Archive for January, 2010
Posted on January 30, 2010 - by Larry - 2 Comments
New Skybridge Site
We have just completed a re-launch of our site.
I hope you will check it out and join this community.
Normally we have four categories of members
1. Those thinking about working in Europe and looking for ways to do that and prepare for being salt and light here.
2. People who are already working in Europe and looking for ways to connect with ministries and obtain training for living out their lives incarnationally here.
3. We have some US churches who want to partner with people who are working over here in the marketplace. We believe it is extremely important for the marketplace worker to have a supporting church for prayer, accountability and potentially projects that will enable them to minister here. If your church is interested in this please let me know.
4. We also have church planters, church planting teams and people in existing mission networks here in Europe as a part of our community. Our Skybridge members want to connect with meaningful local ministry and this is where much of their community is found. We have Skybridge members in quite a few European cities and they are often looking for ways to connect.
If this interests you then I hope you will join Skybridge. Check it out at www.skybridgecommunity.net
Next Week I am leading a Jet Set Vision Trip with the Village Church in Dallas. I hope you will follow along on this blog, twitter and our Upstream Site. as we travel to four different countries and look at ministry opportunities, learn about local cultures and have various missional conversations.
Posted on January 27, 2010 - by Larry - 0 Comments
Cross Cultural Church Planting Assessments, Part four
I am at a new worker conference this week for imb. I love coming to these events. I love the energy of the workers here. They all have such a heart to see the peoples of Europe come to Christ. Some amazing stories of how God is working here.
I want to return to the cross cultural church planting assessment posts.
Here is a really important verse in the life of the early church.
Now those who had been scattered by the persecution in connection with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, telling the message only to Jews. Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. 21The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord. Acts 11:19
What intrigues me about Acts 11 is that there was a cross cultural witness that took place. The result we find later is that a church was planted in Antioch of Syria. We see in Acts 13 this church became a sending church which also embarked on cross cultural missionary journeys as they sent out Paul and Barnabas.
Over the years as I have studied and taught church planter assessment mainly from a North American perspective but also some in Europe. I think there are some behavioral competencies that can be helpful in a person or even a group of persons who are going to work cross culturally in a mission setting.
I would welcome your thoughts on this. I am still developing this idea but I am very interested in helping churches as they think and act as missionaries in another culture.
Here is the first part of the list!
Contextualizer – Ability to read / understand a culture and contextualize the gospel for that culture.
Cultural Adaptation – The ability to adapt to another culture other than you own.
Ability to Create Ownership – A Gatherer of people around a common vision and community.
Visioning Capacity – Ability to cast a clear and compelling vision.
Intrinsically Motivated – A deep sense of calling that drives the person to be able to create movement.
I will show you five others characteristics that I feel are important for cross cultural ministry on my next post.
Posted on January 22, 2010 - by Larry - 0 Comments
The next person
Have you ever written down in your journal the people who have influenced you in positive ways over the years?
Who have you invested in ?
We need people on both lists.
I was listening to a message last Sunday in a church here in our town. The text was 2 Timothy 2:2
And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.
Maybe it is Facebook but I have thought a lot about high school and college lately. It was in my freshmen year of college that I became quite serious about my commitment to follow Jesus on a daily basis. The Lord provided me with several mentors.
I remember Ken who took me as a college student to share Christ with other students in our area.
I remember Ed who took me through MasterLife 1,2 and then started making up more to walk me through as a college student.
I remember Larry who challenge me in music (hard to believe) and to not be afraid to tell my story.
I remember David who taught me how to relate to people that I lead and to serve people I lead as Jesus would.
The list could go on. I was pretty rough around the edges.
All of these people during College and Seminary made major investments in me. They mentored me. They helped me in my spiritual journey. They helped me in my leadership journey.
As I have started a new year I have been thinking about this quite a bit. Who am I investing in? My family, colleagues, students, new missionaries on the field, national believers, etc..
I know the benefits will out last me. If I invest my time, energy and resources in others then it can go beyond my lifetime.
Posted on January 18, 2010 - by Larry - 2 Comments
Cross Cultural Church Planting Assessment, Part Three
Last week we took a look at some of the competencies that are important for church planters in North America. Today I want to discuss briefly the idea behind behavioral assessments.
In behavioral assessments a person’s past behavior is a good predictor of their future performance. For example one can make a prediction on a person’s “initiating” ability if you can look at their past performances regarding the ability to create some thing from nothing. If I were to ask you “tell me about a time where you started something from nothing” how would you respond?
If you were to say for example that “when I was a teenager I needed some extra money. I decided to start mowing yards to have more money. I designed and printed publicity brochures and handed them out to my neighbors and friends. I got a few customers and did a pretty good job with their lawns. They told others about my work. Soon I could not do all of the work so I hired a few others to help me mow the lawns.” In this case the person started a small business. In my opinion this person demonstrated the ability to start something from scratch.
However, I would then ask a follow up question “can you tell me about a time where you started a ministry?” I ask the “follow up” for I want to try to establish a pattern of that behavior. The more times I can see that pattern in their life then the more accurate of a prediction that I can make.
So to continue this “fictional assessment” let’s assume the person being assessed then answered:
“Well, in college I was talking with some of the guys on our hall and they kept talking about spiritual matters. They had all sorts of questions. I decided to start a bible study for people who were spiritually seeking. We started in my dorm room but it quickly grew too large for the room. I identified some potential leaders in this group. I spent some time training them and then we started these groups on other halls and in several places on campus”. Again this guy demonstrated the ability to start something from nothing.
In the church planting world I would say this person has potential in one key component of being a church planter. He has the ability to start something from nothing. He has shown me this in at least two specific examples from his past experiences. In church planting assessments “the more longstanding the behavior, the greater its predictive power.” Behavior Description Interviewing, New Accurate, Cost Effective by Tom Janz, Lowell Hellervik, David C. Gilmore, Prentice Hall, 1986.
By indirect observation of behavior you can take a zoom lens into the past. By looking into the persons past we can gain a handle of their behavior consistencies that can allow us to have some understanding of their future performance in a given context. The more recent the past behavior, the greater its predictive power.
Next week I am going to write a post about if this can potentially be applied to a church?
Posted on January 16, 2010 - by Larry - 0 Comments
Haiti
The other night my son and I were watching CNN news coverage here in Germany of
the massive damage from the earthquake in Haiti.
We both just sat in disbelief of the pain and devastation in that country. As we were watching
I started 
thinking about how can we help?
As the week unfolded I received many emails, blogs, tweets and facebook posts about places to send donations, gathering points for supplies, appeals for doctors, etc.. I am amazed and grateful when a major crisis occurs how many people from all kinds of backgrounds mobilize for support. I have received emails from Spanish friends talking about ways they can contribute. I have been in a prayer gathering of local national churches here in Germany where Haiti was lifted up.
There are so many good places to give your resources in crisis situations such as this. Unfortunately I read where there are some scams going on as well. I think it wise to be sure to check the organization before you send your money.
As you know I often try to write about organizations and networks who can be great partners overseas. We have lived in Europe for the last 8 years and one group that I have much confidence in during times and situations like these is the BGR. They are well connected on the field and do a good assessment of needs. The money that is given to this fund will go directly to the relief efforts in Haiti. I have found them to also do well with a long term strategy for the crisis.
We all need to pray for the people of Haiti. We need to pray for provision for these people. We need to pray that God’s comfort, grace and mercy be evident there. I am thankful for the many organizations and churches who are helping in this crisis.
Posted on January 14, 2010 - by Larry - 3 Comments
The Possibility Thinker
Recently I remember being part of a group conversation regarding missions. One of the guys in the group has lived on the mission field a long time. This person has a wealth of knowledge and experience. As I was interacting with the group and listening to this person I kept hearing something that inspired me to write this post.
For nearly every idea that was popping up in the conversation from a younger worker this person had a response.
“The problem with that is….”
I tried to be polite in the conversation but I must admit that kind of impossibility thinking drove me crazy. I believe those words can quench the spirit of people who are trying to be creative in their ministry. Sure most ideas can be well, idealistic, but we need dreamers.
On the other hand I know people who react just the opposite. They are what I call “possibility thinkers”. When someone presents an idea they do not kill it but they help you think through the possibilities and start dreaming with you. You start thinking you can actually do this. As they dream with you they are able in some wild sort of way help you self- realize some of the issues you need to consider as you implement your dream.
These are men and women of faith and vision.
Sometimes in organizations we can create an atmosphere where thinking outside the box or trying something new or risky is discouraged. We need possibility thinkers on the field. We need people willing to take a chance.
I talk to a lot of people from a lot of different missional networks and churches. Consider these two scenarios from the past.
One pastor called a mission organization several times about his church’s vision to start a work in a certain country. The reply he kept getting from the office was “sorry we do not work there”. Finally he gets connected with a possibility thinker. The ideas became a reality.
I heard of another pastor who had a similar story. He has a vision for his church to engage a certain people group. He was trying to connect with some field leaders of a mission agency from his denomination. After running against too much control and opposition from the field he moved on and started working with another organization in the same country.
What if he had connected with a possibility thinker?
Since I am becoming older each day I find this topic crucial in my own ministry. I want to empower the younger workers on the field to pursue their God- given dreams. I want to see churches try things in missions that have not been tried before. The future depends on this.
Are you a possibility thinker?
Posted on January 11, 2010 - by Larry - 0 Comments
Cross Cultural Church Planting Assessment, Part Two
I have been thinking about what would the differences be between the competencies needed in church planting in a North American context in comparison with other parts of the world. There are at least two factors that we need to consider.
1. The type or model of church plant.
2. The cultural context of the church plant. In other words I think the needed competencies could look different in Asia compared to South America. However, I believe there are some competencies that are important regardless the culture.
There has been much written and discussed about church planter assessment. For an excellent article on church planting assessment take a read at this article from Scott Thomas of the Acts 29 Network. Towards the end of his article you will see 13 Characteristics of a church planter from Charles R. Ridley.
Ridley’s 13 characteristics is probably the most utilized list for church planter assessment over the years.
- Visionizing Capacity: Ability to project a vision into the future, persuasively sell it to other people, and bring the vision into reality.
- Intrinsically Motivated: Approaches ministry as a self-starter and commits to excellence through long and hard work.
- Creates Ownership of Ministry: Instills in the people a sense of personal responsibility for the growth and success of ministry and trains leaders to reproduce leaders.
- Reaches the Unchurched and Lost: Ability to develop rapport, break through barriers, and encourage unchurched people to examine themselves and commit to a walk with God and lead people to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
- Spousal Cooperation: Creating a workable partnership that agrees on ministry priorities, each partner’s role and involvement in ministry, and the integration of ministry with family life.
- Effectively Builds Relationships: Takes the initiative in getting to know people and deepening relationships as a basis for more effective ministry.
- Committed to Church Growth: Values church growth as a method for building more and better disciples; strives to achieve numerical growth within the context of spiritual and relational growth.
- Responsiveness to the Community: Adapts the ministry to the culture and needs of the local residents.
- Utilizes Giftedness of Others: Equips and releases people to do ministry according to their spiritual gifts.
- Flexible and Adaptable: Ability to adjust to change and ambiguity, shift priorities when necessary, and handle multiple tasks at once.
- Builds Group Cohesiveness: Enables the group to work collaboratively toward a common goal and skillfully handles divisiveness and disunifying elements.
- Demonstrates Resilience: Ability to sustain oneself emotionally and physically through setbacks, losses, disappointments and failures.
- Exercises Faith: Demonstrates how one’s convictions are translated into personal and ministry decisions.
Which of these are important in your part of the world?
Digging Deeper about Behavioral Assessments: The categories were from a research conducted by a behavioral psychologist by the name of Charles Ridley. You can find out more about him here. His resume is quite impressive.
Another resource you may want to take a look at would be Discovery Tools . You can download this under the available resources section. This is a pre-assessment tool from the Church Planting Village for potential church planters that some people use.
More on cross cultural assessments next week.
Posted on January 9, 2010 - by Larry - 0 Comments
Church Planting School in Kiev Ukraine
A few weeks ago in Kiev I met with Joel Ragains who is an IMB worker there.
Joel is the church planting director 
at Kiev Theological Seminary. I will write more on this program later on but I am quite impressed with how they are training national church planters and these men are planting churches that are in turn planting churches.
As I was having a cup of coffee with him before Christmas he picked up this book and started talking about it and how it has influenced church planters in their program. I wanted to capture this on short video. You can take a look at what he says here.
As some of you know I am a long time friend of Ed Stetzer and I promise he is not prompting me to post this. However I wanted to show this to you in order to give you an idea of a need that we often hear about on the field; resources in the heart language of the people. In this case it is a church planting book that Ed wrote some years back. Though the book has a North American context Joel believes the principles in the book are cross cultural and can be helpful to church planters in that part of the world.
If you are interested in learning more about how you can partner with Joel send him
an email at JRagains@pobox.com or visit his site at KievKonnect.com.
Posted on January 7, 2010 - by Larry - 0 Comments
What is leadership?
What is leadership?
I remember first being asked this question when I was just out of seminary. I am sure it was in a John Maxwell book. I wish I could have a dollar for each time someone has started the leadership topic out with that question. I guess I would be paying myself a dollar today. smile.
I have always hung on to the definition that leadership is influence. This Christmas season I started brainstorming about some potential blog posts and decided I have some posts that I would like to write regarding leadership. I am not an expert on this. In fact I feel rather arrogant actually making it a category on my blog.
In reality, I have had a lot of experience in this area.
Some good and some bad.
I have made my share of mistakes. I will make more for sure.
Over the years I have had the opportunity to lead at various levels. Here is the one thread that runs through all of my experiences. Leadership is all about being able to influence people. It is less about position though in most churches and organizations we have made position the key factor.
If leadership is influence then I think we need to take seriously a few traits in ourselves such as our
- character
- skill to get the job done
- ability for others to trust us
- honesty
- reliability
- being a person of vision and faith
- being a possibility thinker
If people are going to follow you regardless of position then there are characteristics that need to be present in your life. I hope these things can be said of me. If not then as saying goes …. “He who thinks he is a leader and no one is following is only taking a walk. I am quite certain that I heard that from Maxwell as well.
More soon.
Posted on January 5, 2010 - by Larry - 1 Comment
Cross Cultural Church Planting Assessment, Part 1
A few weeks ago I was in the Ukraine leading several sessio
ns of training regarding church planter assessment in that part of the world. This actually brought back memories of a former life when I worked at the North America Mission Board in this same area. In preparing for this time I was reviewing some research that I had on the topic regarding church planter assessment. It really prompted three conversations in my mind.
1. How does church planter assessment look in another cultural setting? What are the behavioral competencies for a church planter outside North America? I had a particular interest in this since I wanted to compare what important competencies fellow workers see here on the field versus past research in North America.
2. Can behavioral assessment principles be utilized in a cross cultural setting? If so what would that look like?
3. Is there a way for a church to be assessed for it’s cross cultural abilities?
One project that we are working on at the Upstream Collective is to find ways in which a church can assess their gifts, experiences and even their make up as a community of believers and then utilize this information as they determine where the Lord may be leading them to do missions. Can the behavioral assessment principles be applied to a church?
Are there certain competencies that a person (or a church) needs to possess in order to minister effectively in a cross cultural setting?
I would welcome your feedback on this conversation.
In another post I am going to give you a list of several of the behavioral competencies that I see as important for cross-cultural workers or teams of workers that I have been working on.
Next week I want to briefly describe the idea of behavioral assessments.
BTW - My New Year goal for this blog is to write on a missional topic on Mondays, a leadership topic on Wednesdays and then introduce you to a friend or ministry on the weekend.
More Soon.
