This mini-series is a summary of my notes from the Exponential East 2016 Main Sessions.

Tension of Measurement

Speakers: J.D. Greear, Ajai Lall, Ralph Moore, Dave Furgerson

Once you resolve the tension of motives, you will continually face the tension of measurement: Will you be only about growing your church or will you also be about sending?” Exponential East 2016 Main Session 3

Growing vs Sending

We ought to be measuring sending capacity not seating capacity.” JD Greear

In order to be a multiplying church, we need to have the following:

Reckless Sacrifice

Acts 8 – even in the first church we find them huddling in Jerusalem through the eighth chapter even after the clear commission to go to Judea, Samaria, and the very ends of the earth.

At the end of the 2nd Century there were three main church planting centers in Christendom: Antioch, Alexandria & Rome. What they have in common is that nobody knows who founded them.

God calls pastors not to a platform but to an altar: come and die.

Kingdom Selflessness

Most church plants are like teenagers: they want your money & affirmation and to be left alone.” JD Greear

We know how to teach our own congregations to give to God first but we’re not always modeling that through being generous with the first of our church leaders, resources and people. We have to be open handed with everything God entrusts us with.

Risky Faith

In the parable of the talents, the last servant was called wicked because he didn’t risk to invest what the Master had entrusted him with.

Be OK with Being Nobody

Jackie Chan is the most recognized face on the planet. We have Jackie because of a the man who started the Hong Kong Ballet school and took him in as a troubled kid. Nobody knows much about that man.

It’s easy to read about and celebrate the Apostle Paul but overlook Barnabas. Paul becomes the hero. How many chapters in Acts do Peter, James & John appear? 11, 4 and 3 respectively. In how many chapters does Saul/Paul appear? 21. The difference? Paul went and the others stayed. And without Barnabas, Paul wouldn’t have become the hero.

It’s possible to reach a generation if we’re willing to position ourselves as a Barnabas.” Ralph Moore

A Sense of Urgency

There are 1.3 billion people in India. The birth rate adds the entire population of Australia every year. It was only 2.5% Christian years ago but has grown to as much as 8%. It is the largest Hindu country in the world and will very soon be the largest Muslim country in the world. We need to have a desperate urgency about advancing the Gospel.

There is a door of opportunity if we’re willing to see it. But there is also a door or opposition.” Ajai Lall

Hundreds of thousands of Christians are being killed every year around the world.

Let it Go

Dave Ferguson had everyone stand and hold tight to the rocks that were handed out at the door on the way in. When we hold tight to things like budgets & people, we have a posture of clinched fists in front of us, the picture of combativeness, violence and rebellion.

Then he had everyone open their hands and drop their rocks. It was a beautiful sound! And everyone now stood with open hands in front of them, the picture of surrender, worship, and embrace.

How do we measure things that cause us to have open hands?