Area of Conflict

Area of Conflict
By Bob Mumford www.lifechangers.org

For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. (Roman 7:19)

The area of conflict is identified as the dotted circle on the diagram. It is the actual battleground where we engage the Seven Giants, choose to follow Jesus, and keep ourselves in the exact center of Father’s Love. There are opportunities in the battle to go our own way and preserve the right to ourselves in a manner similar to the way Jesus was tempted in the wilderness with bread, power, and possessions. We are tempted to either turn right toward worldly, sensual things; or left, toward religious activity and eros payoffs, seeking to get something from God or prove something to Him.

What Satan met in the Person of our Lord was Christ’s love for the Father. He was unwilling to share or trade His love for anything that was being offered. It was an issue of Agape, not willpower. Jesus’ defense was, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” He knew that “Love is as strong as death” and that it would hold Him. He embraced God’s yoke and then taught us how to take hold of it ourselves:

Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.

Our love for God is what protects us. It keeps us from making wrong choices in the arena of conflict. When we take His yoke upon us, He will be bearing more than the other half of the weight. He will walk with us through the same temptations because He already conquered them. If we seem to journey up either of the side roads, He will resist us until we choose to come back to abide on the right road home. He is determined and unrelenting to bring us into the freedom of Agape and He will remain faithful even when we are rebellious and resentful.

Preferentially choosing the Father breaks the power and force of temptation. It is at the point of conflict that what and who we love is revealed. Temptation reveals whether we love ourselves and our own way more than God and His Kingdom. To stop cyclical behavior and begin moving in a more linear direction, we must set our affection on God as our Father. Jesus proves that our love for God can effectively protect and deliver us from all temptations, revealing that it is unnecessary for us to project, travel in circles, turn to the right or to the left, or repeatedly be puffed up with pride or exist in a valley of despair. God’s love shields us and allows us to successfully defeat temptation so that we can find rest and abide on the Agape Road. This is what it means to have engaged and defeated the Seven Giants.

QUESTIONS & THOUGHTS
• In what ways have you experienced temptations in the area of conflict? What was the result?
• Explain how Christ’s yoke is the same as loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.
• If you feel God resisting you, consider whether He is trying to keep you on the Agape Road.

Planning Your Breakthrough

Planning Your Breakthrough

Personal note: God has allowed me to experience a level of breakthrough that is exciting. I’m also seeing other Kings achieve amazing levels of favor in anointing, creativity, finances and opportunity for ministry. Some of those exploits are stunning. Most of us labor faithfully to see our dreams realized over the years without too many headlines. Let this newsletter be an encouragement; doors are opening wide in the Kingdom right now. Financial breakthrough and new ideas are key ingredients.

Initiative - Kings who achieve a breakthrough in their dreams and experience the favor of God have a different mentality than servants. Servants are content to do what they are told and take what they can get. They feel entitled to more and are prone to complain about their lot in life, but they will not take the initiative to change it themselves. Servants are often trapped in passive theology; believing God will sovereignly take care of them. Christians in poverty are prone to expect a miracle that never comes. The same thinking waits for revival that never comes. My favorite revivalist is Charles Finney (1792-1875). When he decided to bring revival to a city, he sent an intercessor a month ahead of time to check into a hotel and pray. When Charles arrived, they started a revival and God was with them. They didn’t wait for anything. They brought the presence of God and revival with them wherever they went.

One who breaks open the way will go up before them; they will break through the gate and go out. Their king will pass through before them, the Lord at their head. Mic 2:13 NIV

Planning for something better – Kings achieve breakthroughs because they plan for them at several different levels. Here’s the progression

Theology – Kings believe that God’s favor is on their lives, and they expect doors to open and good things to happen. Even through failures, they set their hearts on the goodness of God and refuse to be discouraged or to blame others. They will learn from mistakes to redirect the future, but they will never get caught focusing on the past and becoming bitter or resentful. They leverage their setbacks into resurrections. They know God is not the author of failure, but he can work “all things for good.”

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Rom 8:28-29 NIV

Dreams – People who have the favor of God are passionate about their own dream. “Religion” is an attempt to wear passion for the perceived purpose of God (an attempt to eliminate our own will so we can do God’s will.) Real Christianity is the liberty that comes with having God’s plan written in our hearts. The things we desire are amazingly connected with God’s own heart. We’re truly excited about our own dream and role in the Kingdom. Kings are not afraid of their intellect or their will. They search for the will of God in their own heart’s desires. They can hear the Father’s intent to grant the desires of their heart; they understand that is how the Kingdom is built. They know how to celebrate victories.

May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed. 5 We will shout for joy when you are victorious and will lift up our banners in the name of our God. May the Lord grant all your requests. Ps 20:4-5 NIV

Kingdom Synergism – Kings see the connection between their role in the marketplace and what God is doing to build the Kingdom. We have personal desires that ride the wave of God’s larger kingdom purposes. We know God is building His Kingdom and will not fail. We also know some piece of that responsibility to build the Kingdom and bless the nations belongs to us… and we will not fail. We feel the wind of the Holy Spirit at our backs and a cloud of witnesses cheering us on. Pretty exciting!!!

In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. Dan 2:44-45

There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace… Isa 9:7 NASU

There is another aspect of Kingdom synergism; the larger plan is much bigger than just us. The Lord is faithful to show us other Kings working in the same vein and we often overlap assignments. The fellowship around working together on the same marketplace or Kingdom dream is particularly rich… and powerful. Our anointing is multiplied by finding these brothers and sisters.

How should one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, except their Rock had sold them, and the Lord had shut them up? Deut 32:30 KJV

Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you. Lev 26:8 NIV

Have a plan - All of this translates to a very simple concept: Kings have a plan for their breakthrough. They dream about how to make it happen and they take the steps to implement that plan. God does do miracles; He gives revelation. But our plans are premised on wisdom and personal initiative. God can intervene and accelerate the plan whenever he desires. But we have a dream and a plan to get there that we hold in our hearts.

To man belong the plans of the heart, but from the Lord comes the reply of the tongue. 2 All a man's ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the Lord. 3 Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed. Prov 16:1-3 NIV

In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps. Prov 16:9 NIV

Learn to celebrate - When we achieve a milestone toward that plan, we can’t help but get excited. We can sense the applause of heaven and the Father’s smile as he says, “well done.” The sense of peace and satisfaction that wells up in our hearts brings tears of gratitude and dancing at the same time.

Specifics – “But I don’t have a plan!” So get off your ____ and make one, now! Here’s how.

1. Write down your dreams. I dream in five categories: my relationship with God, Sue, our ministry to Release Kings, our income through trading, and play. I set goals and write them down for each category in the past tense (as though I’ve already achieved them) for 2010. I read those goals out loud daily and update them as necessary. Here’s one example from each category:

a. God - I loved prayer and picking up on prophetic themes from the Holy Spirit

b. Sue - Sue and I went to Israel and Rome in March

c. Releasing Kings - I developed a network of mentors available to help grasshoppers in their area of need

d. Trading - My small group of traders averaged over 10% a week trading currency

e. Play - I helped Jim and Sam gather cattle in the mountains Oct 10-31

2. Write a simple business plan and develop a monthly cash flow for your personal finances and your business finances. See Write Your Business Plan.

3. Be part of a Kingly small group of people you respect… people who can help you and you can help them. Just meet once a month for starters. Share your dreams and pray for one another. Here’s template for the meeting: Start Your Own Group.

4. Hang around people who are already successful and find yourself a mentor who can show you how from his own success in the same field. See Relational Mentoring.

We're Dancing



John and Sue www.Releasing-kings.com

Why Servants Want Kings To Rule Over them

Why Servants Want Kings To Rule Over them

Stuck in Servant - I’m fascinated by human nature and the transition from servant to friend in our relationship with God. Those with a servant mentality mired in self-centered poverty are very prone to expect someone else to take care of them. It’s easy to see dependency, entitlement, and childish mismanagement at this level of maturity. It’s at this stage we wish for someone to rule over us and make our problems disappear.

"But when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites was moving against you, you said to me, 'No, we want a king to rule over us'-even though the Lord your God was your king. 13 Now here is the king you have chosen, the one you asked for; see, the Lord has set a king over you. 1 Sam 12:12-13 NIV

We all go through this stage as children living under parents, and even as new believers being discipled by spiritual overseers or pastors; nothing wrong with that. In fact, mentoring and accountability are great ways to learn. We need that kind of oversight. The problem arises when we never graduate to relating to God for ourselves and taking responsibility for our own lives. Maturity is God’s goal for each of us. Becoming personally creative, industrious, and prosperous is a natural byproduct of our spiritual maturity. The parental, pastoral level of oversight is nurturing, and growing and healthy for a child, but it turns to bondage if we refuse to leave the nest and grow up. A crib is a safe haven of rest for a toddler and a prison cell for an adult.

What I am saying is that as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. He is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. So also, when we were children, we were in slavery under the basic principles of the world. Gal 4:1-3 NIV

As parents of four children, Sue and I enjoyed loving and raising our kids. Now we enjoy seeing them make their own way in life independent from us. We see them growing in their own relationship with God and prospering… it’s really fun to see them work through the discipline issues in their own children.

Our provider – Here’s the real message: At every level God is inviting us to seek Him as our source. This is being played out at the highest levels in politics and at personal levels of spiritual maturity.

Can you see that the real question is not, “How can we provide / pay for health care, welfare, medicare, employment, retirement, and education or everyone?” The better question is, “How do we enable people to provide those things for themselve?”

I believe that, through Jesus, I can be an over comer, become the head and not the tail, and prosper. That belief naturally leads to a “can do” attitude that finds answers and solves problems. Listen to the names of God…

* JEHOVAH-JIREH "The Lord our provider"
* JEHOVAH-NISSI "Our banner, a banner of love and protection"
* JEHOVAH-SHALOM "Our perfect peace"
* JEHOVAH-TSID-KENU "The Lord is our righteousness"
* JEHOVAH-SHAMMAH "The One Who is with us everywhere for He is Omnipresent"
* JEHOVAH-SABAOTH "The Lord of Hosts, our Protector."
* JEHOVAH-RAAH "Our Shepherd Who tenderly leads us, loves us and will keep us safe."
* JEHOVAH RAPHA "I am the Lord Your Physician or I am the Lord Your healer" Exodus 15:26.

A poverty mentality is filled with the same sense of entitlement we all have. In fact, healthy believers have a much greater sense of entitlement; they just look to God to provide through the work of their hands. Poverty looks to man (or a King) to provide things that should come from the hand of God.

Failure is important – All of us have tried to achieve something we really desired and have failed – often miserably. We often blame ourselves or we blame God. Poverty would blame others. What we miss is that failure is really part of a death process that is the key to spiritual growth. Resurrection power is really only available to those who are willing to risk failure and try something new. Listen to the way Jesus explained it:

But Jesus answered them, saying, "The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain." John 12:23-25 NKJV

Our hopes and dreams are like grains of wheat. When they fall to the ground (fail), we feel very “alone.” But if that grain of wheat dies, the seed germinates and it multiplies. Paul said the same thing, “What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.” (1Cor 15:36)

The paradox – What does it mean to let something I cherish die so that it can resurrect and multiply? Working with Jesus is a delicate combination of giving our best effort and relying on His power. If we drift away from the power and presence of God, failure will brings us back. Even when we don’t drift away from the Lord, a failure will cause us to mature in new ways and result in new open doors and greater multiplication and prosperity… if our eyes are on the Lord. If we get our eyes off the real source of our provision and multiplication, a failure will just stay a failure and we’ll learn to accept poverty in that area of our lives.

What if my brother is failing? – You can see the same paradox in Gal 6:2 and 5; “Carry each other’s burdens” and “each one should carry his own load.” Our efforts to help others should be an encouragement and point to solutions but we should not interfere with a healthy death and resurrection. Mentoring real spiritual maturity teaches people to receive from the Lord themselves. When we look to other people, a ruling King, or the government to meet our needs, the sense of entitlement just taxes our own productivity and leaves us as dependent servants instead of reigning Kings.

When a door closes or something fails in life, we all need to realize that God has something much better in mind. We should begin to thank him for killing the old and showing us the new. Real maturity learns to appreciate failures rather than the status quo because that’s the source of new ideas, new direction, new levels of multiplication… resurrection is good thing.

Caution – In one sense we believers should wear bracelets that say “do not resuscitate”. At another level, the first thing we should do is have an outreach to others in place to help us find the new thing. We’re not monks trying to die alone! We’re believers learning how to live “life and life more abundantly.” We should take full responsibility to personally receive our full inheritance from the hand of the Lord. That doesn’t mean that others can’t help us learn to do that. Prosperous people are famous for learning from others, receiving correction from others, and even implementing checks and balances to make mid-course corrections. They receive those corrections without any condemnation or guilt. Graduation to new levels of blessing means the old things pass away (death) and all things are made new (resurrection). It's really very exciting!

He who ignores discipline comes to poverty and shame, but whoever heeds correction is honored. Prov 13:18 NIV

He who listens to a life-giving rebuke will be at home among the wise. He who ignores discipline despises himself, but whoever heeds correction gains understanding. Prov 15:31-32 NIV

Let a righteous man strike me — it is a kindness; let him rebuke me — it is oil on my head. My head will not refuse it. Ps 141:5 NIV

We're Dancing



John and Sue www.Releasing-kings.com

The Faithful God

The Faithful God
By James Ryle www.truthworks.org

“They did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.” (Joshua 5:12)

We have each traveled a long and laborious pathway during these past few years as the World and the Church have both undergone unprecedented challenge and change. It seems that everything that can be shaken is being shaken, and ultimately only those things that are unshakable will remain. O to us may grace be given to stand in the unshakable Kingdom.

Sadly, some have not made the journey. Having been turned aside by the lure of lesser things, or backed down by the threat of difficult things, or held captive by the hollow hope of nostalgic things — not all who started out on this trek have made it this far. We look around and they are gone.

“Demas hath forsaken me,” wrote the apostle Paul, “having loved this present world” (2 Tim.4:10). Perhaps we can sadly say the same of some of our former co-laborers.

But not all who are gone from us have fallen. There are those happy souls who have finished their race with joy and been transported to the City, whose builder and maker is God; and we rejoice with them as we hope for heaven ourselves. And our hope is not in vain, nor will our longings be left unrewarded. For we are neither lethargic nor nostalgic; we are full of life and filled with dreams.

Today belongs to those who live by a faith that sees beyond the limitations of human reason and effort; a faith that trusts in the unfailing love of the Faithful God who alone has brought us safe thus far; and who alone will carry us all the way to our Hope of Glory.

Joshua serves as a splendid example of those who survive and prevail by placing their faith in the Faithful God.

Joshua was born a captive in Egypt, and as a young boy watched with wonder as God parted the Red Sea and made a way in the wilderness. He was with Moses as a young man throughout the wilderness wanderings, all the while being groomed by God for his future assignment.

Perhaps even now the Lord is grooming you for some future mission.

It was Joshua who led the spies into the Promised Land and saw for himself what others only dreamed about. He alone, with Caleb, argued the case for Faith when all others caved in to doubt, fear, and unbelief. And it was Joshua, the man of faith, whom God anointed to lead the children of Israel into Canaan to experience the fulfillment of promises made by the Faithful God, and to finish the business at hand of reclaiming the Land from those who had been stolen by the powers of darkness.

These recollections serve as a great encouragement to us today as we face a similar opportunities for making progress in the things of God.

Just as the Lord rescued His people from Egyptian bondage, so He has marked us by His love and redeemed us unto Himself out of the fallen and faulted world system, wherein we were held captive under the heavy hand of task-masters who drove us with whip and stick in the lustful pursuit of power, sex, and money. Our lives were marred by corruption, stained with shame, and marked for death. But God, who is rich in mercy and unfailing in His faithfulness, redeemed us!

And now the Faithful God stands before us, and beckons us to follow Him onward and He takes us inward that we might go upward.

The challenges are not over, nor are the changes complete, but our hearts are lifted with a sense of imminent breakthroughs; things oft dreamed about, and long-awaited, seem to be so very close at hand. The smell of rain is in the air. Come, friend, take heart and renew your trust in the Faithful God. For it will be said of us as it was of our predecessors — “They did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year” (Jos.5:12).

From Egyptian bondage, through desert dryness and testing, to a land that flowed with milk and honey — the Faithful God has ever been there for us, as He was with them.

The Spiritual Roots of Capitalism

The Spiritual Roots of Capitalism

Opportunity - Christians on the left and right share a desire to help the needy and give everyone an opportunity for education. The political arguments are really about how we can best do that. As you are reading this newsletter the United States will be 13 trillion in debt and we lead the world in corporate tax rates**. Our government is unlikely to provide entitlements at the level we hope for… left or right. Social security, health care, Medicare, welfare, social services, education, etc. simply may not be in the budget. And, if we continue to borrow to meet those noble goals, we may not have a country!

Socialism assumes that all people will, given the opportunity, work equally with wisdom and diligence. In reality, many people will not work, even if they are given the opportunity. We have to admit that some people are lazy and foolish and simply deserve less. That is why socialism has never worked. It is built on the false assumption that people are all equally wise and diligent. Socialism is built on a lie concerning the nature of humanity. In contrast, capitalism is built on the truth of human nature. It recognizes people’s individuality, and it rewards and encourages wisdom, diligence, and a work ethic.

Capitalism, led by industrious and inventive entrepreneurs, is the engine that God used to make America wealthy and generous. Even after wars, we helped rebuild nations we defeated. Our national calling is to champion the cause of Christ and fund the Kingdom around the world. Our destiny is to represent the light and the glory of God on this earth. Like Jesus, we welcome the oppressed and our hearts collectively long to set the captives free (Lu 4:18-19). Can you see the same spirit in the poem by Emma Lazarus engraved on the Statue of Liberty? That’s our spiritual heritage. The only thing broken is that we’re trying to solve the world’s problems with our grandchildren’s money!

"Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

Leaving the poverty mentality - Millions of immigrants came to America and helped make her great. They didn’t come for welfare; they came for the opportunity and the freedom to work hard and create something that belonged to them. How can we maintain or restore that level of welcome and free market opportunity for the poor? It starts at an individual level. Most Christians are taught, and content, to be servants. There is a door opening in the spirit to rise above that level and become Kings. We are no longer called servants!

I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit — fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 17 This is my command: Love each other. John 15:15-17

God is opening a door for believers to be friends and Kings; to be industrious, creative, entrepreneurial, and yes, wealthy. Money can be leveraged to do ministry! The corollary is also true; if we have just enough to pay the bills and the tithe, we won’t get involved in helping other people. The next level of equipping the saints in this hour adds a new dimension to discipleship – pursuing the desire of our hearts, becoming entrepreneurial, and creating wealth so we can build the Kingdom and bless the nations. “Love each other” is best expressed by being in a position to really help. Guess what? It takes money to “help.”

Reformation - Kings who wield wealth and do ministry in the marketplace will drive the next revival to a level of reformation. It won’t just be meetings in churches. We’re going to see it in the marketplace. Martin Luther gave us the “priesthood of the believer”… we all have access to the presence of God. This reformation is about becoming Kingly and having access to the purpose of God and the wealth to implement that purpose. The Holy Spirit is inviting us to be participants; co laborers to expand the Kingdom into our cities, culture, and to bless the nations. We’re going to touch all seven mountains.***

The “new” has a degree of prosperity and generosity that is showing itself in first fruits. Bill Gates may or may not be a Christian (I don’t know) but he is expressing the heart of God by converting wealth to ministry. So is Warren Buffett. The “new” isn’t just about giving money; it’s about imparting that entrepreneurial spirit behind capitalism that turns needy slaves and servants into Kings that know how to generate wealth. We are breaking the poverty mentality that goes with being servants and slaves. Wake up church! That’s part and parcel to the message of the good news. We’re not just giving away fish; we’re teaching people how to fish and own the fish factory! The Tea Party movement is an expression of a grass roots yearning for the new. They just haven’t been able to articulate a clear path to implement the level of change that God has in mind.

The door is open for you - Will we pay off the 13T national debt? Will we pay off our own credit cards? I believe we can. And we can put a similar amount into people ministry. We just have to admit that political leaders can’t deliver on that same promise. They don’t have, or generate, wealth. All the government can do is redistribute wealth from somewhere else (borrowed from China or taxed from us.) We are going to have to do it by embracing the message of capitalism and admit that individual freedom in the marketplace is God’s ideal; the engine to fund ministry. For this world to change, we are going to have to adopt a Kingly lifestyle: become entrepreneurial and generate wealth. It’s a big challenge. It’s starting among believers already. It’s fun. And the Spirit of God is opening the door for all of us.

** http://www.taxfoundation.org/publications/show/23034.html

*** http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQbGnJd9poc&NR=1

We're Dancing



John and Sue www.Releasing-kings.com

Relational Mentoring

Relational Mentoring

Wisdom can be measured – Let’s define “mentoring” as the impartation of wisdom to achieve measureable results in life and the marketplace. Having a bunch of facts (information), knowing a subject well (knowledge), and connecting the dots on how and why things work (understanding) is a long way from “wisdom” - doing something that bears ministry fruit and multiplies finances. Wisdom is the real-world application of knowledge and understanding and it can be easily “measured.” …number of people saved, increased wealth, etc. The goal is real results, not just more head knowledge.

The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise. Prov 11:30

The wealth of the wise is their crown… Prov 14:24 NIV

I want to distinguish relational mentoring from teaching, preaching, coaching, consulting and counseling. Let’s define relational mentoring in terms of the seven-step process below.

1. The mentor tells us how (we ask questions and get confused)

2. We watch the mentor do it (and say that looks easy enough and we can’t wait to try)

3. The mentor watches us do it (we screw it up, give up, and try again while the mentor points out areas to improve, and repeats 1 and 2 as often as necessary. Their example and words inspire and encourage us.)

Note: Most of us are in need of mentoring for a reason. We are inclined to sabotage our own success; we also need help overcoming our poverty mindset or spiritual bondage. Teaching us how and getting the revelation is still one big step away from implementation.

In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; 2 Tim 2:25 KJV

4. We do it by ourselves (and check back with the mentor periodically for adjustments; maintain the relationship)

5. We do it by ourselves and prosper (We feel the applause of our mentor; "well done")

6. We become mentors ourselves and start to equip and disciple others to measurable results

7. Return to step one

By contrast, let’s ask ourselves, “What is non-relational mentoring?” Answer – Preaching! It can motivate us to try, but we’re all programmed from years of going to church to lose that motivation about the time we hit the parking lot after the meeting. It’s common to talk about putting a discipleship or training series on a DVD to change lives. Can you see the oxymoron? It takes 7 “relational” steps to make a disciple and accomplish real change… our attempts at mentoring people in the church or the marketplace usually consists of the first step plus a charge for the material or an offering.

Fellowship is working together - We think of fellowship as chatting after a meeting, having friends over, retreats, etc. It’s prone to be shallow and, although it does communicate acceptance, it doesn’t change lives. Biblical fellowship that does change lives is built around sharing a common purpose and working together to produce something. Local churches are in a huge transition right now because our “traditional” purpose has been to grow the church. The church has been a totally introverted institution that exists for its own self-propagation; thus, shallow fellowship. We are beginning to understand that our real purpose on earth is expanding the Kingdom into the other six mountains of our culture. The real purpose of the church is to equip the saints to do ministry (Release Kings.) Our progress is measured by our impact in our culture; not just Sunday morning attendance.

If we incorporate the concept of mentoring into our fellowship, what does it look like? Fellowship in the Greek (Koinonia) means partnership, participation, or benefaction, and the root word (koinonos) means sharer or associate. That sounds more like working together than having tea, doesn’t it? Don’t partnership, participation and association sound like a business relationship? I’m simply suggesting that the kind of fellowship that mentors, comes by working together; maybe even 40 hrs a week doing business together as a practical learning environment. In this kind of fellowship, mentoring occurs in the production of goods and services, and wealth is created (on the job training.) Viola! We have received wisdom – measureable in profits and changed lives!

Availability – “Successful” mentors often grow, get too busy to be available to their followers, and then degenerate back to preachers and teachers and become mediocre because they can’t get beyond step 2. Mentoring that changes lives is personally available and invested in seeing the follower meet or exceed the ability of the mentor. Teachers are easy to find – turn on the TV or walk into any book store. Fathering mentors who walk us through change to measurable fruit are harder to find.

For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; 1 Cor 4:15 NKJV

Multiplying mentors – How can mentors retain their personal availability through growth to mentor hundreds or thousands? The best ones learn to duplicate themselves so they not only have sons, but the sons have sons too (grandchildren). It’s easy to multiply steps 1 and 2 through books, CD’s, webinars, websites, FAC pages, and newsletters, but everything grinds to a halt at step 3 unless a real, live, communicating person is available to answer questions and discern problem areas. In the absence of that “live mentor,” many students give up on change and stop short of becoming Kings or Christians, or traders, or musicians, or business owners, etc. Didn’t Jesus multiply his personal ministry through the 12, then the 72? He clearly spent most of his ministry focused on those 12. That’s because 12 is about the number we can personally mentor and maintain some semblance of availability.

Meanwhile, when a crowd of many thousands had gathered, so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus began to speak first to his disciples… Luke 12:1 NIV

A relational mentor is a person we can talk to about our failures and successes. And if they don’t hear from us, they will ask how we’re doing and check on our progress… by measuring it! What does that feel like? If feels like being loved by a father; a reflection of being loved by the Father.

Measure the mentor – How do you find a great mentor? Just find someone whose fruit can be measured. Are people getting saved? Are Kings being released? Is wealth being multiplied? Pretty easy, isn’t it?

How do you know when you’ve graduated from step 5? People are getting saved. Kings are being released. Wealth is being multiplied. Pretty easy, isn’t it?

Said another way, “If my disciples haven’t made any disciples, then I haven’t either."

Releasing Kings through step 3 - God is inviting His people to explore their hearts desires, find their mountain, and experience new levels of fruitfulness in ministry, finances, and fun. My dream is to take the intimacy of a great prophetic counselor who touches hearts and combine it with the skill of an equally great business mentor (already prospering in his field). That mentor would connect real world performance (often dollars) with the wisdom that leads to holistic change; everything from heart to performance. The student gets both the heart and the details; natural and spiritual. We put an end to the dualism that has kept Kings out of our cultures. I am just starting to see these "priestly / Kingly" mentors. God is doing something brand new and it's exciting.

We're Dancing



John and Sue www.Releasing-kings.com

Answer the Call

Answer the Call
By James Ryle www.truthworks.org
“And say to Archippus, Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfill it.” Colossians 4:17

answer the callHave you ever been in a place where the phone kept ringing and nobody answered it? In moments like that it seems everybody is busy with something else, assuming that somebody else will answer the call. But nobody does.

After awhile it can get to be quite annoying. There is something irritating about an incessant, unanswered call.

Over the years I have noticed a similar thing in the lives of many people – a call that is not being answered. A call from God. Busy with so many other things, and sure that the call is for someone else, many loose themselves in trifling moments and miss the momentous opportunity to answer the call of God on their lives.

One of the greatest fears people face is having lived a meaningless life; a life that didn’t matter; a life that made no difference. It is a dreadful thought that haunts even the most accomplished of individuals.

Indeed, few things could be more unsettling than to get to the end of one’s life, cast a cautious glance back over time and discover what has been suspected all along, “My life didn’t matter!” Each of us long to know that our lives counted; that we accomplished what we were put on this earth to do. We want to maximize every opportunity, seize the day, and live life to its fullest.

Yet, in an odd contradiction, nothing is more common than unrealized potential. Most of us settle for far less than we are capable of being, and of doing. On the one hand we want our lives to count; on the other hand, we seem far too willing to become marginalized into mediocrity. Our only hope is to answer the call of God upon our lives.

Abraham traveling into the unknown, Joseph remaining faithful in Egypt, Moses crossing the Red Sea, Joshua conquering the Promised Land, David slaying a Giant and becoming a King, Isaiah telling his visions, Zechariah telling his dreams, Daniel in the Lion’s den, Nehemiah rebuilding the Walls, Zerubbabel rebuilding the Temple, Simon Peter leaving his fishing nets, Paul preaching the Gospel, John writing the Revelation ~ each one answered the call.

They heard God’s voice and followed Him with trusting hearts. And now it’s your turn.