Reflections
from the Sword of the Spirit
International Coordinators Meetings
.
Lansing, Michigan USA -
May 27-30, 2016
Introduction
Over the last 12 years the Lord has
spoken very strongly to the Sword
of the Spirit about an open door
for mission and a special season of
grace, especially on the young people in
Sword of the Spirit. Given the
increasing difficulties and challenges
which Christians face around the word –
increasing religious persecution, drift
from Christian morality, breakdown of
marriage and family life – there
has been a growing sense of urgency
among Sword of the Spirit leaders to
work more closely together
internationally and regionally to
strengthen the work of building
Christian communities and preparing
community members to be fully engaged in
mission.
Every four years, since
2004, the coordinators from all of the
communities
in
the Sword of the Spirit have
gathered to seek the Lord together.
This past May 27-30 2016, some 400
coordinators and main Kairos leaders
met for four days in Lansing,
Michigan. They came from the 75
communities located in Asia, South
Pacific, Europe, Middle East, North
America, and Central and South
America.
The
overarching Scripture
verse for the
International Coordinators
Meeting (ICM) is from 1
Peter 2:9, ‘But you are a
chosen race, a royal
priesthood, a holy nation,
God’s own people, that you
may declare the wonderful
deeds of him who called
you out of darkness into
his marvelous light.’ The
Key topics and themes,
drawn from that scripture
verse, focused on Unity,
Holiness,
Mission/Proclamation, and
Spiritual Warfare.
The following
personal reflections from
some of the participants
give a sense of the personal
impact and highlights among
those who took part in the
recent gathering of
coordinators in Lansing. A
more detailed report of the
ICM will be featured in the
August Issue of Living
Bulwark.
some
400 leaders from 75 communities world-wide
were present at the ICM .
"The great cloud of
witnesses"
It was
such an honor and blessing to come and
attend the 2016 International
Coordinators’ Meeting here in East
Lansing, Michigan. First, it was fabulous
to see the “great cloud of witness” in our
work in the Sword of the Spirit. Sometimes
I get discouraged thinking how small,
isolated and insignificant the work we do
in New Zealand. But seeing and being part
of the Army of God in a very real way
through prayer, worship, fellowship,
playing sports, teaching and sharing
opened my eyes to see the significant role
we have in doing our part in building his
Kingdom here on earth. I had a great time
building terrific camaraderie and
brotherhood with my brothers in arms and
co-workers in the Lord’s vineyard.
God spoke to me strongly in three
areas:The first area is the unity God
wants for his people and how much I should
strive for building and maintaining unity
at all levels in my personal life, and in
my work and service. The second area that
God showed me where I can grow more is in
doing spiritual warfare. Lastly, God
revealed me how blessed and fortunate that
I am in the midst,and at the cutting
edge, of a work of ecumenism which the
Lord is doing among his people at this
time and age. Indeed, I now appreciate
more the time I live in where I can see
God’s amazing grace in action.
Ironically, it felt both like an oasis in
the desert and a dry ember being set on
fire – being refreshed and restored
spiritually but also being convicted to
act and move at the same time. God is
truly good!
Tom Caballes, Lamb
of God Community
New Zealand
"Lord, use me"
The
International Coordinators Meeting
(ICM) held in East Lansing
has been grace filled, and a blessed
opportunity to meet with many of the Sword
of the Spirit leaders from around the world,
some of whom I hadn’t seen for 15 or 20
years. One key highlight has been a stirring
address to the community leaders by Anton
Collela on our mission. [Anton is a
coordinator from Community of the Risen
Christ in Glasgow, WScotland.] Our mission,
which is fundamentally to present Jesus
Christ to a world dying in their need of him
is something that we as leaders cannot just
delegate to the young people among us. All
must be engaged in mission.
Anton
challenged each of us to pray a two word
prayer “Use me!” As leaders we need to lead
from the front in our mission. But the Lord
also spoke to the leaders on Sunday night at
our prayer meeting to not be those who would
hold back our younger brothers and sisters
in their own part of the mission. Rather, we
are to rejoice as we see them in their own
right as saints, missionaries and martyrs
take up the call and mission of our people.
May the Lord indeed do this in our midst.
Bruce
Franson, Word of Life Community and
Servants of the Word,
Ann Arbor, Michigan USA
An imperative to be a
missionary in tune with the Holy Spirit
"This has been a blessed time at the ICM -
rich times of prayer and worship together,
excellent teaching, testimony and fellowship.
A couple of things that have particularly
struck me... One was Bishop Mike Byrnes
speaking ( at his homily during Sunday's
Catholic Mass) - He said that the
Holy Spirit acts as a 'centrifugal force'
always driving us outwards, bringing his
life to others.
Another
was an image from some testimony and
discussion .. the Lord has told us to go out
into the deep as fishers,not sailors.
I have experienced a growing call - a sense of
the imperative of the need to be a missionary
- whether it be planned, focused mission work
or spontaneous appointments set up by God. I
pray that my 'spiritual antennae' will be
tuned into the promptings of the Holy Spirit -
to be ready to pass God's love and His message
of hope and life to others.Thank God for a
great ICM."
John Hampsey, Community of the Risen
Christ,
Glasgow, Scotland
“Knitted together” in
brotherly love
I
recently attended the ICM and was
touched by many things.
The Worship: I feel very
blessed every time I attend the ICM
because of the corporate spirit of
praise. There is nothing quite like
praying with 400 men who are baptized in
the Spirit, who love the Lord, and who
are from so many different countries.
The praise we had reminds me of the way
saints and angels pray in heaven
(Revelation 4:8; 11; 5:9; 5:12). I
was particularly moved by the Sunday
night prayer meeting. We had a blessed
time that focused on words
of knowledge - which I
have hoped would be included at the ICM
for many years.
Brotherhood and
Relationships: I am blessed
to know so many people around the world.
As always, I met a significant number of
new men and I was able to connect with
men I have known for 45 years—but many
who I only see at the ICM’s. I was the
only American in my small group. It was
a real international experience. I was
grateful to hear their stories about
their personal conversion and their way
of life.
I am deeply grateful to the Lord for the
great work he has done in all of the
men—the ones I just met and the ones I
have known for what seems like 400
years. I feel the same kind of “knitted
together” brotherly love with these men
that David had with Jonathan (1 Samuel
18:1). I am also very grateful for the
way they are giving their lives to God.
Teachings:
The themes selected for each
day—holiness, unity, warfare, and
mission—were appropriate because they
identified the delicate balance we all
face as we try to follow and serve the
Lord. Holiness is setting ourselves
apart for the Lord. Holiness moves us to
“love one another” and live in unity.
These are God’s marks. At the same time
holiness moves us to go out.
We
are all called to go on mission. Paul
said, “Devote yourselves to  prayer
and pray that doors will open so that
you can evangelize.” The he said, “Be
wise in the way you act, make the most
of every opportunity, and be ready with
good answers to questions new people
will have” (Colossians 4:2-6). In short,
the talks urged us to find the right
balance between the inward and the
outward, between community building and
evangelization.
Gratitude:
Finally, I want to personally thank all
the people who put in countless hours to
make this conference so effective. For
me, it was the best ICM yet! I purposely
did not name any one person till now.
But now, I want to take a moment to
honor and thank Steve Clark, who I first
met when I was 18—45 years ago. Over the
years Steve has had in incredible
influence over my life and I was glad to
spend some time with him on Monday.
May the Lord bless our communities and
have them more closely resemble the way
we were told in “Acts 2:42-47.”
Joe Difato, Spirit of Christ
Community,
Jacksonville, Florida USA
A great bond of unity and joy together In terms of the conference the
worship times were excellent, the teachings,
life-giving and the sharing group I
participated in very honest and supportive.
What will I take away from it (other than
too many extra pounds…), the encouragement
of time with brothers travelling the same
journey, refreshment for my spirit and an
inspiration to be more effective in
evangelism. Thank you to all those who
served selflessly to enable this conference
to run so smoothly. God Bless.
Mark Challies, Lamb of God
Community
New Zealand
Refreshed
and transformed
Jeroen
Geleyn, Jerusalem Community,
Belgium
 A witness of God's
limitless power and love
at work
I had an imagined that as I
arrived I would see my many friends from my
youth and we'd greet each other and catch
up. I'd be encouraged and we'd talk about
the old days and share a laugh about when I
traveled in high school visiting other youth
groups in the US and then as a young man
doing a year of missionary service in Europe
after UCO.
But when I first walked into the meeting
room I was overwhelmed with the sense of
God's power at work among us. It was
tangible. I could definitely feel it. These
leaders from all over world were a group of
not just my young friends but also older men
who have impacted my life since I was a
youth, across all ages, and then even those
younger than me.
Immediately I felt the power of God present
among these men like it was a heat lamp. And
I knew I had to tap into that power of God
in order to be taken to the next level in my
service and leadership.
Honestly I came in spiritually limping in
many ways into this conference. One brother
asked us to imitate each other. I thought, I
am not an example myself, compared to these
brothers, I am not worthy of imitation.
Christ is worthy to be imitated, but I've
got large areas of weakness. But then again
I thought that in this room my brothers
individually, like me may be limping.
Collectively, as a body united together as
brothers in Christ, we can be a witness of
God's limitless power and love
at work in each other.
That awareness off my need for greater
strength and that of my weaknesses, prepared
me for Sunday night's ministry time. And I
felt and heard God speaking to my weaknesses
and repairing my heart and mind for the
service that I return to in the days ahead.
Jon Luea, Work of Christ Community,
Lansing, Michigan USA
several fathers and sons
who attended the ICM
Blessing of unity and common
mission
God has tremendously blessed us in the Sword
of the Spirit. It was great to see, hear,
and experience what the Lord is doing around
the globe through our unity and common
mission. This is
not a common experience nor natural because
only the Lord can join us together as one.
With many brothers and sisters in Christ
from many nations, cultures, races, and
Christian denominations - all sharing
together our rich experience of being united
together in Christ. This is a real living
testimony of God's grace at work in the
Sword of the Spirit communities.
Jim Orbe, Ligaya ng Paginoon and
Servants of the Word,
Manila, Philippines
We
were challenged to engage in more
personal evangelism
One
of the most powerful aspects of the
conference for me has been the small group
time. My group was half younger leaders and
half older leaders, with about an average of
thirty years separating the two groups.
During our four sessions together, we
experienced the Lord speaking to us through
one another. We were able to be very honest
with one another, and found that we all
struggle with many of the same difficulties
in our lives and service. We prayed over one
another several times, and everyone agreed
that our group time was very special; the
Lord was present with us. We concluded with
a discussion about mission and evangelism,
and we were all personally challenged to
engage in more evangelism ourselves and we
return home.
Jon Wilson, Word of Life Community,
Ann Arbor, Michigan USA
Striving
for unity in the bond of peace
"The
Lord has always exhorted us his people to
discern the ‘times and seasons’ in which we
are living in - like the tribe of Issachar,
who never flagged in that ardent task.
But that is easily said than done. However, I
thank and praise the Lord that at every ICM,
through the prophetic gifts, He has made this
task easy for us in the Sword of the Spirit.
At this ICM, He has made it very clear, that
we are to make this a 'season' to ‘strive’ to
keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond
of peace: to redouble our efforts in our
ecumenical endeavors. Second, the Lord has
revealed to us that we are to expect the
Church to be drawn in to a more intense
spiritual battle worldwide, and that we as
Sword of the Spirit are to respond and prepare
ourselves for this battle, courageously and
fearlessly - knowing at the same time, that we
can trust in his promises of deliverance, in
the midst of these testing times. Thirdly,
this is is to be a 'time' for us in the Sword
of the Spirit to garner all our resources and
energies to engage with a resolute urgency, in
the proclamation of the Gospel - both
corporately as local communities, as well as
in our personal capacities, on 'one on
one' evangelism - expecting the Lord to
confirm his Word, through signs and
wonders."
Romeo Fernando, Community of the Good
Shepherd
Vasai, India
Blessing of life together in covenant
community
One of the things that impressed me at the ICM
was the cumulative investment made by the men
attending the ICM over the years in response
to God's call to them to build and lead
covenant communities. Each of the men
attending the ICM have given generously of
their time, abilities, finances, and so much
more over the course of many years in response
to this call. Yet even this offering,
this sacrifice, is so far outweighed to the
blessings God has poured out upon us in our
life together.
Dallas Burkholder, Word of Life,
Ann Arbor, Michigan USA
Unity and mission together
This year's ICM was a truly
blessed event where, I believe, all of us
experienced the Lord's presence in so many
ways: in our times of worship (the music
team did a great job leading us in singing
songs in both English and Spanish),
through prophetic words received (I was
personally struck by the Lord's assurance
that his power and grace were especially
available in these times of darkness),
during times of fellowship when old
friendships were rekindled and new
acquaintances made.
The
four major plenary talks made deep
impressions on us, but for me, Dave Hughes
("Unity") and Anton Colella ("Mission")
brought fresh and powerful perspectives on
topics that would otherwise have been
ho-hum.
This ICM
has been described by a good number of
brother-coordinators as being "the best" so
far; I tend to agree. Maybe we have had
three ICM's and so know what works (and what
doesn't). Maybe it's because the conference
venue served its purpose admirably. Maybe
it's the presence of so many younger men
(coordinator-trainees; Kairos leaders) while
we still have the "giants" around (Steve
Clark, Jean Barbara, John Keating among
others). Maybe it's Ken Noecker's excellent
presiding at all the sessions. Maybe ...
everything.
To be
honest, before the ICM I thought that such
an event, involving much expense, time and
energy, was not worth the effort. Now I am
convinced otherwise: what a time of grace,
spiritual ministry, and brotherly love!
May the ICM's long continue!
Jake Yap, Servants of the Word and Ligaya
ng Paginoon,
Manila, Philippines
Transforming power of
prayer for mission
As at
previous ICM’s, it was very inspiring to
meet with brothers from all over the world
who are engaged in the same call and mission
as we are in Pittsburgh and North America.
My discussion group included brothers from
the Phillipines, Ireland, Mexico and USA.
The fellowship was refreshing, the talks
inspiring and the worship uplifting. I was
especially struck by Anton Colella’s talk on
mission and the power of the simple prayer
“use me” to transform our lives. I have been
praying that prayer often since hearing the
talk.
Joe Doyle, People of God,
Pittsburgh,
USA
A bulwark of radical disciples on
mission
For me, the Lord’s power was evident at the
ICM. He spoke his word to us the first night
about holiness, not making excuses, and
obeying him even when we suffer. The gifts
of the Spirit were more manifest than any
Sword of the Spirit conference that I’ve
attended, particularly words of knowledge.
Brotherhood from all over the world was
genuine, a real blessing for me. It was an
honor to see hundreds of brothers from all
over the world, each building their part of
the wall (the bulwark). It’s incredible to
see communities, after years of
faithfulness, make their commitment as full
members of the Sword of the Spirit. May the
Lord continue to form us as life-long
radical disciples together who have been
entrusted with such a wonderful mission.
Jeff Smith, Triumph of the Cross,
Maryland, USA
Coordinators from
Ligaya community in Manila at the ICM
God's refreshing presence
and profound unity
I experienced a profound sense of God's
refreshing presence throughout the ICM; not only
at the sessions, but at everything we did
together. I think some of this flowed from the
profound unity present among all the men there
from around the world. It was a concrete example
of Psalm 133, the scripture we reflected on
during the first session.
Ken
Dorman, People of God,
Pittsburgh, USA
A great encouragement
to grow
I experienced
the ICM conference as an encouragement to
grow in three specific areas: spiritual,
practical and relational. The first area is
personal spiritual growth: The
witness of many other men from around the
world praying, teaching and sharing a common
vision inspired me to give myself in a more
committed way to the Lord. I had an
experience of being called "to approach the
throne of the Lord" more often in my own
life.
The second areas is growth in
relationships: I was able to reconnect
with men whom I have served with in Mexico
and New Zealand. My roommate at the
conference was a man I got to know ten years
ago while living together in a Christian
household in Mexico. I was also able to
connect with many of the Kairos leaders whom
I have served with on YES retreats for the
past few years.
The third is a more practical area for
growth in witnessing to young people:
The "sounds bites" talk by James Munk was
very insightful and we had a great session
in learning how to come up with inspiring
one liners that are easy to remember and
which invite youth to think deeper.
Philip
Quense, People of
Hope,
New
Jersey, USA
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