If you feel a bit dumb, when it comes to
starting a new church, do not worry because the Holy Spirit is a bit
dumb too. A dumb person cannot speak. The Holy Spirit can only speak
using the voice of another person or by putting thoughts into a person’s
mind. However, he is really smart at starting churches. If you are dumb
enough to stop talking and listen to the Holy Spirit, you are just the
person to start a new church.Getting out of the established church is
the hard bit, starting a new one is much easier. Just get together with
a few other Christians that you trust and listen to what Holy Spirit is
saying. Act dumb (listen) until you hear what he is saying, then do it.
- Too many Christians worry about a whole lot of irrelevant issues.
- Where should we meet?
- When should we meet?
- How often should we meet?
- What should we do when we meet?
- What type of worship we have?
- How will we get teaching?
The answers to these questions do not matter. Just do what will work
for the people involved.
The Holy Spirit can only build a strong body, if every person gets
involved. A body with some limbs not functioning is a cripple. The main
challenge in starting a church is to create an environment where every
person can participate. Here are some hints.
Every person should be free to say, “This is what I think the Holy
Spirit is saying,” even if it sounds dumb.The Holy Spirit prefers
break up what he has to say and give bits to different people. If only
one person speaks, we will miss most of what the Spirit has to say. If
the dumb donkey has seen an angel and heard from God, the entire body
needs to hear from it. The best way to encourage honesty is for leaders to be honest about
the dumb things that they have done. The Holy Spirit cannot be seen, so spirit-lead leadership should be
invisible (dumb). People who are used to leading or teaching
should learn to act dumb (be quiet) and let the Holy Sprit speak through
other people. One question that gets people thinking and talking is more
valuable than ten minutes of “teaching”.Every meeting will get stuck
in a rut at times. A spirit-led leader should be able to move it on
without saying much and no one noticing. People will often say dumb things, but that does not matter.
Correcting dumb statements is usually unnecessary. Most Christians
forget good things quite quickly, so they will forget dumb things even
quicker. Getting participation is more important than getting everything
right. The main thing a leader will have to say is “Hello”; to a person
who has just joined the group. No one should be left isolated. Everyone
should be looking for people standing alone and speak to
them. When a new person joins the group, invite them for a
meal. While chewing your food, you have to be dumb, giving them a chance
to talk about themselves. This will give them confidence to participate
in a meeting of the church. When someone believes that God is telling them to do something, the
others should encourage them to have a go. Stand with them for moral
support, even if it feels a bit dumb. Smile! Remain quiet (dumb) and people will think you are wise.
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