Fire and Iceby Bill Kemp

Effective Discipleship Vector

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Some say the world will end in fire,

some say in ice.

From what I’ve tasted of desire

I hold with those who favor fire.

But if it had to perish twice,

I think I know enough of hate

To say that for destruction ice

Is also great

And would suffice– Robert Frost

Unhealthy congregations have

Icebergs in their Volcanoes

what ever comic

as social system metaphors…

Fire: Competitive

Polarizing

All Consuming

Ice: De-energizing

Building Obsessed

Change Resistent

as biblical themes:

Fire: Innovative

&

Passionate

Flood: Nurturing

&

Sustainable Noah’s Ark

Day of Pentecost

The Bible has similar apocalyptic

themes. But, they get flipped:

Fire: for Joel & John

the Baptist,

fire is a tool of the

Holy Spirit

Flood: Noah builds an ark,

and baptism

builds

a new community

Day of Pentecost

(new people)

You have

nothing to do

but to save

souls!

(Organized Discipleship)

How does your soul fare?

Do All the Good You Can,

By All the Means You Can,

In All the Ways You Can…

(force)

Math and Physics: a quantity

that has both direction and

magnitude

Biology: an organism that

transmits an infection

from one creature to

another

Vectors & VisionN

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Effective Discipleship Vector

Go, make

disciples of all

nations

Region of Unsustainable

GrowthRegion of Fruitfulness

Region of Fire and Ice Region of Low GrowthNe

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Things get cooking

when priorities shift

appropriately between

strategic innovations

to reach new people

&

organizational efforts

to develop the members

into better disciples

&

Back

Region of Unsustainable

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Region of Fire and Ice Region of Low GrowthNe

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Virtue:

Enthusiasm

Vices:

Burnout

Disorder

Worry about diversity

Look for ways to advertise

the church

Model hospitality

Track popular culture

Expect members to

evangelize

Region of Unsustainable

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Region of Fire and Ice Region of Low GrowthNe

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good process

Region of Unsustainable

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Virtue:

NurturingVices:

Boring

Isolated

Develop small groups

Look for ways to organize

the church

Model loyalty

Retreat from divisive politics

Expect members to live lives

of service and support

missions

Region of Unsustainable

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Region of Fire and Ice Region of Low GrowthNe

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institutionalization

Region of Unsustainable

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Church is a gathering of

people for prayer, study,

and worship, who relate to

each other and to the world

as Christ desires.New

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Service to Others

• Congregations that focus

outward, Travel Upward

• Congregations that focus

inward, Travel Downward

The Spiral Rule

“Enter through the narrow gate.

For wide is the road that leads to destruction,

and most people

3) Discern your

UNIQUE path

that exit.

But narrow the road that leads to renewal,

and only a few find it.”

Jesus (Matthew 7:13 - 14)

Now for

something really

different

Adopt Waypoints

not

Smart Goals

Smart Goals: S M

A R T

Create winners & losers

(voted vs consensus)

Polarize the Two Vectors

From business world

(profit)

Guilt-driven (as opposed

to spirit led)

Emphasize teamwork

Imagine the Two Vectors as

cooperative

Support journey narratives

Teach Discernment as an

ongoing process

For more see…

Effective Discipleship Vector

New

Peo

ple

Vec

tor

www. Billkemp.info