A couple of years ago, I had an interesting conversation about the Kingdom of God with Joe Countiss (former staff of Adventures In Missions). I took Joe to lunch just before he left AIM to bless him and thank him for his faithfulness to God through AIM. During this lunch we discussed many issues relative to the Advancement of the Kingdom of God “here on earth as it is in heaven”.
I shared with Joe about a dream God had given me earlier, “The NeXt Move of God”. The dream held many components of calling out a generation to AWAKE, ARISE and ALIGN so as to ADVANCE the Kingdom of God. Since those early days of the dream, God has brought much clarity through the wise counsel of other JESUS followers.
Joe listened to me discuss how these aspects of God’s move were tied to the first blessing of God in the Bible … “God blessed Adam and Eve and said to them, ‘Be fruitful, multiply, subdue and take dominion'” (Genesis 1:28). God used Joe to respond in this manner …
“Multiplication is a result of Manufacturing
but Reproduction is a result of Relationship”
God uses the word transliterated “rabah” in Hebrew for “multiply” in Genesis 1:28. If you study this word usage, you will find it comes from the root word meaning “to be”.
The key to walking in the blessing of the LORD is learning “to be” not “to do”. While in Haiti, God gave me many tests to see if I had learned this lesson with the assignment I had been given through AIM.
While many organizations and agencies seeking to follow the LORD in Haiti are focusing on multiplying systems and structures to accomplish their goals, the test of AIM and my leadership is to focus on relationships for Kingdom reproduction.
Yes, it would have been easier to just tell a key Haitian pastor that we have changed our methodology from our previous discussion in January and now we are moving on to something new and different. However, there was something within me that spoke soflty … “It’s not about manufacturing, it’s about reproduction.” So, I spent 4 different meetings with this key pastor rebuilding relationship that will lead to greater fruitfulness.
This was my first test that I faced when I went back to Haiti. I knew that bringing ALIGNMENT was key to more fruitfulness. So, I invested not spent many hours listening and sharing.
Too many times in the rush “to follow God’s lead” we focus on a multiplication process instead of a reproduction process. This is the challenge of all who want “to be”
The irony is that relationship is so much more effective in accomplishing accurately just about anything in general in the long run. We’re all human, all want to be understood, all on the same earth, all in this together. Interdependence is so key. Like Tom Sipling says, “Lovers always outdo doers.”
Lanny,
Keeping that bridge open was a meaningful accomplishment. Things can be accomplished in the short term without relationship but not long term. There is a difference between doing something for someone and doing something with someone. WITH brings about lasting change. Thanks for all your efforts and personal sacrifices in Haiti.