Book Review: Exponential by Dave and Jon Ferguson

I have been reading a lot about church expansion and planting, and in particular, the missional church movement. The first book I read in that regard was Organic Church by Neil Cole. It was a great book, and set the stage for me quite well to read Exponential.

Exponential is not as much of a church planting book as it is a church growth, expansion and multiplication book. It talks a little about the grassroots movement, and focuses the majority of its attention on creating a movement with in your church. I think that is good writing, because not too many people will start a church, but many people could help their church cultivate an exponential church growth movement.

The whole premise of the book is basically reproduction. Churches as a whole have not reproduced themselves so much, but as the authors point out, reproduction is the sign of health.

The first thing I took away from this book was the idea of what they call an apprentice. It is basically the idea of one-on-one mentoring. They chose the word “apprentice because, “the word apprentice says that you are not only a learner but also are willing and ready to take action that will demand a greater leadership responsibility in order to further the movement of Jesus. Apprentices don’t just learn; they do what they have been taught and inspire others to lead themselves.”

So, everyone in the church, and particularly in leadership should have an apprentice, someone who they are grooming to do what they do. It seems to me that it is a quite effective way to train people up to do tasks that need to be reproduced within a church. It is also what Jesus did with the disciples. He selected them, gave them the vision, trained them, and then sent them. That is essentially the apprenticeship process.

The second thing that stuck out to me was the section on attracting artists and reproducing them. This is essential according to the authors, and I tend to agree.

Here is a quote from that chapter: "The creative centers tend to be the economic winners of our age... In the form of innovations and high-tech industry growth. The creative centers also show strong signs of overall regional vitality, such as increases in regional employment and population." Richard Florida-The Rise Of The Creative Class

There are different strategies and factors that they hit on in that chapter, but the main theme is that artists need to be given a chance to express themselves, and churches need to be willing to take the chance to make that happen. They say that 30 percent of the people in any church have some sort of artistic background, and the majority of those are not and will not be used. We need to give people the opportunity for artistic expression.

What the book boiled down to me, for the most part, was that we, as the church, need to do a better job of believing in people, coming alongside of them, and empowering them to do what they are capable of, whether they realize it or not. I am challenged to find an apprentice, and begin the process in my own church soon.

For what it is worth, the last part of the book talked about reproducing networks of groups of people, broadening your reach to tens of thousands of people. It lacked the ability to keep my attention. The majority of the meat is jam packed into the first two sections of the book. All in all, a pretty good read though.

The Power of Love

1985 was a terrific year, not that I remember a lot of it. But I do remember some of the pop culture in those days. I remember the iconic fashion and the epic hair styles. I remember that MTV and VH1 were not what they now are, and that they played a lot of music. I recall going to my grandma’s house, turning on VH1 and playing Rummikub with her. One of the songs from that year was on one of my favorite movies, not only of that year, but of all times, Back to the Future. The band was Huey Lewis and the News, and the song was The Power of Love. If you know it, sing along:

“You don't need money, don't take fame, Don't need no credit card to ride this train. It's strong and it's sudden and it's cruel sometimes, But it might just save your life. That's the power of love”

That song was the JAM!!!

But it also contains a truth, that there truly is power in love. I mean, look around at the dating scene for a minute. Look at the “macho” guy that is buying flowers, going to the opera, and watching chick flicks in the movie theater, for love. Look at the girl that is pretending to like UFC and the smell of exhaust fumes at the races, for love. Married people and unmarried people alike have done crazy and stupid things for love. Dreams have been abandoned, families have had their backs turned against them, and friends have been left, all for love. There is not much, if anything at all, that will come in between two people in love.

Yet that love is elementary compared to the love that God has for us. We are only able to give love as much as we are able to receive it. God has freely given us love, and whether or not we accept it is all on us.

In Ephesians 3:17-19, Paul says, “And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, … to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”

God’s love surpasses all intellect. God’s love goes beyond the power to change the habits of a human being. It goes beyond the abandonment of friends and family. God’s love can completely change the entire being of an individual. It can instantaneously turn someone 180 degrees. It has the power to bring enemies together. It has the power to allow people to live together in harmony. That is God’s intention for humankind.

The Power of Love. That is what I want to see in my life. Through my life. Because of my life in Christ. God, show me how to love like you love

...Still Reminiscing

Okay, so I have to reminisce and finish my last post. I ended up with two very promising job interviews, and second interviews with both organizations. I was offered a job at one and was pretty much assured a job at the other. I was all set to start job #1 on a Tuesday, and the Wednesday before, received a phone call asking if I could speak at a church to Jr. High students that Sunday. I accepted and began preparing my first sermon in nearly 6 months. On that Friday, I got a call from job #1 telling me that they had rescinded their offer. It hurt a bit, but I still had job #2 in my back pocket.

Saturday morning I woke up, and in usual fashion, I grabbed my phone before I got out of bed, and checked my emails. Wouldn’t you now it, but job #2 was doing corporate cutbacks, and the job they were preparing to offer me was no longer open. So I went from 2 very promising jobs to nothing in less than 24 hours. I was a bit crushed. I have never struggled with having to be the bread winner or the man that has to make more money than his wife, but not being able to secure these jobs was a bit of a blow.

So Sunday I preached, and I loved it. I knew what I was created to do, and jobs #1 and #2 were not it. I knew I was supposed to be in church work again, and that was what I needed to realize it. I was no longer upset at all about not getting a job, but now driven to do what it took to be in ministry once again.

And God opened that door. The very church I spoke at that January morning ended up hiring me in May. It was and is God’s provision for me. Sometimes He doesn’t tell us the whole story, but lets us live it out to see Him in the middle of it all when we stand and look back.

2011 has been a great year. I have been stretched in ways I wasn’t expecting, and I have sacrificed and God has blessed me.

And now, as I look forward to 2012, I have vision. And I am excited for what the future holds.

It is one thing to say, “God, I will do anything for you,” but it is a whole other thing to actually do it. While it may not be a big step for someone to apply for a job that they aren’t passionate about, it was for me. And it was what God required of me. I laid it down, and God picked it back up and gave it back to me in a bigger and better way.

It reminds me of the book, The Dream Giver, by Bruce Wilkinson. There is a point where the guy with the dream comes to a great river and has to set his dream down. Reluctantly, he does and gets in the boat and crosses the river, hope shattered. But there on the other side is his dream.

God never wants to take our dream from us, but there comes times where He will challenge us to see if He or it has become the God.

Reminiscing... only for a minute

I have never really been the one to look back. In fact, I recently took a strength-finder test and it told me I am a futurist. So, this time of year brings me great joy, because the simple act of the calendar changing to a new year, in some strange way, puts me that much closer to the future. I have definite goals for 2012, and those will be revealed soon enough, but today is a time to reminisce a bit.

One year ago, I was out of a job (by my choice), had just moved into our own home after living with my parents for 6 months, and I was finally starting to move forward in life a bit. I had begun conquering a few things that held me back and, for the first time in a while, I really felt that God was for me.

Christmas 2010 was spent with my parents, my sisters, my wife and my son, and was the best one to date. My son was spoiled by all of his grandparents, and us as well, bringing home enough toys to last him a decade.

As soon as Christmas ended I began looking for a job outside of ministry for the first time in nearly 10 years. This was a tough time for me, because I know that I am made for ministry and church work. But, the whole reason I gave up my ministry job and moved was for the betterment of my family, and so, too, was the decision to go back into the workforce. I had a number of resumes sent out to churches, and nobody was biting, so I needed to do something for income.

Sometimes you just have to do something that you don’t want to do as a man, but is the right thing to do as a dad or husband. If it came down to it, and I needed to go back into retail or fast-food or and automotive job, I would have done it gladly, because my family needed that more than I needed my job fulfillment. Everyday, I am challenged to put aside my own wants and desires to fulfill those of my family.

“Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13

You get one family; multiple people, but one family. Your family is priority number one in this life. According to Jesus, there is no better way to show your family that they are loved and that they are a priority than for you to lay down your desires for theirs.

“What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?” Mark 8:36

What good is it for a man to gain the whole world (money, cars, titles, promotions, cars, homes, stuff), yet forfeit his family?