Introduction

Enterprising Ministry and Transformational Waves are new ways to look at ancient biblical concepts and principles.

Why should we look at old principles in new ways? Because often does new things illustrating old principles. When God took at least 3 million slaves out of Egypt, all at once, in complete freedom, it was a brand new thing to the Jews, but it was an old principle: God hearing and answering the cries of his people.
When God returned the Jews from Babylonian captivity to Israel after 70 years, it was Brand new to most Jews, but again God was hearing and answering the cries of his people.

God redeemed his people in Five distinct Stages.

1. He heard the cry of his people in the Land, and answered them - He sent Moses to plant the seed that they could be free.
2. He prepared His people to believe they could be free by soaking them in miracle after miracle, visiting the Egyptians with Plague after Plague. Then
3. He Set them Free, and provided all their needs.
4. In the Desert, he grew and developed them from a slave nation into a nation ready to occupy their land of promise. He raised up leaders to occupy their rightful place of service to each other. They learned to serve God and not themselves.
5. He moved them into Israel under Joshua, transforming the land as they went, little by little. Because if he removed the people before they could occupy the land the wild animals would have taken over.

Then they gave up the Land choosing their own way

He used a similar cycle to transform the new testament church, until The the Roman empire began to be transformed,

Then they gave up the Land choosing their own way

God used professional Missionaries and migration movements to move into the new world, into America and Other Western Countries

And we are giving up the Land choosing our own way, as Europe did

Now, today, He is doing an old work in a new way.

He has been working to transform nations in the East, in China, in India, and they will in turn return to Western Asia, back to Israel itself.

He is transforming nations, in His time, and His way, until all of his Children have heard the name of Jesus and can choose to accept or Reject Him.

Islands, regions, countries around the world are all in various stages of transformation, except for those nations who have not yet hear the Name of Jesus, but who will.

So what must we do?

• We must understand that we are called to serve his purpose on Earth now, to inhabit the good works he created for us before we we were born
• We must find the people with whom we are to serve
• We must live integrated lives, with no compartmentalization, one set of rules, not two.
• We must find where our enterprising ministry fits
• We must join our ministries together in Task forces to accomplish his purposes

This is a not a new thing, but a very old thing, using contemporary tools he has placed in our hands.

So let's examine contemporary issues and works of God in the Body of Christ, to see what He is preparing us to do.

Transformational Waves

God has historically transformed, cities, regions, and states in a series of transformational waves. These waves have been called many things: moves of God, moves of the Spirit, Revivals, great awakenings, City revivals, Tent meeting revivals, etc. What ever they have been called, they have been Characterized by

1. An extented period of intercessory prayer by indivudals, small groups, then larger groups crying out for God's Presence
2. Confession and true repentance by those in spiritual authority,
3. A direct touch of the Hand of God through his Holy Spirt
4. Manistations of God through clear and unexplainable events, healings, Inspired preaching and prophetic ministry
5. An expansion of the influence of the Body of Christ in the local Culture

Then, when the wave passes over, there is a time of obsorbtion, of disicpleship, of maturing, and of proving the transformation. The real grows, and the false falls away, reatreating.

• Each wave brings transformational change. It does its work, and leaves a deposit that prepares the ground to obsorb the nutirants coming in the next wave.
• Parts of the Land will be ready for the next wave, parts of the land will retreat back to how it was before. Sometimes whole regions retreat back in rejection, sometimes the land remains redeemed.

There seem to be five transformational waves that pass over the land

What is Enterprising Ministry?

An Enterprising Ministry is:

• A Business or wholistic mission, church or church equipping organziation
• With a Matthew 6:10 passion and commitment
• A specialized, passion, mission, organizaiton, set of skills and tools which equip their members to serve their anointed purpose
• A wholistic mission, church or church equipping organziation with a Matthew 6:10 Purpose

They :

• Operate under Their God-given spiritual authority
• Are anointed for their organizational role
• Act with Integrity and excellence
• Have a God given own sustainable funding and enterpise model
• Understand and commit to the network covenant process
• Share best practices, and are willing to collaborate and not compete

Relationships between Enterprising Ministries - Teams and Task Forces

Teams And Task Forces

Biblical Case
What do we mean by Team?
What do we mean by Taskforce?
What do we mean by a Network Organziation?
What do we mean by Covenant Process?
Why is the structure temporary?
Example of a Teams
Example of a Task Force
What can teams and task forces Do?

Dynamics in the Body of Christ that Shape the Four Dimensions

1. Post Denominationalism
2. Spirit Driven Relationships
3. Sacred-Secular Divide Myth
4. City, State, National Transformation Movement
5. The Sepration of the Sheep and the Goats
6. Convergance
7. Intercessory Prayer and the Prophetic
8. The Emerging Church
9. Multi-National Coordination
10. The Purpose Driven Movement
11. Persecution of the Church is on the rise

Seven Mountain Island

There was a barren island covered by seven mountains. The land was ugly but glowed with latent expectancy.

The people of the land were born infused with a need to connect with their creator, but they surrendered the perfect state in which they were created, so they were no longer equipped to join with their Creator on their own. God, deeply loving the people more than they could possible imagine or know, made a way, and sent five waves to transform the Island.

The first wave came, the seed wave, gently carrying billions and billions of seeds. The wave passes over the barren land, over the tops of the seven mountains. When the wave receded, as all waves do, there were seeds everywhere. Some fell on rocky soil, some fell on the hard paths, and some seeds remain on mountains not suited for their growth. Those seeds died or remained dormant. Many many fell in goods places, and died. When they died, they sprouted. And the Barren land turned green.

Some of the sprouts began to grow. The seeds that fell on the mountains best suited for them were much more successful than the ones which did not. When the seedlings covered the mud and loose soil, the people prayed, seeing the green, began to have hope. They prayed for deliverance, for transformation. In the fullness of readiness, God sent the second wave.

The second wave swept over the Land, the soaking wave, harder than the first wave, but when it receded it left a rich and thick covering of nutrients-just the right ones for each and every plant. The people didn't understand the purpose of the nutrients, because they stimulated the root growth, and not the tops. The people eventually learn to let the plants soak in the richness of the nutrients, without disturbing them. Some plants began to thrive more than others. They outgrew their counterparts, and even as bushes they provided shade so that even some dormant seeds planted in the first wave sprouted. A few grew so far and so fast that they became unstable, in danger of collapse.

At just the right time, God sent in the third wave, the stabilizing wave. The third wave brought specialized support structures, different ones for each mountain and plant type. These strengthened the fastest growing plants. By now, the plants on each mountain were beginning to look different from each other. When the wave receded, the tie downs and supports remained. Plants are different on every hill, and every hill has different kinds of supports.

When the Island had sufficent growth, God sent the fourth wave, the spreading wave. It brought nutrients that made the plants grow above the ground. Some of the plants grew so fast that they spread onto empty ground, and some sent off buds and shoots to join the wave God sent with seeds to the next Island in the chain. Some of the plants simply grew in on themselves and become weak. The only fed themselves until they became too fat to move onto other ground. The plants that grow fat and weak together begin to rot, though the live seed remained. They regressed to needing second wave nutrients for the seeds to bloom again.

Some plants become large and strong trees, especially blessed and favored because of their surrender to God. These trees began to set up their broad crowns to join together to make a net that covered the whole Island. They knew there was another wave coming, and they prepared to catch and retain the bounty brought by the next wave when it came.

When God sends the fifth wave, the securing wave, then all the riches of God will be brought to the Land. When the tree crowns catch and retain the bounty, the land will be finally and fully transformed.

A Believers Missional Life

....Your Kingdom Come, Your Will be Done, on Earth as it is in Heaven....

Diverse groups of Christ followers, being led by God's Spirit, are being drawn toward living their Christian life with Kingdom Purpose. Some of these groups are large, like Empowering Kingdom Growth and some are small, like Harvest Christian Center. Some have written books, like Rick Warren's Purpose Driven Life and Purpose Driven Church. We are being drawn to understand our Kingdom Purpose, whether in church or missionary work, business, the arts, government, social advocacy, or education.

Two questions to ask:

1. Am I individually serving the Kingdom Purpose God has for me? This includes time with God, cultivating relationships with the lost and with believers, being good stewards of my time, my responsibilities, my health.

There are several great studies to help you find your talents, gifts, passion and place of service. Network is a great book by Bill Hybles, an a series of online Survey by the Elca.org, and Another self assessment survey by Kodachrome.org are good starts

1. Are the organizations in which I have a role serving their kingdom Purpose? This includes my Family, My Small group, My place of employment, My church.

Here are some questions to help you answer the individual question. Here are four dimensions to explore to help you find where your ministry fits in Gods transformational plan.