Come Quickly Dawn

George Patterson

Description

Come Quickly Dawn offers a unique reading experience. This fully integrated hybrid is both a fast-paced novel and an incisive training tool. It equips one to evangelize in a way that spreads like measles, to make disciples who actively obey Jesus, and to multiply churches or cells. The best way by far to prepare an effective shepherd or church multiplier is to do it as Jesus and Paul did it: take apprentices with them to where the action is happening. Its simulated trip conveys one out of a familiar comfort zone to a setting similar to that of many peoples among whom God is working powerfully, as in the book of Acts.

Sujets

• Religion
• Christianisme
• Philosophie et théologie
• Growth
• Christian Church

Informations

• Publié par: William Carey Publishing
• Date de parution: 26 juin 2012
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781645080404
• Langue: English

Extrait

Come Quickly
DAWN

George Patterson has mentored leaders in many countries who have made breakthroughs leading to widespread church planting movements. Much of the wisdom gleaned through his vast experience has been incorporated in Train and Multiply, a “menu-driven” program now used in many languages to train shepherds in church planting movements.
—Galen Currah, DMiss former adjunct instructor, Western Seminary
George Patterson’s instructive fiction is so true-to-life that when I underlined phrases, it bled.
—John Mulholland, PhD former professor of missions, Colombia Bible Seminary
People love stories. Jesus knew this and so he told stories. Patterson has captured a wonderful way to teach people about church planting. When people learn through stories, it becomes so much easier and more enjoyable and therefore more effective. The principles in it are spot on and the activities at the end of each chapter encourage obedience. This book is a great church planter’s manual.
—Pamela Arlund, PhD director, All Nations
George Patterson is father and mentor to us all. Long a pioneer in church planting and multiplication, both directly and indirectly through thousands of disciples around the world, Brother George is once again pushing the envelope, showing us how the Kingdom is advancing leaving countless transformed lives and discipleship communities in its wake. This time Dr. Patterson has pioneered a new genre in communication: the “training novel.” Who knew this maven of church planting could also write riveting prose? Missionaries, pastors, church planters, and every kind of adventurous Christian will be gripped and blessed by George Patterson’s Come Quickly Dawn! It is a powerful blend of narrative and wisdom that unpacks the secrets of how God is at work redeeming even the most calloused souls for Christ.
—David Garrison, PhD missionary author, Church Planting Movements

Come Quickly
DAWN
A Training Novel
George Patterson
Jeff Rollins, illustrator


Come Quickly Dawn: A Training Novel
Copyright © 2012 George Patterson Illustrations Copyright © Jeff Rollins
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise—without prior written permission of the publisher, except brief quotations used in connection with reviews in magazines or newspapers.
Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)
Published by William Carey Library 1605 E. Elizabeth Street Pasadena, CA 91104 | www.missionbooks.org
Kate Kardol, copyeditor Melissa Hicks, editor Amanda Valloza, graphic design Rose Lee-Norman, indexer
William Carey Library is a ministry of Frontier Ventures Pasadena, CA | www.frontierventures.org
Digital eBook release Primalogue 2015 ISBN: 978-087808-871-3
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Patterson, George, 1932- Come quickly dawn : a training novel / George Patterson ; art by Jeff Rollins. p. cm. Includes index. ISBN 978-0-87808-471-5 1. Spiritual warfare--Fiction. I. Title. PS3616.A875C6 2012 813’.6--dc23 2011046135

Dedicated to Fabio Gutierrez, school teacher, slain in the night by machete for his faith in Jesus Christ, following his baptism in Barranco, Hondura

Equipping leaders by depicting guidelines that our Lord Jesus and His apostles modeled, and that God is using around the world to revitalize His people and extend Jesus’ reign

Contents
Figures and Charts
Preface
Part I: The Disciple
1. An Awakened Church Body Sharpens its Blade Preparing for Battle
2. A Bold Body Realigns its Agenda to Move in a Healthier Direction
3. The “Old Serpent” Eyes an Awakening Flock, Coils, and Strikes
4. Demons Come Riding into Town, Mounted on Foreign Dollars
5. Social Activists Use the Spirit’s Sword Instead of Weapons of Steel
6. Hell’s Fiend Launches an Arrow Labeled “Cruel Rules”
7. The Serpent’s Creeping Spawn Infiltrates an Unwary Community
8. Despair Torments the Souls of the Faithful
9. Severe Ordeals Mold Tiger’s Character
10. Passive Hearing and Mindless Emotion Replace Genuine Worship
11. The Faithful Discern God’s Way Out of a Maze of Deception
Part II: The Shepherd
12. Tiger’s Decisiveness Overcomes Panic and Spineless Conformity
13. Violence Erupts during Sham Worship
14. Despair Lures Tiger to Stumble
15. Arson’s Blaze Displays the World’s Hatred for Jesus’ Followers
16. A Hurricane’s Fury Awakens Compassion in God’s People
17. A Deal Made in Darkness Imperils the Faithful
18. Tiger Shuns Popular Trends that Lure Churches into Mediocrity
Part III: The Leader of Leaders
19. The Path to Becoming a Godly Leader Holds Unwanted Surprises
20. Concerned Leaders Balance Discipling with Mercy Work
21. False Religion and the Occult Open Hell’s Broad Door
22. Peacemakers Raze Satan’s Divisive Walls
23. Rabbits and Elephants Love and Serve Each Other
Appendix A: Vital Ministries Checklist
Appendix B: Index of Leader’s Tasks
Figures and Charts
Alvarez Mine Development Chart
Realign Diverse Aspects of Vital Church Tasks
Roger’s Map of Bat Haven
Los Robles Ranch Brand
Christian Doctrines and Hebrew Lampstand
Church-planting Outreach in Asia Minor
Mentoring Chains in the Bible

Preface
Let’s pretend we’re sipping Starbucks at a corner table. You glance at your watch and ask, “Why read this book? My time’s already maxed out.”
“All the more reason. It shows how to face challenges that tax leaders’ time and patience as they shepherd God’s people. Even experienced leaders will discover blind spots that need fixing; reviewers pointed out an embarrassing number of my own in the manuscript. Want to split a bagel to go with this brew?”
You nod. “But why a hybrid novel-textbook ?”
“It’s to illustrate guidelines for leading. Like in the Gospels, instructive narrative speaks to both halves of our brain. Our intuitive right lobe likes to envision concepts and connect them while the linear left uses exact, linear logic. Overdo left-brain analysis and right-lobe synthesis atrophies—and our churches atrophy, too. Same thing if leaders rely too much on right-lobe insight.”
“I wonder if my education left my brain a bit lopsided.”
“The double track may stretch you at first, but by the time you’ve finished three or four chapters you’ll be happily rehabilitated.”
“Why set the story in a Hispanic venue that’s foreign to most of us?”
“Many of its vital guidelines derive from events that wouldn’t take place in the average American church. Also, we associate God’s work with familiar routine in our own culture, which limits our view, and we’re unaware of our blind side. Visiting a foreign land to see God working from a fresh perspective has often led to valuable breakthroughs in ministry. Observing churches and cell groups grow in Christ and multiply abroad has helped many serve Him more capably back home. Come Quickly, Dawn takes you on this kind of discovery journey.”
You thumb through the pages. “Why are some paragraphs numbered?”
“They begin the depiction of a leaders’ task. Every task has a number such as 04–c , meaning chapter 4, task c . The task’s title also appears within the same paragraph as part of the story. These task numbers and titles appear not only in the story, but also in an alphabetical index at the end.”
“You said actual events brought out many of the guidelines—how many?”
“Most episodes are authentic; in fact, the more bizarre ones are more likely to be historical. Names and places are fictitious except for historical persons. Fidel Castro’s alleged Honduran birth mother and half brother recounted their story in a remote Honduran town as chapter 15 relates. The notorious political assassin El Chorcho pantomimed his prison crises as chapter 3 relates. The striking incidents during the flood and ensuing relief work in chapter 16 occurred when hurricane Fifi devastated Nicaragua and Honduras.”
Many thanks to artist Jeff Rollins for his illustrations of characters and episodes in the story. Also many thanks to the reviewers who corrected scads of blunders (blush) in the Spanish and English manuscripts: Dr. Pamela Arlund, Rigoberto Reyes, Yesenia Lopez, Anne Thiessen, Dr. Galen Currah, Dr. Hal White, Nancy Hoke, Luís Matute, Ray Cameron, Drew Severance, Mary Rucker, Brian Hogan, Millie Mosby, and William Carey Library.
Part I THE DISCIPLE

1. An Awakened Church Body Sharpens its Blade Preparing for Battle
“Did that bell clang only twice?” I asked the large, cinnamon-hued dog at my feet in the hastily built night watchman’s shack. It smelled of raw lumber, its unpainted sides out of place beside the elegant brick mansion of Simon Alvarez. “This night’s endless! Come, Pharaoh. Time for another round.” I rubbed my arms to keep warm; night air got nippy on the lap of Mount Silverado.
“Hey! What’s up, pooch?” He was growling, ears erect, and I looked around nervously; it was my first night on this job. Across the unpaved street in front of the big house was a grassy square with a few flamboyán trees, the heart of the small Central American mining town of Bat Haven. Beyond the square, the lofty twin towers of the church of Saint Muñoz rose in the moonlight; their bell was a blessing, as few townsfolk owned watches. What faith moved Spanish invaders to build those towers so high? Were they climbing to heaven by such works of devotion? I wondered why folks called the town “ Bat Haven ;” its official name was Saint Muñoz to honor its patron saint, but only Padre Camacho used it.
A scrawny cur was slinking around a trashcan by the courthouse to the south on my left. Its blotches of mange resembled the patchy courthouse walls; whitewash was flaking off old adobes. Pharaoh did not deem the scavenge