Blogs by Ralph Moore
Read the latest thoughts from a veteran practitioner in disciple making and church multiplication.
The Jesus Movement
It was a tug-of-war between the Jesus People and the New Age Movement. Alex Absalom uncovers the roots of what would grow into a church planting movement by pulling stories from Ralph Moore. Dispelling Doubt and Disillusionment The story starts with doubt and disillusionment as our country turned away from the church as much as…
Antioch 2.0 and Hawaii
This is a response from John Honold to the three blogs regarding Paul and his time in the school of Tyrannus. My model church in the Book of Acts has been Antioch – a church that “evangelized” [Acts 11:21], “organized” [Acts 11:26], and “deputized” [Acts 13:2-3] with a result of the incredible spread of the…
Disciplemaking and the Church at Laodicea
Isn’t Laodicea that lukewarm church we encounter in the Apocalypse? I never knew that Paul addressed those folks through a disciple named Ephaphras in his letter to the Colossians. Also, I didn’t know that the church in Hierapolis was in the New Testament. Being an aging Baby Boomer, we’re supposed to know just about everything…
What’s So Bad About the Church at Ephesus?
Having come to maturity in an age when everyone knew we were living in the “age of Laodicea,” I’ve always had problems with Jesus’ letter to the church leader in Ephesus. Raging with joy at works of the Spirit during the Jesus Revolution, it was a little too easy to condemn all those “lukewarm” churches…
Multiplying To the Ends of the Earth
Culture can be confusing but not insurmountable if we learn to adapt. Americans celebrate Christmas by decorating houses, lawns and trees. Brits eat plumb pudding. In Estonia, families gather in their saunas. Liberians decorate palm trees with bells. Ethiopians celebrate on January 7. So what’s this all about? I’ve been looking at a chart of…
Choose Your Enemies Wisely
Choose Your Enemies Wisely A friend told this story about her son’s high school football game. The players on the opposing team grew angry at each other over a poorly executed play and began fighting among themselves. Morale was shot. There was no way they could win after the fight stopped. Same with us. If…
‘Opportunizing’ Your Mistakes
Have you ever worked with someone unwilling to admit their mistakes? They’ll try to fake their way out of problems. Paul told Titus to “strengthen the things that remain.” Tacit admission by a disciple maker that some things were wrong when he left Crete. Seems the apostle had thicker skin than many of us. Unwillingness…
Inside the Movement Maker’s Dilemma
I was taught to be a hearer, not a doer. Mixing college lessons with peer reflection did a job on me. Perhaps a story from my long lost youth best illustrates this. Toss together the Great Commission with a need-for-speed and you may relate. As a youth pastor (told you it was long ago) we…
A Final Rant About Church As a Family—At Least for a While
Church as family is easy in a microchurch but not so easy when we do small groups in a larger church. Why is this? I just came from a “convention” of microchurch planters. There were about 35 who gathered on the back lanai of a coffee shop for informal roving conversations. Evening meetings featured five…
The F-word: From Aspirational to Actual
“Language shapes culture. The F-word can be as much ‘aspirational’ as it is descriptive of a present reality.” Jim Love commenting on the blog, “When NOT to Use the F-Word.” Jim is right. Language shapes culture. The F word is often aspirational. However, aspiration without action leads nowhere. Along with language, we need exemplary behaviors…