Organic Church (eBook)

Neil Cole is a church starter and pastor, and founder andexecutive director of Church Multiplication Associates, which hashelped start over seven hundred churches in thirty-two states andtwenty-three nations in six years. He is an international speakerand the author of Cultivating a Life for God. Visit the Leadership Network Website, www.leadnet.org, for moreinnovative resources and information. You can find more resourceson organic church planting at www.cmaresources.org

About Leadership Network xi

Foreword xiii

Preface xvii

Introduction xxi

Part One: Roots of the Organic Church 1

1. Ride Out with Me! 3

2. Awakening to a New Kind of Church 17

3. The Zombie Bride Lives! 31

4. A Dangerous Question 47

Part Two: The Organic Nature of the Kingdom of God 59

5. Kingdom 101: You Reap What You Sow . . . and You Eat What You Reap 61

6. An Enchanted Kingdom with Magic Seeds, Fast-Growing Trees, and a Beautiful Bride to Rescue 83

7. We All Began as Zygotes 91

Part Three: From the Microscope to the Telescope 107

8. Mapping the DNA of Christ's Body 109

9. Epidemic Expansion Starts in the Genes 123

Part Four: The Epidemic Kingdom and How It Spreads 141

10. It Takes Guts to Care for People 143

11. Me and Osama are Close 159

12. The How-To of Spreading the Epidemic 171

Part Five: The Call to Organic Church 193

13. Falling with Style 195

14. Tales That Really Mattered 207

Notes 219

Acknowledgments 225

About the Author 227

Subject Index 229

Scriptural Index 235

"...for Christians who are asking deep questions." (Church Times, Friday 21st December 2007)"This book is profound, practical, and a pleasure to read. Itstretches our thinking and brings us to a place where we can seethe Kingdom of God spread across the world in our generation.This book has come at the right time."
--John C. Maxwell, founder, INJOY, INJOY Stewardship Services andEQUIP

"My life is about seeing hundredfold results. Neil Cole'sapproach helps get those kinds of results for churches by plantingmany new expressions of the Kingdom that reach thousands of people.One of the great joys of my life for the past six years has been towatch the dramatic growth of Awakening Chapels and the organicchurches described in this work. Cole's new book tell notonly the inspiring story but also describes the principles, so youcan apply these ideas."
--Bob Buford, founder and chairman, Leadership Network; author,Halftime and Finishing Well

"I always listen when Neil Cole speaks. His breadth ofunderstanding and practice of what he preaches is right on.Everyone should know or be aware of this guy that God is using in apowerful way."
--Bob Roberts, senior pastor, NorthWood Church, Keller, Texas

"Neil Cole is one of the foremost thinkers and practitionersorganic forms of church. His vision of the church is as new as itis ancient. Cole's story as well as the philosophy of ChurchMultiplication Associates is paradigmatic for the church as itseeks to negotiate its way faithfully into the twenty-firstcentury."
--Alan Hirsch, director, Forge Mission Training Network, churchplanter; author, The Shaping of Things to Come

"In an age where millions are saying 'God yes, churchno!' most of us instinctively feel that church as we know itprevents church as God wants it. But where, exactly, is the catch?Where do we go from here? Neil Cole expertly places a thrillinginvitation before us to join probably the most exciting spiritualpilgrimage going on today: the global migration of a church on theway back home. Come and dial in!"
--Wolfgang Simson, author, Houses that Change theWorld

"Church multiplication is not likely to be the province of ivorytower theoreticians! In Organic Church Neil Cole helpsus to understand that church multiplication is never going to be aspectator sport. This is hands down the most useful andcomprehensive book currently available to understanding the rapidlygrowing expressions of simple, organic church life around theworld."
--Dr. N. A. (Tony) Dale, editor, House 2 HouseMagazine

"I heartily recommend this book. It is packed with deepinsights; you will find no fluff in it. Among the books on churchplanting, it offers a rare combination of attributes: it isbiblical and well written, its model has proven effective, and itis authored by a practitioner rather than an observer or anivory-tower theoretician."
--Curtis Sergeant, directory of church planting, Saddleback Church,Lake Forest, California

"It is a great joy to recommend Neil Cole's Organic Church. The stories and experiences in this bookwill encourage many to follow the Holy Spirit and go where God isleading. Neil Cole is a true pioneer in the faith and a man ofgreat vision who has chosen to live out the things that God haspoured into him. I believe this book will ignite hearts to live outtheir faith in organic communities across the country and aroundthe world."
--Rev. Michael Steele, North American director, Dawn Ministries

"Neil Cole is a true trailblazer for today's church. His story will inspire you and equip you to experience the livingChrist in community."
--Jonathan S. Campbell Ph.D., author, The Way of Jesus