Ian & Lucy Fisher

Well I've been in Sweden for a few days now leading seminars on Church Builders and Developers. The Church I am at is in Hassleholm in southern Sweden, about 90 minutes from Malma, 600ks south of Stockholm. The weather has begun to get cold and a bit of snow has fallen. I've had a good time with the pastors and leaders in this church, but like much of Europe the church is not one of the priorities in people's lives - even in the hearts of well meaning Christians, and in many parts of Europe there is a definite strong spirit of resistance to the Gospel and to change.

As with most of this trip so far, God has been increasing the emphasis on being builders of the House, not just attending. The Church is designed to be interactive, and when this spirit has been activated and people desire to get involved, and have the heart of a servant or volunteer, great things can be accomplished.

Some of the building terms I have been using are words like Preparation. In any building there must be preparation, and as we are a body, or a temple of the Lord, the preparation must firstly begin with ourselves. There are 2 sides to this preparation - Natural and Spiritual. John 3:3 records Jesus teaching, 'to see the Kingdom of God, you must be born again' - this is a change of spirit, and of course there is preparation and development in building the inner man to attaining all the fullness of Christ. (Eph 4:12 -14) The goal here of course is to see the Kingdom of God, not our own personal kingdom which is of no use to God whatever.

The natural man must be redeveloped and transformed, because the natural man contains the soul, which is our mind (thinking, attitudes and perception) our will and our emotions. This area of the natural man is in a fallen state and must be transformed to be conformed into the image of Christ, so that we may know what the Will of God is. (Romans 12:2)

There are other words in Preparation like - Inspiration, Visualization, Education and Generation that are also word tools that carry meaning and transforming power. Churches in Europe today must begin to build and develop toward this generation,and apply a methodology that is contemporary and relevant, and connects to the heart and thinking of todays young people.

Developing is another word tool I have been using in teaching about builders, and this applies to the working of the vision. Words like Instigation, Motivation, Administration and Replication. The last word replication is an interesting word and relates to us developing something that replicates or is a mirror image of what it is that we see, feel or are instructed through revelation, to build here on earth. The bible teaches us that 'Thine will be done on earth as it is in Heaven', so it is our purpose as church builders to replicate things on earth as it is in Heaven.

Another couple of word groups are based on Building - words like, Renovation, Innovation, Transformation, Revelation and Globalization. All these words are building words and are designed to bring transformation to our lives, and also to the Church method and structure as well.

Finally, we are to Establish ourselves and the Church in the communities we inhabit. I have been using words like, Occupancy, Relevancy, Perminancy and Consistancy. These words are about developing and building a Church that is here to stay, and will remain throughout the generations as a witness to our communities that the Church of Jesus Christ is alive and active, and is an example to the world that this is the best and most fulfilling life to live.

John 10:10 'I have come to give you life - and life more abundantly.'

Until next time - Cheers

Fish cool