Living through difficult times

The past year I’ve gotten to know a lot about pain. As a result of the kidney surgery there’s a scar that runs about 14 inches, from front to back, around my right side. I also have pain from the scapulectomy. Any time a bone as large as the shoulder blade is removed, there’s going to be a lot of cutting by the surgeons.
Suffering is universal to the human experience. Basically, it’s anything that makes us exclaim, “Oh no, not this!” or “Oh no, not that again!” By concentrating on good times during bad times, you can get past the problems, past the suffering, even past the pain.

One benefit of suffering is that it establishes your credibility as a witness for Christ. You’ve heard about walking a mile in another person’s shoes. I certainly can attest to that. In particular, I can speak to Christians who are down, bitter, and complaining about everything bad happening to them. Prior to my experience with cancer, I wouldn’t have been able to say to them, “You know, maybe you’re looking too much at yourself, focusing too much on your needs and not enough on the needs of others around you. Perhaps you would be helped by concentrating more on the needs of the Body of Christ and the unsaved world around us. Sure, you’re suffering, but that doesn’t exempt you from being a witness or servant for God. The fact is, some of your friends are going to spend eternity in hell, and you’re in a position to do something about that—but not unless you get beyond your private pity party.”

Let God’s grace and strength transform what looks like a problem for you into an opportunity to witness to other people. “[W]e are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9 NASB). God has plans that are still at work in your life. He hasn’t completed His work in you, so get with His program. Honor Him in the midst of your suffering. Your example may indeed have eternal consequences for those in your sphere of influence who have yet to believe in Jesus Christ.

Larry Burkett (1939-2003)

Christmas 2008

Fundamental Commitments of Transformation

There are three fundamental commitments of Transformational Leadership:

1. Personal Transformation – Transformed Christ-like leaders are committed to Personal Transformation, a state of being transformed.
2. Relational Transformation – Transformed Christ-like leaders practice personal transformation and builds relational connections for transformation.
3. Community Transformation - Transformed followers of Christ want nothing more than to see their spheres of influence embrace a relationship with the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Personal Transformation:
The leader has a clear vision of and vision path to his/her true self and is making significant, measurable progress toward achievement of that vision (Personal Revival).

• Habit of practicing spiritual disciplines: Consistently seeking God’s presence for transformation through prayer, fasting, meditation, solitude, perseverance and Bible study.
• Habit of authentic community (self-awareness and self-disclosure in committed relationship): Having the ability to look deeply within, to understand strengths and weaknesses and how that impacts your worldview.
• Commitment to ongoing learning and acquisition of skills: Learning in the context of a team that expands a group’s desired results.
• Transformational goals that are clear and measurable: Goals that bring the assumptions of Transformational Leadership to every aspect of the leaders’ life.
• Vision of True Self: An accurate perception of practicing transformational values
• Walking in the light: Reflecting the values of transformation
• Power encounters at the personal level of transformation: Maintaining creative tension for transformation by taking time for personal renewal and reflection

Relational Transformation
A significant number of a transformed leader’s community of relationships are lead to experience a clear, shared vision and vision path for personal transformation and is making significant, measurable progress towards becoming a transformed community of Christ-like leaders (Relational Revival).

• Continuing corporate intercession: Practicing the priesthood of the Body of Christ on a consistent basis. Seeking the face of God and His hands
• Ongoing application of the Biblical Transformation model of Jesus Christ.
• Learning Community: An equipped community of transformed leaders who have the ability to expand the vision for transformed communities.
• Investing in community transformation with wider body of Christ: Cooperating with the wider body of Christ beyond denominational and social barriers, to engage in city reaching.
• Strategy for multiplication (global/local): Adopting a strategy for rapid reproduction of disciples.
• Power encounters at the relational level: Creating an environment for healthy reproduction of disciples by maintaining creative tension for transformation by taking time for relational community renewal and reflection.

Community Transformation
A critical mass of transformed Christ-like followers in a geographically or socially defined community have a clear, shared vision and vision path and are making significant, measurable progress toward the achievement of transforming their community of influence (Transforming Revival - The Body of Christ will experience an invitation from God to participate with Him to redeem a lost world around them through transforming revival).
Fervent, united, self-less intercession: “If My people who are called by My Name would humble themselves and pray, seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven, forgive their sins and heal their land” (II Chronicles 7:14)

• Emergence of preserving leadership: Defined leadership that requires enormous personal maturity and assurance in who God called them to be and to do.
• Social impact: The transformation of social influences at every level
• Understanding of community’s needs (diagnostic research): A review and an assessment of community values and spiritual mapping of a given region or identified social sector.
• Power encounters at the community level: An experience of coming face to face with God and His Word that confronts past behavior, uprooting all negative influences. As such, many will discover God’s plan for personal, relational and community/domain transformation.
• Saturation church planting: Facilitation of a church planting movement through relational networks
• A rapid reproduction of “disciples making disciples” in oikos relationships: Within a short period of time, God transformed lives will in turn have the capacity to transform others. This is done through relational reproducible networks.

By Ps. Rickie Bradshaw

God's Kingdom or My Kingdom?

God’s Message:

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:9-10)

A country’s welfare depends more on the character of its society rather than the type of its government

If in the period of the first 50 years after Jesus ascended to heaven, 30% of the people in the world had received the good news, in 200 years, 100% of the people in the world should have at least heard the good news. But the fact tells us that after 2,000 years; only about 32% people have heard about the good news. So a question arises: what is the ultimate hindrance of the spreading of good news? A research done by David Barrett and James Raspsome states that: “Two-third of the world mission is a plan that stands alone; each of them sees itself as the center of world mission. 96% of all the ministries do not even care about the things that are done by other Christian organizations which are not in the same line with them. Only 4% of these world missions cooperate or have a relationship with other groups or denominations.”

Therefore they concluded that the main hindrance of spreading the good news is the lack of cooperation (in term of networking and partnership) between churches and Christian organizations. Why is it so difficult for the churches and Christian organizations to have cooperation and networking among them? Because each church and organization has the concept of my kingdom, my church, my organization, etc. Churches should understand and realize that they exist as the representation of Christ on the earth; the Bible tells us clearly that all churches are one body and the head of the body is Christ. When the church realizes this concept, the church will unite to build the body of Christ on the earth. We know that no part of the body has the same function. All parts of the body are different, they have their own function. There must be difference that exists between the parts of the body; but this difference actually exists to complement each other.

In a prayer taught by Lord Jesus, our request is started by these words: “Our father in heaven, hallowed be Your name; Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” What is the meaning of “Your kingdom come?” A kingdom is related to king, authority and power. If the Kingdom of God comes, it means that the authority or supremacy of God applies to a group of people or an area. So this prayer is actually asking the Kingdom of God to come upon us, upon our family, upon our society or our nation. This prayer is asking His government to come and penetrate our life (personal and congregation) and our “world”. From our part, Lord Jesus teaches us to: “Seek first the Kingdom of God and its righteousness, and everything shall be added unto you.” (Matthew 6:33).

The Kingdom of Christ is not from this world. In this world, a kingdom will become stronger if there are more people or groups are conquered. (Matthew 20:25). The Kingdom of God is not about the quantity of its supporters. It is talking about the power and truth. Therefore, the King was born; and He came with the purpose the see this righteousness. (John 18:37b). If we want to build the Kingdom of God and not our own kingdom, we have to change our life’s paradigm that our church or organization is only the tool to establish His Kingdom.

There are some steps to establish the Kingdom of God on the earth:

• Place God as the head of the church
• Every church should unite and cooperate to share the good news.

Essence:
Church exists on the earth as God’s representative to preach about His kingdom. Therefore every church should unite to bring the Kingdom of God to this earth, and not to bring his own kingdom to this earth.

Reflection:
Have we realized that we exist on this earth to tell and reveal His kingdom and not to build our own kingdom? Are you ready to do this?

Commitment:
Let’s preach and reveal the Kingdom of God.

Taken from the book “Transformation Journey”
By Dr. Ir. Niko Njotorahardjo & Iman Santoso Ph.D