Planting Churches Among the City's Poor - Volume 2

54 • P LANTING C HURCHES AMONG THE C ITY ’ S P OOR : V OLUME 2

5. An authentic call is backed up by legitimate authority and right to act on behalf of the sender .

6. The Pauline example : the call of the Damascus Road, Acts 9

a. Acts 9.15-16 (ESV) – But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name. ” b. Acts 22.7-10, 21 (ESV) – “And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ And I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And he said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.’ Now those who were with me saw the light but did not understand the voice of the one who was speaking to me. And I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘ Rise, and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all that is appointed for you to do.’ . . . And he said to me, ‘Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’ ”

B. The Equipping : a representative receives appropriate training and resources to fulfill the call.

1. A representative is an emissary: s/he is assigned to go somewhere, do something, or fulfill some task.

2. The task presupposes equipping and resourcing to accomplish the work.

3. Training + gifting + support + opportunity + disciplined effort = equipping

4. The importance of mentorship and coaching

5. The Pauline example : the retreat into Arabia, Gal. 1.13-24 (ESV) – For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers. But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone;