Multiplication

A couple of weeks ago I finished up Tommy Barnett's book Multiplication: Unlock the Biblical Factors to Multiply Your Effectiveness in Ministry and Business. Barnett is the pastor of Phoenix First Assembly of God, one of America's largest churches with over 15,000 in attendance. He helped cofound the Los Angeles Dream Center.

Below are some quotes in italics that I thought were good. My comments follow.

Multiplication started when we committed ourselves to prayer and seeking God.
I pray daily that the Lord of the Harvest will send workers.
Like al things we need to begin on our knees in prayer. We often get it backward. We tell God we have decided to do something and ask him to bless it.

What keeps me going when I don’t feel like preaching is the call.
I’ve been chosen by Jesus Christ. I’ve been set aside, sanctified and anointed by the Anointed One.
Whether you are in ministry, business, or work at home taking care of children it is your call that will get you up each day and keep you going even when things are going badly.

When I am asked, “When is a church big enough?” my reply is, “When everyone in our society has accepted Christ.
I got a variation of this question the other day- "Do you want to build a mega-church?" No, I want God to build the church he wants here as big or as small as he wants. He has told me that my job is to help others to come and experience his love and salvation and equip other people to do the same. We will stop "trying" to grow when every knee has bowed and every tongue confessed Jesus Christ as Lord.

The negative and critical pew sitters need to repent or go elsewhere.
All I can say is Amen.

Christians may differ in their theology about the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
But regardless of our theology, all believers need to be filled with the Holy Spirit- continually, regularly and daily.
This is a good example of focusing on the essentials instead of the non-essentials.

Remember- God is an organized God.
Jesus organized his disciples to feed 5,000.
This just warms my Methodist heart and might even do a little something for my frozen chosen friends the Presbyterians who love order too.

One enemy of the church is called average.
Enough said!

Jesus never said that he had come that we might just survive.
Rather he came that we might have abundant life. Jn. 10:10.
Jesus doesn't promise a house in the suburbs, a beautiful wife, 2.5 kids and a good 401K. He calls us to take up our cross and follow him, to lose our life is to gain it. By doing these things we discover abundant life.

Making friends with chaos- no record exists of anyone walking on water without a storm, some wind and a lot of rain.
This has been so true when it comes to church planting. It is true for any ministry setting. Make friends with chaos recognizing that God brought forth creation out of chaos.