38<br />
Objective<br />
Overview<br />
To develop a definition and scorecard for<br />
making missionary disciples in the local<br />
church.<br />
The conversation seeks to make the mission<br />
tangible and personal. In many ways the<br />
process of this <strong>Primer</strong> has worked like a<br />
Google map. We started with the map zoomed<br />
out to God’s desire for the world. From there,<br />
we zoomed in a click to the scope of the<br />
mission, then to the nature of God’s Kingdom,<br />
and finally to the specific harvest field that<br />
lies before each of our churches. Now, we are<br />
going to wrestle with the question of how we<br />
go about impacting that specific harvest. The<br />
answer will necessitate the transformation<br />
of the people in our churches. God’s grace,<br />
transforming the identity, affections, and<br />
actions of missionary disciples is the Godordained<br />
means of bringing about lasting<br />
transformation.<br />
Flow<br />
Part I<br />
Part II<br />
Part III<br />
Part IV<br />
Starting the Conversation<br />
Prayer (10 min)<br />
Gospel Movement Reflections (20 min)<br />
Developing the Conversation<br />
Reader: Section 9 (20 min)<br />
Defining a Disciple (40 min)<br />
Deepening the Conversation<br />
Reader: Section 10 (20 min)<br />
Systems Analysis (30 min)<br />
Continuing the Conversation<br />
Concluding Challenge (5 min)
:<strong>Leader</strong> <strong>Guide</strong><br />
39<br />
Part I: Starting the Conversation<br />
Prayer<br />
Throughout this <strong>Primer</strong>, we’ve attempted<br />
to press pause on the changes those in<br />
your group are apt to make. Because of our<br />
proclivity to App-based changes, we are all<br />
prone to read a new concept and attempt<br />
to make changes right away. But, as we all<br />
know, this is impossible. Once ideas begin to<br />
take root in our soul they will invariably shape<br />
the conversations and actions we spend time<br />
cultivating.<br />
The same will be true for your group. Whether<br />
they are church pastors or ministry leaders,<br />
it’s likely they’ve attempted to make changes<br />
informed by the priorities of movement,<br />
Kingdom, and harvest, which is not an<br />
altogether bad thing. Ask the group to open<br />
this month’s conversation by sharing some<br />
of the conversations they’ve had around<br />
the material in this <strong>Primer</strong> or changes, even<br />
microscopic ones, they’ve begun to make to<br />
the operating system of the churches they<br />
serve. After a time of sharing, ask the group to<br />
pair up and pray specifically for God to bring<br />
fruit from this activity. Prompt those who have<br />
not been able to share in the group at large to<br />
do so with their smaller pairs and encourage<br />
these two individuals to entrust these efforts,<br />
and the future changes that will result, to<br />
God’s care, guidance, and grace.<br />
Gospel<br />
Movements<br />
Reflection<br />
Now that the group is reengaged in the<br />
subject matter, briefly review the main points<br />
of last month’s conversation:<br />
• nGod’s church and Jesus’ disciples must take<br />
responsibility for the circle of influence in<br />
which they live, learn, work, and play;<br />
• nOwnership of these circles will necessitate<br />
activity in both church planting and church<br />
revitalization;<br />
▼
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40<br />
Gospel Movements<br />
Reflection cont.<br />
• nThese dual tasks need not render<br />
international mission obsolete, instead we<br />
should attempt to telescope our efforts to<br />
strategic locations and see God’s people<br />
empowered in that geography to reach<br />
every man, woman, and child in their circles.<br />
• nAsk several pairs to join into groups of<br />
6-8. Ask the participants of these groups<br />
to share their experiences with gospel<br />
movements around the world. Use the<br />
following questions to guide the discussion:<br />
• nWhat is the closest experience you’ve had<br />
with a rapidly multiplying movement of<br />
God?<br />
• nWhat were the characteristics of such a<br />
movement?<br />
• nWas this movement in a pre-Christian or<br />
post-Christian context? Can the principles<br />
apply to the other type of context as well?<br />
For example, if you have experience with<br />
a gospel movement among a previously<br />
unreached people group in a third world<br />
context, how might the characteristics of<br />
that movement apply to a post-Christian<br />
context like North America?<br />
• nWhat are the greatest hindrances to a<br />
movement of God in North American in our<br />
day?<br />
A quick suggestion is warranted before you<br />
begin a large group discussion on these<br />
questions. This month we will consider the<br />
nature of disciple-making and the way in<br />
which it empowers Gospel Saturation. Defined<br />
appropriately, maturity in Christ necessitates<br />
not only that one’s behavior is patterned after<br />
Christ but also that each disciple invests in<br />
making other disciples as well. Simply stated,<br />
the goal is not that we would make disciples<br />
but that we would make disciple-making<br />
disciples.<br />
You can take a step towards realizing this<br />
goal in your leadership of these group<br />
conversations as well.<br />
▼
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41<br />
Gospel Movements<br />
Reflection cont.<br />
Up to this point, it is likely the case that you,<br />
as the leader of the group, have been the<br />
primary catalyst in calling the group together<br />
each month and facilitating the discussion as<br />
you gather. Now that we are transitioning into<br />
the final two conversations it’s time to handoff<br />
some of this responsibility to someone<br />
else. Ideally, you’ve already been thinking<br />
about this goal and working towards involving<br />
others in the work. If not, now is the time to<br />
begin. Find a person or two in your group who<br />
has proven themselves to be faithful to the<br />
group conversations and is passionate about<br />
the concepts you’ve discussed. It would be<br />
great if this person were from another church<br />
than the current leader in order to empower<br />
collaboration. In addition, this person should<br />
be the type of individual who can lead his own<br />
group in the future. Before the session begins,<br />
ask this individual to take more of a leadership<br />
role in this month’s conversation. Don’t merely<br />
thrust him into leadership and take a back<br />
seat. Rather, give him clear ways to invest in<br />
the group and work to set him up for success.<br />
Look through this week’s conversation and<br />
select a couple of key points this person<br />
could lead, tell him ahead of time that you’d<br />
like him to do so, and spend time after the<br />
conversation reflecting on what you observed<br />
about his leadership. This first activity is a great<br />
place to begin.<br />
Ask the group to compile a list of<br />
characteristics of a gospel movement and<br />
write them on a board that everyone can see.<br />
Once you’ve compiled a solid list, draw a circle<br />
around those characteristics that are most<br />
often seen in a pre-Christian context. Draw a<br />
box around those characteristics that are often<br />
seen in a post-Christian context. And, put a star<br />
beside those aspects of gospel movement<br />
you’d notice in both a pre- and post-Christian<br />
context. Ask the group to share reflections on<br />
the list.
:<strong>Leader</strong> <strong>Guide</strong><br />
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Part II: Developing the Conversation<br />
Disciple-<br />
Making<br />
Discussion<br />
The intent of the last section of this<br />
reader (part 9) was to force assessment of<br />
understanding of the definition of a disciple.<br />
Like many words that are common in the<br />
church, the word “disciple” is one ripe<br />
for misunderstanding and impoverished<br />
definitions. But, as we will see in the upcoming<br />
section, if we don’t have clarity on our<br />
definition of a disciple, we will never have<br />
clarity on our mission. If we don’t know what<br />
something is then we certainly can’t create it.<br />
We must seek knowledge of what an applepie<br />
is before we understand how to make one.<br />
We must know the objective of soccer before<br />
we work to build a team. As church leaders,<br />
we have to know what a disciple is before we<br />
go about designing church systems that make<br />
such a person.<br />
Use this introduction to provide a bit of<br />
rationale to your group for the following<br />
discussion. Give each group a sheet of poster<br />
paper and ask them to work to define a<br />
disciple. Instruct them to develop a holistic<br />
view of the distinctive marks of a mature<br />
disciple of Jesus. What would they think?<br />
What would they say? What would they<br />
do? How would they be known by others?<br />
Encourage them to use whatever method<br />
best helps them arrive at this definition. They<br />
could draw a person on the paper and label<br />
that person. For example, they might list the<br />
traits of a disciple’s speech beside the mouth<br />
of the drawing. Or they might list the actions<br />
of the disciple by the hands and feet. Other<br />
groups may simply want to make a list of the<br />
various characteristics of a disciple in groups<br />
or categories that they see as most significant.<br />
Whatever method they choose, encourage<br />
the group to list Scripture beside each<br />
characteristic they choose.<br />
▼
:<strong>Leader</strong> <strong>Guide</strong><br />
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Disciple-Making<br />
Discussion cont.<br />
Following sufficient time for each group to<br />
discuss, call the group back together as a large<br />
group and engage them in a conversation<br />
about each group’s definition. Ask each group<br />
to present the distinctive marks they listed<br />
and, after each group presents, attempt to<br />
combine the ideas presented into one clear list<br />
of the characteristics of a disciple. How does<br />
movement, Kingdom, and harvest inform your<br />
definition of a disciple?<br />
Finally, ask the entire group to attempt to<br />
define a disciple in a single sentence (not a<br />
Pauline run-on sentence, but a short, concise<br />
sentence of 15-20 words). Push them to boil<br />
their definition down to the essential nature of<br />
God’s definition of disciples of Jesus.<br />
Part III: Deepening the Conversation
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System<br />
Analysis<br />
Ask the large group to break into small<br />
subgroups to discuss the disciple-making<br />
systems they’ve outlined. As they talk, ask<br />
them to pause at each stage in the disciplemaking<br />
process they develop to consider the<br />
following questions:<br />
[1] What do you already have to work with?<br />
[2] What people will you need?<br />
[3] What resources will it take?<br />
[4] What obstacles will you encounter?<br />
[5] How will you evaluate if this is working?<br />
If time allows, call the group back together and<br />
have them provide a summary for the large<br />
group. You might even find it helpful to place<br />
the continuum of discipleship on a board in<br />
the front of the room. As the groups present,<br />
list helpful ideas or concepts so that all of the<br />
participants can learn from one another.<br />
Part IV: Continuing the Conversation<br />
Concluding<br />
Challenge<br />
Obviously, we are not going to solve<br />
the challenge of disciple-making in one<br />
conversation. And, what’s more, every person<br />
in these conversations comes at discipleship<br />
from different angles—we all have different<br />
personalities, passions, and life-histories that<br />
shape our understanding of discipleship. We<br />
also have differing denominational heritages<br />
and serve in different church contexts, which<br />
inform the way we will go about our disciplemaking<br />
work. Bring this month’s conversation<br />
to a conclusion by reminding the group that<br />
they don’t have to feel the pressure to do<br />
everything overnight, nor should they believe<br />
the lie that they will be able to bring change<br />
immediately. But, at the same time, challenge<br />
them to move beyond excuses for failing to do<br />
the hard work of developing and refining their<br />
disciple-making systems.<br />
▼
:<strong>Leader</strong> <strong>Guide</strong><br />
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Concluding Challenge<br />
cont.<br />
To encourage tackling this work, invite them to<br />
have a conversation with one or two members<br />
of their church between now and the group’s<br />
final session. Encourage them to select<br />
someone who has not journeyed through the<br />
<strong>Primer</strong>—perhaps just an average, ordinary<br />
member of the church. Invite the group<br />
members to share their take-aways from this<br />
session with that person. Talk about what a<br />
disciple is and how the church is going about<br />
making such a person. Invite these individuals<br />
to give feedback and point out things that you<br />
might have missed. Remember, it’s not the<br />
job of any one individual to make discipleship<br />
happen anyway. These initial conversations<br />
may be the springboard God uses to begin<br />
the work of decentralizing the church, as the<br />
people you meet with may be the very ones<br />
God will use to invigorate your church with a<br />
disciple-making passion.
Conversation 6:<br />
Convictions
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47<br />
Objective<br />
Overview<br />
Demonstrate how the principles discussed<br />
throughout the <strong>Primer</strong> create certain priorities<br />
within the life of the Church.<br />
This conversation transitions the discussion<br />
that have been had up to this point into<br />
ongoing priorities that drive the life of a<br />
pastor, leader, or local church. As with the<br />
conversations up to this point, the discussion<br />
that follows is meant to take place in one,<br />
large group meeting among pastors, church<br />
leaders, and disciple-makers in a region or<br />
city. Ideally the conversation will take at least<br />
three hours to complete in a meaningful<br />
fashion. This month it will be important that<br />
begin to transition the groups attention to<br />
the Accelerator that will attempt to lead the<br />
group members to put into practice many<br />
of the concepts that have been discussed<br />
throughout the <strong>Primer</strong>.<br />
Flow<br />
Part I<br />
Part II<br />
Part III<br />
Part IV<br />
Starting the Conversation<br />
Prayer (10 min)<br />
Disciple-Making Reflection (10 min)<br />
Developing the Conversation<br />
Reader: Section 11 (20 min)<br />
Build-A-Church Workshop (40 min)<br />
Deepening the Conversation<br />
Reader: Section 12 (20 min)<br />
Continuing the Conversation<br />
Concluding Challenge (5 min)
:<strong>Leader</strong> <strong>Guide</strong><br />
48<br />
Part I: Starting the Conversation<br />
Review and<br />
Reflect<br />
This conversation is meant to serve as a<br />
conclusion for the content and discussion<br />
you’ve had as your participants have journeyed<br />
through this <strong>Primer</strong>. This month, our hope is not<br />
to introduce many new concepts, but rather<br />
to link the ideas we’ve learned up to this point.<br />
As always, it’s vital for you to read the room<br />
and discern the emotional tone of the group:<br />
Are they leaving encouraged and motivated<br />
for what’s ahead? Are they overwhelmed?<br />
Do they want to quit? The answer to each<br />
of these questions is probably “yes”. There<br />
are those who feel like this journey has put<br />
words to ideas they’ve been wrestling with for<br />
some time. Some have wondered if anyone<br />
else was asking the same questions and they<br />
are now emboldened to know that there are,<br />
in fact, scores of pastors and churches who<br />
are restless for a change to a new OS for the<br />
Church.<br />
Others, however, feel hopeless. Some may be<br />
crushed by guilt and shame, thinking that they<br />
may have squandered decades of pastoral<br />
ministry by prioritizing the wrong things. Some<br />
others may have fallen into the comparison<br />
trap. They look around the room and assume<br />
that the other leaders are sharper, wiser, and<br />
better positioned to bring about change than<br />
they perceive themselves to be. They believe<br />
in the mission but doubt whether they can<br />
actually make a difference.<br />
It may be helpful, at this juncture, to remind<br />
the group of the two figures who shaped the<br />
mission of the early church, perhaps more<br />
than any other—Paul and Peter. Point out the<br />
reality of Paul’s past as a violent opponent<br />
of the Church, his radical conversion, and<br />
his unrelenting zeal for God’s mission to the<br />
Gentiles.<br />
▼
:<strong>Leader</strong> <strong>Guide</strong><br />
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Review and Reflect cont.<br />
Contrast that with Peter—called by Jesus as<br />
a disciple, marked by frequent missteps and<br />
failure, and yet used by Him to establish His<br />
Church. Point to the fact that each man has<br />
his fair share of reasons to feel inadequate,<br />
disqualified, or crushed by suffering. Yet, they<br />
persevered. And through their perseverance,<br />
the gospel saturated the known world of that<br />
day and the church spread to the very ends<br />
of the earth—to you and I reading this <strong>Primer</strong><br />
today. Pray for that type of fortitude, passion,<br />
and stick-to-itiveness to mark your group<br />
as they resolve together to run after Gospel<br />
Saturation for the rest of their lives.<br />
Disciple-<br />
Making<br />
Reflection<br />
Ask the group to break into small groups<br />
once again. This time, point them back to<br />
the concluding challenge from last month’s<br />
conversation in which they were asked to<br />
meet with one or two other people to talk<br />
about discipleship. Instruct them to share the<br />
thoughts and insights of others with whom<br />
they met regarding the definition of a disciple<br />
and the systems for disciple-making. What<br />
did they learn? How did this influence their<br />
definition of a disciple? Did they alter anything<br />
about their ideal system for disciple-making as<br />
a result?<br />
Part II: Developing the Conversation
:<strong>Leader</strong> <strong>Guide</strong><br />
50<br />
Ask the group to divide into small groups, this<br />
time with members from their own church. If<br />
someone is there alone, ask them to join up<br />
with a group from a nearby church. Give each<br />
group a big sheet of poster paper and ask<br />
them to draw, list, or design their ideal church<br />
using the questions below:<br />
• nHow would Movement, Kingdom, Harvest,<br />
and Disciple be represented in your church?<br />
• nWhat would you do first?<br />
• nWhat would you value?<br />
• nWhat would your facility look like? Would<br />
you have one?<br />
• nWhat about your staff?<br />
• nDescribe the members of your church.<br />
What would define them?<br />
• nWhat programs would you lead?<br />
• nHow would you engage in mission?<br />
This time is likely to be a fun challenge<br />
for the groups, so make sure you allocate<br />
sufficient time for these discussions. Pick<br />
a predetermined time and encourage the<br />
groups to take a break. Over this break, you’ll<br />
likely find that the groups will continue to talk<br />
together and share ideas.<br />
Part III: Deepening the Conversation<br />
Discussion<br />
After the break, call the large group back<br />
together and ask each group to share their<br />
reflections. As each group presents, note the<br />
common themes that emerge and make sure<br />
you don’t allow people to spin towards their “but<br />
what abouts”. If the conversation turns toward<br />
reasons these things can’t happen, push the<br />
group to stay focused on their God-given calling<br />
as leaders and pastors. Remind them that the<br />
purpose of these conversations is to envision<br />
what could be in spite of what currently is. And,<br />
finally, point them to a God who is capable<br />
of surprising us with how quickly, and how<br />
completely, he can bring change.
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Concluding<br />
Challenge<br />
So, where do we go now? That’s a good<br />
question and one that I hope your group is now<br />
asking. These six conversations were merely<br />
meant to instill certain priorities into our minds,<br />
and hopefully into our hearts as well. They<br />
were written to prime the pump for ongoing<br />
conversations, dialogue, and partnership that<br />
could bear significant fruit in your city.<br />
We’ve designed another tool—an<br />
Accelerator—in order to aid your group in<br />
implementing the changes we’ve discussed<br />
in this <strong>Primer</strong>. We’ve intentionally refrained<br />
from providing many prescriptive statements<br />
throughout these six conversations.<br />
Prescriptive statements (Do this…Don’t do<br />
that…) tend to be App-based. Whereas our<br />
goal in the <strong>Primer</strong> was the focus on descriptive<br />
statements about our new operating system.<br />
The Accelerator will shift our attention to how<br />
we might embody these principles moving<br />
forward and how we can invite others into the<br />
conversation with us. Before you dismiss your<br />
group, make sure you thank those who have<br />
been faithful to engage in these conversations<br />
and point them forward to the next time your<br />
group will gather. Until that time, ask God to<br />
give grace to these leaders as they seek to<br />
give their lives away so that the gospel will<br />
saturate our land.<br />
All the content and convictions of this <strong>Primer</strong><br />
have hopefully led to a lot of soul searching.<br />
We recognize that even though this OS may<br />
be new to us, it’s not new to God and it arises<br />
from the very essence of what God wants as<br />
His story and mission unfolds in Scripture.<br />
It is our hope you have begun to rethink the<br />
answers to all the why questions that you’ve<br />
held up to this point in Christian ministry and<br />
church leadership. We understand that the<br />
process of owning certain convictions takes<br />
time. Whenever we are presented with a new<br />
paradigm, we go through an evolution in our<br />
mind, heart, and soul while trying to grasp the<br />
magnitude of the truth presented to us.<br />
▼
:<strong>Leader</strong> <strong>Guide</strong><br />
52<br />
Concluding Challenge<br />
cont.<br />
Most of those who are presented with<br />
the new OS of Gospel Saturation begin by<br />
believing it is an interesting concept. It sounds<br />
good in theory, but there are so many things<br />
that you’d have to change in your life and in<br />
the life of the church you lead, you just aren’t<br />
sure if it’s worth all the work to transition to<br />
such a foundational conviction.<br />
After the interesting concept phase, most<br />
church leaders shift to acknowledging<br />
that it’s a good idea. <strong>Leader</strong>s in this phase<br />
may agree with the conviction in principle,<br />
but there are still no changes to how they<br />
do life and ministry. If all the content and<br />
teaching presented in this <strong>Primer</strong> merely<br />
remains a good idea, we will never make<br />
the radical reorientation that is necessary<br />
to move towards blanketing our cities with<br />
the gospel of Jesus. The move from good<br />
idea to foundational conviction is a gamechanger.<br />
When the Gospel Saturation OS and<br />
its conviction becomes foundational to your<br />
life and ministry, it alters everything. It not only<br />
informs our “why”, but our “how” in ministry.<br />
If what we’ve presented is truly a conviction for<br />
you, it can’t be something that you can opt out<br />
of, especially, if we are serious about seeing<br />
a Kingdom movement of God in the harvest<br />
through His disciples. The question that we<br />
want you to wrestle with is this:<br />
Can you go back to doing church the way you<br />
always have after being exposed to this new<br />
conviction and the OS that seeks to saturate<br />
every man, woman, and child with the gospel<br />
and God’s glory?<br />
When Gospel Saturation becomes a nonnegotiable<br />
then the priorities of Mobilization,<br />
Transformation, Collaboration, and<br />
Multiplication flow through everything we do<br />
as a church community.<br />
▼
:<strong>Leader</strong> <strong>Guide</strong><br />
53<br />
Concluding Challenge<br />
cont.<br />
These six conversations were meant to lead<br />
you, and other leaders in your city, to rethink<br />
the normative OS in the life of the church in<br />
order that every man, woman, and child might<br />
have repeated opportunities to see, hear, and<br />
respond to the gospel of Jesus Christ.<br />
But we acknowledge that the fruit we seek<br />
and the partnership we want to see can’t take<br />
place unless we all have the same driving<br />
conviction for Gospel Saturation. Until all of<br />
us have a shared vision to see every man,<br />
woman, and child have repeated opportunities<br />
to see, hear, and respond to the gospel in our<br />
community our efforts to impact our city will<br />
be limited.<br />
But, that doesn’t have to be the outcome.<br />
By God’s grace, it is possible for a group of<br />
leaders to change the OS of their churches<br />
and see a movement of God’s Kingdom that<br />
will change our culture. This is our prayer as<br />
we end these conversations. If you would<br />
like to know more about envisioning Gospel<br />
Saturation in your city or would like to know<br />
more about other resources to help go<br />
after every man, woman, and child in your<br />
geography, please feel free to contact us at<br />
envision@christtogether.org.<br />
Part IV: Continuing the Conversation<br />
Concluding<br />
Challenge<br />
So, where do we go now? That’s a good<br />
question and one that I hope your group is<br />
now asking. These six conversations were<br />
merely meant to prime the pump for ongoing<br />
conversations, dialogue, and partnership that<br />
could bear significant fruit in your city. We’ve<br />
designed another tool—an Accelerator—in<br />
order to aid your group in implementing the<br />
changes we’ve discussed in this <strong>Primer</strong>.<br />
▼
:<strong>Leader</strong> <strong>Guide</strong><br />
54<br />
Concluding Challenge<br />
cont.<br />
We’ve intentionally refrained from providing<br />
many prescriptive statements throughout<br />
these six conversations. Prescriptive<br />
statements (Do this…Don’t do that…) tend to be<br />
App-based. Whereas our goal in the <strong>Primer</strong><br />
was the focus on descriptive statements about<br />
our new operating system. The Accelerator will<br />
shift our attention to how we might embody<br />
these principles moving forward and how we<br />
can invite others into the conversation with<br />
us. Before you dismiss your group, make sure<br />
you thank those who have been faithful to<br />
engage in these conversations and point them<br />
forward to the next time your group will gather.<br />
Until that time, ask God to give grace to these<br />
leaders as they seek to give their lives away so<br />
that the gospel will saturate our land.