Felicity Dale
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This Simple Habit Will Open New Doors of Opportunity for You
Jesus chose the most unlikely candidates to promote His message. Think of the woman at the well in John 4. She is certainly a person of reputation—five husbands, and now living with yet another man—worthy of a modern soap opera. She has other factors working against her too. She’s a Samaritan, and she’s a woman. …
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Where Are People Leaving the Church Going?
John White has been a friend for many years. We first met in 2001 when he came to our home to hear Wolfgang Simson speak, near the beginning of the simple/organic/house church movement in this country. John now runs a community for followers of Jesus around the world who explore rhythms of life that result …
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When a Move of God Is Marked by Community
In the late ’70s and ’80s, Tony and I lived in the East End of London, an area of London where people ended up when there was no place lower to go. (The PBS series, “Call the Midwife” took place right where our medical practice was. We were there a couple of decades later, but most of …
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What Matthew 4:23 Reveals About God’s Healing Power
Throughout the years, I’ve had the privilege of seeing much in the way of healing. I’ve been in meetings where people have been prayed for who walked for the first time, or whose hearing was restored. I’ve seen arthritis disappear, legs lengthened, epilepsy healed. (It’s not that I prayed for most of these people—just that I …
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Are ‘House’ Churches a Fad?
In 2007, in the book Small Is Big!: Unleashing the Big Impact of Intentionally Small Churches (originally The Rabbit and The Elephant) which I co-authored with my husband, Tony, and George Barna, I wrote the following under the subtitle, “A fashionable fad”: “Another hazard we face is that of becoming fashionable, the latest phenomenon in …
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If You Are Saved, Are You Also Healed?
I’ve recently been re-reading Christ the Healer by F. F. Bosworth (the second time through in the last three months)—an excellent book on healing. Bosworth continuously raises the question, is physical healing part of Christ’s redemptive work on the cross? His conclusion is, yes, Christ died to redeem us physically as well as spiritually. We can …
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Are Women Really Not Allowed to Teach in Church?
Is 1 Timothy 2:12 an absolute prohibition on women teaching men? People sometimes go to ludicrous lengths to accommodate this verse. Renowned Chinese teacher, Watchman Nee, benefited greatly from the teaching of two Chinese missionaries/leaders. So when they visited him one day, he wanted his church to hear them. But there was a problem. They …
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Do You See the Harvest?
What makes a ripe harvest field? Many of us are living in comfortable suburban homes, and we assume that our neighborhoods will make a great harvest field. But we may be trying to reap a harvest in the wrong places. Jesus gave some indication of what makes a ripe harvest. For example, he said: “The …
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10 Ways God’s Moving in the American Church
God is at work across the nations, and I see many positive signs that He is at work here in the West too. Here’s a little of what I see going on currently (in no particular order of priority): People understand the importance of listening to God and doing what He says. The prayer movement …
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Is the Devil Trying to Keep You in a Box?
Tony and I used to have a dog called Sugar—a faithful and loyal companion, though of dubious parentage and limited intelligence. Sugar had one major character flaw. She loved to wander. We live in a house with a fenced yard and an electric gate across the driveway. Sugar used to hide, lying in wait, until …
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Why Do We Need the Five-Fold Ministry?
In many churches, people get excited when one of the so called “five-fold ministries” comes to town. (The name “five-fold comes from the passage quoted below in Ephesians 4.) They hope to receive a personal prophetic word from the prophet, or see many people become Christians when an evangelist gives an altar call. They like …
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Why He Sends You to Wolves
Luke 10:3 says this: “Go your ways. Listen, I am sending you out as lambs among wolves.” Jesus told his disciples to go—or more accurately, “as you are going.” Yet we usually ask people to come. “Come to our church,” “Come to our special meeting!” Even in our house churches we ask people to come. …
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What Launches a Move of God in Your Neighborhood
One of the practices that characterizes most of the church planting movements I’m familiar with is an emphasis on prayer walking. It is a core component of the process that results in rapidly multiplying disciples. If the Lord leads us to start a church in a certain neighborhood, we do well to prepare the ground …
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Are We ‘Praying’ the Price?
In 1983, Tony and I had the privilege of going to Korea where we spent time at Full Gospel Central Church. At that time, it was the largest church in the world and Dr. Paul Yonggi Cho was the pastor. Our question going there was twofold. Was this work “an inch deep and a mile wide,” …
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How to Usher in a Move of God
There’s a virus that going around the world. It’s a dangerous virus that could change your life. Unlike most other viruses, I hope you catch it. This virus is the 10:2b virus. It comes from Luke 10 and verse 2. These were his instructions to them: “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are …