Tony PayneRecensioni

Written like a story to discover more about the real Jesus.

Great book for those wanting the 10,000 foot view of a biblical perspective on decision making. Jensen and Payne are wary and critical of those adopting a "secret will" approach to finding God's will, and instead advocate for more of the Compass of the Great Shepherd that guides and leads us; and leaves the choices to us.

This may rub against those arguing for Sovereignty that is probably more akin to fatalism than a true Reformed understanding of the Sovereingty of God. But Jensen and Payne are remembering that true sovereignty isn't found in a cold, dark fate; it's found in a person--the loving hands of a Father keeping us in his grip. Great read for laymen and pastors alike.

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"Portly didn't ask to be a hippo; he was just born that way. And frankly, he's starting to find being a hippo kind of boring — standing in the water all day up to his eyeballs, eating grass — no fun at all! So he embarks on a journey to figure out just what kind of animal to be, and along the way, meets all kinds of creatures.
As he tries to do everything they do, this heartwarming story of a youngster searching for his identity and trying to be somebody he's not will strike a chord with all readers. Repetitive, silly text and bright illustrations make Hippo-Not-Amus an infectiously fun read.
From the best-selling illustrator of GIRAFFES CAN'T DANCE, Guy Parker-Rees, comes a silly story about a young hippo trying to be everything he's not."

LT The Trellis and the Vine, Colin Marshall (Ministry Training Strategy, Vinegrowers) and Tony Payne (Matthias Media), St. Mathias Press, 2009, 7/8-15/18
Recommended by Josh Pegram

Theme: all should be nurturing disciples
Type: inspirational teaching
Value:1-
Age: mature
Interest: 1- (if interested)
Objectionable: maybe increase emphasis on glorifying God and enjoying Him
Synopsis/Noteworthy:

Purpose of ministry (8, 14, 35-growth, 39, 41/43, 83-advancing kingdom, 85-sum, 116, 120, 147, 151, 153-4, 178, 181): preach the Gospel/Word in power of Spirit to see lives changed (8)
--are we making and nurturing genuine disciple of Christ?! 14
--we are utterly Spirit-grace dependent 36, 39, 176
--minister this to all, not just ones with problems 22, 111, 183
--all are called to this 138
Beware trap of too much virtue going into erecting and maintaining structure 17, 90, 152; love messiness 183
Start with your people and develop structures through which they can grow 18, 20
Concentrate on training (as a pastor and a church) 19, 69-72 what it is, 74, 75 like parenting, 78 goals, 86
Disciples are disciple-makers 43, 124, 154
Speak the word to each other 45, 49, 52, 53, 54 examples, 57 Bible reading
Results in standing together 66-67
Growing 82
Problem of collapsing into trellis work 90, 152
Three pastoring models 94ff, 99, 102-103 104ff-Baxter (107)
Removing weirdness 96
Involve people 97
Willow Creek 98
Small groups 100, 178
Next generation 127ff, 134
Tent-making 135, Ricky/Joshua 140
Apprenticeship 143ff
LCA 148-150, 182
Discontinuing programs 156
Bottom line effectiveness 170
Why low commitment 174ff
Youth minister—don’t have (possibly) 173
Leadership is vision 176 (inspiring)
Let (want) people to have their own styles 195 (193-196)

Critique (great): emphasize delighting in God and Christlikeness as ends (a little more) (along with making disciples) cf. 165

K 112ff co-workers/Paul, 120-greatest calling, 126-chaos, 155, 158-161/176-178-inspire, 170-172

A brief book on talking about Islam

LT How to Walk into Church, Tony Payne, matthiasmedia, 2015, 4/22/18
Recommended by Joshua Richards

Theme: place and purpose of attending church
Type: teaching, exhoration
Value: 1-
Age: hs
Interest: 1-
Objectionable:
Synopsis/Noteworthy:

Are you a pastor, lay leader, or a Christian with some degree of influence over others? Feel like there’s too many people for you to meet with, personally? Then this is the book for you.

Read it. Take notes. And adjust your schedule so that you can implement a more biblical model of training. Better yet, grab a small group of a few others and read it with them.

How do I know what God wants me to do? How can I make decisions which are in line with his will? If God still speaks, will I recognize his voice? These are important questions, and many Christians grapple with them. Guidance and the Voice of God charts a way through these often confusing issues, and shows how for those who have ears to hear, God is still speaking loud and clear through his Son.

Excellent book on ministry in the church. Authors challenge a complete mind-shift in the way we "do" church. Instead of programs and busyness, the authors turn our focus on what our primary mission should be: discipleship. By training disciple-making disciples, churches will experience true growth, even if that growth is not in the way we usually think. Gospel growth is much more important than numerical growth. True gospel growth is often best fulfilled when disciples take the gospel outside their local church. Must-read for pastors and church leaders.

Far too many churches get it all wrong. Their existence stems from an full calendar of social events and purposeless groups that do little to embody Christ's mandate to make disciples of all nations. They are busy, just with the wrong things.

In The Trellis and the Vine, Colin Marshall and Tony Payne put forth a model of ministry that is absolutely obsessed with the disciple-making process. Their thoughts waft like a breath of fresh air over the stale ecclesiological landscape. They constantly remind the reader that ministry is not about programs; it's about people.

A commitment to disciple others will require relationships. "The relational nature of training means that the best training will often occur by osmosis rather than formal instruction" (76). Furthermore, this commitment will require church leaders to focus on multiplication of their efforts through others. "By far the best way to build a congregation full of disciple-making disciples is to assemble and train a band of co-workers to labour alongside you" (116).

While I whole-heartedly agree with almost everything Marshall and Payne say, I wish they had said more about the "people worth watching." People worth watching are individuals that pastors observe, test, and recruit into vocational ministry. These individuals are affirmed through an external call from the church. My issue stems from the fact that Marshall and Payne seem to deny a sense of internal call of the Lord upon the individual. They write, "We shouldn't sit back and wait for people to 'fell called' to gospel work, any more than we should sit back and wait for people to become disciples of Christ in the first place. We should be proactive in seeking, challenging, and testing suitable people to be set apart for gospel work" (134). They conclude, "If these people are also godly servants of Christ who long for his kingdom, then why not headhunt them for a life of 'recognized gospel ministry'?" (140). This line of thinking is certainly controversial and needs more explanation.

Despite the issue over the internal call, The Trellis and the Vine is an amazing book that pastors, church leaders, and astute laymen need to read and digest. It can be a game-changer for churches who have lost the vision to build disciple-making disciples!

A cute and colorful book, had great ideas and pictures.

"The ministry mind-shift that changes everything. Mark Dever says "This is the best book I've read on the nature of church ministry. Al Mohler says "Its wisdom is invaluable. My advise: keep a good stack on hand at all times, and put this book to good use."

I found this work be Marshall and Payne very practicle. Looking forward to mini conference with these two on Nov 1st. "

After having several chunkier books chosen for our church's 'book of the term', this was an excellent choice which will be helpful to all those who attend our congregation: those who are young and mature in the faith. Simple, short, and very helpful. I'm hoping to set aside more time to pray before I go to church on Sundays, and especially to think more about conversations had after the service has ended.

I really enjoyed rethinking the entire ministry of the church around making disciples. Here are some of my favorite quotes:
Great commission makes disciple-making the normal agenda & priority of every church & every Christian disciple.
most churches need to make a conscious shift-away from erecting & maintaining structures & towards growing people
"the growth God is looking for in our world is growth in people...That's vine work. Everything else is trellis."
would someone observing from the outside say: "there is someone who has abandoned his life to Jesus Christ"?
"The gospel itself demands that we stand with our leaders and preachers in profound unity, teamwork and solidarity"
In the New Testament training is much more about Christian thinking & living than about particular skills or competencies.
The heart of training is not to impart a skill, but to impart sound doctrine...biblical training results in a godly life.
calling on the trainee to adopt not only his teaching, but also the way of life that necessarily flows from that teaching.
"the growth of the gospel happens in the lives of people, not in the structures of my church"
"we must be willing to lose people from our congregation if that is better for the growth of the gospel."
We see people not as cogs in our wheel...but...each at their own stage of gospel growth..& our goal is that they advance.
Pastor as trainer-His task is to teach&train his congregation by his word&life to become disciple-making disciples of Christ
"The essence of 'vine work' is the powerful, Spirit-backed speaking of the message of the Bible by one person to another"
"The goal of all Christian ministry, in all its forms, is disciple-making".
Training is personal & relational, & it takes time. It involves sharing not just skills, but also knowledge & character.

Nice rhythm to the telling of the story. Reoccurence of, "We'll see about that," is a great hook for young readers/listeners. All characters are nice and friendly and open to the protagonist's quest.

The foundational idea is sound, and there are many good suggestions. It rambles a bit and too often states the obvious. So many models of Christian ministry seem to be dedicated to the idea that everybody needs to be made busy, if not one way then another . The message is that you can't leave people alone to make adult decisions, and be in charge of their own development.

Perhaps the book wouldn't sell that simply says trust that if the Christian faith is true we can just be and enjoy life as it was meant to be in relationship with God, and that we do not always need to be driving ourselves or others. Books like this, even when I like parts, make me a little tired.

The metaphor is simple: the vine is the work of disciple-making and Christian growth; the trellis is the structure (programming, events, etc.) that allow for continued growth. Marshall and Payne call the church to return to its founding charge: make disciples. This commission wasn’t just for the apostles, nor is it merely directed towards today’s “professional” clergy. Through the ministry of Word (opening the scriptures) and Spirit (praying for God’s supernatural work), all believers are a part of the disciple-making process (outreach, follow-up, growth, training). In short, Marshall and Payne remind us that as the church we are all disciple-making disciples. This mindset shift, however, requires that church leaders (elders, teachers, ministers) see themselves as trainers, raising up other vine-workers. Pastors must see training as an essential element of their ministries (2 Tim. 2:2), and must understand ministry as people-centered rather than program-centered. Marshall and Payne are not arguing that trelliswork is bad. Rather, it is both good and necessary. However, the contemporary church has focused on structure and programming to the detriment of our actual call. A-½

A good book and well worth the read but not worth all the press that it recieved. These are old concepts restated as if they were earth-shattering, new, models for ministry.

The Trellis and The Vine is a book that the student executive of CU have been reading through in our meetings this year. Firstly let me explain the metaphor of the title.
To quote from the book, “the Vine is the Spirit-empowered word, spreading and growing throughout the world, bringing people out of the kingdom of darkness into the light-filled kingdom of God‟s beloved Son, and then bearing fruit in their lives as they grow in the knowledge and love of God. The vine is Jesus, and as we are grafted into him, we bear fruit.” (pg 37)
Therefore vine work is the work of watering and planting and helping people to grow in Christ. It is personal and requires much prayer, dependence on God, and requires us opening our mouths – speaking the word!
The trellis is essential to all Christian groups in some basic form as this gives us our administration and organisation. However trellises can become very complex and they have a tendency to take over from the vine work. We are always looking to maintain and improve our trellis and it‟s easier to do trellis work because it‟s less personally threatening. I would say I naturally am one of these people who slip into „trellis work‟ rather than vine work – there is a lot of it around – and I let it take over my time and energy.
However, to be a disciple is to be a disciple-maker so we are all actually vine-workers, not just some of us! In Matthew 28 Jesus says to his disciples “as you go, make disciples of every nation.” Jesus doesn‟t have two sorts of disciples: those who abandon their lives to his service and those who don‟t. The call to discipleship is the same for ALL. Unfortunately we often think in two categories. As this book says “We go to church, where we sing a few songs, try to concentrate on the prayers and hear a sermon. We chat to people afterwards, and then go home for a normal week of work or study or whatever it is we do, in time to come again next week. We might read our Bible and pray during the week. We may even attend a small group – or CU. But would someone outside say: “Look: there is someone who has abandoned his life to Jesus Christ and his mission?” Disciple-making and nurturing should be the life of every Christian disciple and every church. It is a change of mindset (a catchphrase in the book) from simply erecting and maintaining structures to the work of evangelism and assisting other Christians grow in holiness.
Something which really stood out to me in this book is the global view of the church and the work of the Gospel. There is a whole network of vine workers across the world and we shouldn‟t be trying to just hang onto those who are „ours‟ but look to share around in God‟s work.
The Trellis and The Vine emphasises a people-centred, Word-based approach to ministry. There are opportunities for ALL Christians to get involved with vine-work and the book suggests ideas in different contexts to think about. The Trellis and The Vine also emphasises a training approach for vine-workers. This is not just training in skills but in sound doctrine and godly living. There are details of how this could look like on a local level with the people already in our congregations and particularly through the MTS way of ministry apprenticeships.
I‟d say this is definitely worth a read - I‟m a big fan and have given away about 4 copies myself so far since reading it. There‟s lots of good details I haven‟t been able to highlight today. I‟d also recommend reading it with others and there is actually a discussion guide on the publisher website. Even if you don‟t read this book (at least for a while), I hope you‟ve been challenged by the main idea of trellis work vs vine work and whether you, like me, have been forced to thinking about whether you are serving God as the disciple-making and disciple-growing disciple!

Colin Marshall and Tony Payne's work has received praise from many leaders in the evangelical Christian realm, stating that it provides readers with very practical steps to establishing a more biblical view of how Christians and the "the Church" should live. The title is derived from the fact that in gardens, although the trellises may support the vines, the vines are the living member of such a pairing. Likewise, Christians are the living part of the Church, not the church facilities or the church programs. Every church, no matter how forward-thinking and outwardly focused, tends to use and reuse popular or formerly successful programs, even when the people who developed or made those programs "work" have moved on to other ministry opportunities.

This work leads the readers through the painful process of reshaping the church according to the skills and giftedness of the members. Truly finding the environment in which each Christian lives is emphasized repeatedly by Marshall and Payne. This emphasis avoids exploiting and burning out those Christians who are anxious to assist the church leaders in any task or committee position that needs to be filled. As Christians are trained by ministers to become "disciple-making disciples" and encouraged to reach out through ministries which fit them as individuals, the ministry of the church becomes more effective.

This work is directed toward Christians in the ministry, but every evangelical Christian who wishes to be used by God and therefore grow closer to Him would benefit from this book. The book's very manageable length and practicality, combined with its comprehensive view of the true Christian journey toward maturity, makes "The Trellis and The Vine" recommended reading for any person even slightly interested in its concepts.

Really good book. Well written, concise and hits the nail right on the head. Strong in presenting both their theory as well as the practice that ought to flow out of it. They cut right to the heart. Very convicting, very inspiring.

Interesting and well-written book that encourages churches to revisit how to reach the ultimate goal of spiritual growth in the world. To not just look at programs to grow the numbers in the church, but really look at relationships and purposeful discipling to encourage and foster spiritual growth. The biggest focus, which is shown with a biblical base, is that all disciples are disciple-makers. The move is away from the church-member as consumer. Some very good food for thought here, which members, pastors, elders, and lay-leaders will find challenging and probably encouraging.

This book will change the way of how the leadership in a church views Discipleship. It is one thing to read about it and quite another to implement what Payne & Marshall are suggesting. It is getting back to Biblical Discipleship.

A brilliant short booklet clearly and simply explaining the message of Christianity, in 6 points, with a piece of the Bible quoted to illustrate each point. A great booklet to give to those interested in finding out more about the claims of Jesus.