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Wednesday Night Services!
7/11/2004
"Then he turned to his
disciples and said privately, "Blessed are the eyes that see what you see.
For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but did
not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it."
Luke 10:23-24
Wednesday Night Services -
what a blast! A little less than a year ago, I would arrive early for Midweek
services and asked myself whether to set up 20 or 25 chairs!! (This would be
only about 1/5 of the membership of 120.) Today though now we alternate men and
women every other week, almost every disciple is in attendance! One week is
"Men's Night Out" the next is "Women's Night Out!"
After the service, most of the brothers can be found in intimate groups at the
Red Robin, Burgerville, hanging out at the steps of the Ambridge Event Center or
if you are with Tony Untalan, having a beer at McMenimins! The brothers from the
teens to the "more mature" just cannot get enough fellowship! (So it
is with the sisters as Elena usually comes home near 11:00 pm!)
Often at the beginning of
service with Starbucks in hand, many of the brothers come dragging in from
demanding workdays, school, attacks of Satan and not having had the chance to
eat dinner. Usually, by the end of the singing, everyone is revived for our time
of "good news sharing" about God's working in our lives. Then we have
our benevolent collection, prayer and the lesson for the night. This summer both
the men and women are studying the principles of Scripture in Robert Coleman's
book, The Master Plan of Evangelism. Since I received salvation through
God's principle of disciple making, I am very grateful for discipling's impact
as well as Jesus' "plan of evangelism" - discipling - to change the
world in our lifetime. As Robert Coleman wrote, "It all started by Jesus
calling a few men to follow Him. This revealed immediately the direction his
evangelistic strategy would take. His concern was not with programs to reach the
multitudes, but with men whom the multitudes would follow...Men were to be His
method of winning the world to God." (p. 27)
During
the past year, I have been relatively shocked by how few brothers and sisters in
Portland understood the Scriptural principles behind discipling. (Even fewer
could site book, chapter and verse for these principles.) Yes, they had
discipleship partners for years (and still do.) Now they have become so fired up
to see in the Bible, Jesus' "genius" in changing the world, by
changing one man who in turn is called by God to change another. This
ever-increasing number of "ministers of reconciliation"
becomes the multiplying of disciples, which all of us see happening in the
Portland Church! For me, the most fascinating and challenging quotes from The
Master Plan of Evangelism we have studied are:
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"Philosophers"
wrote Karl Marx, "have only interpreted the world differently; the
point is to change it...the Church proclaims the changed world as a
consequence of changed men." (p. 17) (Matthew 28:18-20)
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"Do we
see an ever-expanding company of dedicated people reaching the world with
the gospel as a result of our ministry?" (p. 19) (Luke 10:1-3, Acts
2:41,47)
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"However,
the subject of Jesus' basic strategy has rarely been given the attention it
deserves." (p. 21) (Matthew 13:11)
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"Contrary
to our superficial thinking, there never was a distinction in [Jesus'] mind
between home and foreign missions. To Jesus it was all world
evangelism." (p. 23) (Mark 16:15-16)
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"His
life was ordered by His objective... It had significance because it
contributed to the ultimate purpose of His life in redeeming the world for
God. This was the motivating vision governing His behavior. His steps were
ordered by it...Not for one moment did Jesus lose sight of His goal."
(p. 24) (John 14:6)
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"He
conceived a plan that would not fail...Nevertheless this plan...is so
different from that of the modern church that its implications are nothing
less than revolutionary." (p. 24-25) (Luke 4:16-30)
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"Why did
Jesus deliberately concentrate His life on comparatively so few people? Had
He not come to save the world?...The answer to this question focuses at once
on the real purpose of His plan of evangelism. Jesus was not trying to
impress the crowd, but to usher in a kingdom. This meant that He needed
people who could lead the multitudes." (p. 34-35) (Mark 3:13-19)
Amazingly
these thought-provoking quotes can be found in the Preface, Introduction, and
Chapter 1! And this book has eight chapters! As I encouraged the brothers last
Wednesday, "Look around as our room is full of zealots! A year ago only a
few souls came to Wednesdays. Now 'see what the prophets and kings long to
see but did not see it!'" (Luke 10:23)
Kip McKean
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