Total Church book review

Total Church by Tim Chester and Steve Timmis

Why does the gospel and community change every aspect of the Christian walk?

Community is where we practice our identity that we have in Christ. We are a family in Christ and your allegiance lies with the Father. It is in the church that we live what we believe. If what you know in your head never makes it to community, you don't really live it.

The gospel is how God has revealed himself to us. It contains instructions how to live and how to please God.

"Total Church" takes these two principles and address key areas of the Christian walk such as:

Discipleship and Training
Pastoral Care
Spirituality
Theology
Church Planting
Success
Apologetics
Social Involvement

Some quick thoughts that have challenged me to grow.

1. In the realm of social involvement, we must preach the Gospel because our actions could be interpreted differently. We may even be preaching a worked based religion. Unless you open your mouth you look exactly like someone just trying to be nice.

2. Apologetics is simply bringing someone to the realization that they have chosen to hold a spirit of rebellion against God. It is our faith lived in community that is to instill a desire for the lost to WANT to believe that Christ following is legit.

3. Pastoral care takes on a preventative stance as we open our lives to one another in community. When we speak into each others lives and expose sin/struggles we can eliminate/deal with them before they become fatal. Furthermore, many pastoral care issues are due to a lack of faith/truth in a believers life. Pastoral care is first and foremost the ability to apply the gospel word to problems in people's lives.

Basicly we know how to live because of the gospel and we live what we know in community. This applies to every area of Christianity.

getting it slotted!

So the weeks are getting stacked. Lining up a lifestyle that will do the most impact. I've been hooked up with a soccer team that plays 3/4 times a week and I get to hang out with a bunch of dudes who don't speak a lick of english. But I can ask for the ball in Indonesian.....so that's a start.

Got the visa sorted. I'm going to mission up to Kuala Lumpur to get my visa renewed. It's a hassle, but it'll deal with the 30 day limit.

I'm in a secret meeting with the pastor of a local church plant. We're going to see how I can come alongside the ministry and bless. It's going to be tight.

I've been spending a lot of time with YWAM, uh, actually living with them so I've learned some cool things there.

Just wanted to let all yall know that God has been answering prayers. He's put a couple of believers in my path to disciple and given me a chance to throw some fire into the lives of christians here. Finances aren't perfect or even in the clear yet, but God is good. Thanks for the lovin'.

Bali beginnings

It's neat going somewhere and getting to hang out with locals. I mean as missionaries/travelers we so often go to some far-off land and "randomly" meet up with people who are just like us. Not the case here as I've been warmly embraced by YWAM who is now running a School of Worship for Indonesians. It's bi-lingual and I get a chance to interact with future Indonesian ministers.

This place is way Hindu. I mean incense in the streets, crazy head-garb, little road side gods. I was told to take it easy with the preaching thing, so I left my tracts in South Africa. But I did unleash a torrent of Truth on a fellow surfer....he asked for it. Really.

My visa deal kinda got sorted. I'm going to have to fly out to Kuala Lumpur in 30 days to renew it and that'll set me back $180 imaginary dollars (cause I haven't gotten them yet). Another semi-answer to prayer: I have found several local clubs to play with and am in the process of trying out. I've also received financial sponsorship to play for one of the fee-based clubs!

Things that still need to get prayed for: A local church plant to pour into. It's gotta be a church plant. That's it.

God has shown me some very neat things through the reading that I've been doing and is molding my understanding of the Church. I would like to thank all of you so much for investing in me and giving me a chance to practice all that I've been learning.

Stay tuned for a Project 72 epiphany: disciplemaking.

Developments surrounding the 16th of June

Mamelodi, Pretoria, South Africa. I’m hanging out in the township. It’s here that immigrants first settle as they cross over the northern border. It’s here that they look for work and hope of new beginnings. The kids play in the streets and look up at the shiny Mercedes rolling past. New multi-level houses sit adjacent to tin roofed huts. Garbage litters the streets but the wrought iron fences of the rich keep the manicured lawns pristine. This is home to 2 million souls. It is here that the church fights for the Kingdom. It’s not easy and sometimes it gets sticky, but it’s beautiful.

God has answered some prayers in a rocking awesome style (which is His trademark). I’ve been praying about Bali for some time now and it was this big mysterious vacuum of planning (totally not my fault. I have everything planned out all the time). But I’ve been praying that God would set some stuff up before I left for Indonesia. A big answer to prayer came as I found a huge book store and found all of the required reading that has yet to be done for the courses that I am taking now. When I saw these books I was screaming at the top my lungs. The ladies at the bookstore had to pry those church planting books out of my hands and sit me down. God also brought an old family friend back into my life. Allan Grieg runs Africa Revolution, an internship program that reaches out to the poor, needy, and HIV/AIDS populace. He really hooked me up when I arrived here in Pretoria. I was invited to some really neat local gathers and funneled into the local church immediately. Through Allan I was able to meet Pastor Vincent who took me on a tour of Mamelodi (the name means Mother of Melody) and shared background information on the history of the community and the local church. I’ve been praying to get connected with believers like these.
There is some serious craziness coming my way. I’m flying out of the country tomorrow and just found out that Indonesia doesn’t grant 90 day tourist visas…they only do 30 days. I already bought a ticket out of the country and it’s way past 30 days. So I’m going to call the Indonesian embassy tomorrow and shoot for a visa within 24 hours of departure. Hectic. If I don’t get the visa then I have to leave the country and then come back in. Which is crazy because Bali is an island in the middle of nowhere.

There are some things that are semi-arranged in Bali. I’ve been communicating with locals on getting connected with a local soccer club to play with. It is imperative that I play competitive soccer for the duration of the summer to prepare myself for Moody season this fall. I have several leads on local teams and one such club is open for play two times a week with a membership fee of only 300,000 Rupiahs (or 30USD). I also have a chance to partner with YWAM. They are going to pick me up from the airport and take me to their leader. The only issue is that it’s super expensive ($17/day). I’ve been living on something like $3-7/day for a couple of weeks now. That’ll be good to connect with guys who have been ministering in that area for a while and they’re knowledge will be an invaluable resource and a great starting place.

THE ULTIMO: I’m going to ask you to pray for something super specific. Something absurd. I want to help plant a church in Bali. Someone somewhere on that little island has to have a moving of the Spirit to plant a church and I want to join that man/woman/child in this mission. I am no longer going to join just any ministry (hey, joining God is the way to go. So it’s not a bad thing), but I want to use my calling in the most specific of manners. Please pray that I connect with a group of local believers who want to start a new work in Bali.

In total:
Pray-
•Soccer team to be finalized
•Visa to get sorted
•Special Bali church plant contact to be found
•Travel mercies

Needs you can meet with American dollars-
•Books for studies ($40 will cover the bill)
•Travel insurance, for if I get hit by a run-away elephant ($85)
•Housing and food ($17/day for 58 days)
•Visas $25 for Bali and $30 for Qatar
•Soccer club membership ($60)
•Tooth paste and tooth brush ($2)
•Flip flops ($4)
•Shoe repair ($5)
•College sponsorship (when I arrive back in the states I will have no money. I also start soccer practice 3 days after I get back to the US, which means I have no time to earn money. My needs are $500/month and that pays for room/board and maybe one book….so it’s bare-bones. I have 6 months of school to pay for and then I’m done with my BA. So if it is in your blessed bones to allow me to fully concentrate on soccer and my final semester of college, I would be one of the happiest guys on the planet. If I don’t get the funds then I may have to sell my body to science by doing a clinical drug study to make the cash [I’ve done it before. Will do it again]. I am blessed to have come this far without incurring any debt)

Wants you have no obligation to meet-
•Scooter rental $3/day (I gotta get to soccer practice. Don’t make me walk halfway across the island)
•Soccer boots/shin guards $80
•Cell phone airtime $20

Thanks so much for keeping me lifted up in prayer. I’m super psyched about what God is doing and I can’t wait to see what God is showing you, my friends.

David Bassett

Dave Bassett is the man. Yea, I kinda hate him. He made me paddle into waves I have no business being near. He made me wake up before the sun rose (in China) to go surf. But I still love this guy.

He's a manager at the Surf Shack in Muizenberg, Cape Town and he and I spent about 6 weeks within 10 feet of each other. We were bros. Through this friend I was able to pour into the lives of other surf instructors at the Shack and invite a lot of guys to bible study. Dave took me into his house and hosted me for several weeks. His house became a launch site for interactions with local surfers and contacts. Through meetings/parties/meals we were able to get into the lives of people.

David has a passion to grow and serve the Lord. He is in a tough place as the surf culture has a heavy pull on Christians.

Keep this brother in prayer as he looks to move believers into discipleship and growth!

Roxanne Salida

Featured cool kids profile: Roxanne Salida.

I was chilling in this park thinking about what on earth I was going to do in Jeffrey's Bay. I was freaking out about getting in contact with some ministry and just praying through these things on a bench overlooking the best right hand wave in the world (it didn't help the situation). All of a sudden I turned around to find a soul-patch wielding pastor telling me about what it's like to do ministry. I'm like, "Pastor Murray, where the heck did you come from?" He didn't have to answer, I knew he was put their by God.

I was invited to go to Face to Face church and had spent an afternoon at the pastor's house to talk about church. It was in these interactions that I met Wendy. This believer is actively involved in the church and even offered to let me stay at her place while she went on holidays (excessive answer to prayer has been a trade-mark of God on this voyage). Wendy invited me to her birthday/going away party and it was there that I met a ton of Face to Facers and these two crazy sisters Roxanne and Simone.

These two sisters have something special between them. I don't know if their powers combine into some strong voodoo or something, but they are bent on being the most open people in the world. I spoke with them at the party and also connected with a dude named Vaughn. The four of us shared what God has been doing in our lives and over the course of the next 2 weeks I was adopted into one of the most vibrant Christian communities I had ever seen. It was highlighted by a dinner party that drew such honored guests as the YWAM 3 month students. I met with believers through the events that Roxanne hosted and had a chance to hear (and join) the praise given to our Father what he is doing in the lives of students from Canada, the US, Madagascar, and everywhere in between.

I guess the thing that hits me the hardest is how Roxanne seemed to re-prioritize everything. She thinks of others before herself and is honestly concerned with the well-being of others. She makes people feel special and is a fantastic listener. The grace of God is way definitely upon this girl!

So often we have our own lives and don't have time for some crazy guy with a Mohawk and an odd gotee. So often we meet some guy and see where we can fit him/her in. Roxanne dropped her life and then rebuilt it to include me as a special guest (even if it was for 2 weeks). Yea, we're from America. We're busy. But people can be impacted and brought closer to God.....even if they're with us for a short time.

Jeffrey's Bay wrap up

The past two weeks I was an honorary member of Leadership Experience Program (LXP). These 20 students from all over southern Africa are hitting the streets with a vigor that would leave the most hectic vacation bible school looking like a walk in the park. They wake up earlier. Pray more. Worship together more. Fast more. And they do outreach three days a week, listen to lectures, and run a youth program. They do this every week for 9 months. They’re serious about experience. George Mwanza, the leader of LXP, openly welcomed me and inspired me as I sat in on lectures. The students became a family extension and I was allowed to live with some of the staff. It was an amazing opportunity.

I hitched a ride to Port Elizabeth in a delivery truck and caught two taxis to get to the bus station. Twenty hours later I arrived in Pretoria, in the far north of the country. This sprawling city is unlike anything I’ve seen so far in South Africa. It is very westernized and there’s a lot of money here. But I came to see what is going on with Africa Revolution, an organization headed up by Allan Grieg. Allan works with the poor from the local township. Africa Revolution also does ministry with HIV/AIDS infected. Over the next couple days I’ll be living in the township and getting an inside look at what work among the poor looks like.

Things are going to get crazy. I’m going to be flying to Bali, Indonesia on Wednesday and have yet to make a solid contact there. I need to get plugged into a local church and establish goals quickly. I really need to find a soccer team to play with. A lot of loose ends and the time is running short!

Jeffreys Bay

Got the sweet hook ups- The most epic Saturday of my life took place this past weekend. I was prayed up and encouraged by the messages from all of ya guys out there. Early Saturday morning I started a session of prayer and an overview of Acts then headed to find what God was doing in Jeffreys Bay. What I found still stuns me. Over the course of the day I ran into a vibrant church that hosts dozens of ministries in the area, two surf discipleship schools, a bible school, two leadership training schools, soccer outreach, door-to-door/simple church ministry, a Christian camp, worship practice, a community of believers, and an invitation to come alongside and learn more! I had been running around town tracking down my leads and returned to the hostel to find that several people had come by looking for me. I called a number that someone had left at the desk and was told to sit tight. “We’re coming for you”. Strange, I had heard that months ago in Dublin when it looked like I was all alone. God never bails.

So I found myself hanging out with the guys from Leadership Experience Program (LXP). They invited me into the house and I am surrounded by a valiant effort to make disciples of young students from all across Africa. There are currently 13 students and they have a regular week that looks like a hardcore VBS schedule that is capable of blowing out any qualified minister…and they do it for 9 months. Heavy.
I found a lot of haters. A lot of nay-sayers. Bad vibes. Sometimes believers don’t get a long and we’re not called to be best friends with everyone. Paul himself talked about how he wanted to go where the gospel has yet to be preached, so as not to interfere with other ministers. I think I’m beginning to see what he means.

Killer waves. Freaking insane. The most perfect wave I’ve ever seen in my life. I’ve only had a chance to get in the water twice, but it makes me that happiest guy on the planet when I’m paddling out. I’ve met many friends in the water (even in just two sessions) and have had a chance to preach Jesus a couple times. Once I was speaking with a youth about the importance of knowing the Father through the Son, when an older local surfer paddled past. He ripped into me telling me to keep “that religion” to myself and that I had better know my place in the lineup. I wasn’t even speaking to him and he told me to be quiet!

There are some things that I’ve gotta wrestle through, but I know that with prayer and supplication God will show me the truth. I am lifted in spirit and know that God is truly my Deliverer.