New Creation INNs: The Story
Mike Parkyn tells the story of discovering the INN revelation. (Read time approx. 15-20 minutes)
While missions organizations work together towards the final surge, to take the gospel of the Kingdom to every last nation (people group), there remains the grim reality that back home multitudes remain lost and still trapped in the fallen, old creation. This is equally true across the globe, where some nations might be considered “reached,” while at the same time many, many people there remain lost in the fallen race. This is not God’s will!
1 Tim 2:4: “(God) desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth”
We need a widespread, grass-roots mobilization of workers to bring the gospel message in ways it can be received, where the impact can be sustained and expanded. Jesus made it clear that this starts with prayer:
Matt 9:37-38: “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”
A lot of prayers have been prayed about the global harvest, and numerous ministries talk about a global outpouring or awakening. As we seek the Lord’s face on this, we experience His stirring to answer those prayers. Many centuries ago, the prophet Isaiah saw that the very “zeal of the Lord” would accomplish the full manifestation of the Kingdom on the earth (Isaiah 9:7). It is His energy!
Most believers know that they are called to be ambassadors for Jesus, the carriers of His message, but so few of us seem to cross over into a life of wide-scale sowing and reaping. How can we change that?
We have experienced seasons of the Lord’s zeal over the years, and been intrigued by the potential in disciple making movements and multiplying small-groups. We have experimented with the “cell church” model popularized by Ralph Neighbor and others in the 1980’s and 1990’s, and also the phenomenal G12 model developed by Cesar Castellanos in Columbia. The Evangelism Explosion training also promised high potential impact. But sadly, traction has been difficult with all of these, lifestyle change has been hard, and mass mobilization of believers into the harvest seems as elusive as ever. We are in a terrible battle with secular Christianity that has engulfed us.
In recent years there has been an explosion of momentum around major movements like the worship movement, the prophetic, and the prayer movement. Jesus has been bringing the body alive. On a large scale, conferences and stadium events have been increasing. There is a lot of hope. But the resources needed, and the effort and gifting for these initiatives are huge. We need to see something much leaner, easier to resource, more grass-roots, and more aligned with daily lifestyle, where it’s much easier for the “ordinary believer” to participate and reproduce.
I stumbled across a possible key many years ago, while preparing a sermon on the story of the Good Samaritan. I was familiar with the story, how the Samaritan showed mercy to a man who had been mugged and left for dead at the side of the road. A wonderful act of mercy, with the exhortation from Jesus to “go and do likewise.” Go and love your neighbor better. It’s compelling, and challenging, but nonetheless, I knew I was missing something for my message. I read and re-read the bible passage several more times. But it was silent. Just lacking life. Until suddenly, my eyes fixed on the portion I had rarely considered. Luke 10:34, The Samaritan “brought him to an inn, and took care of him.” It is such an obvious part of the narrative it is so easy to miss it. Suddenly a question formed in my mind (perhaps it was the Lord),
“Would the Samaritan have succeeded without an inn?”
Well, the answer was pretty easy. No, he would not. He would NOT have succeeded WITHOUT AN INN. The follow up question that came to my mind was deeply penetrating. Why do you think you can succeed if you do not have an inn?
The context of my sermon that day was on urging fellow believers to count the cost, and develop more compassion for the hurting world around us. That is very valid. But sometime later, actually quite a few years later, this simple question had returned to me again. In all my journeying, all my experiments, all my good ideas, had I forgotten that question? Perhaps I would never succeed without an inn? But what does that really mean for us, when we are applying this more to a person’s fallenness than an ambulance case? Today many nations are blessed with great emergency services and hospitals, places to recover if someone was to get mugged or attacked. Clearly, that was not the point in the question. What does this story actually mean? At the risk of drawing this out into a book, I think I need to explain.
Many years ago, when I was a new believer, I remember a wonderful senior saint who used to do bible study at our house. So often he would remind us, what was the context of the passage we were looking at? Who was it speaking to in its original setting? Applying that test can often bring light. But I had missed it on this one. Until now. Who was Jesus speaking to when He told the Samaritan story, and why?
Luke 10:25. “And a lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” An expert in the mosaic law, trying to outwit Jesus! The answer Jesus gave was stunning, answering the question with a question! “What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?” The lawyer went straight to the headlines, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” What Jesus said next probably sends a chill down the spine of every evangelical, “You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.” WAIT. Salvation by works? Love God and love your neighbor as yourself, and you’re in? Eternal life? Not that that is easy to do, but still. But then the lawyer’s true colors came out. His motive is stated, “wishing to justify himself.” And who is my neighbor? In other words, how far do I have to take this? Jesus replied and said…. The Samaritan story.
Candidly in the story, it wasn’t just the Samaritan that came across the mugged victim. There was a priest and a Levite too, and both did nothing (pretty close to home for the lawyer). It was the Samaritan (loathed by the Jews) who was the hero. Jesus continued to the Lawyer, “Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?” He couldn’t bring himself to say Samaritan, so he just said, “the one who showed mercy toward him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do the same.”
The Lawyer was trying to find out how to justify himself. Jesus gave him the answer. Keep the law. Do it fully. Religion won’t count. So, I have a question. Who do you know who loves like that Samaritan all the time? Or put another way, have you ever come across anyone that never failed to stop and help someone in need? We all fall short, for sure. [Interestingly, a big part of that could well be because we don't have an inn! It is costly to get involved in someone's life, and we're all on our own journey (like the Samaritan). He wouldn't have succeeded without an inn either]. Anyway, back to the story. The lawyer must have walked away deeply troubled.
So, what is the story really about? Is it a story to instruct us on loving our neighbor? Yes, of course. But it goes a lot deeper. The day it dawned on me; this passage became a life changer for me. It’s a gospel parable! At its root, the story is saying that you can enter eternal life so long as you keep the law fully. Which is the same as saying no one can enter eternal life. Knowing what we know now, with the benefit of the New Testament, the revelation of Paul, the history of the cross and the resurrection, and the penetrating gospel truth Jesus was saying all along, we cannot save ourselves! Salvation is a gift, in the grace of God, purchased for us by the sacrificial death of Jesus. So, how does the parable go? I offer you this:
The mugged man is a picture of the fallen race. The robbers are a picture of the devil, who comes to steal, kill, and destroy. The priest and Levite? Perpetrators of disengaged religion, or participants in secularized, self-focused faith. So, what about the Samaritan? It must be Jesus! He is the One who stooped down to lift a fallen humanity and bring restoration. First the Samaritan gave the man first aid – the oil and wine. What a glorious picture of Jesus bringing His blood and the Spirit. The first aid is the new birth! But that was just the beginning. Next, the Samaritan needed an inn. If the story holds true, Jesus needs an inn too! If Jesus is going to succeed in fully rescuing a fallen race, or to make it more personal, an individual lost person, He needs an inn! Not a physical inn, for a physical need, but a spiritual version. What on earth is that?
This became a new pursuit for me. What exactly is that inn? The inn that Jesus needs? And, in all reality, knowing that Jesus works mostly through His people to save a lost soul, what is the inn that we need? Well, I was pretty sure the New Testament would have the answer, and I didn’t have to look far. Right there in Acts 2:47, I found this statement, “and the Lord was adding to their number daily those who were being saved.” That must be the inn! But what, or who, was “their number.” What made them an inn? Well, the preceding sentences in Acts 2 make it plain:
“Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they (the community of believers) were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people.” That’s the inn! Not religion. Not a physical building. A body of believers living out the new creation life together, “house to house.” So, here’s my rough definition of the inn we need: “flourishing 'house-sized' believer communities that actively pursue Jesus together, ready to welcome those He adds.” Suddenly it began to settle in my heart. The key to mobilization, and the saving of souls around us, is genuine believer community. A people who are ready and willing to warmly welcome those Jesus wants to add.
Wow, all along I thought what we needed was to urge people to evangelize more. Now, suddenly, it seems like a huge shift of emphasis. Now it’s how can we build authentic believer (new creation) community? If we can do that, it seems Jesus will add souls. Remarkable! That’s all true. But in reality, it’s not like we just sit there and wait for them to show up! No, there’s another part to this, that slowly started to unfold. It is rooted in community for sure, but what is it that makes this kind of community what it is? I stumbled across the answer. Jesus knew what He was doing all along. He knew He was to become the Samaritan in action, saving souls across the globe. It started in Jerusalem, but was to extend to the farthest parts. Not surprisingly, He prayed about it. Wonderfully, for us, it got recorded in the Scripture. John 17, what an incredible prayer.
Jesus prayed first for His own immediate disciples (verse 9), and then extended it to “those who believe in Me through their word” (verse 20). That’s all of us who have believed. We are included! But what did He pray? He prayed that we would become ONE. Not just in unity, but ONE like He and the Father are one. One in substance. SPIRIT! He was praying the gospel reality, as Paul later explained, “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit” (1 Cor 12:13). There is a spiritual one-ness that exists only in baptized-together, new creation people. This is the root of genuine community (common-unity). But continuing in John 17, let these words sink in.
“that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in one [lit.], so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me. (John 17:21-23)
Three times, that we might become one. That is totally awesome. That is the root of the inn community. But look at the outcome, He stated twice, “so that the world may believe/know that You sent Me.” AND, verse 23, that the world may know that You loved the community, even as You have loved Me. How stunning is that? Let’s put this all together.
This is the substance we desire and need. This is the fundamental identity of the INN.
The INN is a flourishing house-sized believer community that gels together into the “ONE” that Jesus prayed for. A reality of oneness with Jesus and the Father, and with each other. Then, because they have that, they become the most precious of jewels to a lost and fallen world. They become His witnesses TOGETHER. The very means by which He reveals Himself to the world. And the overwhelming quality, and basis of that community? That they are loved by the Father on the same level, in the same way, as He loved His one and only Son. This is the complete antidote to dead religion. This is a vast contrast with the secular Christianity we have embraced and made acceptable as a lifestyle. When this actually exists, when it becomes ours, when it becomes us, others will inevitably encounter Jesus through our witness. As they do, so Jesus adds them to us, into the INN, and they join in the blessing of community and ongoing witness, quickly integrated, and immersed into His purposes with the group. Kingdom manifestation and expansion thrives. No-one is left behind, and the group swells, then re-forms into more INNs, reproducing, but also spawning brand new manifestations of His life.
So, what does this mean? It means we need to build INNs! Not only are they the safe, warm, welcoming place of nurture for us. They are geared up to welcome a new believer. Together, they become a dynamic instrument by which Jesus is revealed to the world. His instrument for Kingdom manifestation and expansion. How does that happen? It won’t happen if the community only gathers in some home or other hidden place to maintain a cycle of separation and secularism. No, it requires a purposeful, intentional engagement of all that Jesus said about being salt and light. The community needs to presence itself out in the world somehow. Not just gather for group time and bible study and then disperse. But rather gather to develop ways to carry that witness of ONE out into the darkness together. This is a community on mission, where the mission becomes paramount. This is seeking first His Kingdom and His Kingdom cause. Just being out there, focused on why, sets them up to be living and compelling witnesses. Others will see, and notice, and encounter Jesus. And when they do, the INN they need is right there! Jesus happily adds them in!
All this is so wonderful. But how do we set about forming communities like that? Well, it has to be intentional. It has to be based on the revelation that the communities are by definition new creation manifestations – ONE with, and in Jesus. They cannot be seeker groups, or a mixture of old creation and new, believer and unbeliever. INNS are 100% believer groups. And then it needs to be organized to be able to sustain and cope with new people coming in. It needs to be able to prepare for growth, and then re-form as needed in the next season. To be properly ready, an essential part of the INN is developing new leaders. Purposeful discipleship, targeting real fruitfulness.
In terms of identity and substance, INNs are living organisms, made with living stones! “you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house” (1 Peter 2:5). Peter went on to say, know your identity and your purpose: “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9). We are His (ONE), and we have a mandate to proclaim, to witness, TOGETHER.
Jesus predicted all this, just before He ascended back into heaven. Very shortly, He would pour out the Holy Spirit, bringing about the baptism Paul later spoke of. The baptism of the ONE Spirit into the ONE body. But this is what He said, Acts 1:8, “but you will receive power [lit. “dynamics”] when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” You will receive dynamics. This is the biggest key to unlocking the revelation of INNs. Embracing Holy Spirit baptism dynamics turns us into living witnesses. We call this "Body Dynamics" because the baptism in the Holy Spirit baptizes us into His body. But critically, those body dynamics produce the kind of outflow we have been longing for - the reality of “empowered witness” to Kingdom expansion. Empowered witness manifests when the body of people embrace inspired community and body dynamics together, and then presence themselves out in the society somewhere and somehow. Building around body dynamics and Kingdom expansion, co-working with the Holy Spirit Himself (the One from whom we all drink), a true INN can emerge, to impact the world. A vehicle of Kingdom presence, influence, and expansion. That is our passion.
This has become such an exciting vision. At times it feels like an enormous idea that can change the world. Which brings me to the last part of my story. By God’s providence, I was fortunate to live in the Silicon Valley in California for 10 years. It’s the hotbed of innovation that has brought such huge technology companies into existence. It’s also the place where so many are trying to establish new startups that will expand rapidly and influence the whole world. The likes of Google, Apple, eBay, Linked-In, Uber, Airbnb, and many others have all succeeded. None of the innovators who started those companies would have a vision to do some small thing in the San Francisco region and keep it there. Not at all. Their target is global impact, world domination. The region has become the center of multiplication, releasing new innovations that take off and literally change the world. Stirred with the growing revelation of INNs, and what we need to do, I found myself joined with two Kingdom minded veterans from the Valley. Over a period of several years, I wrestled through with them, getting their experience, wisdom, and Holy Spirit revelation on how to view this vision just like a “startup.” How should I organize things? How can we set things up in a way that could take off? Not because we’re trying to build some clever company or ministry. But rather because we want to join with Jesus, to flow with Him, engage His energy, and mobilize multitudes into His cause. To see many snatched from the dismal reality of lostness before it’s too late.
Make no mistake, this will never happen with some casual participation in a typical church small group one evening a week. It will never happen as a token reflection of Kingdom purpose in our self-dominated secular religion. It needs so much more.
At that time, some ideas around what we need began to come together. It has to be intensely intentional! The key pieces of a possible game-plan centered around what we call “INNcubate.” That is a very familiar part of startup culture. The new innovation has to be developed through very clear participation by passionate and focused people who believe in the cause. It also has to be defined in such a way that others will invest to make it happen. And it has to be scalable. In other words, it must be framed in such a way that others can run with it too. Many of my discussions with my mentors were about making the vision simpler and smaller. My thinking was massively over-developed and complicated. In Silicon Valley, every innovator has to start with what is called their "minimum viable product" (MVP). Other things can be added later, but to get it off the ground it has to be lean, simple, and work! MVP is typically defined as the one thing the product must have in order to exist, and nothing more.
Over time, I have tried to develop this. It was a big day though when we realized that at its very core, the MVP of the INN is not a strategy, or a mode of operation. Our MVP is a person. It is Jesus! How easy it is to develop such complex means and methods that they become the focus. The focus must be Him! How do we develop the right environment and culture where He truly becomes the center of everything for us? Where we are all ONE together in Him?
There’s lots on this site about that, and how to go about forming INNs that can succeed, and go on to multiply. In essence, INNcubate is what we call a “project-based learning” experience. A group of believers commits to join together to launch a project – a project to build an “INN” together. Essentially it means being willing to yield and engage together into the “ONE” that Jesus prayed for, so that the two core elements start to emerge – body dynamics, and then Kingdom expansion. We can’t make that ONEness happen, but we can set things up in a way that it has a good chance to flow with the desires of Jesus. We can create an INNcubator where conditions are ripe! One thing we know is that Jesus has a passion to make it happen! If it works, all the glory is His.
Setting things up in the way that ONE can happen is what we’ve been working on. It needs each person to pursue Jesus personally, and to recognize that they are part of something bigger than themselves. It takes yieldedness and surrender, but also active and determined engagement, all the time embracing the Father’s love. And then it takes doing this on purpose with others, that are strongly committed to the same cause. There is a strong sense of "togetherness". Regular meetups and pursuit of new creation reality will frame the INNcubator. And then the fun part starts. The community starts to gel together, experiencing the manifest presence of Jesus. And, out of that, the group presses in to listen to Jesus together. What is He saying? Specifically, what creative way would He have the group position themselves out in society to manifest as His witness? What aspect of Kingdom manifestation and expansion would He have them take hold of? Every INN is unique and must get this from Jesus for their group. Each time they gather, they spend time listening to Him, like Mary of Bethany, and then write down a vision as it forms. Each meetup this gets reviewed and revisited, until His plan takes shape. This is one of the big opportunities within this vision, because discovering a specific aspect of Kingdom expansion potentially "lifts the lid off" what ministry looks like. It allows widely diverse giftings and skillsets to find a place and flourish in a team, or body context.
The options for witness and Kingdom expansion are literally infinite, bringing creativity alive. It's not about trying to fit a lost world into our little box of theology truths or get everyone to join a church. We cannot just peddle secular Christian religion. More, it's about being present, so that Jesus Himself can become present. His Kingdom come! The question is, where is He leading us? Where is His prepared ground? How does He want us to operate? What is our Kingdom focus? Check this illustration of empowered witness, and a few random examples HERE.
Going after Oneness can itself become self-defeating, because this is not something that we have to create, rather it is a reality that we need to recognize and engage. It is a complete reality in the new creation. Gelling together into inspired community, engaging body dynamics, and being formed together for specific Kingdom expansion, happens when each person actively engages the reality of the new creation. This is completely foreign to the natural man, and has to be developed, through explanation, training, modeling, and practice. This verse from Colossians states it succinctly:
Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude (Colossians 2:6-7)
To help with this, we have prepared a series of New Creation devotion studies focused on this theme - see The Goal is Whole. Living in new creation identity, and learning to engage its reality and power is essential. Without that there can be no INN. The studies include lots of encouragement around the revelation of INNs. We strongly recommend using these studies during INNcubate, with active application and engagement of new creation, Kingdom truths. The new creation lifestyle becomes the dominant focus, because that is where the ONEness resides. There are six weeks’ worth of studies. A typical INNcubate will last around 8 weeks, to include an introduction, and a conclusion. But that’s just the start! After INNcubate, the group moves on into OPERATE mode, where they continue to build inspired community together to engage body dynamics, continue to strengthen in new creation realities, but also discover whatever Kingdom expansion action Jesus is revealing to them. Receiving this together gives the group a great sense of ownership, and that leads to an excitement to see what Jesus will do. Remember, He said quite plainly, “I am with you always” (Matthew 28:20). Societal transformation is always something we do with Him, not for Him.
The INN continues to operate for as long as makes sense. What is Jesus doing? But at some point, the expectation is that the members of the group will re-form into two or more new INNs. If witness becomes fruitful, new people will have been added over time, and the vision is to continue into multiplication. As part of that process, and following the principle of "Be fruitful and multiply", the INN also enters a season called REPLICATE. This is where the INN leader spends time with one or more (ideally at least two) of the folk in the INN that aspire to leading an INN themselves in the next cycle. They also start practicing leadership in the current group. Then, in the fullness of time, the new INNs begin a new season of INNcubate, to gel together and discover their Kingdom expansion purpose! Every INN has to form. Every INN is unique.
So, to recap, INNs go through the cycle of INNcubate - Operate - Replicate. This is the path to fruitfulness, and multiplication. All leadership development is relational, building around the principles of Kingdom fathers and sons.
Matthew 13:37-38: "The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom."
The vision can seem quite mechanical in approach, but at its heart it is fully organic. The methods are simply to create the right environment and culture for blossoming and flourishing, in the love of the Father. The vision is a collection of values and good practices, more than a rigid structure or style.
Well, I hope you enjoyed the story, and feel envisioned. We hope you will get started with INN building. We would love to help. There’s a lot more INNfo on this site, but we also have a leadership training under development. The core approach is uniquely simple and achievable, but it will take determined focus, intentionality, and action. Give us a shout!
Richest of blessings
Mike
PS Thanks for reading this far, I know it was a long read. I pray that the seed of this revelation finds itself into good soil, and that we can become fruitful together, 30, 60, 100-fold. It is all for Jesus, with Him, and for the lost He gave everything to save.
For further reading, check:
refer also to the home page for the explanation of the why, what, and how, as well as links to numerous other content items.