The Magic of the Seed

In one of his Verge 2010 presentations, Neil Cole told the story of being with his daughter as they drove past a new mall. Large tractors were digging holes for trees. The next day they drove by again and full grown palm trees had been placed into the holes. Neil’s daughter exclaimed, “Wow, those trees grow fast!” He then commented, I didn’t tell her they had placed fully grown trees into the holes, because I wanted her to believe in the magic of the seed.

Cole then went on to discuss the powerful seed of the Gospel. While known as a church planter, Cole said, “Today I tell people to plant Jesus, not churches.” We can give messages about the word without giving the Word Himself. Church is the outgrowth of the message. Every piece of fruit contains the seed for the next generation. When we plant the Word, it will bear fruit. And the fruit contains the magic of reproduction.

Cole identified three components of farming: sowing, growing, harvesting. He said, the farmer is most busy at the sowing and harvesting seasons. Yet, it seems that we tend to work most at making churches ‘grow’. That is the only thing the farmer did not work for. Growth is the byproduct of sowing and harvesting.


As he talked about reproductive disciple-making, Cole confessed that he once focused on various curricula for use in disciple-making. When one curriculum became boring, they would change to another. Ultimately he even sought to write his own curriculum. Sometimes he would try having growing disciples read and discuss good spiritual books to maintain their interest and keep them on a growth track. Finally, Cole realized that the solution to changed lives was not found in curriculum, or in good books. Verge participants laughed as Cole reenacted His dialogue with the Father, “God what book could we read that might really change their lives? God responded, Well, I do have a best seller.”

From that dialogue, Cole began to develop the Life Transformation Group (LTG) process that is now widely used among believers. In LTG’s two or three believers covenant to read 25-30 chapters of Scripture each week. Then they meet to share what God said to them through the Word. They also pray for their personal witness to unbelieving friends and utilize a list of accountability questions for mutual encouragement in faithfulness.

The process focuses on getting the seed into fallow ground. We can’t make the seed grow. As George Patterson is fond of saying “You can’t make anything grow anymore than tugging on an ear of corn will make it grow.” But we can act upon our confidence that the magic of the movement is found in the seed.

White Space - By Dr. Bill Tinsley

For most of us, life starts out fairly simple. When my wife and I married we could, quite literally, pack all our possessions in the back seat of our car. But along the way, we picked up clutter. The closets and attic overflow. Periodically I move boxes around in the garage so she can get her car in. Stuff seems to multiply to occupy every nook and cranny. It is hard to throw it away. Even what looks like trash is somehow attached to memories. Every scrap of paper, baby shoe and broken toy possesses a part of my life.

It isn’t just things. The calendar is the same. Business, or “busy-ness,” expands to claim every minute. Many leave the house in the dark, stagger out to the car swigging down a last cup of coffee and maneuver onto the freeways munching a breakfast burrito. Memos, phone calls, meetings and a commute home in rush hour traffic to pick up kids and head off to practice sessions. No wonder we are exhausted.

Christians may be especially vulnerable. Richard Foster wrote, “We are trapped in a rat race, not just of acquiring money, but also of meeting family and business obligations. We pant through an endless series of appointments and duties. This problem is especially acute for those who want to do what is right. With frantic fidelity we respond to all calls to service, distressingly unable to distinguish the voice of Christ from that of human manipulators."

We need white space!

Look at Google. Someone discovered that the greatest impact is made when there is plenty of white space. Google keeps it simple. The iPod and the iPhone do the same. The iPod has one button. The iPhone has none. We need to learn how to live as Google lives, with plenty of white space, space in our lives that gives us freedom. We need deliverance from crammed calendars and cluttered closets.

It takes discipline to create white space, room for flexibility and freedom, margins in which to breathe. Some have been surprised in the present economic downturn to discover a newfound freedom by scaling back, ridding themselves of clutter, finding time for family and friends.

Perhaps this is what Jesus meant when He said, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust corrupt and thieves break through and steal …” Jesus knew how to order life with “white space.” He took time to listen to children, to help a desperate woman who risked touching his garment, to heal a paralytic passed over by the crowd. He had time for people, and, when he died, his robe was his only possession. He never punched a time clock. He did not wear a watch. He was never rushed or in a hurry.

It is entirely possible that, with our break neck race to “get somewhere” that we might end up “nowhere.” This might be the reason Jesus said, “… you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed.” (Luke 10:41). When we simplify our lives with fewer “things” and build “white spaces” in our lives for others we discover life itself.

Write Bill Tinsley at bill@mckinneytoday.net. Dr. Tinsley has served as pastor and missions leader in Texas, Minnesota and Wisconsin. He has international experience in South America, Africa, Australia, Europe and Asia. His books are available at www.tinsleycenter.com.

Faith Mixed with Sorrow

Today I have been with family members who have been wrestling with the decision to remove life support systems from their loved one. The decision is one no wife would ever wish to make concerning her husband. The believer always wonders if there is still an ounce of hope that God might allow a miracle to happen that supersedes every prognosis given by medical experts.

Just a week ago he was enjoying relationships with his family, working out at the health club, working in his vocation and serving Christ through his life. Today, he lies comatose with severe neurological damage following a heart attack sustained when alone…on his way home.

The possibility of such an experience always seems remote, but it is nonetheless real. In this instance, it was something that the couple had talked about. He had said, “I would not want to remain in a condition where I was not aware, being dependent upon support systems to sustain my life.” He said, “I would rather go be with Jesus.”


While the decision to remove life support systems is still traumatizing and painful, the words he had spoken do provide comfort. For those who remain, the pain of loss is profound. Even knowing his preference to “be with Jesus” does not remove the hurt and emptiness. Nor does it remove the lingering questions: “Is this the right decision?”

While family and friends gather round, and faith nurtures the spirit of those who remain, the darkness of the moment is real. And it feels as though the light will never shine again. That is reality, even for people with deep faith. And we, friends and family who also possess faith in God, join them with our tears.

We ask ourselves why we cry, if we truly believe the promises of God. And for just a moment, we understand another who stood at the grave of a dear friend and wept even though He possessed the power to restore life. Yes, Jesus wept.

Jesus Sneezed – Kingdom Movement

At Verge 2010 we laughed as Alan Hirsch began by saying “I have always wanted to write a book called Jesus Sneezed.” Viruses can teach us a lot of things. They are resistant and remarkable creatures. All good ideas spread like viruses. The idea becomes a splinter in your brain. It demands your attention. You cannot help but notice it and deal with it. As we reflect on the idea that has ‘grabbed us’ we ‘sneeze’ that idea onto someone else.

Very simple slogans are characteristic of movements. “Jesus, Lord is alive” is a great example. The more complex you make it the more you slow it down. The early church message was simply yet earth shaking. The simplicity of that message demands a response. It paves the way for disciples to be born into the Kingdom.

Such a message spreading virally would only take eleven iterations from the 2200 people attending Verge, following the “pay it forward” concept loving three people into and discipling them in the Kingdom of God, to “cover” all of America. Then three more iterations would reach the every person in the world!

That is the power of multiplication. Were every church plant to “pay it forward” into only three more new churches, we would quickly saturate the world with churches. By the way, they don’t have to be big, just alive.

There are two elements that make an exponential movement:
Apostolic ministry + Mission of the People of God = Exponential Movement

Apostolic ministry is about ‘sent’ leaders who equip others for their sending. Mission of the People of God (MPOC) implies the equipped, mobilized ministry of every Christ follower.The real revolution happens when the people of God actually become and act as the people of God.

Below is Video of Alan Hirsch at Verge 2010.



*Photo provided by the VERGE 2010 Media Team

The Big Red Tractor – My New Favorite Metaphor

The Big Red Tractor from Jacob Lewis on Vimeo.

Francis Chan has given me a new metaphor. My grandmother’s phrase for anything difficult was, “It was like pulling teeth…” In the past, I have used that phrase myself when I found it difficult to lead the congregation forward. “It’s like pulling teeth to get these people off dead center.” So often church leadership has felt like pulling and pushing an old ship trying to get it to move.


I relinquished the role of pushing and pulling when I realized no amount of human effort can result in the accomplishment of God’s mission. We do not make it happen. That is why the St. Exupery quote means so much to me: “If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea.”

I found that after more than twenty-five years of ministry I had been drumming up the men, gathering the wood, dividing the work and giving the orders to orchestrate the accomplishment of God’s mission. Now I know that the only power for that mission comes from God. I can stop expending errant energy and instead rest in the Father’s power.

This background lets you know why Francis Chan’s metaphor via his cartoon “The Big Red Tractor” made such an impression on me when I saw it at Verge 2010. Watch it yourself and make your own decision to “find rest for your soul.” By the way, your kids and grandkids will love this one as well! Thanks Francis…again, you have stretched us with your creativity and passion.

*Photo provided by the VERGE 2010 Media Team

Haiti, Hope and Missional Faithfulness

In the midst of prolific conversations about the historical and spiritual background of Haiti and the influence of that history on recent events (e.g. Pat Robertson comments) a better question was included in my friend Andrew Jones’ blog, Tall Skinny Kiwi.

A better answer was provided by Dr. Dieumeme Noelliste, president of the Caribbean Evangelical Theological Association. His comments can be accurately applied to many other global contexts where faith is separated from the marketplace, where there is an inappropriate divide between spiritual and secular, and where the church’s voice is not penetrating society at large.

QUESTION: How is it that a country which has so much Christianity also has so much poverty? How can the two coexist? Here’s an answer by a leading Haitian theologian, interviewed by Christianity Today.

"In my view: The gospel that has been preached in Haiti has left a vacuum—has left the political landscape untouched. The church doesn’t see its business as being a prophetic witness to those in power. The result has been a political sector left to its own devices; this is why the common people were the first responders to the crisis, not the government. This is the result of the gospel being truncated, emasculated, instead of confronting the powers that be to do what God intends for them to do: protect and enhance life."

I am amazed at the divergent interpretations of the missional movement. Some argue that ‘missional’ thinkers understand the Gospel to be about social justice, others about spiritual salvation. May God help us those of us who are communicating a missional message to be clear about the total implications of the whole Gospel as proclaimed and modeled by Jesus and His church. The Gospel is bigger than our segmentation. It is about both spiritual redemption and social justice…and it is about so much more. In fact, it is about everything that is on the heart of God.

I often say, missional is messy. The missional church will often look liberal in social engagement while it is conservative theologically. As we pursue a missional posture, some will say we have become liberal because we engage in addressing issues perceived as being in the social domain. We would adamantly respond, “No, we are not liberal. We are theological conservatives who have read the Bible and found throughout its pages a call to engage the world with loving compassion: meeting needs, touching lives, and sharing the ultimate Hope that outlasts every physical structure.”

More from Christianity Today

Every Saint a Full-Time Paid Staff Member

Jeff Vanderstelt, one of the pastors of Soma Communities in Tacoma, Washington echoed much of my own conviction about implications of the Body as God’s missional people. Soma Communities is a church planting church and I first learned of Jeff and the Soma family while in Riga, Latvia. There I ministered along side a young church planter who had attended Soma School in Tacoma. Jeff Vanderstelt and the body of Soma are making an incredible impact globally as they equip and empower believers to minister the Gospel and start missional communities.



Jeff began by reminding Verge 2010 participants of the position of Christ and the role of the Body. Referring to Ephesians 1, he said, “Let’s understand the position and inheritance we have in Christ. He is at the right hand. He is the head of the Body. God has put all things under his feet. There is no other senior pastor than Jesus Christ. It is not us building a church, but Jesus building His church through us.”

He went on, “At Soma we act upon the assumption that every saint is a full-time paid staff member to do the work of ministry. It doesn’t matter whether the check we receive has our church’s name in the upper left hand corner, or Microsoft, Boeing, etc. Wherever the check comes from, it is God’s channel of bringing his resources into your life to enable you to do your full time ministry as God’s sent one.


A critical question we must ask is, ‘Have we structured so that everybody becomes a ‘carrier’ of Jesus and see all of life as the ministry they are called to?’ The most effective carrier of discipleship is not an event. It is doing life together.

No one gets equipped in meetings. We may get informed, motivated, etc., but equipping requires us to be doing, not just hearing. We must live life together in community or we cannot equip each other. How do we know if a man is faithful? (2 Tim. 2:2) We know that only if we are doing life together.

We do not put on a lot of events that extract people from life…instead we equip for life with one another. Unless we call people to focus on mission, they will ultimately become internalized and segregated from the world. We must reorient our whole lives around reaching out to people. Do whatever it takes to be a missionary to a particular people group.

When we started Soma, it was not about a big launch service. We launched people and commissioned them to start their own groups. Each leader has an apprentice. Those who lead small flocks well are those who become entrusted elders of the congregation.”

Theirs is an equipping and empowering process that has the Acts of the Holy Spirit written all over it!

*Photos provided by the VERGE 2010 Media Team