Friday, November 16, 2007

neil cole

Yesterday, I was searching for a Neil Cole quote about discipleship.

And of course, by 'searching' I mean...I typed "Neil Cole quote discipleship" into Google and hit search. That is extent of my research ability anymore.

If it ain't googleable, it ain't worth knowing. That's my motto.

Anyway, the first page that came up was this dude's blog. I don't know who he is, other than what he shares in his 'about me' section (his name is Guy Muse, though, how cool is that?).

The post was of his top ten favorite Neil Cole quotes.

Now, I have never read anything by Neil Cole. I have often come across his quotes in other books I've read, each time making me think, "Man...I need to read his stuff." But with my "to-read" list way too long, I have yet to do so. Thus, most of these quotes were brand new to me. But I really liked them...and am going out on a limb and assuming you do not frequent Guy Muse's blog...so I thought I'd share them with you.

By the way, the one I was looking for is #1 (...naturally).


10. If you want to win this world to Christ, you are going to have to sit in the smoking section.

9. If we can't see them, we won't love them (Matt.9:36).
If we can't love them, we won't pray for them (9:36-38).
If we can't pray for them, we won't win them (10:1).
If we can't win them, we won't send them (10:2-5).

8. Bad people make good soil--there's a lot of fertilizer in their lives.

7. Simplicity is the key to the fulfillment of the Great Commission in this generation. If the process is complex, it will break down early in the transference to the next generation of disciples. The more complex the process, the greater the giftedness needed to keep it going. The simpler the process, the more available it is to the broader Christian populace.

6. There are two kinds of lost people in the world, the moths and the cockroaches. In the darkness, it's impossible to tell them apart, so the best way to discover the difference is to turn the light on. The moths will be drawn to the light, and the cockroaches will flee.

5. Though we long for fresh fruit, many of our efforts at growing it leave us with nothing but mud because we have failed to plant the seed that brings life. It does not matter how good you are at fertilizing, watering, cultivating, and harvesting. If you do not plant the seed, you will never have a harvest--never.

4. We must invest everything in the few who will bear fruit. Life is too short and the potential yields are too great to spend our lives babysitting fruitless people.

3. We would do much better as leaders in the Church to learn at the feet of the farmer rather than study with the CEO...It is time we see that the Church starts in the fields, not in the barns.

2. We have taught people to be consumers rather than workers. We have made a terrible mistake by separating the convert from the worker. They are not two, but one. Each new convert is a worker--immediately.

1. We want to lower the bar of how church is done and raise the bar of what it means to be a disciple.


Man...I need to read his stuff.

8 comments:

Betsy said...

good quotes! i love you!!

The Anonymous Human said...

googleable?

bill said...

its a word, dude...

goo. gul. ah. bul.

don't question my wordationabiltiy.

ragamuffinminister said...

you really need to read his stuff. very good communicator.

good post.

J. Guy Muse said...

I went to a Neil Cole conference this past January and was greatly blessed. I believe they are going to try and have another Jan/08. If you have to read just NC book, try "Organic Church". Several of the quotes in my "Neil Cole Top Ten" blog post came from this book. Also, you might check out his website http://www.cmaresources.org/index.asp

bill said...

thank you, guy. i appreciate that info. i am currently waiting for Organic Church to come in the mail. i ordered it from amazon the day i found your blog.

thank you again.

michaelCODY said...

Wow.. I really like those. I'll have to look into some of his material as well.

Mike said...

neil is a good friend and a practitioner...not just an author/speaker....although that stuff is great too! check out his stuff at www.cmaresources.org