Verge 2014 Part 3 of 4 | Redeemed for Gospel Communities on Mission Notes of Quotes
This is the third post in a series on the Verge Conference. These won't be full-on-reflection posts, but rather notes of quotes for quick perusing. Previous posts of quotes from Verge are below:
Caesar Kalinowski, Mike Breen, Dhati Lewis, Todd Engstrom, William Branch, Steve Timmis, Hugh Halter and Jeff Vanderstelt unleashed some gospel saturation during the most jam-packed flow of discussions during the Redeemed for Gospel Communities on Mission section of the conference.
Caesar Kalinowski
GCM Collective
Executive Director
"When Jesus tells us to baptize people into His family (Matthew 28:18-20), He also means for us to soak them into their
identity in relationship to the identities of the Father (member of the family), and the Son (servant of the King), and the Holy Spirit (sent one on Jesus' mission to gather more learners to follow Him)."
"The name we have, that we've been given from another, means that we are a part of that family. So our birthright as part of Jesus' family (in God the Father), of servants (in God the Son, the Servant King) of missionaries (in God the Spirit, the One who empowers to send us) means we have a great inheritance in which we can’t outspend or outdo our Dad’s generosity."
"In repentance, we turn from unbelief to
belief, from a false identity to a true identity in who God says we are, and we
make disciples, or learners, to proclaim this good news in their lives to the people God has sent them to love and serve."
Mike Breen
3DM Movements
Founder
"We need the Spirit to help us wake up refreshed and get up inspired. All are called to participate in God's mission and many are called to lead. God is unity in community. He is mission trinitatis."
"Jesus takes the skills of His friends and equips them in His Kingdom mission. But remember, at the beginning those closest to Him, His mother and brothers, think He’s out of His mind."
"In God’s humor, we are learning how to be a family from a single guy. Jesus has His identity tested in the desert, then He goes home and He’s rejected even as the head of His household, and then He goes to find friends who will connect with Him, follow Him, and become family with Him."
"Jesus takes the skills of His friends and equips them in His Kingdom mission. But remember, at the beginning those closest to Him, His mother and brothers, think He’s out of His mind."
"We need to follow Jesus, and as He did, create predictable patterns in which people can grow in their spiritual purpose to be a family on mission. The disciples were called to do and say what they had seen Jesus do and say."
"As
you read through the New Testament, the word 'disciple' drops from the text in
Acts 21; the Gentile world doesn’t know about Rabbis and disciples, so it
switches to family (i.e. oikos). As Paul did, strengthen and grow
your family with the recognition that as a leader, you’ve been called to be a
spiritual parent to them (1 Corinthians 4:15, 1 Thessalonians 2:7-8)."
Dhati Lewis
The Rebuild Initiative
President
"A church is a network of families on mission that come together to serve neighborhoods and people groups in towns and cities for the purpose
of making disciples of Jesus."
"We need the dynamic of a family reproducing itself and multiplying in order for people to learn how to be sent out to make new learners and followers of Jesus where they live, work, and play. And just like we experience with explaining things to kids, there are never too many times a person can hear or see the gospel in his or her life. We want them to be strengthened and compelled by the gospel to share the gospel."
Todd Engstrom
The Austin Stone Community Church
Executive Pastor of Campus and Communities
"A missionary sacrifices everything but the gospel for the sake of the gospel. And this is only possible if we know who God is and what He has done for us to set us free."
"Before Christ we were orphans, but in Christ we are adopted children. Before Christ we were aimless, but in Christ we are on mission for others. Before Christ we were dead, but in Christ we are made alive."
"Practices
are helpful, but without personhood, we will be helpless. Our
new identity in Christ and our joy in the gospel must be the foundation for our
mission. Obedience
in joy can only flow from the heart."
"If mission is producing judgment in you, then you are trying to prove yourself. Not one of your neighbors or friends is impressed with your sacrifice, but Jesus’ sacrifice can impress upon them something different."
"You’re
not on this earth to just do something; you’re here to be someone. As
missionaries, know who you are, know who you love, and then you’ll know what to
do. 'For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them' (1 Corinthians 9:19)."
William Branch
The Ambassador
"How do you serve Jesus today? Learn how to be servants to your fellow servants and to your neighbors. 'You are' and 'you did' go together (Matthew 25:31-46). Jesus said I know who you are because I see what you did. Ministering is giving all practical help possible to others. But unless the Spirit is training us in love, we will not know how to minister."
"Serve. But do it to reveal who you are in Christ, not in an attempt to define who you are next to Christ. See how Jesus served you. Then you will serve Him and you will want to learn from Him how to serve others."
"Serve. If you follow Jesus, the Servant King, then it’s true to who you are. So do what it is true to who you are."
Hugh Halter
Adullam Communities
Lead Pastor
"God
intentionally put skin on for us. Are
you considering how to put on Jesus (Romans 13:14, Galatians 3:27)?"
"Who says to you, 'You make it really hard not to believe'? Paul shows us how this is done when he says, 'I’m going to stay with you until Jesus is formed in you, even when it's as painful as childbirth' (Galatians 4:19). And often, it will be."
"Jesus
is our righteousness, yet there is no self-righteousness in Him. His love bears all things, hopes all things, endures all things (1 Corinthians 13:7). Does your love? If not, ask for His love for those He has sent you to."
Jeff Vanderstelt
We Are Soma
Vision and Equipping Director
"Preach
the gospel to yourself more than anyone else. Whatever
you are most confident in, you will speak about the most. You
don’t have to train people to talk about who they love. We
have Jesus' story to tell – do we believe it’s the greatest one in our lives?"
"What if you say, 'I don’t think I can tell people about Jesus ... ' Don’t worry. If you are born again in following Jesus, you have someone in you who loves Jesus more than anyone – the Holy Spirit. He knows how to give glory to Jesus better than anyone else because He’s known Him forever."
Next post: Verge | Redeemed for Everyday Mission & Discipleship
– Sully
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