SPAWNING THE HOUSE CHURCH REVOLUTION

Feature Article
Fresh Perspective on Paul’s Missionary Strategies:
The Mentoring-for-Multiplication Model (Part 2)
by Neil Cole

Regional House Church Events

by Sam Buick & Rad Zdero

Kickin’ It Old School

E.H. Broadbent: Globe Trotter and Church Planter

Editorial
Kingdom Pattern and Power FALL 2008
by Rad Zdero & Kyle Bultman

DESIGN BY YELLOWCANARYDESIGN.COM & PRINTED BY SYNKROS.ORG

 look e
The Starfish Files

insid
What?! Yes, starfish. These little creatures that line the
shores of the world’s beaches are uncanny. Chop off
an arm, and a new one grows to take its place. Tear a
starfish in half, and you’ll soon have two starfish on your
hands. In some varieties, a torn-off limb will become
a brand new starfish. And what’s more, they populate
by releasing hundreds of thousands, and sometimes
millions, of eggs in just a few hours. Reminds one of
the house church movement down through the ages.
Fire and sword could not wipe it out. Heresy could not
destroy it. And it’s making a huge comeback in our day
and age. The house church movement is exploding
around the world. An estimated 300,000 new house
churches have started between 1998 and 2006. And this Feature Article
doesn’t include what’s happening in China, which has Fresh Perspective on Paul’s Missionary Strategies:
about 80 to 100 million believers in house churches. In The Mentoring-for-Multiplication Model (Part 2)
the nations of the west, numerous denominations and by Neil Cole
mission agencies are starting to pay attention. Christians
PAGE 1
of all stripes are realizing that something is afoot
and that God is reshaping the church so it can more
effectively reach the world with the good news of Jesus
Our Mission is...
PAGE 4
Christ. It’s known by different nicknames. The Second
Reformation. The House Church Movement. Organic
Church Planting. Grassroots Christianity. Out-of-the-
Revolutionary Art
PAGE 5
box Church. Whatever label is attached to it, one thing
is for sure, it’s also taking root in Ontario, Quebec, and Regional House Church Events
New York state. Enter The Starfish Files. The aim of by Sam Buick & Rad Zdero
this magazine is to inform and interconnect the house
church networks in this region with an eye to making an PAGE 6 & 7
impact far beyond. Welcome to The Starfish Files, the
little magazine that could.
Kickin’ It Old School
PAGE 8
Submissions: Send all your writings, suggestions, photos,
and musings to Rad Zdero (editor), c/o The Starfish Editorial
Files, P.O. Box 39528, Lakeshore P.O., Mississauga, ON, Kingdom Pattern and Power
Canada, L5G-4S6, or send email to rzdero@yahoo.ca by Rad Zdero & Kyle Bultman
PAGE 9
Publication Details: Intended publication is 3 or 4 times
per year—winter, spring, summer, and/or fall. Available
free online at www.housechurch.ca (go to “Resources”
section).

DESIGN BY YELLOWCANARYDESIGN.COM
PRINTED BY SYNKROS.ORG
 FRESH PERSPECTIVE ON
PAUL’S MISSIONARY STRATEGIES:
The Mentoring-for-Multiplication Model (Part 2)
Neil Cole is the founder of Church Multiplication
Associates (www.cmaresources.org), a worldwide network of
1,000 ‘organic’ churches that meet in homes, offices, and
just about anywhere. His several books include Organic
Church: Growing Faith Where Life Happens (2005) and
Cultivating a Life for God (1999). Email: neilcole@aol.com.
REACHING AN ENTIRE REGION WITH THE GOSPEL
Paul’s third missionary journey (Acts 18:23-21:16)
occurred from 52 to 56 A.D. and covered Asia, about
4,000 miles.
Having learned a valuable lesson on the need for
mentoring, Paul, on this next journey, invested himself
completely to the task of mentoring and multiplying
leaders from the harvest who could be deployed into
the harvest. With this trip, only a one-man team was
needed: Paul the multiplying mentor. Paul implemented
a regional church planting saturation strategy from
Ephesus for three years and in that time reached all of
Asia with multiplication (Acts 19:8-10; 20:31).
From Paul’s first century perspective of the world,
there was great urgency to get the good news out to
everyone everywhere. It is important to understand that
Paul would not willingly venture into an area that had
already been evangelized. He had a strict philosophy
that he would not build on another’s foundation.
He wrote to the Romans: “And thus I aspired to
preach the gospel, not where Christ was already named,
that I might not build upon another man’s foundation.”
(Rom 15:20 NAS).
So when Paul arrived in Ephesus and set up his
ministry there, first in the synagogue and later in the
school of Tyrannus, we can be assured that there were
no other Christians in the city. There were some strong
evangelistic contacts in the city which Paul had met
briefly on his previous journey but none had actually
accepted the gospel as yet (Acts 18:19-21). Paul claims
to be the apostle for the church (Eph. 1:1) and as such
to have laid the foundation for the church (Eph. 2:20).
He was the first to bring the gospel to Asia.
The School of Tyrannus was probably a school of
philosophy and discourse owned and taught by a man
named Tyrannus. Tyrannus means “a despot or tyrant,”
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which begs the question why his parents would choose
such a name? Perhaps it was a name given to him by his
students! Either way, he doesn’t seem to live up to his
name when it came to showing hospitality to Paul and
his new companions. There is manuscript evidence
that Paul used the school during the hot afternoon
hours which would make sense since the customs of
the day would have the school in session during the
cooler morning hours leaving it available to Paul in the
afternoon while most would be resting.
Others would build on the foundation, but only Paul
can claim to be the foundation layer. Paul’s missionary
journeys never took him to all the cities of Asia Minor.
Instead he stayed in Ephesus, trained men, and sent
them out to reach all Asia with the word of the Lord.
Ephesus became the mother church to all the churches
of Asia Minor.
INFLUENCING THE NEXT GENERATION
Paul was also able to influence the next generation
through those he trained. Paul is an apostle to the
Colossians (Col. 1:1-2), but they did not receive the
gospel directly from him, but through his apprentices.
It seems that it was Epaphras who was trained by Paul
in the school of Tyrannus and sent to Colossae to start
the work (Col. 1:3-8).
Epaphras, an Asian (Col. 4:12), is probably one of
those whom Paul personally trained in Ephesus and
sent out to start churches. Originally from Colossae,
Epaphras came under Paul’s influence while in
Ephesus, found Christ, was trained and equipped with
God’s word and sent back to bring the message to his
family, friends and home town. Once the ministry was
established, being trained by Paul as a missionary,
Epaphras was then sent by the Colossian church to
carry on with more church planting ministry (Laodicea
and Hieropolis) and eventually to stand with Paul in
Roman chains (Philemon 23).
Another example of one whom Paul led to Christ,
discipled, and who went out to Colossae to start a
church is Philemon. Perhaps the two were sent out as
a team following the pattern of Paul’s earlier church
planting missions. In verse 19, Paul seems to indicate
that Philemon was indeed one of his own disciples: “I,
Paul, am writing this with my own hand, I will repay it
(lest I should mention to you that you owe to me even
your own self as well).”
Other Asian leaders Paul raised from the harvest
and sent out for the harvest would include Trophimus
(Acts 20:4; Acts 21:29; 2 Tim. 4:20), Tychicus (Acts
20:4; Eph 6:21; Col. 4:7; 2Ti 4:12; Tit 3:12), Archippus
(Col. 4:17; Philemon 2), Nympha (Col. 4:15), Apphia
(Philemon 2), and perhaps Artemas (Titus 3:12) and
Onesiphorus (2 Tim. 1:16; 4:19). Apparently, many of
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Paul’s Ephesian leaders rose to great prominence in
the kingdom of God.
There were, however, some Asian elders who did not
come to great stature in the kingdom, though they may
have gained a bad reputation (Acts 20:29-31; 1 Tim.
1:20; 2 Tim. 1:15).
The Asian churches that were born out of the
Ephesian years were not dependent upon Paul, since
he didn’t start them. He gave a short and emotional
challenge to the elders, then left (Acts 20:17-38). Paul
never needed to visit the other Asian churches.
PAUL’S STRATEGY FOR TRAINING LEADERS
How could one man effectively reach the entire Asia
Minor region in just two to three years without having
left the city of Ephesus? Paul effectively raised leaders
from the harvest for the harvest. There is no other
adequate explanation for such a prolific expansion of
the kingdom in Asia. In both Acts 19 as well as Acts
20:17-35. Dr.Luke gives us some clues to Paul’s Asian
strategy in which he established an effective leadership
system from the School of Tyrannus. We can identify
seven strategic objectives that Paul implemented while
in Ephesus which unleashed and fueled the grassroots
spread of the gospel across the continent.
1. Paul established a regional base of church
planter development (Acts 19:9, 20:18).
The Scripture says “…he withdrew from them and
took away the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of
Tyrannus. And this took place for two years, so that all
who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews
and Greeks” (Acts 19:9-10 NAS).
At first Paul remained in the Synagogue (Acts 19:8),
but after three months of preaching this became
unwelcomed (Acts 19:9). A man by the name of
Tyrannus allowed Paul use of his own academy during
the off hours. Paul did not merely plant a church in
Ephesus, he established a training base for world
missions!
This training center also happened to be the
formation of the church of Ephesus. In essence, Paul
planted a church-based Leadership Farm System to
strategically multiply and mobilize a missions force
for all of Asia. When he called the elders in Ephesus
to himself for his farewell admonition, he begins by
stating, “You yourselves know, from the first day that
I set foot in Asia, how I was with you the whole time”
(Acts 20:18).
2. Paul implemented a teaching/mentoring
strategy by life example, both in large gatherings
and small groups (Acts 20:19-20).
Paul gave himself to mentoring these disciples in a
context of real life. They saw how he handled himself
in the most threatening of circumstances. Throughout
their lives, they would all remember how Paul behaved,
and they would follow the patterns he set (1 Cor. 11:1;
Philippians 3:17). In his own words, Paul said to the
elders from Ephesus: “I was with you the whole time,
serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and
with trials which came upon me through the plots of
the Jews; how I did not shrink from declaring to you
anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly
and from house to house, solemnly testifying to both
Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in
our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:18-21 NAS).
3. Paul integrated evangelism into the spiritual
formation of his disciples as a foundation for training
leaders for ministry (Acts 20:21).
One passion Paul had more than any other, was to
share the Good News about Jesus Christ. He wrote to
the Corinthians, “For I determined to know nothing
among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified” (1
Cor. 2:2). The gospel was so much a part of Paul that
he referred to it as “my gospel” (Rom. 2:16; 16:25; 2
Tim. 2:8). Any who would spend any time at all with
Paul would soon learn to tell others about Christ. This
is essential for all Christians, but especially for those
who are to start churches in unreached places. This
is why Paul reminds the elders of their early spiritual
formation in the context of evangelism. He says: “I did
not shrink from declaring to you anything that was
profitable, and teaching you publicly and from house
to house, solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks
of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus
Christ” (Acts 20:20-21 NAS).
4. Paul released the power of God’s Word in
people’s lives to carry the grassroots movement of
multiplication (Acts 19:20).
The Lord made it clear that the word of God is
the seed of new life (Luke 8:4-15). In Acts, Luke
demonstrates for us that it is the word that takes flight
in men’s hearts and ignites widespread evangelism.
To gain a perspective of the power of the word in
saturation church planting, we can start in Luke’s
account of the Asian Minor church multiplication
movement and take a brief walk backwards through the
book to track the spread of the church thus far. You will
see how the word of God is the fire that spreads the new
life in Christ. (From Acts 19:20, Acts 19:10, Acts 18:11,
Acts 13:49, Acts 12:24, Acts 8:4, all the way back to Acts
6:7).
Given this view of the expansion of the church and
the power of God’s word we can certainly understand
why the apostles would conclude, “It is not desirable
for us to neglect the word of God” (Acts 6:2). Instead
of being distracted from the essential ministry of
spreading God’s word among the growing disciples,
they determined, “But we will devote ourselves to
prayer, and to the ministry of the word” (Acts 6:4).
By getting his disciples into the Word, and getting
the Word into his disciples, Paul empowered them
to be disciples of the Lord, and not just followers of
Paul (Acts 20:32). Thus, when they were deployed as
missionaries, they in turn could do the same.
5. Paul gave the Holy Spirit His rightful place in
leading his disciples into ministry (Acts 20:28).
This book Luke wrote on the expansion of
Christianity is not really the Acts of the Apostles, it is
really the Acts of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is
mentioned or alluded to by the author 57 times in 28
chapters! There is no human leader who orchestrated
and organized the growth and expansion of the New
Testament church! From a strictly human perspective
this operation was completely out of control!
Each time Jesus gave the command to preach the
gospel, He emphasized the need for spiritual power
(Matt. 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-18; Luke 24:45-49; John
20:21-23; Acts 1:8). Paul commands us to be full of the
Holy Spirit (Eph. 5:18), to walk/live by the Spirit (Gal.
5:16, 25-26; Rom. 8:4), to be led by the Holy Spirit (Gal.
5:18; Rom. 8:14), to bear the fruit that comes from the
Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23) and to pursue the gifts of the
Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 14:1). Ministry for church leaders is
to be in the power of the Holy Spirit and not according
to the flesh (Rom. 8:5-9; Gal. 5:16-17; 6:7-10).
Spiritual empowerment should not be hard to see
in an emerging leader. When searching for ministry
leaders, the early church looked for those who were
“full of the Spirit” (Acts 6:1-10), which meant that being
full of the Spirit was something easily distinguishable.
When Paul first went to Ephesus he came upon a
group of disciples and immediately noticed something
was wrong. They were blatantly missing something.
He asked if they had ever received the Holy Spirit,
to which they replied, “No, we have not even heard
whether there is a Holy Spirit.” Paul then looked into
their salvation and discovered that they did not know
Jesus. He told them about Christ, they believed, were
3
baptized and then Paul laid hands on them and they
received the missing ingredient-the Holy Spirit (Acts
19:1-7).
6. Paul mentored individuals on a one-to-one
basis (Acts 20:31).
People develop at differing rates. Emerging leaders
don’t all start and finish together at the same time.
One of the problems with current training models
which run on a class schedule with set curriculum is
that it does not take into account the different rates of
development that a group of leaders may experience.
It also assumes that every one in the group is ready to
learn the same thing at the same time. We are foolish
to think that each of us need the same admonishment,
for the same sin, at the same time, in the same way.
This is not a system that the New Testament church
would understand. Paul discipled and mentored each
one at their own pace. He states to the Ephesian elders:
“Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night
and day for a period of three years I did not cease to
admonish each one with tears” (Acts 20:31 NAS).
7. Paul empowered his leaders with accountability
to God for the work that he modeled for them, so
that his presence wasn’t needed for the work to
continue after him (Acts 20:32).
When one makes a photo copy from another photo
copy the quality is slightly reduced. When one makes
a fourth generation copy the quality degenerates even
more. With each succeeding generation the product
becomes more and more corrupted until eventually
it is more unlike the original than like it. Every new
copy of a previous copy contains all the flaws of all
the generations before it as well as its own unique
blemishes.
The solution is to make all your copies directly
from the master itself; this will reduce almost all of
the corruption and assure a copy most like the master.
The best that a photocopy can be is very much like the
original, but there is only one original.
When it comes to reproducing disciples and leaders,
the same principles apply. Each succeeding generation
must be directly linked to the Master if it is to maintain
and reflect the purity and beauty of the Lord. Every
generation that only mimics a copy of the Master will
reflect back the flaws of both generations. Jesus said
that a student cannot be better than his teacher; at
best he can be like his teacher (Matt. 10:24-25). If the
teacher is always the next generation down the chain,
than the quality of students and teachers diminishes
with each generation. But if the student can learn to
have the Lord as his or her teacher, than the quality of
disciples will remain high.
Paul had discovered a key strategy which not only
multiplied his efforts, but also empowered the work
to carry on in his absence, which apparently was a
problem for the churches started in his earlier journeys
(Gal. 4:18-20). Now that Paul had fully comprehended
the multiplication strategy the Lord had been teaching
him, he was to put this strategy to the test in an extreme
way on his next outing.
As we will see, his next phase of mission is his most
effective and emerges in the most confined of situations
(Continued in Part 3).

OUR MISSION IS …
“To see the Kingdom of God manifest in our region,
by linking arms as a relational, intentional, and missional network of house churches,
that develop and deploy all believers into maturity in Christ as they impact others.”

(This mission statement was crafted at a regional “think tank” meeting of a dozen house church leaders
in February 2007 in Guelph, Ontario. This joint statement was not meant to be carved-in-stone or to
indicate any desire to start a centralized house church “organization”. Rather, it was the result of a day of
prayerfully dreaming and scheming with God. We need to step forward together in spiritual and practical
unity into God’s purposes for the regional house church movement. We must become a fluid yet cohesive
“network of networks” to see a new spiritual nation arise in this region!).

4
 THE ART OF REVOLUTION
Starfish Art
Original artwork by Cynthia Klassen
(Woodstock, ON, Canada)

Cynthia uses watercolour to mostly paint realistic

macro floral and animal close-ups. On a visit to
her childhood home of North Vancouver, she saw
this starfish. Carefully analyzing and painting it
brought back early west coast memories. Cynthia
was part of this year’s Oxford County Studio Tour
in southwestern Ontario. She is involved in a house
church in the town of Woodstock (cynthiapaints.
blogspot.com)

The Starfish
All starfish are not in the water
Some are on the land
They are fishing for the kingdom
They’re a different brand
They shine like stars for Jesus
They are his fishermen
They spread the good news all
around
That Jesus died for them
They can be found in many places
Are called the House Church
They meet together in each other’s
homes
When they go to church
They breakfast together
Worship the King of kings
Sing praises to their master
And study many things
Their manual is the Bible
Written by God himself
It tells them how to be good fisher-
men
How to serve and help
Their model is the Book of Acts
When the first church was born
Thousands came to Jesus
Now the whole world must be in-
formed
They learn that Jesus is the way to
heaven
That’s why he died for you and me
To bear our sin and shame
On the cross at Calvary
Wayward sons and daughters
Lost and lonely men and women
Come and give their lives to Jesus
And become star fishermen
The leaders are inspiring
They are great fishermen
The workers are enthusiastic
Behold the catch that they bring in
Seekers look and listen
They want what they see and hear
The House Church is growing
While the host of heaven cheers
They spend time each day fishing
For all to come to Christ
They shine like stars with heaven’s
glory
They are the world’s light
This movement called House
Church
Is growing speedily
Relationships are formed
That will last for eternity
House Church is for everyone
Young and old alike
They learn to spread the timeless
message
That Jesus is the way, the truth, the
life
I’d rather be a starfish
Than any other kind of star
To see Jesus up in heaven
Will be the best reward by far
To hear him say, “Well done,
My faithful fisherman”
To feel his sweet embrace
Will be priceless in the end
Betty Findlay
(Hamilton, ON, Canada)
5
 REGIONAL HOUSE
The 2008 House Church “Think Tank”:
Exploring Partnerships and Networks
Sam Buick (Waterloo, ON, Canada)
It was great to gather for a full day in March 2008,
in Mississauga (Ontario, Canada) with 20 folks for a
regional “think tank” from a variety of house churches
and house church networks across the province of
Ontario. People came from cities and towns like Ajax,
Baden, Barrie, Dunville, Guelph, Mississauga, Norwich,
Ottawa, Toronto, and Waterloo.
Folks shared their journeys since the last time
we gathered six months earlier. This revealed the
importance of relationship and friendship. We gathered
to share the vision of practically partnering together
in furthering God’s Kingdom through planting house
church networks in our region.
We had breakout groups that discussed an article on
partnerships. Some of the points were eliminated as
being too command-and-control in structure, but others
were embraced, such as the need to share ourselves, our
gifts, and our resources, such as our homes and finances.
This is especially needed for the emerging itinerant
ministry linking and equipping the house churches.
We agreed that we are more effective for the Kingdom
when we work together as house churches, rather than
on our own. We do not have all we require, but others
do, each one bringing what God has deposited and
developed in them.
We left encouraged, strengthened, and motivated to
seek the Lord as to what He would do in this region. We
realize that we need the Lord to knit us to Himself and
to reveal His heart and purpose. And then we need to
ask, “Lord, how can I come alongside You and others
to see this happen?” That is the key question for the
expanding network of house churches in our region.
6
Operation Burma:
Getting Involved in Global Mission
Rad Zdero (Mississauga, ON, Canada)
In early May 2008, I joined the Rochester (New York,
USA) house church as they hosted Dr. Ram Lian
(pictured in the middle above), a church planter visiting
from his native Burma (a.k.a. Myanmar). There was
great interest in hearing about the country’s political,
economic, and spiritual landscape.
Lian told us that “Before the first missionary came
to our country, Buddhism is rooted more than eight
centuries, and the country right now is ruled by military
government.”
Christians are at risk. “For a Buddhist to become
a Christian is very risky,” Lian said. “After they accept
Jesus, the church planters have to provide food, shelter,
and everything to new believers.”
Dr. Lian founded Household Church Myanmar in
2005. His vision is “to see 1000 house churches planted
by the year 2030” by coaching “100 church planters who
are committed to plant at least 10 house churches in
their lifetime.” They have already started a network of
20 house churches.
Lian’s team has translated my book The Global
House Church Movement into Burmese. “We have
printed already 1000 books and distributed 700,” he
said. “I ask the students and church planters to use the
book in their homes to train other church planters and
evangelists.”
In Rochester, we donated $1200 in cash, a printer, a
laptop computer, several books, and a telephone card
to Dr. Lian. As a regional house church movement, let’s
continue to pray, send finances, encourage by email,
send Christian books, and perhaps even visit. For more
info: Ram Lian (lianram@gmail.com) or Rad Zdero
(rzdero@yahoo.ca).
CHURCH EVENTS
Touring the House Churches
Rad Zdero (Mississauga, ON, Canada)
One car. Two weeks. Seven cities. Numerous super hosts.
A trunk full of books. Moments of exuberance and
exhaustion. And 2200 kilometres. This barely begins to
describe my recent visits with house churches, seminars
to various groups, and meetings with leaders from May
28 to June 13 of 2008. This nomad had the eye-opening
privilege of seeing first-hand what God is doing, as he
ventured to cast a birds-eye glance across our region.
Here are just a few highlights. A fledgling house
church in Trenton is asking God for 40,000 new believers
in their area. A traditional church in Frankford wants to
start missional small groups and house churches. A house
church in Kingston desires to see a network formed in
their end of the province. An actively evangelistic couple
outside Montreal envisions 1000 house churches in their
area. A house church leader in Quebec City desires
connection with a larger house church network. A small
network of three house churches is beginning to form in
the St. Lazare area. A man of peace in Ottawa is taking
steps to establish a prototype house church in the city.
There were several common themes no matter where
I went. There was a penetrating passion for God and
love for people that
I sensed in everyone
I met. There was a
recognition by house
churches for their
need to work together
in relational networks
in order to be all that
God has called them to
be. There was a hunger
to see families, neighbourhoods, workplaces, cities, and
the region impacted with the good news of Jesus Christ.
In our region, we are indeed on the verge of reaching
a milestone in maturity, a potency in networking, and
a critical mass in numbers in this simple, strategic, and
Holy Spirit-powered living-room revolution!
Coming Soon to a Planet Near You!
‘STARFISH NETWORK’ RETREAT
(March 2009)
A strategic and relational gathering of house church
leaders across our region is planned. We will seek
God, connect with each other, assess where we are as a
movement, determine where we need to go, eat lots, play
games, and just hang out! Open to all. First come, first
serve. Limited room. Kids welcome. Cost is $50/person
for full weekend and $15/person for day visitors. Bring
cash or make cheque payable to “Starfish Network.” Three
daily meals will be bought beforehand and prepared
onsite by participants in shifts. The Faith Mission Centre
(Campbellville, ON) facilities include 2 kitchens, 2 living
rooms, a large dining hall, a large meeting room, 50 beds,
and the great outdoors. Scheduled for Friday March 6 to
Sunday March 8, 2009. To register, contact Rad Zdero
(rzdero@yahoo.ca, 905-278-1805).
‘STARFISH NETWORK’ TRAINING COURSE
(October 2008 to June 2009)
Do you want to do church differently? Do you want to start
a house church? Do you lead a house church, but want to
learn from others? Here’s your chance! A once-a-month,
interactive, house church planting course is being offered
in Ontario to help encourage and train you in the basics
and help connect you with others. Topics include: What
does it take to be a church planter? What about local and
mobile leadership? How does hosting and hospitality
work? How about impacting non-believers? What about
one-to-one mentoring? Sessions are once-a-month on
a Saturday, 10 am to 12:30 noon, followed by lunch
together. Starts in October 2008 and ends June 2009.
There is a one-time $15/person fee to cover learning
materials (cash or cheque payable to “Starfish Network”)
and a $5/person cost each time for lunch. Location will
rotate from house to house. Facilitated by Rad Zdero and
Mark-John Bruwer. For more details, contact: Mark-John
Bruwer (mj_nanette@yahoo.co.uk, 905-777-1876).
SPIRITUAL MENTORING SEMINAR (October 2008)
The spiritual landscape is covered with half-built towers.
Many new believers get off on the right foot, but then
they give up. Part of the reason is that no one took the
time to help them learn the basics of the Christian life.
Come to Newmarket, ON, in Oct 2008, for a one-day
seminar of practical teaching on spiritual mentoring
by Larry Kreider (DOVE Christian Fellowship), an
internationally recognized leader in the cell and house
church movement. For details contact: Brian Sauder
(brians@dcfi.org) or Ed Peng (pengs@intown.net).
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 KICKIN’ IT OLD SCHOOL
E.H. BROADBENT:
GLOBE TROTTER, CHURCH PLANTER, AND AUTHOR
An Englishman by birth, Edmund Hamer Broadbent (1861-1945) was
thrilled by the idea that, since apostolic times, there have always been
movements in history outside the institutional church that have sought
to fully restore the power and pattern of true Christianity as found in
the New Testament. He founded non-denominational, independent,
New Testament-style churches nearly everywhere he went in his travels
throughout the Middle East, Central Asia, Europe, North America, and
South America. His convictions and experiences are best expressed in
his classic book, The Pilgrim Church (1931), from which the following
excerpt is taken.

Events in the history of the churches in the time to effect a compromise, returning in part, but not
of the apostles have been selected and recorded in altogether, to the acknowledged pattern, as Luther,
the Book of the Acts in such a way as to provide a Spener, and others.
permanent pattern for the churches. (4) Some have abandoned the attempt, as the
Departure from this pattern has had disastrous Mystics, who devoted themselves instead to the
consequences, and all revival and restoration attainment of personal holiness and communion
have been due to some return to with God…
the pattern and principles in the (5) Evangelical revival has set it
Scriptures… aside as unimportant, concentrating
The Church question, that is “All revival and on the conversion of sinners and
to say, the question whether we restoration have organizing what seemed suitable to
can, and should, continue to carry meet practical needs, as Wesley’s
out the New Testament teaching been due to Methodist Societies, or the Salvation
and example as to the ordering of some return to Army.
churches, has been answered in the pattern and (6) But there have in all times
various ways: been brethren who have answered
principles in the
(1) The theory of “yes” to the question though they
“development” would make it Scriptures” have been called by many names…
undesirable to do so, because, they have been one in their endeavor
as is claimed by the ritualistic to act upon the New Testament and
churches, such as the Church of to follow the example of the New
Rome, the Greek Orthodox Church, and others Testament churches.
like them, something better than that which was Closely connected with the former question is
practiced in the beginning has been attained, another: Is it possible today to preach the gospel as
and the Scriptures have been modified, or even at the beginning and might not a much more rapid
supplanted, by tradition. spread of the gospel result from doing so?
(2) Rationalism gives the same answer, looking Indeed, the question enlarges and presses itself
upon it as retrogression to go back to the original upon us: Is it not only by a return to the Scriptures
pattern, since it denies that the Scriptures provide that the unity of the children of God can be
an abiding authority. manifested and the evangelization of the world be
(3) Reformers of existing churches have tried accomplished?

8

Kingdom Pattern and Power
Rad Zdero (Mississauga, ON, Canada) and Kyle Bultman (Rochester, NY, USA)
Two unbiblical and unhealthy ex-
tremes exist in some parts of the house
church movement. The “spiritualists” say
that structure is unimportant and that all
we need is heart and passion and Spirit-led
activity. The “technocrats” say that house
churches should be placed into highly
structured networks with a vertical chain-of-
command, an official doctrinal statement,
a formal denominational connection, and
the right scriptural ‘formula’, etc. But, the
reality is that we need a healthy and Holy
Spirit-led balance of pattern and power.
The scriptural pattern is like the vehicle
that harnesses the spiritual power needed
to accomplish God’s purposes.
What is the essence of the scriptural
pattern?
A human body without a skeleton
simply cannot function. A house without
wooden beams forming a frame cannot
stand. From the smallest amoeba to the
largest galaxy, the universe holds together
through an arrangement of atoms and
molecules whose interactions are governed
by the laws of physics.
As we gaze upon the church of Jesus
Christ, we can see several “building blocks”
in place. These are described in the New
Testament and show up in Church history
time and time again. God has used them to
accomplish his Kingdom purposes.
We see, first off, that Jesus Christ is the
Chief Cornerstone to the entire structure
of the church. Without him, all of it is
pointless and it will eventually crumble.
We see “macro” leaders who focus on
the big picture and who function as train-
ers, decision-makers, connectors, and pio-
neers. These apostles, prophets, evange-
lists, and teachers impact cities, regions,
and nations, often starting entire networks
EDITORIAL
of churches out of nothing.
We see “micro” leaders who focus on
the care, training, and releasing of a local
body of believers, encouraging all to use
their spiritual gifts, talents, and resources.
These elders (also known as ‘pastors’ and
‘bishops’ in the New Testament) are like
the spiritual moms and dads of their own
little spiritual family.
We see ordinary places and spaces used
for Spirit-led and interactive gatherings, like
homes, classrooms, offices, front porches,
community centers, and the like. There is
no need for large, expensive, church build-
ings when small circles of disciples are fully
committed to multiplication growth in or-
der to see a spiritual rabbit plague.
May we become a house church move-
ment that is organized (rather than organi-
zational), intentional (rather than acciden-
tal), and missional (rather than aimless)!
What does it look like to operate in
God’s power?
Certainly, this includes dreams, visions,
prophetic words, angelic activity, miracu-
lous healings, demonic deliverance, and
raising people from the dead. And it also
means listening to the Spirit as he leads in
spontaneous and unexpected ways. Howev-
er, many times God speaks things into our
lives that take the process of decades to be
worked out in fullness—process. As finite
humans, we tend to see dramatic displays
of power and only notice that moment.
That glorious moment seems as if it is the
fullness of power—right there, immediate-
ly in front of us. However, for each of those
moments of power revealed in fullness,
there is a long, focused, perseverant time
of process that ultimately is power. Power
and process cannot be separated—indeed,
they are two sides of the same coin. Con-
sider the following examples.
A military power demonstrates great
force through numbers, skill, strategy, and
weaponry, combining to bring decisive vic-
tories in battle. We behold the moment
of victory and exclaim of how it is such a
powerful military. However, we rarely focus
on the grueling years of training that the
troops go through.
A sports team wins a top title, such as
the Super Bowl, the Stanley Cup, or the
like. We usually notice the power and glory
demonstrated in the games. But, it is drill
after drill that helps to hone skills, develop
leadership, and bring unity through years
of struggle.
Entire pagan villages come to embrace
the gospel and experience dramatic heal-
ings and societal transformation. We usu-
ally focus on those moments rather than
on the decades of prayer and faithful sacri-
fice by those bearing the gospel with their
very lives.
Jesus’ sacrifice and resurrection result-
ed in the cataclysmic change in mankind’s
opportunity to know their Creator. It is the
defining moment of all history. We focus
primarily on that ‘moment’, and yet even
God’s expression of power in and through
the incarnate Christ was the climax of
a process that had been set in motion
through faithful people many centuries
prior such as Noah, Enoch, Abraham, and
so on. The greater the power expressed,
the greater the process required.
Our flesh and weakness looks for a
quick transformation of circumstances
apart from our own growth and transfor-
mation. We want God’s power to change
things around us and for us, (even for King-
dom purposes), but often without our own
change being at the core of the solution.
Instead of blazing, circumstance-changing,
lightning bolt type displays of power, the
Lord wants to speak to our hearts one basic
concept – the power is in the process.
What is the crux of the matter?
Let us as a movement of house church-
es recognize our need for both pattern and
power and be willing to persevere in the
process! Let’s be able to resolutely confess
that, “Jesus is building his church, in his tim-
ing, with his methods, using his Scriptures, and
empowered by his Spirit.”
9
 REVOLUTIONARY BOOKS
by RAD ZDERO

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

RAD ZDERO earned his Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Queen’s
University (Kingston, Ontario, Canada), specializing in orthopaedic biomechanics.
He is currently the director of a hospital-based research lab in Toronto. Rad has been
actively involved in the house church and small group movement since 1985 and is
dedicated to encouraging the full restoration of original New Testament Christianity
in our day. He lives in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.