Commissioning

What is commissioning?

1. Commission means a group mission. In Christianity, we sometime refer to Matthew 28: 19-20.

2. Commissioning is an act of commission.

Last time, I propose that we intentionally commission our ICF-ers to go to a particular battlefield. By being intentional, we start to think strategically about the battlefield and on how to call, equip, and send our people. The battlefield in ICF could be an unbelieving mind, a hardened heart, or a particular mindset that bore sinful culture. This understanding about a particular battlefield will force us to call the right people, equip them with the right skills and send them with the right character and attitude toward God.

Leonard

ICF as a Movement

Why is it that some ICF seems to be moving along as a movement and some are more stagnant? What are some factors that influence some ICF better than others? What does an ICF that striving well as a movement look like? This paper’s aim is to provide an observation about some factors why some ICF are growing as movements while some become more institutionalized. Throughout the paper, we will unfold together three factors that currently play major roles in ICFs:

1) vision/direction
2) reality check
3) strong work-force & leadership, as they are striving to grow as movements.

Read full paper and power point presentation here.

Cultural Relevance Is Not an Option

What is the purpose and design of our life? Just as a computer is designed to do certain stuff according to its design, so as we as God’s creations are designed to do something according to our design. Just as a computer has a manual how it can be used and operates properly within the boundary of its design, so do we have the manual to be used effectively according to the way God has designed us. This manual is what we called God’s moral absolutes. God’s moral absolutes are the template, the form of God’s design for us. Just as we can use a computer as a seat but it will not function as it has been designed, we can violate the instruction or manual, and will not function properly as God has intended.

Within its intended function, a computer can be used for word processing, email, spreadsheet, web developing, etc. It still has an area of flexibility or freedom within its intended function. In the same way, we as human beings, God’s creations, have a freedom within that moral absolutes. God does not forbid us to wear a red t-shirt today or buy Nike shoes instead of Reebok.

Galatians 5:1, “It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery”.
In essence, in these areas, God does not give us absolutes, thus we have the freedom to choose and decide how we will deal with them.

As Christians, we need to know the difference between form and freedom. Form is God’s moral absolutes, the original design, the template. Freedom is freedom, the area within the form. Many Christians are confused about this. Therefore, as a result, they declare almost everything absolutes. We need to be careful regarding this matter, because if God does not declare any absolutes for certain things, who are we to think that we may know better? As Christians, we should not declare absolutes which God Himself does not.

“To require people to embrace anything beyond what is written in Scripture is to put a yoke on their necks that they will not be able to bear. Anything more than Scripture is too much”1

Read full paper here.

The Church

Where does the church begin? Some believe that the bible defines church from the very beginning or from Adam and so on. Therefore, they include O.T. traditions in their practices. Others use the definition derived from N.T., where church started from the Day of Pentecost. They distinquish the N.T. church from the O.T. church which is Israel. The basis of the definition is primarily from Jesus’ teaching on the church, the epistles, and Rev 1-3.

Read full paper & power point presentation here.