Just finished a productive time in London with the Connect Europe team. Yesterday Simon Mason presented his teaching on the DNA of Jesus' ministry, the Kingdom of God, and mobile apostolic teams. Together with Tim we interacted on how this would translate into the context of Connect. In the evening we headed for an Italian restaurant to evaluate and plan.
Today we went through the applications for Prague, prepared the weekend, and planned for the whole year. Amazing how much work you get done with a small team that is focused. In the 'old' team this would have taken us four days and left us all drained. Now we did it in just 24 hours and leave energized.
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June 30, 2005
June 28, 2005
Hanging out in London
A full day. By night boat from Orkney to Aberdeen, then by car to the airport, by plane to Luton, by bus to London, and by underground to Greenford. Just in time for lunch with my friend Carl Brettle from Wales who set up Prayer.tv, a nation-wide prayer mobilisation project that integrates a magazine, the internet and daily television broadcasting.
In the evening dinner at Corien's place with her circle of friends. Heidi Plympton shared a few cool prophetic evangelism stories (watch out if you're a telephone sales person ;-), and I challenged them on the missions side of being church.
June 27, 2005
The Orkney expedition
It's six hours by ferry from Aberdeen, but completely worth the effort. The Orkney Islands are inspiring, invigorating and fascinating. As Reinhold wrote on his weblog:
"The blend of green land, blue sea, wide open spaces, 5,000 year old history and a tangible spirituality, together with very friendly people and a peaceful quietness over the land - all of this makes the Orkneys special. I think the Jones fit there perfectly. The whisky almost killed me, but the great peace cigar at the end made up for it. Returned home with many special memories and megabytes of photos."
Yesterday we visited Skara Brae, a 5,000 year old settlement (older than Gizeh or Stonehenge), the standing stones of the Ring of Brodgar, and finished the day with a barbeque in Stromness. It was raining, so we did it inside.
Today we visited Kirkwall cathedral, the Highland Park whisky distillery and walked along the astounding coast to an early Celtic Christian settlement. We also checked out a garage annex restaurant and a chapel in the middle of nowhere, where Andrew and Debbie would like to start an apostolic community. Have you ever wondered why the Celtic apostles chose the most desolate places they could find to found monasteries, and by doing so they ignited one of the most effective missionary movements in the history of the church?
Extensive Orkney photo album here.
June 25, 2005
How the East was (not) won
We just finished our DAWN Europe team time in Aberdeen. Special guest was Lee Behar of the Alliance for Saturation Church Planting in Budapest. Because the ASCP will be dissolved over the next year, this creates a possible window of opportunity for DAWN in Central and East Europe. How can we support what's already there, what are the main developments and how does the spiritual landscape in the East look like? Lee offered good, and also sobering insights. He said there were four lessons he learned in his ASCP time:
1. Follow the wind of God's Spirit instead of programs (or: be God-led rather than purpose-driven).
2. Work relationally with national 'Gideons' instead of organisationally with denominations.
3. Focus on organic church planting movements among the emerging generation instead of working with the established churches.
4. Don't mix networks (open space exchange of resources) with partnerships (intentional collaboration towards a common goal).
It was also good to have Si Johnston with us who works on several social justice projects. He will also join us on our trip to Orkney tonight.
June 24, 2005
The grey city
If you like greyness, visit Aberdeen. The Lonely Planet calls it 'a symphony in grey', because almost everything in Aberdeen is built of granite - even the roads. With grey weather it even gets deadly depressing. The only colour I discovered were the boats in the harbour and the flowers (kept in secret walled gardens as Andreas and Christine discovered).
The city breathes an atmosphere of freemasonry and witchcraft. Half of the church buildings have been converted into gothic-style restaurants and pubs, where you can enjoy cocktails like 'the 7 deadly sins', surrounded by stained-glass windows and screaming MTV screens. Apart from the obvious perversion, I like the idea of using church buildings as pubs and restaurants, because I think meals and wine are closer to the heart of 'church' than buildings. If Jesus would minister in Aberdeen these days, he would drink Guinness with the Goths. There's hope, even for Aberdeen, as Rachel Hickson once prophesied:
"Even in Aberdeen, in these days, the heart of the granite land, something is going to spread. I am raising up a new sound says the Lord your God. Watch the city of Aberdeen."
June 22, 2005
The British Isles marathon
The coming week I'm on a marathon through the British Isles. Rough schedule:
Thursday: Scotland - meeting with Chris Lindsey in Edinburgh, meeting with DAWN Europe team in Aberdeen.
Friday and Saturday: DAWN Europe team in Aberdeen.
Sunday and Monday: expedition on the Orkneys with TSK & family, DAWN Europe team and emerging leaders.
Tuesday: England - meeting with Carl Brettle, and Corien & Anglican-halfway-dechurched friends in London.
Wednesday and Thursday: London, Connect Europe core team meeting.
I guess after this trip I need a holiday...
June 21, 2005
June 19, 2005
Fathers' Day 2005
It's Fathers' Day, so my kids gave me the paintings they made at school.
Dad: "Oh how nice, is that a giraffe?"
David: "No, dad, that's you!"
Dad: "Oh really, you mean because of the long neck?"
Karolien: "No, because of the belly..."
With a family like this, who needs enemies?
We spent most of the day in Enschede at my parents' place. They live on the university campus and have a nice garden. Always enjoyable with 30 degrees Celsius. In the afternoon we visited my grandmother who's recovering from a serious cancer surgery. On the way home we enjoyed the landscape north of Baarn, after one of our tires gave up and we had to wait alongside the highway for the yellow First Aid Service for Missionary Cars to show up.
June 18, 2005
24-10-1-90-5
No, this is not an IP address. It stands for 24 hours of prayer, in the 10 days between Ascension Day and Pentecost, culminating in the Global Day of Prayer on Pentecost Sunday, followed by 90 days of outreach and service to the community, for the period of 5 years. A united effort of the worldwide prayer movement towards a greater Pentecost. It's coordinated by South Africa, broadcasted by the United States, and over a 150 nations are participating in this biggest prayer meeting ever held on the globe.
It was good to hang out with Dawie and Isabel Spangenberg who coordinate the Global Day of Prayer, Bennie Mostert of Jericho Walls, Etienne Pieck, Bob Bakke, Steve Hawthorne, Tom Sipling of 30KD, and Jaeson Ma of Campus Church Networks. Didn't see much of Paris, but we had good conversations. After reading my paper, Dawie remarked: "Hey is this all? From a Dutchman I would expect a bit more directness." ;-)
Bob Bakke showed us the video of the GDOP in Dallas, where Rick Warren presented his PEACE plan. I have to say I felt a bit double: I love big city-wide celebrations and rather have one of these than 52 church services, but I wonder what could happen if these 12,000 people would not sit in a stadium, engaging in a highly polished program, but pray and bring the Kingdom two-by-two, spread out all over the city. The good thing is that we suggested to let the young people run with the PEACE plan in the 90 days following the GDOP. Just imagine millions of young people Planting churches, Equipping servant leaders, Assisting the poor, Caring for the sick, and Educating the next generation... wouldn't that impact our communities?
June 16, 2005
GDOP meeting in Paris
Tonight I'll take the Thalys fast-speed train to Paris, where I will be joining a two-day strategy meeting of the Global Day of Prayer, the main event of the global prayer movement. They want me there to bring in an 'emerging leaders' perspective'. What do you think, should I print off this document?
June 15, 2005
Connect me, baby
It's a busy week. On Monday I met with the board of Joel Ministries to evaluate our planning for 2005. In the afternoon an emerging prophetic guy paid me a visit, and I had a loooong phone call with Warren Carter (which was good, but left me a bit Warren-out ;-).
On Tuesday meeting with the embryonic Connect Benelux team: relationship building with a pint on a sunny terrace overlooking Utrecht. That's my style. The youngest kid on the block was 4.5 month Shira from Bruges (insert).
On Wednesday our weekly skype planning meeting with the Connect core team. In one week time we received already over 30 applications for the Prague gathering! If you want to attend this one, then be fast. It's filling up quickly.
June 11, 2005
Cuban creativity
Twelve Cubans tried to flee to the United States by cab, a 1948 Mercury they transformed into a boat. The American coast guard arrested them 40 kms off the coast of Florida. I can picture them all in the cab, smoking cigars, and watercycling their way to the free world. Cool.
June 10, 2005
The church and the Jews
Today was our city-wide leaders day in Utrecht. This time we addressed the root issue of antisemitism in the church. A sensitive subject!
I introduced it by taking people on a historical journey: how did antisemitism take root in the church, how was it expressed throughout the centuries, and how was this in our own city Utrecht? Most people associate antisemitism with the nazi period, culminating in the holocaust, or shoah as the Jews say. But many are ignorant that throughout the centuries, also in our own city, discrimination and persecution of the Jews was the norm, initiated and sustained by the church. It was only with the French Revolution that Jews received equal rights. And this change was brought forth by atheists (not Christians) and imposed from the outside (not coming from within). Very sobering. 
Rabbi Arjeh Leib Heintz of the orthodox Jewish community told us that for a Jewish family antisemitism is an everyday reality. His kids need to be escorted to school, because they are regularly being threatened and assaulted on the train. What is special is that over the past one and half year a relationship has grown between the house of prayer and the Jewish community in the city, and young Christians offered to bring the Jewish kids to school.
The key question we need to address is this: how can we as the church in the city break with our history of antisemitism, and become a blessing to the Jewish community? Actually this question should be asked by every church in every city in every country, because antisemitism is a root sin that is blocking the way for a deeper work of God among Jews and Christians alike.
In the afternoon we took time to process this. No quick sorries, no cheap actions, but allowing God to speak to our hearts, and start building a relationship.
June 09, 2005
Investment schemes (3)
Potdorie.nl reports that Rob Allart and the leadership team of Berea Amsterdam stepped down from their position, and that the M12 vision will be dismantled. I haven't been able to verify this, but it would surely be a good step out of the crisis.
One of the big questions is: did the people who invested in this scheme get their money back? No, says the financial advisor of one of the KFS victims, who told me that the South Africans even tried to bribe him to let go of the case. His client didn't receive his money back.
Godly synergy in teams
I'm part of an informal group of Dutch prophetic an apostolic guys who are exploring issues related to reformation and the five-fold ministry. Today we met again in Nieuwegein, and I gave an introduction on Godly synergy in teams - the forming and functioning of apostolic (or five-fold ministry) teams.
Lucas Vos introduced his vital space model for networks, and Peter de Jong challenged us with some spicy stories of how God uses the prophetic (and healing) in business. He just returned from a business and development trip to Niger, where by sharing a prophetic insight he could lead the king of a certain tribe to Christ, which opened the whole community to the gospel. I love this stuff.
While looking for an image for this posting, I bumped into the KingWatch website in New Zealand, with a very helpful explanation of the role of the apostle in a church planting context, and lots of other articles related to church and ministry. Check it out.
June 08, 2005
June 06, 2005
Connect Europe 2005
Today the invitation for our next Connect Europe gathering in Prague went out. This gathering is not for everyone. It is for those who know God is calling them to break open new ground for the Gospel in Europe, to pioneer an incarnational movement of 'living stones', who resonate with the call to a Jesus-centered reformation of the church and society, who will not stay silent but prophetically speak out in their own city, region and nation. It is for those who are ready to take on a responsibility to form multiple-ministry teams in their nation, and kick-start organic, self-multiplying movements. Those who are being prepared by God for servant-type (not stage and position oriented) apostolic ministry.
June 05, 2005
Enneagram and reformation
I did the Enneagram personality test on television, and found out that I'm a reformer (type 1), investigator (type 5) and challenger (type 8). Lowest scores were the enthusiast (type 7) and peacemaker (type 9). English Ennegram type descriptions here.
Bram Flippo, a consultant who works with the Enneagram, told me that more than 70 percent of humanity is a loyalist (type 6), and he thinks this percentage is even higher in church. Reformation might have more to do with conversion and redemption of our character and personality than with theology and structures.
June 04, 2005
Pastors feel miserable
Satirical newspaper Lark News reports that church growth conferences often help pastors feel like miserable failures. Like the "Bigger Church, Bigger Impact" conference wrapped on Friday in Peoria, Illinois, leaving participants feeling drained and dejected.
"I came here thinking my church was doing all right. Now I see we're so dinky and dumb, it's not even funny," says pastor Steve Irvine of Reno, Nev., who went to his hotel room and cried after each session. Several faith-filled conference speakers shared how they grew their churches to tens of thousands of members with various ministry techniques. In the foyer afterward, many participants wore tight grins. Some broke down on the spot.
After paying $400 to attend the conference, pastor Ryan Delacourt of Eugene, Ore., left feeling "about three tons worse" than when he came. "I don't know why I go to these things," he says, noting that his church has been trying to break the 100-member mark for twelve years. After the conference some pastors hit the local Cracker Barrel restaurant to commiserate. Some vowed not to return. "If I want to be this depressed again, I'll rent Apocalypse Now, or read my e-mails," quipped one.
Also funny:
Man arrested for drunk-in-the-Spirit driving
Woman builds sermon-tape empire
June 03, 2005
The social prophet
Life is never boring with prophetic people around. When we meet with the team of the house of prayer in Utrecht to discern what God is saying and doing in relation to the Netherlands and Europe, quite interesting stuff comes up. The highlights this time:
1. The Dutch voted down the EU constitution on June 1. What most people don't know is that exactly three years go, on June 1, 2002, a team of prophets went to the Binnenhof (seat of government) in The Hague to erect 'an altar for the Lord'. They prayed specifically that the 'false convenant of Holland with the EU' would be broken and that Holland would rise up in her identity in Christ and her ministry as a 'social prophet' among the nations.
2. Don't overlook the message here: social prophet and founding EU member Holland pulls the emergency brake, because - while intentional cooperation between nations is part of God's purposes with Europe - it's not His will that nations and people groups surrender their identity and foundation to Brussels or any other central power structure. With the constitution off table and government leaders calling for a time-out, we have a window of opportunity to pray God's purposes in, and especially for the identity of nations to come forth.
3. There's a significant link between the years 2002 and 2005. Things prophesied about power and empire structures in 2002, are coming to pass in 2005. God is shifting plates, and we have to be very alert.
4. The theme of reformation is still hot and links in to this. Bernard went to Constance with a prophetic prayer team, where during the 1414-1418 concilium John Hus was arrested, tried and burnt at the stake. The Jezebelic prophet-killing spirit was clearly at work here through the religious establishment of that time, but a quite unknown fact is that during this concilium nearly 5,000 prostitutes descended on the city to entertain the bishops and kings gathered here. Literally in the roof of the building where John Hus was interrogated, there were little studio's where the powerful of this world engaged themselves in prostitution (very much like John's vision about the whore in Revelation). The main whore, called Imperia, now has a huge statue in the city right at the entrance of the harbor, circulating 360 degrees around her axis, overlooking the surrounding nations, with in her one hand the pope, and in the other the emperor. Again the prophets built an altar for the Lord which they called 'grace', performed several other prophetic acts, and prayed for the start of a new reformation in Europe. Note the time: 05-05-05, 05.05 pm. The water level of the Bodensee at the foot of the statue: 3,33 meters, and God speaking: "I'm in charge of the timing and the water level of my work in Europe." Wow.
Praying on the Himalaya
This morning I visited Johan den Hartogh, who restarted the city prayer initiative in Utrecht and leads the weekly Knock evangelism team. He lives on the Himalaya, a street in the Lunetten neighborhood. Right in the top of his three-story apartment he opened a prayer room. A very quiet and cool place.
When we talked about the key to unity being the laying down of our own pride and ambitions at the foot of the cross, I remembered a prophetic picture God gave me years ago about Utrecht. I saw a cross of prayer over the city, made up of five locations (north, east, south, west and centre) that were dedicated as places of prayer. The foot of that cross was in Lunetten in the south. May this prayer room be a place of humility and unity, because only then God can lift us up to the top of the world to see things from His perspective.
June 02, 2005
Holland is so cool!
Kiwi Darren Hight paid me a visit, and I took him to the La Place restaurant for a cappucino, where you have a neat view over the old medieval city. We talked about lots of stuff, from city-wide prayer initiatives to Europe as a mission field.
Darren on his blog: "The 45 min train ride from Eindhoven to Utrecht was awesome. No one told me Holland was so cool. I saw canals, some very funky architechture, heaps of fields, fantastic." Funny to hear someone from the other side of the globe describe the flat landscape you've got to used to as 'cool'.
June 01, 2005
Dutch say NO to EU constitution
The Dutch have a voice and mind of their own. With an overwhelming 63 percent and a turnout as high as 62 percent, the Dutch population rejected the proposed European Union constitution. This is not just a pain in the neck for the government who ran a one-sided and manipulative YES campaign, but also for the European Commission. A nice quote from LPF politician Mat Herben: "The light bulbs didn't spring, no war broke out. The Dutch simply decided not to be influenced by the Berlusconi-type campaign of the established parties, and showed clear discernment."
I agree with that, I also voted NO. The European Union is not a democracy, but a centralistic bureaucracy. No need to strengthen that.
In Utrecht we could also vote about the so-called Shopping Sundays. For some reason the city council wants to strengthen Utrecht's position as a marketplace in the heart of the country, and open the shops every Sunday (now only once a month). I also gave a NO vote on this one. Could we please have a restful break from consumerism for at least one day a week?
