Main Session 2 - On the Verge: See it - Neil Cole

Current church planting, people reaching was by addition. To reach the 6.9 billion people, we were going to have to learn to multiply.

I began searching through Acts, books, church in China, and Korea, to learn how to multiply. The secret was inside of me. The secret to multiplication is Christ in you the hope of glory. That’s the secret and power of multiplication, it’s not a strategy. Then why are we not seeing it happen?

Exponential growth starts slow and small…but builds to rapid momentum in time.

Start slow and move to fast.

Start micro and move to macro.

Disciples X2/yr. (2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512, 1024, 2048, 4096, 8192)

We want to start fast so we start with addition.

Movements are most vulnerable at the start. Momentum is most vulnerable at point of initial movement.

Vulnerabilities:

-          The seduction of addition early on. Pushing the plus sign harder and faster.

-          A corrupted DNA in the disciples. We need to lower the bar on how we do church and raise the bar on what it means to be a disciple. All people are ordained for ministry and can have Christ in them the hope of glory (the power of multiplication).

-          Leadership dependency issues.

-          All of these are the results of misplaced faith!

Movement grows from micro to macro. (picture of fertilized egg)

Disciples, leaders, churches, movements – don’t start with churches. Don’t plant churches, plant Jesus in people’s lives and their lives will change, then draw them into the church. God didn’t say, for God so loved the world that he sent them the church. It starts with Jesus into people.

If you multiple the simple enough times it will impact globally. (HIV example)

Leadership Dependency kills movements. The more discipleship is removed from Jesus, the more it is like the telephone game. Matt. 10:24-25. (²⁴ “The student is not above the teacher, nor a servant above his master. ²⁵ It is enough for students to be like their teachers, and servants like their masters. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebul, how much more the members of his household!) Only when everyone’s direct teacher is Christ, can they exceed the one who led them. Bring everyone closer to Christ.

It’s a matter of faith. Trust the Spirit, he wrote the book.

Difference between attractional leadership dependency vs. distributed energy characteristic of movement. Leaders have to learn to get out of the way. Don’t be the Bible answer man, be the Bible question man. Point them to Jesus and get out of the way.