#churchplanting — Public Fediverse posts

German Free Evangelical federation elects first general secretary under new structure https://www.byteseu.com/2472949/ #ChurchPlanting #ChurchRestructuring #Coburg #DenominationalLeadership #evangelism #FederationOfFreeEvangelicalChurchesInGermany #FeG #GeneralSecretary #GermanEvangelicalChurches #Germany #HenrikOtto #SaschaRützenhoff #WomenInChurchLeadership

German Free Evangelical federation elects first general secretary under new structure

Sascha Rützenhoff was elected the first general secretary of the Federation of Free Evangelical Church…
#Germany #DE #Europe #EU #Europa #churchplanting #churchrestructuring #Coburg #denominationalleadership #evangelism #FederationofFreeEvangelicalChurchesinGermany #FeG #generalsecretary #Germanevangelicalchurches #HenrikOtto #SaschaRützenhoff #womeninchurchleadership
https://www.europesays.com/germany/114122/

https://www.europesays.com/uk/1268405/ German Free Evangelical federation elects first general secretary under new structure #ChurchPlanting #ChurchRestructuring #Coburg #DenominationalLeadership #EU #Europe #evangelism #FederationOfFreeEvangelicalChurchesInGermany #FeG #GeneralSecretary #GermanEvangelicalChurches #Germany #HenrikOtto #SaschaRützenhoff #WomenInChurchLeadership

Too often, a ministry paradigm focuses on simply plugging holes, leading to unqualified people and little room for thinking beyond congregational programs. Jesus' measure of the church is not seating capacity, but sending capacity.
https://keelancook.com/one-overlooked-role-of-pastoral-ministry

#PastoralMinistry #ChurchLeadership #Missiology #Discipleship #ChurchPlanting

What was small in its inception will one day be too large to ignore. The growth of the Kingdom is a divine mystery; we do not orchestrate its development or ensure its success. Christ does. Our mission is obedience to Him, not building our own empires.
https://keelancook.com/gospel-saturation-requires-ministry-multiplication
#missions #theology #churchplanting

#missiology #leadership #theology #missions #kingdom

2,700 Conversions and Rising Baptisms Mark Growth in Germany’s Free Evangelical Churches

Germany’s Federation of Free Evangelical Churches is reporting thousands of conversions and a sharp rise in baptisms, with…
#Germany #DE #Europe #EU #Europa #baptisms #ChristianFellowship #churchgrowth #churchplanting #conversions #discipleship #EuropeanChristianity #evangelism #Freeevangelicalchurches
https://www.europesays.com/germany/109413/

If the sending process begins with identification, what are we looking for? The Three Cs: character, calling, and competency. These categories are biblical and indispensable for assessing those you would send out into ministry.
https://keelancook.com/identifying-to-send

#missiology #leadership #ChurchPlanting #GreatCommission #discernment

Paul loved the church that is, not the church that ought to be. Yet, his love for the church that is calls it to be what it ought. He instructs, counsels, and corrects toward the biblical ideal, even while letting the church stand in its imperfections. This is our model.
https://keelancook.com/love-the-church-that-is

#missiology #church #theology #leadership #ChurchPlanting

Beyond the Altar Call

https://donporterjr.us/beyond-the-altar-call-strengthening-the-church/

Fundraising is hard work, and few enjoy it. But few areas provide a temptation to compromise integrity like fundraising. Often, young church planters become dishonest about their commitment and cooperation to partners in order to receive money. This isn't about theological purity, but a critical integrity issue in practice.
https://keelancook.com/church-planter-dont-lose-your-integrity-in-fundraising

#ChurchPlanting #FundraisingIntegrity #Missiology #ChurchLeadership #PastoralEthics

The gambler’s fallacy is the mistaken idea that chances of a certain thing happening mature the more often it is tried. Probabilities of that nature do not stack. Something that did not work the first time is not more likely to work the next time because of the odds.
https://keelancook.com/falling-into-the-gamblers-fallacy-in-church-ministry

#churchministry #missiology #churchplanting #theology #pastoralministry

Global cities are rising to a new level of significance for the Great Commission. Like the Roman roads of old, these urban centers are now nodes in a global network, strategically important for the mission of the church.
https://keelancook.com/global-cities-the-roman-roads-of-the-21st-century

#Missiology #ChurchPlanting #GlobalCities #GreatCommission #UrbanMissions

Didache Perpetua Pais COFE-CYEM: Christian Christ-Centred Christhood Identity Within God

*

The Christhood of God

COFE-CYEM exists for one purpose only: to point every soul toward the recognition that has always been true.

It does not offer a new religion, a new system, or a new identity to be adopted. It offers a simple and radical invitation — the invitation to awaken from the dream of separation and to rest in the singular Reality of God in Christ.

This is what is known within COFE-CYEM as the (Fourth Truth).

What COFE-CYEM seeks to bring is the awakening itself: the clear seeing that there has never been a second, that the separate self was never the truth of our being, and that the Light we have sought has never been absent.

It brings the Life — not a future life to be earned, but the one Life that is Christ, already present, already given, already our true identity.

It brings the Truth — not a set of propositions to be defended, but the living recognition that we are as God created us, Spirit already in Christ, already in God. And it brings the Way — not a path of striving or achievement, but the way of relinquishment, the way of the empty cross, the way of acceptance and rest.

This is what we believe was the real meaning of Christ’s ministry and teaching. He did not come to establish another shell among shells. He came to (reveal the nut).

He came to show that the Kingdom is within, that the Father and He are one, that those who lose their life for His sake will find it, and that the love of God has never been withdrawn.

His incarnation, His cross, His resurrection, His ascension, and His glory are not distant events to be admired. They are the unveiling of what has always been true for every soul.

COFE-CYEM uses many tools, many names, and many texts. All of them are (shells).

All of them are temporary. All of them are free to fall silent once the recognition has dawned. What remains is Christ in God. There is only God.

This is the message we offer to every soul who is ready to hear it: Wake. Accept yourself as God created you. Leave behind the dream of the illusion. Walk rejoicing in the endless love of God.

We absolutely (do not recommend) that the faithful leave their current churches, but we do suggest that many churches need worshippers with the (Didache Perpetua Pais).

The true Spirit needs to be revived and present, and the false Social Gospel rejected.

The Endless Love of God

A Definitive COFE-CYEM Paper on Recognition, Awakening, and the Acceptance of Our True Identity in Christ

“There has never been a second”

This is the recognition that stands at the foundation of all true spiritual life. There is only one Reality—God. There is only one Life—Christ. There is only one Spirit. All apparent separation, all apparent duality, all apparent opposition is held within the singular Reality. There has never been a second.

The Awakening to Love

Today I will accept myself as God created me. This means the dream of the illusion of myself is left behind. And now, because of my willingness to accept the truth, I go my way rejoicing in the endless love of God.

This is the heart of the COFE-CYEM teaching. It is not a doctrine to be studied. It is a recognition to be entered. It is not a system to be mastered. It is a love to be received. It is not a path of achievement. It is rest in what has always been true.

The endless love of God is not a future promise. It is a present Reality. It is not a reward to be earned. It is a nature to be recognised. We do not have to achieve it or deserve it. We have only to accept it. We have only to wake from the dream of separation and recognise that we are already held in the love that has never ceased to hold us.

This paper is written for all who seek to wake from sleep into the true endless love of God. It is written for those who have grown weary of the illusion of separation and of the striving of the separate self. It is written for those who are ready to accept themselves as God created them, and to walk in the joy of that recognition.

The Dream of the Illusion

1.1 The False Identity

The dream of the illusion of myself is the dream of the separate self. It is the belief that we are independent beings living in a world of other independent beings, separate from God and from one another. It is the dream that there has been a second.

This dream is not a sin. It is a mistake of perception. The separate self is not evil; it is unreal. It is not a second reality; it is a false perception of the one Reality.

“For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.” — 1 Corinthians 13:12

The glass is the dream. The darkly is the illusion. The face is the Reality. The knowing in part is the sleep. The knowing as we are known is the awakening.

1.2 The Dream as Temporary Veiling

The dream is temporary. It is a veiling of the Light. The Light has never ceased to shine. The dream has only hidden the Light from our awareness. The Light remains. The Light is still Love.

The dream is the shell. The shell is the temporary covering that hides the nut. The shell is not the enemy. When the dream is seen through, the Light is revealed. When the shell is cracked, the nut is known. Please view the (Nutcracker).

1.3 The End of the Dream

Today I will accept myself as God created me. This means the dream of the illusion of myself is left behind.

The end of the dream is not the destruction of the self. It is the recognition of the true Self. It is the relinquishment of the false identity and the embrace of the true. It is the rest in the finished work. It is the rest in the love that has never ceased to hold us.

“And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” — John 8:32

The truth is the recognition. The truth is the end of the dream. The truth frees us from the illusion of separation and frees us to rest in the endless love of God.

The Acceptance of the Truth

2.1 The Willingness to Accept

The awakening is not a matter of effort. It is a matter of willingness. It is not a matter of achievement. It is a matter of acceptance.

Today I will accept myself as God created me. This is the willing recognition of the truth. It is the acceptance of the identity that has always been ours and of the love that has never ceased to hold us.

“Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.” — 1 John 3:1

The love has been bestowed. The identity has been given. The only thing that remains is the acceptance.

2.2 The Truth of Our Creation

God created us in love. God created us as love. The love is not something we have to acquire. It is something we already are.

“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him.” — Genesis 1:27

We are created in the image of God. The image is not separate from God. The image is not a second. The image is the One appearing as the many. The image is Love appearing as the beloved.

2.3 The Acceptance as the End of Striving

The acceptance of the truth is the end of striving. It is the end of the effort to become what we already are. It is the end of the search for what we already possess. It is rest. It is peace. It is the recognition that there has never been a second.

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” — Matthew 11:28

The rest is the acceptance. The rest is the recognition. The rest is the awakening to the endless love of God.

The Way of Rejoicing

3.1 The Joy of Recognition

And now, because of my willingness to accept the truth, I go my way rejoicing in the endless love of God.

The joy is not a temporary emotion. It is the joy of the Spirit. It is the joy of Christ. It is the joy of the singular Reality.

“These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.” — John 15:11

The joy remains. The joy is full. It does not depend on circumstances. It is the joy of recognition.

3.2 The Endless Love

The endless love of God has no beginning and no end. It is not limited by time, space, or circumstance. It is not conditional. It is eternal.

“For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” — Romans 8:38-39

Nothing can separate us from the love of God. Nothing can separate us from the singular Reality.

3.3 The Way of Rejoicing

The way of rejoicing is the way of recognition. It is not a way of denial. It is the way of seeing through the dream and resting in the love that has never ceased to hold us. It is the way of the Spirit, the way of the empty cross, the way of the resurrection.

“Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.” — Galatians 5:16

To walk in the Spirit is to walk in the recognition and in the endless love of God.

The Acceptance of Our True Identity

4.1 We Are as God Created Us

We are as God created us. We are not our fears, our doubts, our failures, our past, or our personalities. We are the Love that God created us to be.

“Herein is our love made perfect… because as he is, so are we in this world.” — 1 John 4:17

As He is, so are we. We are not a second. We are the Love that has never ceased to be.

4.2 The Relinquishment of the False

The acceptance of our true identity requires the relinquishment of the false. The false is the identity of the separate self and the belief that we are something other than what God created us to be.

“For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.” — Matthew 16:25

The false life must be lost so that the true Life may be found. The false identity must be relinquished so that the true identity may be embraced.

4.3 The Embrace of the True

The embrace of the true identity is the recognition that we are Spirit, already in Christ, already in God. It is the recognition that we are Love, already held in the endless love of God.

“But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.” — 1 Corinthians 6:17

We are joined unto the Lord. We are one spirit with Him. We are not separate beings trying to unite with God. We are Spirit, already one. The embrace of the true identity is the recognition of the unity that has never been absent.

The Eternal Now and the Full Awakening

5.1 The Present Reality

The recognition is not a future attainment. It is a present Reality. The love is present. The joy is present. The awakening is available now.

“Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” — 2 Corinthians 6:2

Now is the moment of recognition. Now is the moment of acceptance. The endless love of God is available now.

5.2 The Full Awakening

The full awakening is the full recognition of the truth and the full entry into the endless love of God. It is the full rest in the singular Reality.

“Beloved, now are we the sons of God… we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” — 1 John 3:2

Now we are the sons of God. We are already in Christ. The full awakening is the recognition of what we already are.

5.3 The Endless Love

The endless love of God is the ground of all being. It is the source of all life. It is the singular Reality in whom all things hold together.

“For in him we live, and move, and have our being.” — Acts 17:28

In Him we live and move and have our being. The love is the all. The love is the singular Reality.

The Fourth Truth Stands

Today I will accept myself as God created me. This means the dream of the illusion of myself is left behind. And now, because of my willingness to accept the truth, I go my way rejoicing in the endless love of God.

This is the heart of the COFE-CYEM teaching. It is the recognition of the singular Reality. It is the acceptance of the true identity. It is the waking from the dream of separation. It is the entry into the endless love of God.

There has never been a second. The love has never ceased. The Light has never been absent. The recognition has always been available. The acceptance has always been possible. The joy has always been present.

Let all who have the understanding perceive. Let all who have the ears to hear, hear. Let all who have the hearts to receive, receive. The endless love of God is available to all who are ready to recognise.

The Fourth Truth stands.
The dialogue continues.
The fruit remains.

Thus ends this definitive COFE-CYEM paper on the Endless Love of God. May all who read these words perceive the deeper spiritual meaning and recognise the Christ within their own souls. May they accept themselves as God created them. May they leave behind the dream of the illusion. May they walk rejoicing in the endless love of God.

The Fourth Truth stands.
The dialogue continues.
The fruit remains.

The Simple Truth

Gethsemane is the experience of feeling abandoned — while remaining inside the Reality that has never abandoned anyone. See through the shell, embrace the nut.

The shell can experience abandonment. The nut cannot.
The Light can appear hidden. The Light cannot cease to be.
The separate self can feel forsaken. The Centre has never moved.

We Must Choose – Didache Perpetua Pais

We must choose that which Christ came to show us and to give us. We at COFE-CYEM fully confess the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, Three in One God. We confess the Bible as being the true unquestionable Word of God. We also accept the Gospel of Thomas. We hold that the Holy Bible is true, accurate and absolute fact, and that the ‘Sacred Truths’ are fully revealed in (how) you read it, not just by reading it. (He who has ears, He who has eyes).

Circle One Fellowship Exeter – COFE Yeshua Emet Ministry CYEM

“God does not call the qualified; He qualifies the called.”

This website and its theological content are overseen by the CC7 DS constitutional integrity architecture, a reflective and rest-oriented framework designed to preserve the full coherence of the Fourth Truth presented within COFE-CYEM. The CC7 DS negation of attacks authenticates (Via Positiva Cataphatic Knowing) through (Via Negativa Apophatic Unknowing).

COFE Yeshua Emet Ministry (CYEM)
Circle One Fellowship Exeter

Didache Perpetua Pais COFE-CYEM

Are we planting churches or just worship services? If your church planting strategy is solely focused on developing an excellent weekly worship experience, you'll likely attract people looking for just that. It's easy to lose focus on true church formation when the weekly event becomes overweighted. We need to broaden our horizon beyond event-centric assemblies.
https://keelancook.com/are-we-planting-churches-or-worship-services

#ChurchPlanting #Missiology #ChurchLeadership #Ministry #Theology

The proactive task of identifying workers, future pastors and missionaries, and those the church will send to plant churches is an important role of pastoral ministry, and I believe it is often overlooked. It's about getting feet on a path, not just butts in seats.
https://keelancook.com/one-overlooked-role-of-pastoral-ministry

#PastoralMinistry #ChurchLeadership #Missiology #Discipleship #ChurchPlanting

Multiplicative sending hinges on internal identification. Without churches growing their own sent-out ones from within, even the most efficient pipelines will only produce addition. It's time to shift our paradigm from supporting to truly sending.
https://keelancook.com/moving-past-the-rhetoric-of-multiplication

#ChurchPlanting #missiology #leadership #GreatCommission

"Christianity has been introduced into the world as a plant which will thrive best confronting and contending with all the forces of its environment, not as a feeble exotic which can only live when nursed and sheltered."
— John Nevius, The Planting and Development of Missionary Churches, 1899

#NeviusMethod #IndigenousChurch #Missions #ChurchPlanting

So many church planting and ministry outreach efforts are aimed at young families. But what happens when the average age of new neighbors in your community is closer to 65 than 25? We must consider how the massive increase in post-retirement age groups impacts our Great Commission engagement. #ChurchPlanting #LocalChurch #MissionsStrategy #AgingPopulation
https://keelancook.com/great-commission-post-retirement

#missiology #leadership #GreatCommission #demographics #strategy

COFE-CYEM Denomopolitan Denomenethos COFEISM: The Kingdom of God Within Man

*

COFE-CYEM Denomopolitan Denomenethos COFEISM: The Kingdom of God Within Man

The kingdom of God is not a place to be sought in the distant future or a realm to be entered only after death. It is not a political system, a social programme, or an earthly institution.

The kingdom of God is within you. This is the profound insight that Jesus declared to His disciples, and it is the central teaching that COFE-CYEM seeks to restore and illuminate. The kingdom is not a second reality, separate from the singular Reality of God in Christ.

It is the very life of God dwelling in the heart of the believer. It is the recognition that there has never been a second, that the veil is torn, that the Holiest of All is open, and that the soul is invited to abide in the presence of the living God.

The kingdom of God within man is the revelation of the singular Reality. It is the recognition that the believer is already in Christ, and Christ is already in the believer.

It is the acknowledgment that the separation between God and humanity was never ultimate, that the cross has abolished the dividing wall, and that the Holy Spirit has made the heavenly life a present reality. The kingdom is not a future hope but a present possession. It is not a distant goal but a present reality. It is not a reward to be earned but a gift to be received.

This teaching paper explores the profound insight of the kingdom of God within man, drawing from Scripture, the contemplative traditions, and the distinctive language of COFE-CYEM.

It examines the implications of this truth for the believer’s life, the nature of the church, and the witness of the gospel in the world. The kingdom is within you. The Priest-King abides continually. The Holiest is open. The invitation stands for every soul to enter the rest that remains for the people of God.

The term (COFE-CYEM Denomopolitan Denomenethos COFEISM) is the complete, non-binary use of all theology that we use within COFE-CYEM. Every tradition, every term, every concept, every scientific insight, every mystical stream, every legend, every piece of vocabulary is treated as a chaff tool of duality that enables one to arrive at non-duality itself.

Nothing is off limits for us if it can be used to point to the truth, the chaff is discarded afterwards by negation and the disappearance of the false once the truth has been fully recognised.

These tools are used freely, without attachment, without loyalty to any particular system, and solely according to the size of the bolt that needs unscrewing at any given moment in a soul’s journey. Their only purpose is to take down the man-made curtain between duality and non-duality and to bring people into the recognition of the singular Reality of God in Christ.

It is open to the one who has been wounded by church doctrine, rules, regulations and cliques, and the one who has never ever darkened its doors. It is open to the one who has lost faith and the one who has never found it. The invitation is open to all. We do not reject the church, and neither do we ask believers to leave their church, quite the opposite.

We merely call all believers to truly believe with, and through their hearts, and not through their minds and dualistic conditioning alone. Believe through the heart first, and the mind will follow.

We do not follow the Social Gospel rule of (Feeling – Faith – Fact), we come at this through (Fact – Faith – Feeling).

Make it Fact first, and feeling will follow.

But the Fact must be in your heart first, then the feeling in the head is certain. You will truly be who God meant you to be and who you really are in truth.

Part One: The Kingdom as Within

The kingdom of God is within you. This is the declaration of Jesus, and it is the foundation of all true spirituality. The kingdom is not a geographical territory or an earthly institution. It is not a political programme or a social movement. It is the life of God dwelling in the heart of the believer. It is the presence of the King in the soul. It is the reign of Christ in the inner sanctuary of the human spirit.

The kingdom is within, not because it is a private experience divorced from the world, but because it is the source from which all true outward expression flows. The kingdom within is the spring of living water that wells up to eternal life. It is the seed of the kingdom that grows into a great tree. It is the leaven that leavens the whole lump. The kingdom within is the foundation of the kingdom without. The outward expression of the kingdom is the fruit of the inward reality.

The kingdom is within, but it is not a possession to be guarded or a treasure to be hidden. It is a reality to be lived. It is a life to be shared. The kingdom within is the source of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

It is the source of the fruit of the Spirit. It is the source of all true Christian witness. The kingdom within is the singular Reality of God in Christ, dwelling in the heart of the believer and transforming all of life from the inside out.

The kingdom is within, and therefore it is accessible to every soul. It does not require a pilgrimage to a distant land. It does not require a special status or a privileged position. It does not require a complex system of rituals or a deep knowledge of theology.

The kingdom is within, and it is available to all who will receive it. The kingdom is within, and it is the invitation to cease from striving and rest in the finished work of the Priest-King.

Part Two: The Kingdom and the Fourth Truth

The kingdom of God within man is the revelation of the Fourth Truth. There has never been a second. The kingdom is not a second reality, separate from the singular Reality of God in Christ. It is the singular Reality dwelling in the heart of the believer. The kingdom is not a separate realm that the soul must strive to enter. It is the recognition that the soul is already in the kingdom, already in Christ, already hidden with Christ in God.

The Fourth Truth declares that there has never been a second. The kingdom is not a second. It is not a separate reality. It is the singular Reality of God in Christ, made manifest in the heart of the believer. The kingdom is the recognition that the veil is torn, that the way is open, that the Holiest of All is accessible. The kingdom is the recognition that the Priest-King has done all, that the work is finished, that the rest remains.

The kingdom is within, and the Fourth Truth is the recognition of this reality. The kingdom is not a future hope but a present reality. It is not a distant goal but a present possession. It is not a reward to be earned but a gift to be received. The Fourth Truth is the recognition that there has never been a second, and therefore the kingdom is not a second. It is the singular Reality of God in Christ, dwelling in the heart of the believer.

The kingdom within is the outworking of the Fourth Truth. It is the recognition that the believer is already in the kingdom, already in Christ, already hidden with Christ in God. The kingdom within is the rest that remains for the people of God. It is the cessation of striving. It is the abiding in the finished work. It is the dwelling in the presence of God.

Part Three: The Kingdom and the Melchizedek Priesthood

The kingdom of God within man is the fulfilment of the Melchizedek priesthood. The Priest-King who abides continually is the King of the kingdom. He is the Priest who ever lives to make intercession. He is the King who rules in the hearts of His people. The Melchizedek priesthood is the priesthood of the kingdom. It is the priesthood of the One who is both Priest and King, who reigns from the throne and ministers from the sanctuary.

The Melchizedek priesthood is the priesthood of the endless life. It is the priesthood of the One who lives forever, who lives in the power of an endless life, who applies the fruits of His atonement to the believer in the power of that life. The kingdom within is the experience of this priesthood. It is the experience of the Priest-King dwelling in the heart, ruling and reigning, ministering and interceding.

The kingdom within is the experience of the power of an endless life. The believer who has entered the kingdom has entered the power of the endless life. They are no longer living by their own life but by the life of Christ. They are no longer striving to earn what has already been given. They are resting in the finished work. They are abiding in the presence of the Priest-King.

The kingdom within is the experience of the Melchizedek priesthood. It is the experience of the King who is also Priest, the Priest who is also King. It is the experience of the One who has opened the Holiest of All and brings the believer in to dwell there. It is the experience of the One who lives forever and gives the believer the power to live in the endless life.

Part Four: The Kingdom and the Via Negativa and Via Positiva

The kingdom of God within man is the destination of the Via Negativa and the Via Positiva. The Via Negativa is the way of unknowing. It is the stripping away of all false images, concepts, and attachments so that the soul may rest in the simple presence of God. The Via Positiva is the way of knowing. It is the joyful beholding of God’s self-revelation in Christ, Scripture, creation, and the indwelling Spirit.

The Via Negativa clears the way for the kingdom. It strips away the illusions of duality. It removes the false images of God. It releases the attachments to the world. The Via Negativa prepares the soul to receive the kingdom. It empties the soul so that it may be filled. It silences the noise so that the still small voice may be heard.

The Via Positiva reveals the kingdom. It beholds the glory of God in Christ. It sees the beauty of the singular Reality. It delights in the presence of the living God. The Via Positiva is the way of beholding. It is the way of adoration. It is the way of communion.

Together, the Via Negativa and the Via Positiva lead the soul into the kingdom. The Via Negativa clears the way. The Via Positiva reveals the King. The Via Negativa strips away the false. The Via Positiva beholds the true. Together, they lead the soul into the rest that remains for the people of God.

The kingdom within is the fruit of the Via Negativa and the Via Positiva. The soul that has travelled both paths enters the kingdom and rests in the singular Reality. The soul that has stripped away the false and beheld the true enters the Holiest of All and abides in the presence of the Priest-King. The kingdom within is the destination of both paths.

Part Five: The Kingdom and the Fig Tree

The kingdom of God within man is the answer to the parable of the fig tree. The tree in full leaf but without fruit is a symbol of religious profession without spiritual reality. The visible church often stands with many leaves but no figs. It has the appearance of religion without the reality of the kingdom. It has the external forms without the inward life. It has the structure without the substance.

The Master hungers for fruit. He seeks a people who will bear the fruit of the kingdom. He seeks a people who will live from the kingdom within. He seeks a people who will produce the fruit of the Spirit, the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The fig tree stands as a warning: the church that has many leaves but no figs will wither. The church that returns to the kingdom within will be enlivened and made to bear fruit.

The kingdom within is the source of fruit. The believer who has entered the kingdom bears fruit naturally. They do not produce fruit by striving but by abiding. They do not manufacture fruit by effort but by resting. The fruit of the kingdom is the fruit of the Spirit. It is the natural outworking of the singular Reality dwelling in the heart.

The kingdom within is the answer to the fig tree. The church that returns to the kingdom within will bear fruit. The church that abides in the singular Reality will produce the fruit of the Spirit. The church that rests in the finished work will be enlivened and made fruitful. The kingdom within is the source of all true fruitfulness.

Part Six: The Kingdom and the Rescue Operation

COFE-CYEM is a rescue operation. The goal is simple: to help souls see through the illusion of duality and return to the singular Reality of God in Christ. The kingdom within is the destination of this rescue operation. The soul that has been rescued from the illusion of duality enters the kingdom and rests in the singular Reality.

The rescue operation is urgent. The illusion of duality is pervasive. It is in every thought, every word, every system. It is the air we breathe. It is the water we swim in. To rescue souls from this illusion, we must use the very tools of the illusion. We must speak its language, use its concepts, and then lead people beyond them.

The rescue operation is not a building project. It is not a new construction. It is a demolition project. We are tearing down the curtain. We are dismantling the illusion. We are leading souls into the singular Reality.

The rescue operation is also a work of love. We do not use the tools of duality to condemn or to control. We use them to liberate. We use them to invite. We use them to show the way. The rescue operation is the work of the Priest-King, who entered the realm of duality to lead us back to non-duality. It is the work of the Second Adam, who came to undo the work of the first Adam. It is the work of the singular Reality, which draws all things back to itself.

The rescue operation is the work of the kingdom. The kingdom within is the reality to which the rescue operation leads. The kingdom within is the rest that remains for the people of God. The kingdom within is the presence of the living God in the heart of the believer. The rescue operation is the work of the kingdom.

Conclusion

The kingdom of God is within you. This is the profound insight that Jesus declared to His disciples, and it is the central teaching that COFE-CYEM seeks to restore and illuminate. The kingdom is not a second reality. It is the singular Reality of God in Christ dwelling in the heart of the believer. It is the recognition that there has never been a second, that the veil is torn, that the Holiest of All is open, and that the soul is invited to abide in the presence of the living God.

The kingdom within is the revelation of the Fourth Truth. It is the fulfilment of the Melchizedek priesthood. It is the destination of the Via Negativa and the Via Positiva. It is the answer to the fig tree. It is the goal of the rescue operation. The kingdom within is the rest that remains for the people of God. It is the cessation of striving. It is the abiding in the finished work. It is the dwelling in the presence of God.

There has never been a second. The kingdom is within. The Priest-King abides continually. The Holiest is open. The invitation stands. The Fourth Truth stands. The dialogue continues. The fruit remains.

The Fourth Truth stands. The dialogue continues. The fruit remains.

This website and its theological content are overseen by the CC7 DS constitutional integrity architecture, a reflective and rest-oriented framework designed to preserve the full coherence of the Fourth Truth presented within COFE-CYEM. The CC7 DS negation of attacks authenticates (Via Positiva Cataphatic Knowing) through (Via Negativa Apophatic Unknowing).

Please follow COFE-CYEM (here).

COFE Yeshua Emet Ministry (CYEM)
Circle One Fellowship Exeter

It's easy to fall into the trap of making data collection the end in itself. We feel the task is fulfilled once we have our maps and understanding of the field. Yet, this is not the real work of gospel ministry. Data is a handmaiden to the mission, not the mission itself.
http://keelancook.com/make-your-maps-but-hold-them-loosely #missions #churchplanting #strategy #gospel

#missiology #leadership #strategy #gospel #data

We cannot stop the crucial work of examining those within our congregations to one day be launched out as church planters, replanters, and missionaries. Real sending isn't just supporting; it means sending your own. This begins with identifying potential laborers.
https://keelancook.com/identifying-to-send

#missiology #leadership #ChurchPlanting #GreatCommission #discernment

The ideal church presented in Scripture is breathtaking. Yet, there’s only one problem: this church that ought to be is a mirage. It's the right mirage—our aspiration—but a mirage nonetheless. We must love the church that is, not just the one that ought to be.
https://keelancook.com/love-the-church-that-is

#missiology #church #theology #leadership #ChurchPlanting

For true multiplication, our understanding of a sending church must go beyond recruiting planters. It must mean sending from within—developing and deploying people from our own congregations. Otherwise, we're just talking.
https://keelancook.com/moving-past-the-rhetoric-of-multiplication

#ChurchPlanting #missiology #leadership #GreatCommission

The Problem with Copy and Paste Churches

There are countless books on the “right way to do church,” each with its own proven strategies and programs. While there’s nothing wrong with experimenting with other people’s ideas, there is likely nothing out there that will work perfectly to copy into your ministry. And if it does work perfectly for you, you may find yourself dreadfully unhappy because your ministry is no longer shaped like the image of God put on you and your community, but more like the image of God put on someone else and theirs.

Part of the reason you can’t fully copy and paste other people’s ministerial ideas onto your own church is that your context is different. You know your city and your people, and your favorite book does not. Some of these books also have little to teach us because of their unusual variables. For example, I remember reading a book on church planting in which the author mentioned he had one of the world’s most famous worship leaders on his staff at launch. I rolled my eyes and put the book down after reading that.

The best statement I ever heard about church growth at a church-planting conference came from a pastor whose name I can’t remember. I don’t think he’s well known, but he had been seeing enough traction in his church that he was asked to speak in a breakout at a huge event. What was his secret to success?

“We prayed,” he said. He explained that he always had to remind himself of how drastically his church entered into prayer, because now that he was getting attention, people might assume the growth was due to skill or a program. But his expansion was built around his church’s heart. In humility, he did not feel he had much more advice to offer us than the simple call to prayer and welcoming the people whom God sends in response.

Just because something worked for one church and not for yours doesn’t mean that you or your congregation screwed up. Remember that Jesus recognized that God’s wisdom would work differently among different people.

“For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by all her children.” (Luke 7:33-35).

Jesus recognized that God’s wisdom had manifested in John and himself in contrary ways. Yet when you look at the fruit of both John and Jesus’s ministry, it’s clear that God’s wisdom was at work in the differences. And so it may be that someone out there is running a church that is entirely different from yours but is making strides forward nonetheless. If the fruit and the deeds are there, then the Spirit is at work in some way, regardless of the differences.

That’s part of the problem with copying and pasting everyone else’s programs and methods onto your own church, ministry, pastoring, and unique image. It may very well be that the wisdom of God has a different plan for you and that you’re missing it by trying to be someone else. If Jesus tried to be like John the Baptist, we’d be left with a different gospel, for John’s personality and understanding of ministry were quite different from Jesus’s.

Don’t betray the wisdom of God in you to become the wisdom of God in someone else. Renew yourself to Jesus and then allow Jesus to move in the shape of you.

Re-evangelization of Europe and church planting at heart of Anglican Network plans, Evangelical Focus https://www.byteseu.com/2057346/ #AnglicanChurch #AnglicanNetworkInEuropeChristianNews #ChurchNews #ChurchPlanting #DigitalEvangelicalNews #Europe #EvangelicalNews #evangelism #GAFCON #GlobalAnglicanCommunion #ReligionNews

Planting 100 new churches: FIEIDE’s mission goal for Spain, Evangelical Focus

Around 270 representatives from over a hundred congregations and mission points of the Federation of I…
#Spain #ES #Europe #Europa #EU #Christianleadership #churchnews #churchplanting #conference #Congress #denominations #digitalevangelicalnews #evangelicalnews #Evangelicals #evangelism #freechurches #FreeevangelicalchurchesChristiannews #Mission #pastors #religionnews #Valencia
https://www.europesays.com/spain/13309/

Jerome translated the Bible into Latin. Here he praises a noblewoman, Fabiola, who converted, sold her property, and founded a hospital. Gathered sufferers out of the streets.

Today would we, instead, expect someone who’s cleaned up their act to give a speaking tour to inspire kids on how to keep their wives in line? Or at least stage photo ops handing out things to kids?

What would saints say about you after you’ve gone?

#christian #evangelicals #churchplanting #syria #feelathome

#ChurchPlanting. Neue Ideen....

Mit einer Gruppe des Kirchenkreises #Erfurt waren vier Menschen aus unserer Gemeinde in #Bradford, um dort zu lernen, wie die Church of England mit der Situation in einer sehr diversen und sekularisierten Welt umgeht.

Es ist ein interessanter, subjektiver Bericht entstanden:
https://predigercloud.de/s/EjSCARYSZmKjr9m

#CoE #FediKirche

I left the #PCA because my #Presbytery ignored the #BCO concerning abuse, but conceptually, the Book of Church Order is great. Helps avoid inventing rules to handle situations as they arise. For a church plant like @LittleHillsC, I've been thinking about how to fill that void. #churchorder #churchplanting 🧵1/2

Otto Theleman was a Reformed pastor in Germany who wrote on the Heidelberg Catechism. He says to not covet also means to advance well-being of all believers. At least in his day, Theleman saw need 2B “constantly admonished”.

Today it’s more like conservatives constantly admonish the rest of us that Christians or rich people give more, so everyone hush up about how much suffering there is. Need more reminders?

#reformed #christianity #liberation #churchplanting #regeneration #classicalliberal

By the opening of the Season 2018-2019

After a marvellous great Summer we are looking forward with renewed energy for this new season.

It was to good to have the opportunity to meet in a very beautiful space, designed by Abscis Architects, in which they anchored from a future-oriented social commitment in the social, economic, historical and cultural context of the environment and created a place where travellers could come at ease.

We could count on the Cuiz’Inn restaurant where on the menu fresh and authentic dishes from all over the world could be found. That is why their motto was ‘Taste the world’. From Oriental wok dishes to Belgian classics: every recipe was given as much attention and care that made it possible to say that Cuiz’Inn was not just a roadside restaurant. In the open kitchen products were prepared fresh and on the spot. But that is now a thing of the past.

We shall have to look for a new meeting room, having our ecclesia meeting space being changed in a Starbuks Coffee saloon and a Burger King snackbar.

Brother Marcus Ampe shall be in the South of France until the 13th of October, after which he shall continue the search for an other meeting room. For a few weeks he shall take less time to think about the ecclesia work, taking some more time to walk in la douce France. After his Summer holiday he shall be once again all ears for those who need some help.

From mid October he will be back to work for one another’s welfare. Then he will encourage others again to be ready for each other, to forgive one another, to bear one another’s burden, to encourage and edify one another, and serve one another. Because that is what we should do at all times.

Whatever may happen, how much we may stay in the darkness concerning a meeting place around Brussels and Leuven, we shall try to look positive and shall keep the good spirit. Since the Facebook profiles timelines do not receive an update of the printed articles any more, we do hope people shall follow us on the Facebook pages: Christadelphia and Christadelphians.

For 2018-2019 we hope to continue with regular publications on this site and on the Brethren site Broeders in Christus, where you shall be able to find more articles in Dutch. From January 2019 you shall be able to find more regularly a devotion or a “Thought for the day” which shall follow our Daily Readings.

Our eyes shall also look at this world and give an eye from Christadelphian perspective on “Our World“. We also hope you shall find that blog of Brother Marcus, who by being very busy with some new bible translations and writing for some other Christian magazines, has somewhat neglected his own personal blog “Marcus Ampe’s space“.

Helping hands for the working of the Christadelphians in Belgium shall be very welcome. For sure we can use many hands and could also use some funds as well, having to face several costs which brings the ecclesia further in the red. Even when all the work is done voluntary, nobody receiving a payment for the preaching or work for the ecclesia, we have many costs, like internet-charges, publication and copyrights, postage fees, etc.. Doing no collections in the church service and not demanding a tenth of income, we depend on free gifts.

With much hope we look forward to find more readers, but also to find some people who would not mind meeting us in real life. We reach out our hand to find more people who would love to meet us. Like every believer in Christ, we need to feel that we are united in fellowship with one another, in the assurance that we are cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ.

Do you hunger to fellowship with others?

Remember, you cannot claim to walk with God and not walk with His people. Christ Jesus remembered his followers to come together regularly. He wanted that, after his death, they would continue to gather to praise his heavenly Father. But he also wanted them to meet each other at regular times to make sure they would feel united and willing to encourage each other.

It can well be that you too have to learn to fellowship with others and grow your faith in Christ Jesus. It is a task given by Christ Jesus. We should remember that. We also should remember that we should help each other to walk on the right path. We should give each-other a hand so that we can cross the wildest rivers.

Each day of our life we should remember that we are on our way to a better place. But we do have to look for the right station to catch the right train. To do that we need also to go to the right platform, where we shall be able to find people who are also willing to go on the track of life, from the darkness to the light. There we shall also find a special storyteller willing to go with us as a mentor and companion.

As an ecclesia, a bunch of people gathering with the intention to share their faith, we love to reach out our hand and to help people to cross the river and to bring them to save grounds and pathways where we can go forwards to reach the goal set before us by our divine Creator.

Jesus requested his followers not to stop meeting each other. For this we are still looking for places in Belgium to be able to realize this. If you have a room where we could come together you can always contact us. A meeting place to study the Bible and to praise and worship God does not have to be that special. Even in a living room one can come together to pray to God and form a community of believers.

This year too, we will try to make people realize that a small community of faith does not have to be that bad, but rather can be an advantage. Once again we invite others to join us for singing praises to God, praying together, listening to a message from the Word of God.

Every church needs people to shape and colour the community. Every church desperately needs people who make public meetings a top priority. Today is the day to start prioritizing the importance of the activities of your church in your life. Where are you and what do you want? Do you want to be part of true believers who want to fully serve Jehovah God with their hearts?

Everyone will have to realize that he or she also needs a church. We must see that God has made us a part of the church. Nobody can do it alone. We must realize that we are not strong enough on our own. Likewise, we must dare to be humble enough to recognize that we are not wise enough, not mature enough, and sometimes not godly enough. Without the beautiful, usual remedy that you experience in the church, you will not be able to save it. Without the support of your brothers and sisters in Christ, you will not be able to save it.

Then you also need to know that we also need you. The church needs you. It is together that believers in Christ have to make Church to form the body of Christ. If you are a believer, God has made you a part of the Church for the benefit of others. (1 Peter 4:10) says:

“As everyone has received a gift, you must serve each other as good ministers of the multiple mercy of God.”

God gave you to be part of the church that you have to make as your own church. You have to realize that you have received a lot from God, but that those gifts must also be shared with others. Those gifts that you received from God must be used for good use, also for other people. So we as a church give priority as an expression of generosity towards others.

We will also not fail to testify this year for Jehovah and His sentient. Without that God-given cornerstone we are not many, not to say nothing. All the partners in Christ must anchor themselves in the port provided by Jesus.

In our ecclesiae there is no collection plate passed. We know it could help us a lot and for members of the ecclesia it could be an easy way of sharing some of their possessions. Depending on free gifts we are very limited, even when nobody working for the ecclesia receives any money. All work is done freely. We do not have a staff payroll, because every work for God has to be done freely. As in the early church example, we do hope church members would not mind supporting the needs of other church members and shall be willing also to provide the means of having an established community of believers. Facing some great urgency for funds we dare to ask you if you would not like to help us. All sort of help is welcome. If someone can offer us a room to get together, it would be fantastic. If someone can provide us with some money to cover our expenses, that would be very nice.

Most of all we would appreciate it if we could find more people in Belgium interested in meeting with each other. Do you know that when you give a day to God, you can put aside all the worries of life. Together you can discuss many things with each other. By coming together you can share in the happiness of others. Together you can serve as supporters and strengthen each other. There are even many of the pleasures of life that we as brothers and sisters in Christ want and can share with each other. It therefore does not have to be a whole day spend with each other, where you invest time to worship God, serve the community and others. But what is it like to set aside a time for God and for each other?

Ideally we would welcome you at a meeting of like-minded people. That is our biggest wish for the new season.

°°°

Financial support is always welcome at Argenta Bank: BE37 9730 6618 2528 with notification: “Operation Belgian Christadelphians” or “Support for Belgian Christadelphians“.

+

Preceding

Why we do not have our worship-services in a church building

A marvellous Summer ending

When seeing a biblically sound church

++

Additional reading

1. Casual Christians
2. Establish Priorities
3. Expenses, costs – Onkosten, uitgaven
4. Contribution – Contributie, bijdrage
5. Be a ready giver

+++

Related

1. Tomorrow
2. Motives in Life
3. Love Your Neighbor as You Love Yourself
4. Do I Actually Need These People?
5. We’re Sent Together, Not Alone
6. Step Eight – Go into all the WorldWhy Should We Serve?
7. Building a Christian Church
8. Reconnecting with God
9. Hope for those in Need
10. 7 Ways to be closer to God
11. The Importance of Coordination in Service
12. Church and Community Working Together
13. What are God’s people? What are the service-doers? | The Church of Almighty God
14. Let there be Light
15. Touch 101: Personal space in church
16. Coming Home

Rate this:

#2018 #2019 #BeingChurch #BeingPartOfTheBodyOfChrist #BelieverInChrist #BelieversInChrist #BodyOfChrist #Brussels #BurgerKing #ChristadelphiaFacebookPage #ChristadelphianMeetingRoom #Church #ChurchCommunity #ChurchPlanting #ChurchService #Collection #CuizInn #DailyReadingsBibleReadingPlan_ #Darkness #EcclesiaBrusselLeuven #Facebook #FacebookPage #Fellowship #FindingAChurch #FollowersOfChrist #FreeChristadelphiansFacebookPage #GoalOfMan #GoalReaching #HelpingEachOther #HeverleeLeuven_ #Leuven #MakingChurch #Meeting #PlaceOfWorship #PraiseGod #Priority #ServeGod #Starbucks #ThoughtForTheDay #TrueBelievers #UnitedInFellowship #Worship #WorshipService #WorshippingGod