Andy and Andrea
“A hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown”, these words of Jesus had got under our skin. Why didn’t Jesus start with two times or even five? We had served in teams and led churches for over 25 years, yet there was a growing dissatisfaction, we longed for more! Looking back, we now see God saw, and a new chapter began. It wasn’t comfortable, but we’re sure it was God. In a matter of weeks, everything changed. We were forced to slow down but as we waited a new plan began to unfold. We started to learn how to be, rather than do.
I had read a book on disciple making, but nobody I knew had heard of it. Then, I spoke to our neighbour, a missionary from America, and asked about the book. To my surprise, not only had he heard of the book, but he had read it, taught it and lived it. This was the beginning of a new friendship and the discovery of disciple making movements. For three years we read, prayed, studied and allowed our minds to be renewed. We also apprenticed alongside pioneers of a microchurch network. We soon recognised that if we were going to experience fruitfulness, we would first need to think differently so we could live differently.
We saw the truth in the famous definition of insanity attributed to Albert Einstein:
“Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result”
Our priorities had to change. Firstly, orientate our lives more around Jesus than what we had come to see as church. Secondly, prioritise obedience to ‘go and make disciples’ and thirdly, gather to worship and ‘spur one another on toward love and good deeds’ (Hebrews 12:24). We’d been distracted. We’d been building ‘Church’, instead of making disciples. We concluded the following priorities:
1. Jesus
2. Mission
3. Church
Soon a vision for Birmingham began to emerge. If we could help others to re-orientate their lives around Jesus and offer all they have to join Jesus on mission, we know extraordinary things will happen. If you would like to learn more, please get in touch.