The Dream of Church Multiplication

Earthshine

Aaron Mansfield — Sat, 22 Aug 2026 11:25:53 GMT

Neil Highley is The Summer Grinch. Known him for close to 30 years and did not know til breakfast yesterday that he hates summer. He said, and I quote, "it's hot, expensive, and unpredictable."

The number of times Dan Jackson and I have had to fight our way out of a Denny's... well, it's none, but I have a feeling it could happen. Orlando or Austin, that's where I bet it will go down. That's why we started travelling with Josh Barker--backup.

Silas Woodall has us all beat. My man is 3 and he finished his 90 day Bible. I want in on his plan, but HIS MOM WON'T LET ME BORROW HIS KIDS' BIBLE!!!

Dr. Benjamin Bowman has a new book out, Leading Beyond Limits. Go snag a copy. It's a framework for disciple-making... well, you know that's all I think about, so that is how I apply it. But I have noticed a shift in my thinking reading the book: there's a challenge to engage the next steps in my leadership journey. How I lead is, in key ways, a conscious choice. Here's how it started. I served a mission church that had a dream team. Some of you know the people... Martina Ockerman, Rosario Picardo, Chad Brooks, Sara Smith, Andres Doimeadios, Osman Santos. Other names probably not as familar... Ben Carson, Leo Bartlett, Kenny Butts, Ruth Stewart. These were key leaders who were force multipliers. The church grew thru mission, evangelism, and church planting. They were all there in stages and I thought, what if we had all stayed in one place as an All-Star team and... and... we would have capped out. A variety of factors would have hampered us. Location. The financial capacity of the neighborhood. Parking. And the big one: that would not have been Jesus' way. We were given to each other for a time. Somewhere, somehow in that season, I realized that what Jesus was calling me to was to give it away. I was being called to invest in people who would leave. That was going to be the only way to grow the Kingdom. I simply do not know the number of churches that have been planted by the people who left. And I definitely do not know the conversions and disciple-making that have happened. I do know it is orders of magnitude greater than what could have happened if we kept it all on North Limestone Street.
I committed to more than delegation. I committed to giving away not just time and effort in disciple-making, but giving away authority and resources. We had a mission church that needed a miracle in the offering plate every Sunday. We gave the last $9000 we had to our janitor to go plant a church. Sounds foolish, right? Lesson learned: A SPIRITUAL CHURCH CANNOT BE STARVED OUT.

Along the way I had to overcome lots of fears: that giving away is losing. Fear of a lack of importance as people you invest in get the attention. Fear of losing the resources you have (personnel, financial). Look, church people hate to send people and money away to places they won't see. Let me promise you, as much anxiety as it causes the church member, it bothers the pastor more! And yet is so true: it's not a church's seating capacity; it’s the sending capacity that matters.

Here's the selfish part! Lest anyone think I am The Man™️, let me say, I have learned so much from the people sent out. I wasn't in their lives to show them the way, I was there to wind them up, provide the platform for them to do what God had put on their hearts.

My dad used to say something that rings truer now than it ever has. And he knows a thing or two about leadership, retired Air Force general. He has said, "Leaders aren't born, they're made." Yes, there are latent giftings. But it is in the crucible that the dross is skimmed off and the pure metal is refined.

Now the question is this, the question prompted by Ben's book: where do I go from here? What is God refining in me? I know the vaguest outline: it won't be soft or easy. It won't be the path of least resistance. It won't be cheap.

In ancient days, to refine silver, you heated it to melting repeatedly. Each time, you skimmed off the impurities floating on the molten metal. Repeat. The test for pure silver in those days: how well could you see your reflection in the liquid? So, I imagine God putting me in the crucible, skimming off the dross, looking to see more and more of Him reflected in me... a line from my favorite band....

My borrowed face
And my third-hand grace
Only reflect your glory.

Yo soy un hombre sincero

Aaron Mansfield — Wed, 05 Aug 2026 11:14:13 GMT

There is a line in the song Guantanamera:
El arroyo de le sierra
Me complace mas que el mar

A mountain stream
Is more pleasing to me than the ocean

It is one of those lines that sticks with me. It was one of my mom's favorite songs, and I used to tease her about it, warbling it super dramatically until she would tell me to stop. I listen to the song a lot now, and more and more I just love it. The words are by Cuba's most famous poet, José Marti. It's not just some ditty.

Anyway, that line I quoted strikes me. I think it's true when I am in the North Fork of Triplett Creek, perhaps in my favorite spot, where you can smell the hemlocks that indicate you are in a very cool microclimate, and the water drums like so many toms across the rocks... then, yes, a mountain stream is the best. But then here, on the beach... I like the beach better.

The introspection is different on the beach than in the mountaim stream. Neither better nor worse, just different. Maybe it's the relentless, redounding surf. Maybe it's the horizon.
Here's what I am thinking. I had a geology professor at Southern Miss. She died a few months ago. In her class, my project was on barrier islands. Specifically, longshore erosion, where sand is slowly moved from one end to the other.
In those days, I was a pretty brash (read: jerk) atheist. I could not believe she was a Christian. Seriously? A geologist? I was actually kind of offended and I said so. (I know, I know. None of you can imagine me ever saying anything like what I think without much filter.) Her response was soft but withering. In fact, she sent me down a path that was a huge part in my conversion to Christianity. Here's how it went. We had a rock garden with some 3.8 billion year old rocks, some of the oldest on the planet. I made my remarks how can she be a Christian and study such old rocks yada yada yada. She said something like this, "Huh. An English major who can't read well enough to understand what Genesis is saying."
Bro. That was harsh. But to this day, I challenge people to read Genesis 1 and 2 and tell me what it says! When I look at what people respond with, and grade it based on reading comprehension, average grade is a D.
Very few--very few-- can tell you what Genesis says without importing either certain theological commitments on one hand, or on the other hand, they smuggle in all kinds of modern presuppositions.
What Genesis 1 and 2 SAYS is an amazing revelation when you strip away everything you think it says or doesn't say. We can get to what you think it means by what it says, but not until you stop tripping over everything that keeps you from letting it speak without constantly interrupting Moses.
So yeah, barrier islands and a geology class, part of my strange trip to get to Jesus.

Random Notes

Aaron Mansfield — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 13:34:43 GMT

Why do old guys always have the worst tools? I mean worst as in: they will get the job done, but it is going to take a lot of effort. It may even be the best way to do it, but the problem is the job itself. There ain’t no easy way.
John Philley in Morehead got a big kick out of telling me in my first week there that the Trustees needed me to get to work hacking out the vines along the creek… using a Kaiser blade. He was from Indianola, MS. He laughed and said he figured an ol’ Mississippi boy wouldn’t mind using a Kaiser blade. Man, I am going to tell you, been there done, that, not going back.
Steve McKinney loaned me his dethatcher 5 years ago. Want it back, Steve-O? Didn’t think so.
Dan Jackson let me borrow his iron digger, spud bar, javelin of doom, whatever you want to call it, so I could dig out in the ice storm. Afterwards, I was thinking, I could have just stayed iced in, honestly. It’s in my garage. Gonna have to hitch up the team and wagon and get it back to him.
Randy Deitrich has the blues. Be nice to him. No, it’s not because the Pirates stink, he’s used to that. At this point in history, it’d be lunacy to even be upset about the Pirates. It’s because David Jeremiah did the awesome preacher thing where you take a passage no one reads because they skip it on purpose (infectious skin diseases in Leviticus, for example, or, dare I say, the geneaology in Matthew) but then the crafty preacher pulls some deep thing out of it and we are all dismayed that we avoided a particular part of Scripture. This time, though, it was Randy’s dread: 2 Chronicles 1-9. You have been with me through a sermon series on Matthew: NEVER skip the genealogy!
I missed a HUGE opportunity last night. HUGE. I am a little dismayed. Got a phone call late. Did not recognize the number, a Florida number. Usually would not answer, wait for a message, but it was way late. Maybe an emergency. So I answer, get an automated message an inmate is placing a call to me. Huh? Who knows? Maybe someone I came across some time. I wait for the spiel to finish, then a voice says Hello? I say I think you may have the wrong number. There is a little confusion. Then he says he is sorry, not sure how he wrote the number down wrong. I hang up.
Within seconds, I am thinking, “Why didn’t I tell him I am a pastor, would love to pray with him?!!!!” The upside, it has prompted me to pray to be ready for the next person God puts in my path.
Our house group is going to reproduce... again. About a month or so ago, Drew Jordan went out to start a new one in his apartment. Josh and Casey Barker will take a few with him in August. That is 4 times this group has reproduced. The challenge is: will the groups that start also reproduce? WE NEED THAT MULTIPLICATION ENERGY!!!!
I am the evangelist at Ruggles Camp Meeting this week. There is a woman here, Minnie Doyle. Monday night was her 95th birthday. She sang God Bless America with a still powerful voice. She is a great singer. She was Jimmie Rose's song leader for many of his 600 revivals. Jimmie was an evangelist Jessie and I got to know about 15 years ago and we had a great relationship. I was third in line to preach his funeral, but Jimmie outlived the first two and that deep honor fell to me. To have Minnie Doyle here is both intimidating and encouraging.
I am preaching holiness. Samuel Brengle said that sanctification will make us disciple-making evangelists, because sanctification is loving God with all our heart mind soul and strength, and that means obeying Him and telling others of all He has done for us and inviting them to trust Him, too! And sanctification is loving our neighbor as ourselves, wanting the best for them, and not only is Jesus the best, He is the only thing we really need.

In Praise of Alice Dervigny

Aaron Mansfield — Sat, 04 Jul 2026 16:08:30 GMT

It is 4th of July and so it is the time I reflect on a particular family story.

My great-gradfather, Jean Arnal, was born outside Laruns, France in 1890. Maybe 89. Laruns is part of what has historically been Gascony, the Texas of France. He was from a part of it called Béarn. (Porthos, of Three Musketeers fame, is from there.) It is in the Pyrenees Mountains. He came to America in 1910, seeing no future in France except as a shepherd. He landed in San Francisco. In 1914, World War I broke out. France called her sons home to fight. Threatened, actually: if they did not return, they would never be allowed back. Pepé, as we called him, said, "No one tells me I cannot go back to France."

(His WWI army portrait)

So he fought through the whole war, til 1918.
For context, France suffered greatly in that war; 4.2 million wounded, 1.2 million dead. 70% casualty rate. That Pepé came through unscathed...
Towards the end of the war, the last few days... a dangerous time for him. He was hiding in a shell hole, waiting for dark so he could crawl back to French lines. Suddenly three Germans popped into the hole! One raised his gun to shoot, the sergeant stopped him, and motioned for him to flee. "So I run like a jack rabbit. Those Germans, they weren't all bad."
But earlier... he was captured. I think maybe 1915, but my dad will need to check the photograph. And even that may not tell us; it was a headshot of a performer. There were some French circus performers entertaining in some villages in German-controlled territory. Somehow, they slipped my great-grandfather in as a performer and he was able to escape. The woman who ran the show was named Alice Dervigny. I don't have any idea who the German NCO was who let Pepé go, but it is kind of wild to see a photo of the woman who helped your great-grandfather escape being a POW.
In the army he met some brothers who thought he was an ok guy. They had a sister. After the war they met. She too was from the Pyrenees, her village Mauléon-Licharre not 50 miles from his. But it may as well have been a world away... huge mountains, not-so-good roads, and a Basque village. An entirely different language and culture. He had to travel a world away, come back to fight a war, just to meet a girl who was 50 miles away the whole time, Maria Arbuès.

(Memé and Pepé, probably the 50s?)

They came to America in 1920. God Bless America. There's no place like it. Everyone is trying to get here. Even the loudmouths who say they hate the country, it's terrible, etc... funny... they don't leave. Maybe it's because they have the freedom to be stupid? I knew a man who worked hard to get here twice. Came once, had to leave, came back because he knew it was the future.

Great-grandfather, grandmother holding moi, my mom, great-grandmother, 1970.

House Groups and Spiritual Growth

Aaron Mansfield — Wed, 01 Jul 2026 17:55:59 GMT

Here is what a House Group is:

People who meet together. Probably in a house, but not necessarily.

They spend an appropriate time in fellowship, perhaps eating a meal together. But this time is not the most important or the bulk of the time.

They share how they have seen God at work in their lives in the last week.

They read a short passage of Scripture. Someone reads out loud, perhaps multiple translations are read. Then spend time silently reading it again, meditating on the passage.

Then as many as are comfortable share an answer to this question: "what is the Spirit saying to you?" This is not Bible study in the sense of cross-referencing passages, sharing what a scholar may have said, etc. This is what is asks, "what is the Spirit saying to you?"

Then comes the most important part, the disciple-making question: "What are you going to do about it?" Whatever the Spirit prompted in you, what must you do in obedience to the Word of God? Not generally do, feel, or think, but what concrete action that you can tell us about next week?

Then the group shares prayer requests and prays for one another. Perhaps there is more fellowship time.

Now, here is what happens. The group grows in love and support for one another, even to challenging each other when a behavior we want to justify can't be sustained by Scripture. That support becomes pastoral. The members care for one another beyond prayer and encouragement. They help each other move. Find resources for help. Just recently one member of our group had a family tragedy. Group members took meals and visited. Now that is all standard stuff a church should do. But if we are not well-connected to others beyond Sunday, that kind of pastoral care may be lacking. Sunday Schools do this pastoral job well. Where I think the house group takes it a little further is in two ways. First, a house group is much more open and accessible to newcomers and nonbelievers. Second, it has an explicit purpose to reproduce. Our group has reproduced twice, and is about to again.

During this family crisis, I as the pastor was actually not needed. The house group was doing the work! My presence was just extra. I was so proud of them!

Reading the Bible in 90 days

Aaron Mansfield — Mon, 29 Jun 2026 22:16:40 GMT

Dr. Deitrich has read through the Bible 20-something times. He jumped in on the 90-day challenge when I brought it up soon after I came to pastor Trinity Hill. There is a standing gag where he sends me a text when he gets to the day he has to start 1 Chronicles. It's the hardest day, he says.

A couple weeks ago, I asked him to write down some thoughts, some observations after reading through the Word a number of times. Perhaps it will inspire you to read the Bible all the way through at a pace that lets you keep track of the flow. You would never watch a movie or football game at the pace we normally are taught to read the Bible. You'd never read a mystery novel a few sentences at a time. You'd never finish. It's important to read it at a quick enough pace that you don't forget what happened in Numbers by the time you get to Psalms and forget Isaiah when you get to the Gospels...

So here is what Dr. Deitrich shared with me about what he has gleaned from his numerous read-throughs.
1. How little I know or understand
2. How the whole story fits together
3. Each new journey leads to new revelations
4. Using different translations lends a different perspective each time
5. As I read, I always have a highlighter handy. And even if I have used the translation before, new insights pop up that I highlight
6. So many wonderful stories in the Old Testament
7. Wonderful way to start each day
8. No great theological statements; just a simple man enjoying the Word. I hope I learn and retain something each read through.
Dr. Deitrich ends with: Keep reading!!!

Mental and Environmental Change

Aaron Mansfield — Sat, 20 Jun 2026 01:29:27 GMT

House Group has been rocking. New people coming: Luke and Alison; Zach and Shelby; and Caleb.
3 people in the group have powerful testimonies of getting sober.
Prayers are being answered. One fellow has not been in his daughter's life for years. His own fault, he'll tell you that. He was very pessimistic that the court would start the process of his getting to see his girl. He has been working hard to get his life back together, and yes, the court has started the process whereby he can take steps to be back in his daughter's life.
Casey gave me permission to share this with her name. Her record has been expunged. She said in so much praise, "I won't ever have to explain that on a job application ever again." Isn't that just like Jesus, to expunge our record? Does the Word not say in Colossians, "And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross." I rejoice that I am part of the biggest jailbreak in history, and still running!
We had smoked chicken, caprese salad, watermelon, a yogurt and fruit salad, and Shelby brought a peach crumble. I say this so that Ben's group will start to demand some changes; he doesn't love them like I love my group.
This is all a House Group is:
Meet once a week.
Eat together if you want to.
Share how God has been at work.
Read a short passage of Scripture.
Ask and answer 2 questions of the Scripture: What is the Spirit saying to you? and then the crucial disciple-making question: what are you going to do about what the Spirit has said to you?

Tonight, we focused on the lost coin in Luke 15. I have been captivated by a provocative question: what if there is a subtext in the three parables in Luke 15, which is, "how did you lose that?" Your sheep. Your coin. Your son. And when you got him back, realizing you had lost your other son. I am not saying I agree, have not thought it through, but it really opens up the parables.
Anyway, tonight, the Spirit seemed to be telling us that next week, we need to light the lamp and sweep. We need to have a crew who will celebrate with us.

A number of years ago, I realized something. I could not avoid it any longer. Too many pastors I respected and loved, from the big boys like Wesley and Luther and W.E. Sangster down to pastors known only to their congregations and fellow preachers, they all were in accord that the most effective part of your day and work would be giving mornings to the Lord. I finally broke down because I saw it. I saw that I was facing diminishing returns. More work, less fruit. Serious time given to prayer, study, and the "hard, flinty thinking," as W.E. Sangster said, was needed to be effective as a pastor.
I don't do it as well as I'd like. But I think I am about 75% consistent. This summer has been a reset. I can point to some practical things: I am not preaching as much this summer. I will miss it, but I am ok giving up the pulpit for others to exercise their gift. That has really opened some space. It has hit me hard the past few weeks that really, it's the Lord. How do I say he has stirred up Michael and Riley and Carol to bring a word? And in doing that, He has had more of my attention? Or in prompting Jane-Margaret to push for the 90-day Bible-reading challenge to be brought back?
What does a dirtbag do in meditation? Because that is a part of the dirtbag life, dreaming of all that you will do with the obsession you are giving time and treasure to; making plans; asking what if?; basking in the simple joys that will come when the tasks are done and mission has freedom. I have a cousin whose parents were distraught when he lost his job because he did not show up for a few days because the waves were good for surfing in Santa Cruz. That's how we want to be for Jesus. Not losing your job, but recognizing what is most important, and going after it. (And I hate that I have to say this for one of you, this is no longer about surfing. It never was. Just forget I mentioned surfing.)
A lot of prayer. This has been so good, so joyful. I do not mean to be weird or offensive, but it's like being high. If I drank it would ruin my buzz. God has been meeting me with a supernatural joy.
Scripture. No surprise there, eh? Three things... Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon.
Proverbs: a lifetime is not enough to gain wisdom. Just because someone is aged, doesn't mean they are wise. Wisdom comes from God. Let me just say, you don't read Proverbs enough. Riley does, though, and she preached a good sermon on it.
Ecclesiastes: this book makes nothing but sense when you realize you are reading Solomon's meditations on life lived without God, and life lived with Him.
Song of Solomon: if nothing else, Song of Solomon can teach you how to read the Bible. What I mean is this: to understand Song of Solomon, you have to do the most difficult and yet most important thing in serious reading: get rid of all preconceived notions you bring to a text. You can wonder about those things later, but first, you have to read it as it is. Song of Solomon is inscrutable because we are perverts. At one and the same time, to read Song of Solomon, you have to not import any of the salaciousness of our culture... that means not giggling at something suggestive in it AND not forcing a symbolic meaning on it bc you might giggle otherwise. Song of Solomon may be the most challenging book to just let it be what it is and say what it says, and you probably won't get it unless you clear your mind. Just let it be. And then, it will reveal to you deep things of God and His love, and Jesus.
And you're thinking here it comes, a sermon series on Song of Solomon. Maybe. Definitely thinking about stewardship... how do we become dirtbags? How will we give all can to our obsession?

A Pretty Good Monday

Aaron Mansfield — Tue, 16 Jun 2026 00:00:30 GMT

Taking a few minutes here at UK Hospital, visited the baby and mom we prayed for in service. The baby is greatly improved. Keep praying.

My son tells me, "Pépé [my great-grandfather from France] went through a lot so you could have First World Problems." Indeed he did. He came to the U.S. for the first time in 1910, when he was about 20. Then World War I broke out and France called her sons home, warning if they did not return to fight, they would not be allowed to ever return. So he fought through that horrible war. He met some brothers who introduced him to their sister, my great-grandmother. The thing is, their villages were maybe 50 miles apart, but he had to come to America and fight a war to meet her. They came back in maybe, 1921 or 24. J'ai la mémoire qui flanche, je me souviens plus très bien, as the song says. They built a good life in America.

There's some context to my son's comment. Jessie was mildly amused, and Nadia horrified, that I bought a bag of red wigglers, the Cadillac of worms, for my compost heap. My son was laughing at my expense, that I have such a prosperous life I am buying worms for compost. The best compost I ever had was the year worms found it and turned almost all of it into worm castings. Here's the coolest word you didn't know: drilosphere: the part of the earth that has passed through a worm's gut. You won't survive without the drilosphere.
I am a total hipster. I have been composting for 35 years. That seems so weird to say. I am sure there are faster, better ways to do it than I do. Well, I know there are, I've done it. But what I have settled into is, when it comes to compost, perennials, fruit trees, investing, and disciple-making, if you are patient, you will win. You knew it had to come back to disciple-making, didn't you?

Bouncing around all day... youth group is doing Monday service/missions and today was awesome. A prayer tent on the corner! Water, lemonade, praise and worship music, waving signs saying Honk for Jesus...

Met with a couple I knew from Morehead who want to join the church. Amazing to see them grow from kids to adults working on Ph.D.s The wife is a soil scientist, so she got to hear about my worms.

Martin Luther said that an old man planting a tree is an act of faith... he won't eat its fruit, but it will live on. Indeed! I had a correspondence with Uwe Holmer, a Lutheran pastor who let the communist dictators Erich and Margot Honecker live with him when East Germany collapsed-- they were homeless! Even the Russians didn't want them, they were that toxic. They had persecuted him and his family, but Pastor Holmer saw a chance to witness to the grace of the Lord. Pastor Holmer told me that in 2017, the 500th anniversary of The Reformation, he was going to plant 95 apple trees in honor of Luther's 95 Theses. He planted them in a Christian retreat center called Lobetal, which means "Praise Valley." The purpose of an apple tree is not to produce apples... it's to produce more apple trees! It is about--dare I say it-- multiplication!
It takes time for compost to recondition weak and worn-out soil. But when it does, the soil holds moisture in dry times and releases nutrients in forms the plant can use.
You plant a few perennials, like I have in my yard... Hollyhocks, Easter lillies, Black-eyed Susans, and if you will wait, a few plants take over and you have an explosion of color. Plant some fruit trees and some berries and you will eat well for decades.
Making disciples is a lot of keeping your head down and getting after it. And one day you look up and lives are changed, churches are planted, suddenly the Kingdom took over... it's like a man who plants a seed, and night and day whether he sleeps or gets up, it grows. There is no need to try to speed any of it up. That said, I am the most impatient patient person you know.

When You Pray For Workers in the Harvest, You Get 'Em

Aaron Mansfield — Sat, 30 May 2026 11:14:45 GMT

More important than a target date to launch a church’s weekly worship is to launch based on readiness. With some discernment the Holy Spirit will lead you when the time is right. So the skeleton version of launching 3D Church out of Trinity Hill: monthly “preview” worship with evangelistic outreach, discipleship, and “comeback events” in between. When there’s critical mass, launch.

At the Lexington Recovery Community's Memorial Day Picnic, 3D Church had a booth. It was a really great day of outreach. Thanks to Trinity Hill peeps Kevin and Calisa Fitzpatrick; Gregg, PJ, and Georgia Danhires; and Nadia and Jessie for jumping in. Hope I did not forget anyone!
I want to share a wild story, one that shows you never know how God is going to work.
So, Josh, the guy who is leading 3D Church, was locked up about 15 years ago in a small town in Western Kentucky. A deputy sheriff took a liking to him and would remind him that God loved him and had a plan for him. When he got out and did not have a place to go, the deputy let him stay with him for a while while Josh got things sorted out.
Fast forward to the Memorial Day picnic. A guy is walking around, and he and Josh recognize each other. It is the deputy's son, who has had some issues, is in recovery from addiction, and looking for a church.
One of the guys sojourning with us cannot wait to get back to his home in the mountains. I don't blame him; have you seen Eastern Kentucky in the spring time? It is tough to think of even the little things addiction has robbed from people.
Bc I am a nerd, what follows will not surprise any of you. I had a dream, man this is like 35 years ago, that I met Jürgen Habermas, a german philosopher. In the dream he had rented a place next door to my parents' house in Stuttgart. He was working on his VW. I introduced myself. His hands were greasy so he said he could not shake hands and I awkwardly grabbed his forearm instead.
Now why tell such a dumb dream? A professor at Southern Miss had assigned Habermas' book, "Legitimation Crisis" in a class. The short version: book written in 72. Says that institutions will spiral into a legitimation crisis where no one will trust the media, government, churches, military, you name it, because they have lied and obfuscated, and dissimulated to protect themselves and their agendas which may be different from their stated purposes, different from the expectations of the people. Holy shnikey, Habermas was spot on!
Fast forward to 97 or 98. George Hunter, a great evangelist and bodybuilder, is telling us young bucks that in the future, the dominating characteristic will be that people feel their lives are out of control. Addictions, economic/social issues, you name it. It was the Christian take on what Habermas was noticing 25 years before. I filed that away.
And now here we are, planting a church that deals with exactly that problem. Maybe 10 years ago Wes Holland challenged me to have en elevator pitch for my ministry. Spent a lot of time distilling it down to this: Jesus can give you your life back.
What the locusts have eaten, what demons have devoured, Jesus can give it back.
Last night in house group a guy said he had been trying to get sober since 2005. Met Jesus this year, and he is getting his life back. Made me think about the guy in John's Gospel, paralyzed for 38 years til he met Jesus.

When the Son of Man returns, will He find faith on the earth?

Yes Man

Aaron Mansfield — Thu, 28 May 2026 10:55:18 GMT

It finally happened. After all these years as a maverick, a rebel without a pause, I am, now, officially, a Yes Man.
I have never had such a response to sermon as Sundays. I was talking about a key issue in church multiplication: equipping the believers for the work of ministry. Ministry should bubble up from the congregation; don't pay staff to do the ministry! And key to that is developing a bias to "yes." Check out my previous substack post “Grab That Donkey” about “the bias to yes” here
I shared with the congregation that you have to work hard to make sure your first response is not all the reasons something won't work. You say "yes," develop leaders (uh, make disciples) and trust them to adapt, improvise, and overcome. News flash: not every idea works. It's ok to fail and try again!! If you come to the staff with an idea, "Can I do this?" we will say "yes."
So two parents told me their son leaned over and said "He said he'd say yes. I'm going to tell him my idea." Based on the parents' thumbnail sketch... it will be awesome. I had a text about a ministry idea and an email about giving one another try.
Last night we had an Operation Christmas Child meeting. A couple ideas were thrown out. I was joking and said "those are terrible ideas! Bah! Humbug!" Next thing I knew, Welton Wright, one of our seasoned citizens said "You said you would say Yes! to any idea! Remember? You're a Yes Man!"
So yeah. I am a yes man. The picture at the top of this article is a hollyhock by my mailbox. I planted 1 hollyhock about 4 years ago. After reseeding, they have taken over more of the small plot. It's not just that they are beautiful... it's that they remind me of the church... the flower bud is small and tightly packed into a ball no bigger across than a nickel And then it unfolds into a huge papery flower bigger than your hand. If the church could be like that... releasing the ministry energy of the lay people into something much larger and more beautiful than the church already is...

Worst Retirement Ever

Aaron Mansfield — Tue, 19 May 2026 12:47:17 GMT

It doesn't look like it, but I love riding bikes.
You could always tell where Gen X kids were--look for the pile of bikes. I started riding long distances in my tweens in Germany... we used to ride to a large town bc they had hamburgers there. It was a simpler time...
I know why I am thinking about this. The Giro d'Italia is going on. The Tour de France coming soon. The Tour is a remarkably French thing. It was meant to be absurd, ridiculously hard, portending suffering. No one would ever enter such a race. A few hardy sheepherders in the mountains heard about it and said, "hold my Perrier and watch this."
Look up Gino Bartali, you'll thank me. He won his first tour on a bike with 4 gears, which is better than the first tours with no gears, no team, no support vans.
I used to think it would be great to be in the Tour. Greg Lemond gave a 13 yr old American hope it could be done... until... one day on a long ride I was heading home down a very long, straight stretch of De Zavala Rd in San Antonio. I was flying. I had a clunky Huffy 12 speed. I hit close to 25 mph at one point... but that was all out effort for a few seconds...tour pros on De Zavala Rd would have kept that pace for hours. A boy can dream, can't he?
Fast forward. There is an American former Tour rider, Phil Gaimon. He kind of accidentally realized he could be a pro bike rider and he went for it and had a commendable career. After his riding days were over, he started a new thing, going after riders who are doping by taking their "King of the Mountain" records on the fitness app, Strava. He really, really, really doesn't like people using performance enhancing drugs. He has a youtube channel called Worst Retirement Ever. Bc only a sicko would ever think, "hey, I'll punish riders who dope by punishing myself riding this mountain." And yet, Phil Gaimon is having a great time! The time of his life, it looks like to me! I want a Worst Retirement Ever, too!!
What follows is some thinking out loud I have been doing. It may be pointless. Or irrational. Unworkable. Help me see where I should stop wasting my time on something as ill-conceived as this is right now. Or help me push through so it will make sense. Some of you know how I am. I can dream, but need someone to help me figure out how to make it work. I am surrounded by a lot of cheerleaders and supporters who encourage my crazy ideas and then do the hard work of figuring out how to make it happen. Yes, Mattea, I DO know that when I say "we'll figure it out," I mean you, Calisa, Jason, Ben, Ted, Dale, and Jessie.
Anyway, I think it could be a dirtbag challenge:
What would be the Worst Retirement Ever for Dirtbag Preachers? For new subscribers, check out these dirtbag posts for context here, here, and here
A dirtbag looks around and realizes that retirement is coming and he can kick back and take on a high potential multiplying disciple-making challenge and devote everything to it. It is one thing, like now, to devote a portion of my "work schedule" and most of my margin to multiplication of disciples, leaders, and churches. What if I get to the point where that's all I did? What would The Worst Retirement Ever be? Is it a place? Is it a group? Is it some people who are hungry and ready and just need a cheerleader behind them? I mean, I'm going to fish a lot, but I will be able to give even more time to fishing for people!
You say, "but Dirtbag, this is a long time off." Sure, but it's closer than it was when I started. I had a word from the Lord that the second half was going to be better than the first half of ministry, and I was stoked, because in spite of my best efforts, the first half was good! And yes, the second half has been better, way better. Like He said. I can't help but think that it will get even better with the time and effort of experience. Maybe I can help people keep from paying the idiot tax I had to? That would be enough.
There's still a lot of idiot tax left to pay—this week has already taught me that, and it’s just Tuesday morning, but it will all be helpful in my Worst Retirement Ever!

Something to think about

Aaron Mansfield — Fri, 08 May 2026 13:04:27 GMT

Alan Hirsch, in The Permanent Revolution, quotes management guru Peter Drucker (who gave a lot of thought and effort to church leadership):

“People in any organization are always attached to the obsolete— the things that should have worked but did not, the things that once were productive and no longer are.”

An Ounce of Perception, A Pound of Obscure

Aaron Mansfield — Mon, 04 May 2026 14:36:34 GMT

So this is a picture of our last house group 2 nights ago. We ate inside and then gathered around the fire to discuss Psalm 103 and share prayer concerns. We had a Greek-themed dinner... grilled chicken, pita, tzaziki sauce; choriatki with feta, because Keith and Kim Ammeter have me so jealous that they are in Crete!
House groups... so easy to run... so important to disciple-making and leader development. If you find that there is a leader who can launch a new house group, that is awesome! If that leader can help another leader to launch a house group from the new group... that seems to be the most reliable predictor that you may have a church planter on your hands! I suppose the same is true for leading Life Transformation Groups.

Oh, and here was dinner tonight. We grill a lot on Sundays bc it helps meal prep through the week, so we grilled up pork chops, some steak, and for dinner, beef ribs with a Japanese bbq sauce. Fell in love with Japanese bbq sauce at the Salt Lick in Driftwood, TX. This is their pit, probably the most iconic in all of bbq.

I think maybe the best thing happening in my world of ministry is that I see so much more cooperation among pastors, across denominations. It's not whatever was passing for the "ecumenical" movement, where people pretended there weren't real, problematic differences. The new spirit of ciiperatuon among pastors I see is focused on Jesus and His mission. Most of this has been praying with pastors across the city. But something I saw this past week is that there are pastors gathering together to plant churches... across denominational lines. Amazing!

In fact, Ben Bowman, our Staff-Parish Relations chair has been instrumental in getting some people together to talk about cooperatively planting in the Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky area... two conferences helping each other.

In the area of pastors praying together, I have said that it was not happening when I served in Lexington 15 years ago. We would have stood on theological differences. But now I think we see that the city is wicked enough and the church is weak enough that we must work together.
In terms of church planting, it's a matter of finding those pastors who care more about the Kingdom than their castle. Getting those hearts and minds together, I think, is going to be a growing concern for me, something driven by/driving The Dream Of Church Multiplication! For Lexington to have 16% more churches would be about 50 new churches. Can 16% of the churches start a new one? Maybe it will be something like 16% of churches working together together to plant new churches.

I was in San Diego (well, Chula Vista) last week for a couple days, at a meeting called The Reproducing Network Accelerator, the first in hopefully a series of events around the country that encourage and equip pastors and churches to work together in networks to plant new churches. One church may not have the resources to plant new churches, but 4 or 5 do! The key question for the Reproducing Network Accelerator is: what can we do to multiply church planting networks? What if there were dozens, hundreds, thousands of church planting networks?! What intrigues me is that the same principles underlying multiplication of leaders, small groups and house groups are applicable church plants and... networks. It's not just a matter of scale... it's also time. Discipleship multiplication can happen fast; if you were at church Sunday, you saw Davy Crockett, baptized two weeks ago, one of our 4th generation disciples. He brought Johnny with him, a guy he is discipling... 5 generations now. But churches and networks will be slower going. And that's ok. Soybeans produce a crop in about 60 days. Apples take years. It's ok. The same principles underlie it. So... we can have faith that what we see in discipleship multiplication can happen in church multiplication. There are dozens of people in our 6 generations of Life Transformation Groups since January! What if it takes 15 years, but there are dozens of churches we have planted due to the same Jesus-principles?! That's worth working for. I'll give up my castle for the sake of the greater Kingdom!!!
One last thing. At the meeting in Chula Vista, there were other seminars happening and Ralph Moore was leading one. Ralph Moore is kind of legendary. He leads a church that has planted churches that has planted churches... more than 2400, some are ninth generation churches. Most have no idea they sprang from a church in Honolulu, Hawaii. I came up to the snack table while he was there. He had a funny comment about on the West Coast all the snack table has is healthy stuff and he wanted some junk. He looked at my name tag and asked what was I up to? From Lexington, do I know Jay Moon? Of course I know Jay. Did I go to Asbury? This was like meeting Santa for me. I told him we pretty much us his house group model. He said "just remember, church planting starts in the local church. We have it all wrong, making people go to seminary first. They should pastor and then go after 20 years or so. Seminary is too academic focused." A lot to unpack there. But I agree. Church planting comes from local churches because discipleship comes from the local church!

We Can Count on The Stars to Shine

Aaron Mansfield — Sun, 26 Apr 2026 00:32:09 GMT

Here is how you know you married the right girl. Jessie COULD have posted to Facebook something like this:
My Husband Ruined Our Anniversary
First, he made me go to a Reds game. And on top of that, he drove the 2008 Mazda because he "wanted to see what kind of mileage we get on the open road."
We walked across the Taylor-Southgate bridge and then when we left during the rain delay, our shoes got soaked-- he at least brought Frog Toggs. But if you thought it might rain, why did we walk?
And as we left the stadium... after a brat with kraut and spicy mustard, and a fridge cigarette (diet coke, in the parlance of the day), big surprise, he had an upset stomach. He paused near a trash can and belched and some randos loudly cheered for him! Gross!
Then, next morning, he took me to some greasy spoon in Newport, because "they have Goetta."
But she had a great time! The game was great, we put on the dog with great seats for our anniversary. It was fun that we got caught in the rain. And the restaurant, Sis', 10/10 will go back. And maybe the best part: she said, "we got married in 2008, so driving the 2008 Mazda was sweet."
We drove back roads home.
Then we did some yard work. I know, so romantic. But we weeded our strawberry patch and found they did well over the winter. We cleared it out and put compost on it. I had a massive flashback. We visited mt grandmother's cousin in France. I spent a lot of time with the gardener, Bernardo. He grew some mean strawberries, and we ate the best ones as we were picking them for after dinner. It was France, so this next part is normal. I had a little glass of wine with strawberries that had been sugared after we picked them. Really really good. So tonight, I sugared some strawberries and got some Welch's sparkling grape juice. Very very good.
I hope you had a good weekend, too. Get ready to worship!

I Just Want To Make Sure We All Know What Happened

Aaron Mansfield — Sun, 19 Apr 2026 22:37:48 GMT

This picture. It says a lot.

It’s what we have been working for. Probably won’t shut up about this, fair warning.

Not gonna lie, this looks like it could be your uncle’s band that got back together at your wedding reception and y’all were asked to leave and never come back. We still do a great cover of “The Boys Are Back In Town,” so it was all worth it in the end.

But what it really is, is the clearest image of multiplication I have. I am explaining, in this photo, how we put 2 Timothy 2:2 to work. “What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”

Right to left, Steve Drury, the previous pastor of Trinity Hill. Never has a pastor had more help from the previous pastor than I have.

Josh Barker, church planting intern at Trinity Hill.

Me. That’s my We-finna-baptize-some-people shirt.

Kevin Reynolds.

Davy Crockett. No lie.

But here is the point. 2 Timothy 2:2 is the standard for multiplication: 4 generations of disciple-making, of house groups, of Life Transformation Groups, of church planting… whatever it is, 4 generations indicates it might be embedded, it might grow exponentially… if it keeps on.

I baptized Josh. Josh led a jail ministry that brought Kevin to the Lord. Kevin met Davy at a pivotal time… pivotal as in a prayer of deliverance in Jesus’ Name released Davy from demonic oppression.

So… follow the 2 Timothy 2:2 path:

I baptized Josh

Josh helps baptize Kevin

Kevin helps baptize Davy.

1, 2, 3, 4.

When was the last time you saw someone soaking wet baptize a guy he helped bring to the Lord?

ONE MORE THING. That guy on the far left, photo-bombing? That’s Jim Jordan. His son planted Encounter Church in Richmond, KY a little more than 2 years ago. Jim’s grandson our interim worship guy here, will have a role in 3D Church that Josh is planting.

You saw it here first. Commit to making disciples who make disciples. It is the Way.

The Main Thing

Aaron Mansfield — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 21:55:35 GMT

Here's how it happened:
This week, the Kentucky Mountain Bible College Choir is leading our services, and the college President, Rob Pocai, is preaching. So, in realizing I did not need to prepare a sermon, I set about catching up on some things, planning for the summer, etc.

A few years ago in a Multipliers Learning Community, they gave us a tool, RPMS, a "gauge:" how are you doing
Relationally
Physically
Mentally
Spiritually

I realized my spiritual gauge was low. My rhythm got thrown off. See, I normally give the morning to the Lord. To prayer. Bible study. Sermon prep. To "hard, flinty thinking--" W.E. Sangster's term for what it takes to preach the Gospel. I drifted from that this week, and I paid the price in terms of a depressed spirit and weak body. So it was back to prayer, to seeking the Lord today!

I know the staff and the leadership who finally got a chance to go to the Exponential Conference, and are reading an Exponential book, think that I am a Dave Ferguson fanboy. And I am; I think he is doing the best job communicating the need for, potential, and requirements of multiplying disciple-making.

But all he is doing is what Robert Coleman wrote about in The Master Plan of Evangelism. Ferguson will tell you, there is no church planting movement, no Exponential Conference without Robert Coleman.

And Coleman is just doing what A.B. Bruce so powefully summarized and systematized in The Training of the Twelve.

All we can really do is what Jesus taught us to do.

Two quotations from Bruce will be a window into what disciple-making is all about, and why you cannot avoid it.

"The Twelve were to be Christ's witnesses in the world after He Himself had left it; it was their peculiar duty to give to the world a faithful account of their Master's words and deeds, a just image of His character, a true reflection of His spirit."

"The great founder of the faith desired not only to have disciples, but to have about Him men whom He might train to make disciples of others... both from His words and from His actions, we can see that He attached supreme importance to that part of His work which consisted in training The Twelve."

We have substituted many other things in the place of disciple-making in the church. You could go your whole life actively involved in the church and never make a disciple. What a tragedy.

There is an uphill climb. When we have so many other things that we will accept as being devoted to Jesus, to call disciple-making the main thing is easily scorned and ignored. No matter; we press on, compelled by the love of Christ, to make disciples.

Sometimes, You're Surprised

Aaron Mansfield — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 11:33:34 GMT

Jessie is on a whirlwind tour of some of the schools Blessing Hands supports. So, she has been in Thailand, heading to China. Pray for safe travels and a fruitful trip.

Sometimes you get surprised. Like, you don't expect what happened at Wednesday Night Bible Study.

Jim Jordan bought himself a few more times of being able to pick hymns to sing. He knows there is a ban on any song after 1800, and anything by Brian Wren is an immediate ejection from the class. He restrained himself and chose appropriate hymns for the first time in MONNNNNTHS.

We are going slowly thru John, looking for the disciple-making training lessons in it. Healing of the official's son.

Never noticed before, Jesus is in Cana when He heals the boy. 2nd miracle, both in Cana. What's up with that?

Somehow we ended up on Thomas Watson (or is it Thomas Brooks), old Puritan, saying "God can strike a straight blow with a crooked stick."

At the end of the evening, Drew said "I am just so encouraged." And we found that we all were, that it is all faith, that the Lord works through us. It's not just that the pressure is off for performance. It's that He can work real, effective change in our lives.

It's A Small World

Aaron Mansfield — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 11:54:48 GMT

Check this out… clouds rolling in. One of my favorite things is to be on the hills on the beaches around Santa Cruz, CA, when clouds come rolling in. They hit the cliffs and seem to explode upward and you’re caught in the mist. This was similar. But at 8000 feet, clouds coming in make the temperature drop big time. You can feel them before you see them.

__________

Upon arrival at the AMCA house in San Jose, it's a frenzy of activity. All the luggage is unloaded off the top of the bus, handed down, and the kids form a bucket brigade to put it in the garage.

The kids reunite with family. Friends say goodbye. It's a little weird for us because we won't be back at the AMCA youth group next week. Hopefully, I will be invited to speak again, because it is a special time with great kids and adult volunteers. Nadia has a hard time leaving; she has such a great time, is close to some of the kids... and for a year will only see them on a zoom girls' bible study.

At the camp, I got to know a boy named Ferdinand. As he talked about his family, I said, "Wait. I know your dad." At the 2024 General Conference of the Global Methodist Church--which was held here, in San Jose, Costa Rica-- Jessie, Ben Bowman, and I had pizza with some guys who work with ILI, International Leadership Institute. ILI has some great training for church leadership. Anyway... one of the ILI guys is Carlos Cunningham. We talked a bit because his daughter was going to Asbury University. I LOST HIS BUSINESS CARD!!! I could not for the life of me remember his name. When Ferdinand talked about his sister at Asbury, I thought, no way am I talking to a kid whose dad I have been trying to contact so we can welcome his daughter to Kentucky!

So, at the AMCA house, Ferdinand introduces me to his dad and we have a good laugh.

But wait... there's more! Carlos tells me, "my daughter went to your church this week. She called and said, 'the pastor wasn't there but he made an intro video for the guest preacher, and he was at the AMCA house!'"

Here’s a picture of clouds coming into San Jose

And then one of my fave scenes, San Jose at night, from Heredia. Our friends are moving back to the States, so this is the last time I get this view.

Of course, I will miss Costa Rica, but I am stoked to get back with the people of Trinity Hill! Crazy stuff is happening. A key piece of multiplication thinking is setting in: the people in our fellowship have the callings and gifts to do what God purposes to do among us.

Leaving La Cumbre

Aaron Mansfield — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 16:57:11 GMT

If you want to see where we have been, you can look for Camp La Cumbre Costa Rica on Google Maps.

Today is the last day of camp. Just finished my last lesson, summarizing where we have been, challenging believers to follow Christ more closely, and giving the uncertain and non-believers the chance to trust Jesus for salvation. The small group work and the love everyone has for each other really helps people who are not (yet) Christians feel loved enough to say they're not sure. They couldn't be in a better place to be loved and prayed into the Kingdom!

AMCA, the youth ministry here, is a pivotal work. It started as a youth group for the children of missionaries. As time has gone on, it has grown to include Costa Rican youth who want to learn English while they grow in grace. The powerful thing is that the kids will leave AMCA youth group and take what they have learned to the world. Some will remain in Costa Rica, planted and rooted here, bearing fruit. Others go home to family in America or for college, and spread the Gospel that way. Still others are going on the mission field themselves.

I guess my goal here is the same as it always is: to pour gasoline on fires the Holy Spirit starts, looking to light off even one life for the method and message of Jesus... to go and make disciples.

The whole world is within reach of a disciple-making generation, and surely some of the future leaders are here.

The Praise that is Prayer... or is it the Prayer that is Praise?

Aaron Mansfield — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 23:32:33 GMT

A couple weeks ago, some heavy oil was flowing in our service. We were praising God in song and Drew Jordan, our interim worship leader, made an invitation to prayer at the altar. The Spirit was making me sweat. Had to call up other leaders to pray. A young man, soon to be married, prayed to be sanctified. Yes, Lord, marriage is a sanctification machine.

We prayed for a girl whose father is battling a dreaded disease. Youth gathered, others, too, and we were praying for ourselves, too, as we are so heartbroken.

A woman prayed for her seriously ill sister, a world away in Africa, but Jesus is not bound by time and space.

I do not know what all others were praying, but one woman was delivered ftom demonic oppression. You would not have known because such things, in my experience, have been kind of subdued, where demons flee in the name of Jesus, and it is really amazing how much praise is a part of it. Praising God is a very powerful act. It's not a performance. The church itself becomes a choir. The people are lifting their voices to God. It is a strange thing, because to truly praise you have to lay aside personal preferences and simply praise the Lord. It is something we do for God... it's why it's called a "service." But God shows up. He inhabits the praise of His people. Salvation. Sanctification. Healing. Deliverance from demonic oppression... many things happen when God is praised.