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| QLD Communication's Update for New Vision & Strategy:
Previous Years Developments in Our Ministry:
- News
JAN. - DEC. 2007...Read
All About These Issues:
1. Wayne Accepts Position at St. Andrew...learn
more
2.
Discipleship to Church Staff Takes New Direction...learn
more
3. Disciples Move to Austria and South Carolina...learn
more
4. Disciples Bear Witness to Impact on Their Lives...learn
more
5. Women Discipled in the Hardships
of REAL LIFE...learn
more
6. Wayne Has New Direction From God-But
Remains Commited to QLD Discipleship All Along...learn
more
- News
AUG. - DEC. 2006...Read
All About These Issues:
1. Met Dr. Larry Crabb at Dallas Church...learn
more
2. Ripple Effect of
Our Discipleship...learn
more
3. Materials to Publisher...learn
more
4. Listen to What a Church Deacon Says About How
the Follow Me Process is Impacting Him Personally
as well as the Whole of His Church...learn
more
- News
JAN. - JULY 2006...Read
All About These Issues:
1. Discipling a Church Staff...learn
more
2. Nina Leads Discipleship Retreat...learn
more
3, What is the Exchanged Death in Our Christian Life?...learn
more
4. The Disciple Code book is coming!!...learn
more
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Wayne
Accepts Position at St. Andrew...End of 2006 |
DECEMBER
2006
God
Opens Door to New Church Ministry...With Possibility of Discipleship
in Methodist Church
 At
this time last year, God miraculously opened a door of ministry
at a church in West Plano. Nina and I had been seeking God for
nine months as to how our "daily bread" would be supplied.
In March 2006, our tent-making income from the mortgage business
dried up. The company where Wayne was originating mortgages
down-sized due to a partnership split. We knew then that God
was leading us to NOT continue with this company. And, we sensed
God was leading us into a new chapter of our lives with our
discipleship ministry. For several months, we prayed, asked,
sought and knocked for God's leading.
God Clearly Parts the "Red
Sea" for a New Direction...
In November and December last year, we saw God lead us to a
unique opportunity with a church we would have never considered
a ministry position. Wayne was informed of an opening for the
Director of Communications at St. Andrew United Methodist Church.
From our background in evangelical Bible churches, we wondered
if we should pursue this. But, as we took a step of faith, God
provided clear evidences of His leading.
We Followed and God Lead Us Through Our
Steps of Faith...
As we pursued the interview process, we were
amazed to see how bibically-based this ministry was. They had
in the preceding couple of years renewed their vision to "making
disciples for Jesus Christ by inviting them into a personal
relationship with God and establish them to walk by faith through
worshiping, learning, loving and serving."
God confirmed this step through many miraculous events. First,
the final interview process included Wayne going to SMU to be
interviewed by a Vice President at SMU. We found out that this
man was retiring after 40 years of tenure at SMU and was to
become the Executive Pastor for St. Andrew. And, Wayne would
be reporting to him. During this interview, he found out we
had a son at SMU. In follow up, he set up with the financial
aid office a significant scholarship since I would be working
at St. Andrew-a United Methodist Church.
Secondly, the salary offered for the non-pastoral position
was not going to be adequate for our needs. But, after accepting
the position, Wayne found out that they were going to accept
his ordination and allow him to declare housing allowance. This
meant a significant increase in what would have otherwise been
taxed income.
Final Confirmation Was Seen in
Wanting Us to Be Involved in Discipleship of Their People...
Finally, the senior pastor found out we were involved in
discipleship. He wanted to talk with us about their new vision
of wanting to restore their mission in committing to a significant
ministry of DISCIPLESHIP with their church body. We were amazed
how God was weaving this whole journey together.
READ: The Rest of the Story Below...Wayne
Has New Direction From God
|
Disciple
Update of Church Staff |
JANUARY-DECEMBER
2007
Discipleship of Church Staff Takes New
Direction.
God guides the steps in spite of our plans. As you know, Wayne
has had a unique opportunity to disciple
a church staff--the Senior Pastor, Assoc. Pastor and several
church leaders. As we reported in our news of the last half
of 2006, the Senior Pastor
had resigned, leaving the Associate Pastor as interim while
the church leadership board sought God for a new primary leader.
For over 10 months, this board was divided in how they should
proceed. But, through these months, two of these board members
were involved in our QLD Discipleship group. Through God working
in their hearts to see how "Following God's" discipleship
process, He was leading them to allow Him to surface a "John
the Baptist" leader (one who got down on the level
of people and served them even though he wasn't the popular
pick) and not a "Saul" type of leader (one
who has the popularity and looks but is wanting to be served
through his position).
After waiting on God for a year, the board saw many hearts changed
and come to a unanimous decision...to chose the Associate Pastor
as their senior leader. And, this Associate, Rick McCoy, found
God working in his heart through his own personal discipleship
in QLD. He told us,
"I
have seen God challenge me to trust Him and not try to orchestrate
the process to get what I wanted. It would have been easy to
play politics to get  everyone
on my side. But, I have seen how God has worked in my heart
to sit back, serve as interim and trust God for the results.
In the process, I have seen how God has changed the hearts of
our leaders to become unified as they were growing in their
own way to trust God and not their own personal agendas."
We are seeing how this church is taking on a solid foundation
of "Following God" from the new Senior Pastor
and also through the church lay leaders...and the results are
a new vision of "...Making them become fishers of Men"
desiring to "serve and not be served, and give their
lives to sacrifice for their people."
Disciples
Testify to QLD Board |
OCTOBER 2007
Disciples Bear Witness to QLD Board.
In October, we had a QLD Board meeting. It was amazing to have
people whose lives have been impacted share in their own words
how Quantum L.E.A.P. Discipleship has  transformed
there lives. And, each one's story had this common thread...as
they have become more focused on Following God and what He is
revealing to them and as they are growing to respond in faith
and repentance, it is God who is doing the becoming...
_______________________________
"I
have become much more sensitive to God's Spirit revealing to
me where He is desiring me to give up control and allow Him
to lead me...one issue at a time. It has been so liberating
to know I don't have to try harder to become and try to please
Him because I always failed under such an Achieving
System."
_______________________________
"I
am a pastor who is supposed to have it together and tell everyone
else how to get it together. I am being liberated as well from
such bondage of the achieving
system. I am learning what it means to allow Him to lead
in my own life...and to receive what He wants to do in my life.
As this process is taking hold, I am finding that I can pass
on what I am beginning to posses as well. Without this discipleship
process, I would have led my people to live under the law and
brought bondage to them."
_______________________________
"If
I could sum up what God is doing in my life through QLD Discipleship...it
would be "softening my hardened heart" God is orchestrating
this through challenges He is bringing into my life of trust
and brokenness (calling me to repentance). I know He is softening
my heart because I am seeing how I am responding differently
to events in my life. Before anger was my way to attempt to
bring life back in control when others were not responding to
me how I desired. Now, I am seeing myself be so much less reactive
in my flesh, and desiring to see how God wants me to respond
in my spirit."
_______________________________
"I
have only been married for less than one year. I am being freed
from what would have taken me years to realize by other married
men discipling me
in what marriage is all about. It is NOT about me trying to
become or even trying to get my wife to become in order to get
my needs met through some illusion of the "perfect Christian
marriage." I am learning to accept my wife regardless of
her flesh. It is not about me changing her to get what I want;
it is about God changing me to be what she needs. Without such
discipleship, I would be bogged down in depression trying to
make my marriage measure up to God's standard. I am realizing
it is not about achieving God's standard (for I and my wife
will continue to fail in that). It is about receiving God's
Spirit and allowing Him to change me--one issue at a time. This
then gives me the freedom to accept and love my wife unconditionally
the same way."
|
Disciples
Move & Take QLD Too |
AUGUST-OCTOBER
2007
QLD Goes with Disciples to Uttermost Parts of the World...
Nina and I are seeing a new phenomenon arise this year
in the fruits of our discipleship. We have had three different people
this year move out of Dallas. And in each context, they have said,
"We are taking the impact of QLD on our lives to where we
are moving!"
Starting with South Carolina
Stephen and Kimberly Richens have been involved
in Quantum L.E.A.P. Discipleship for  over
6 years, Both of them had been through the entire discipleship process
from beginning to end, each in a men's and women's group of their
own. Then, they both sensed God leading them back to serve with
Wayne and Nina by co-leading groups with us.
Stephen and Kimberly have seen God use His discipleship process
to change both of their lives significantly. In fact, Stephen said,
"After "graduating" from my
first time through, I found that I missed this process. I found
myself drifting back living under the Achieving
System and allowing my flesh to govern my life. So, I decided
to get back involved and go through it again, just to keep myself
following God and receiving what He wants to do in continually transforming
me."
During this second time, Stephen was challenged by God to examine
in what he and Kimberly were trusting in for their security. For
almost 30 years, Stephen had been working for EDS and its subsidiaries.
It truly had become a "secure" place to find their financial
needs met. But, God began unraveling this rope as his position and
role was being phased out.
They saw God uniquely supply another position through an internal
transfer. But, God's method of providing does not always
last forever. This new role began to unravel
again in just a few short months when Stephen was faced with a layoff
or an early retirement package. In his flesh, it would have been
more comfortable to stay in the security of EDS. But, God brought
them to a Red Sea experience where this was not a choice. It required
Stephen to make a decision and take the early retirement, even though
they did not know where they were going from here. In just a couple
of weeks later, God led them to take a new position in South Carolina.
They both have said,
"We are being lead by God to South Carolina
because He wants us to take QLD there. We are excited about how
we can be involved in discipling others...as we follow Him, He will
make us become fishers of men."
And, there will be people there He has prepared to "be caught"
and discipled as they have been.
And Ending Up in Austria
Sandi Altstaetter moved to Dallas almost four years  ago
to come to Dallas Theological Seminary. During this time,
she became involved in one of the women's groups led by Nina. At
the end of the 2007 school year, Sandi sensed that God was leading
her to resign her teaching position at Prestonwood Academy
and seek a position overseas at a Christian Academy in Vienna, Austria.
This was one big step of faith since it involved raising her support
in just a few short months. As it would for all of us in our flesh,
this involved letting go of the "rope
of control." After sharing this with her QLD group,
they started praying that God would give her clear direction. She
took the "leap of faith" and has seen God provide in unique
ways. Sandi is now over in Austria. She has told us,
"One of the first big things I learned
as a result of the QLD study was how tightly I had been attempting
to hold on to the ropes of control in my life. Having been raised
in a Christian home, I knew how to live the "good Christian
life" - but I came to see that I was still clinging to control
in so many areas. I started to learn the concept of following and
trusting. It wasn't my job to manufacture transformation in my life
- rather God was responsible for that by revealing truth and calling
me to respond so he could reveal more.."
NOVEMBER
2007
WHY? ...Trusting God When We Don't Understand.
We saw God work a miracle to lead us to St. Andrew United Methodist
Church. But, one year later, how do we reconcile that when God has
clearly closed that door.
Wayne was hired by a man who was retiring from SMU and going to
become the Executive Pastor at St. Andrew. He shared with Wayne
how he wanted to work with the Communications Department to help
bring unity to such a diversified staff and ministries. They began
to work together in this vision, but in just a couple of months,
he contracted abdominal cancer.
Soon, it became evident that he was not going to be able to fulfill
this position. So, the church reorganized and filled the position
with a new person. Since that time, it has become clear that what
St. Andrew needs in the Director of Communications is someone different
than myself.
Yet, Nina and I are confident that this was a chapter started by
God and ended by God. Wayne was reading the story of how God guided
Moses from one chapter to another in his life. Even the events of
Moses ending up in the wilderness and going to a well and defending
the women at the well were seemingly isolated and unrelated events.
But, they were all part of leading Moses to a place where God spoke
to him in the burning bush.
So, whether it is the wilderness or the parting of the Red Sea--God
is in it. We now have new place in which God will reveal Himself
to us for a new direction. Regardless, we still are faithful in
carry out His clear mission to "Go and make DISCIPLES..." |
Discipleship
Occurs in the Hardships of Life |
AUG.-DEC. 2007
WHY ...Is Life So Hard?
When I'm leading the Ladies QLD Groups, I'm always reminded
how God is at work in my life also. As I have had the honor of facilitating
these groups over the past six years I look back and see how God has
been at work changing me. And occasionally I feel He asks me if I'm
"listening and following............."
One such experience is occurring right now as I am walking alongside
a sweet 28 year old who  finds
herself single and pregnant. What have I learned about trust, repentance,
forgiveness, and hope? Am I able to pass on to her a "different"
view of God than I once understood? If anything, I feel God is equipping
me to listen to women He brings my way and walk with them through
some of those "why" questions in life. Why did this happen,
why is my daughter having these problems, why is this illness a part
of my life, why is life so hard, why, why, why?
When we hit up against these "why" questions, and we ALL
do; it's not the answer that's so important, we may never know that.
But am I holding on to that seemingly thin rope of trust and learning
to find rest and hope. Can I trust God when I don't understand
and still call Him Good and Faithful? |
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