Responsibility

One of the most important lessons I have learnt through ministry is my responsibilty towards the people I lead. Its all to easy for a leader to develop a Saviour complex or to try and be a White Knight towards every person and in every suituation.

I have learnt that this approach not only limits their growth because they are never being empowered to think for themselves, it also can affects my growth,because you can get prideful when they are doing everything right and you can feel like a failure when they are doing everything wrong.

To prevent this happening we need to remember we are not responsible for people but to them. Is thier a difference?Yes their is and its incredibly freeing.

When I’m responsible to people I understand they have a choice. When I’m responsible for people I think I should decide for them.

When I’m responsible to people I know they must figure out their next step. When I’m responsible for people I try to tell them what their next step is.

When I’m responsible to people I allow them to bear the brunt of the consequences for their own chosen actions. When I’m responsible for people I assume the guilt, or worse the shame, for them.

When I’m responsible to people I engage in their journey, offering encouragement and teaching. When I’m responsible for people I try to direct their journey, never allowing them to wrestle, mess up or make a wrong turn.

When I’m responsible to people I talk to God on their behalf. When I’m responsible for people I talk to people a lot on God’s behalf.”

Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road:

BARACK OBAMA:
The chicken crossed the road because it was time for a CHANGE! The chicken wanted CHANGE!

JOHN MC CAIN:
My friends, that chicken crossed the road because he recognized the need to engage in cooperation and dialogue with all the chickens on the other side of the road

HILLARY CLINTON:
When I was First Lady, I personally helped that little chicken to cross the road. This experience makes me uniquely qualified to ensure — right from Day One! — that every chicken in this country gets the chance it deserves to cross the road. But then, this really isn’t about me…….

DR. PHIL:
The problem we have here is that this chicken won’t realize that he must first deal with the problem on ‘THIS’ side of the road before it goes after the problem on the ‘OTHER SIDE’ of the road. What we need to do is help him realize how stupid he’s acting by not taking on his ‘CURRENT’problems before adding ‘NEW’ problems.

OPRAH:
Well, I understand that the chicken is having problems, which is why he wants to cross this road so bad. So instead of having the chicken learn from his mistakes and take falls, which is a part of life, I’m going to give this chicken a car so that he can just drive across the road and not live his life like the rest of the chickens.

GEORGE W. BUSH:
We don’t really care why the chicken crossed the road. We just want to know if the chicken is on our side of the road, or not. The chicken is either against us, or for us. There is no middle ground here.

COLIN POWELL:
Now to the left of the screen, you can clearly see the satellite image of the chicken crossing the road…

ANDERSON COOPER - CNN:
We have reason to believe there is a chicken, but we have not yet been allowed to have access to the other side of the road.

JOHN KERRY:
Although I voted to let the chicken cross the road, I am now against it! It was the wrong road to cross, and I was misled about the chicken’s intentions. I am not for it now, and will remain against it.

NANCY GRACE:
That chicken crossed the road because he’s GUILTY! You can see it in his eyes and the way he walks.

PAT BUCHANAN:
To steal the job of a decent, hardworking American.

DR SEUSS:
Did the chicken cross the road? Did he cross it with a toad? Yes, the chicken crossed the road, but why it crossed I’ve not been told.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY:
To die in the rain. Alone.

BARBARA WALTERS:
Isn’t that interesting? In a few moments, we will be listening to the chicken tell, for the first time, the heart warming story of how it experienced a serious case of molting, and went on to accomplish its life long dream of crossing the road.

ARISTOTLE:
It is the nature of chickens to cross the road.

BILL GATES:
I have just released eChicken2008, which will not only cross roads, but will lay eggs, file your important documents, and balance your check book. Internet Explorer is an integral part of the Chicken. This new platform is much more stable and will never crash
reboot.

ALBERT EINSTEIN:
Did the chicken really cross the road, or did the road move beneath the chicken?

BILL CLINTON:
I did not cross the road with THAT chicken. What is your definition of chicken?

AL GORE:
I invented the chicken!

COLONEL SANDERS:
Did I miss one?

Progress

This is a picture of two men installing and setting solid steel pillars in concrete to stop vehicles from parking on the pavement outside a sports bar in downtown some yet-to-be identified place. They are cleaning up at the end of the day.

Do you notice anything wrong with this Photo??
How long did it take you to realise ?

Got me thinking how often I’m so focused on my tasks that I forget to look up and around...evaluate my progress in the context of my surroundings.

When it comes to progress, how can we really tell if we are leaning in towards the purposes of God,or are we leaning out ?

Busyness can be an attraction ,but its also a very good distraction.

What things to you have in place in your life to make sure you and Jesus are interested in the same things ?

Making Vision Stick-Andy Stanley

“Vision is a mental picture of what could be, fuelled by passion that this should be.” Vision always begins as a burden.

5 Things That Help Make Vision Stick

1. State It Simply
Memorable is portable. If you’re going to have vision that sticks it has to be portable and memorable.
People in our church aren’t asking stupid questions, they’re just telling us that we’re doing a poor job communicating our vision.
What is the vision of your church?
If you’re vision is going to stick, it has to be really, really, really portable & memorable.
What’s the one sentence job description for everyone in your organization?

2. Cast It Convincingly
Components of Good Vision (Nehemiah 2)
1. Define the problem.
2. Offer a solution.
3. Explain Why & Why now?

Your vision needs to be the solution to a problem.

1. What must be done in the environment you find yourself in?
2. What would go undone if your organization ceased to exist?
3. Smart businesses have crafted themselves as a solution to a problem.

Explain Why & Why Now?
1. What makes this the time to do something new in that community?
2. The ‘Why’ & the ‘Why Now?’ is where the passion comes in.

3. Repeat It Regularly
Look at the rhythm/cycles of your organization.
1. Spend the time when the most people are there to vision cast.
2. Discover those moments that are most important to cast vision and build it into your regular systems.
Vision doesn’t stick, vision leaks.

4. Celebrate It Systematically
When you catch somebody living out the vision the way you anticipated, you need to celebrate them – Celebrate the Win.
Stories do more to clarify & illustrate vision than anything else.
Are you missing opportunities to showcase the wins in your church?

5. Embrace It Personally & Publicly
Anytime you can illustrate personally your vision, you need to do it because your people need to see that you are embracing the vision personally

Dare you!!

Who is game enough to pray this ?

May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half truths, and superficial relationships, so that you may live deep within your heart.

May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that you may work for justice, freedom and peace.

May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, and war, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and to turn their pain in to joy.

And may God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in this world, so that you can do what others claim cannot be done.

-Fransiscan prayer quoted by Craig Groeshel at Leadership Summit 08

Be Holy For I Am The Lord

Leviticus 20:7 Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the LORD

I want to talk about something that should be the natural way of life for every Christian, but is rarely seen today, and that is how to live godly lives in this ungodly world.

Let me make this clear, I love the church. I have been a Christian for 15 years and have missed 3 Sundays. When our family go away on holiday the first thing we do is look up the churches in the phone book to find one to go to. So this is not a dig at the church by looking at a current problem .Its to try and facilitate discussion around potential solutions.

I have been wrestling with this issue over the last few weeks, in the light of the recent moral and spiritual misadventures of two prominent Christian leaders.

What have we learnt from this tragedy? What are we doing in our lives, and the lives we lead to avoid this happening?

I grieve for the body of Christ when this happens .No one wins, people are hurt, angry, disappointed, and the name of Jesus is treaded in mud. Yes people can be and are restored, healed, forgiven and do go on in life.

For the record I have prayed, am praying and will continue to pray for all involved.

But that’s not the biggest reason I am grieving, the biggest reason I am grieving is because when ever something like this happens why is the church so quick to go into damage control rather than preventative control. Why do we take the position of the ambulance at the bottom of the hill rather than be the gate at the top.

I have heard messages on how to handle failure; How Jesus restores broken and fallen people. Great theology .Grace is God .Grace is the Bible. But we take Grace to the extreme when we try so hard to justify sin, and justify why we behave in a certain way.

Wouldn’t it make sense to not only show us how to mop up the mess but also how to avoid the disaster

I want to hear how to overcome sin, not just how to respond when we are overcome by sin

The Bible is not only a repair book for those that have fallen it’s a prepare book for those that want to live victorious

God says we can be HOLY .We CAN be victorious over the flesh.
ARE we pursuing this? Do WE believe this?

In many of our churches today, we're not taught anything at all about the separated life unto godliness and holiness. In fact, if someone preaches holiness, they're labelled a "legalist."

What we now find as a result, is many people who name the name of Christ, just go on living in their sin proclaiming that they really know Him, and that God understands why they do the things they do, and there'll be no price to pay for their sin.

One writer said "Many so-called Christians are so far from holy living, that they virtually have contests to see who can come closest to the pit of sin without falling in." It's sad that many times in this politically correct age, we give them a politically correct gospel filled with pop-psychology, and think we're doing the will of God, when in reality we're taking them by the hand and walking with them down the road that leads to hell.

God is looking for a people who are not interested in pleasing anyone but Him. We as Christians are responsible for this generation, to show them the truth not only in what we say, but more importantly, by how we live.

I will leave you with a quote from D M Moody

A holy life will make the deepest impression. Lighthouses blow no horns, they just shine.

Turning Vision into reality

Got a real treat for you today an interview with John C. Maxwell And Ron F. McManus about Turning Vision Into Reality. Enjoy

Hudson Taylor on Prayer

Do not have your concert first, and then tune your instrument afterwards. Begin the day with the Word of God and prayer, and get first of all into harmony with Him.”

Since the days of Pentecost, has the whole church ever put aside every other work and waited upon Him for ten days, that the Spirit’s power might be manifested? We give too much attention to method and machinery and resources, and too little to the source of power."

"The power of prayer has never been tried to its full capacity in any church. If we want to see mighty wonders of divine grace and power wrought in the place of weakness, failure and disappointment, let the whole Church answer God's standing challenged; "Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knows not."

"You must go forward on your knees.""

All God’s giants have been weak men, who did great things for God because they believed that God would be with them."

“The branch of the vine does not worry, and toil, and rush here to seek for sunshine, and there to find rain. No; it rests in union and communion with the vine; and at the right time, and in the right way, is the right fruit found on it. Let us so abide in the Lord Jesus.”

"In Shansi I found Chinese Christians who were accustomed to spend time in fasting and prayer. They recognized that this fasting, which so many dislike, which requires faith in God, since it makes one feel weak and poorly, is really a Divinely appointed means of grace. Perhaps the greatest hindrance to our work is our own imagined strength; and in fasting we learn what poor, weak creatures we are-dependent on a meal of meat for the little strength which we are so apt to lean upon."

"I have found that there are three stages in every great work of God: first, it is impossible, then it is difficult, then it is done."

Quotes on prayer

We waste most of our time trying to get God to do something He has already done—or praying for God to do something He told us to do. --Jacquelyn K. Heasley

The Church is looking for better methods; God is looking for better men. The Holy Ghost does not flow through methods, but through men. He does not come on machinery, but on men. He does not anoint plans, but men…Men of prayer." --E. M. Bounds

Notice, we never pray for folks we gossip about, and we never gossip about the folk for whom we pray! For prayer is a great deterrent. --Leonard Ravenhill

Of all the things Christ wants for us, loving Him and focusing our attention on Him are the most important.~ Charles Stanley

No one is a firmer believer in the power of prayer than the devil; not that he practices it, but he suffers from it. ~Guy H. King

We must move from asking God to take care of the things that are breaking our hearts, to praying about the things that are breaking His heart. ~Margaret Gibb

Prayer is not overcoming God's reluctance, but laying hold of His willingness." Martin Luther.

I would rather teach one man to pray than ten men to preach.” Charles Spurgeon

Before we can pray, "Lord, Thy King dom come," we must be willing to pray, "My Kingdom go." ~Alan Redpath

One should never initiate anything that he cannot saturate with prayer."

What the church needs today is not more machinery or better, not new organizations or more novel methods, but men whom the Holy Ghost can use— men of prayer, men mighty in prayer" E.M. Bounds

"Prayer does not fit us for the greater work; prayer is the greater work." Oswald Chambers.

"There has never been a spiritual awakening in any country or locality that did not begin in united prayer." A.T. Pierson

Prayer is not getting man's will done in heaven, but getting God's will done on earth. It is not overcoming God's reluctance but laying hold of God's willingness."

The greatest tragedy of life is not unanswered prayer, buy unoffered prayer."F.B. Meyer

Pray as if everything depended on God and work as if everything depended upon man."Francis J. Spellman

God shapes the world by prayer. The prayers of God’s saints are the capitol stock of heaven by which God carries on His great work upon the earth.E.M. Bounds

Why do we pray ?

Nothing of eternal significance happens apart from God .
Jesus said it clearly "Apart from me you can to nothing" John 15:5.
People who neglect a close relationship through Christ will be unable to fulfil Gods will through their lives .Its that simple,yet many people struggle in their prayer lives.

Leaders struggle in their prayer lives.Leaders are doers,and many people think prayer is to passive.Leaders are men and women of action.They are programmed to get results.They are also busy people on tight schedules.Taking time to pray can seem like wasting precious time,but I assure you if you don't you will look back on all your activity,and see inspite of your best efforts nothing of eternal significance occurred.

2.Prayer is essential because it continually fills us with the Holy spirit.
We can not fill ourselves with the Holy Spirit only God can (Ephesians 5:18).While all Christians have the holy Spirit in their lives,the condition of being filled with The Holy Spirit comes through consistent,concentrated prayer.Gods promise is "You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart" Jeremiah 29:13

It's a bit like the difference between rowing a boat and sailing a boat. Rowing is all about your own effort and what you can do. Sailing is about positioning yourself to catch the wind - a power not your own. If the wind doesn't blow, you aren't going anywhere BUT once you catch the wind, watch out! You'll be hanging on for the ride of your life.

3.Gods wisdom is the third reason for dedicated praying.
God is wiser than the most astute leader .He knows the future,he knows what our opponents are thinking ,he knows what the economy will be like .God knows what he wants to accomplish and how he intends to do it. God loves playing show and tell with his Kids!!.Gods invitation to us is this .Call to me and I will tell you great and mighty things which you don't know Jeremiah 33:3.

This is the type of relationship God has made available to us .This is the spiritual GPS that God has given us to navigate through life .

Leading Your Church Through Change

If their are two things that you can count on happening in Life -they would be Jesus and change.
Often change is resisted because it can take us out of our comfort zones,but its so nessecary for growth in our relationship with Christ . So how does one lead not only themselves through change ,but others also. Check this out -its been so helpful


Leading Your Church Through Change -Mark Conner

Church leaders are “change agents”, called by God to initiate change by moving people forward to where they need to be.I believe that every leader needs a “model” for leading change.

I have put one together from the life of Nehemiah that has been a great help to me.Here are eight steps to leading effective change in your church. You will also find them helpful for leading change amongst any other group or organisation.

See the Need for Change.

All positive change begins with seeing the need for it first. Change for change’s sake is crazy, but change aimed at helping people and improving things is essential. Allow God to place a burden on your heart about the way things are.

Receive a Clear Vision from God.

All vision begins with seeing the big picture of what God wants to do. As you spend time in prayer, God will show you what He can do through you and give you a vision of a preferred future. Every leader needs to invest time into receiving a clear vision from God for their life and ministry. Effective leaders tie all change to vision and purpose. They know where they’re headed and why.

Create a Strategic Plan.

You need to know exactly what God wants you to do (vision) and then think through all of the details of how you will do it (strategy). Wise leaders take their God-given vision and form it into a plan that describes how and when the vision will become a reality. This takes time and involves a process. It needs wise and godly counsel from other leaders. The more significant the change, the more necessary it is to have the input from all perspectives.

Speak to the Influencers.

Unless the people who were in positions of influence buy into the vision, the change will not occur.When speaking to the influencers, don’t present the solution first. Speak about the problem so that they agree on the need for change. Unless people see and embrace the need for change, they will not be willing to pay the price or be committed to the work required to bring the change about. People need to understand the purpose of the change and see the benefits it will bring. When people see the need for change and catch a realistic vision of how things could be better, they become motivated to become part of the solution.

Organise the Work to be Done.

Vision has to be broken down into a strategic plan that enables people to take simple steps towards realistic goals. A church leader must seek to acquire ownership from the entire congregation for positive change to take place. It needs to become their vision so that they are committed enough to work towards it.

Deal with the Opposing Forces.

I wish I could tell you that there will be no problems when you lead change but the reality is that movement causes friction. Resistance to change is normal and so we need to prepare for it and handle it wisely. In every change, there will be opposing forces. Someone or something will face loss, despite the many gains. You may encounter anger, frustration, fear, uncertainty and disappointment during the transition. Wise leaders think through the possible reactions or problems and avoid unnecessary conflict by preparing for and addressing these forces in advance.

Communicate Continually.

When leading change, we must stay close to the change process and actively lead the transition from the old to the new. People need to be constantly inspired and motivated about the importance of the vision and the progress that is being made. We all tend to drift and vision can easily become blurred. Wise leaders constantly bring the vision back into focus and never allow people to be satisfied with the way things are.

Don’t Give Up.

Announcing a change or coming up with a vision statement is the easy part of leading change. It’s harder to then translate that vision into a workable plan. But it’s even more difficult to implement that plan step by step and monitor it until it is completed. This takes diligence, patience and focused attention. However, oh, the joy and fulfilment that comes when you are able to bring about positive change. Don’t give up. Persevere. If the vision is from God, it’s worth fighting for. Don’t chop and change direction. Yes, make adjustments along the way, but finish what you start.

Commit to it and be willing to pay the price.

I think the most challenging task of leadership is to manage change and transition. The key issue is to know in your own spirit that God is leading you and that you are moving out in His will for your ministry and your church. The giants will be there and the need for courage will be great, but God will not fail you or let you fail. As you seek Him, He will guide you, give you wisdom and favour with the people. Change is not easy. In fact, it can be very uncomfortable. However, the church must change if it is to be what God intends it to be in the world.

P.S. This article is summarised from the last chapter of the book, Transfoming Your Church, available from the CityLife Church online bookshop or from Christian bookstores. Also, consider purchasing my most recent book, Pass the Baton - Successful Leadership Transition, in which I outline the key principles that have helped CityLife Church move effectively through three successive senior leaders over it’s forty year history.

Labels: Leadership

Lessons from The Boat

Want to blog an outline of a message I preached a while ago,these are the points
I will fill in the gaps over the next few days.

It was a day of a Dream

It was a day of Decision

It was a day of Dismay

It was day of Dependance

It was a day of Discovery

LEADER TO LEADER

Just listened to a fantastic interview by podcast of Brian Houston (Pastor of Sydney Hillsong Church) interviewing Bishop T D Jakes, and to my delight found a written account of the interview.

If you would like the audio -Let me know and I can arrange.
Just follow this link to read the interview:Be interested in your comments.

The church needs more Studds!!!

Wow, is all I can say -O week went off,over 300 cards given out ,121 want to know how to be connected to Christ. Thats huge ,better still over 80% of those have been phoned ,while 100% have been sent a letter and personally invited to our BIG ASK pre christians programme we are running next week,up at the university in the college halls.

121 said they want to know how to be connected to Christ.
I have said to the team that when you go fishing with a net,and not a pole thats whats happens:poles are inclusive -nets are exclusive.

Jesus never went fishing with a pole. He fished with a net .
Its who so ever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
When you die to the dream of being a success and live for the dream of being a blessing ,you will bless more people by accident than you will on purpose.

This is why the church exsists, and until the future of the world matters more to the church than the future of the church the church has no future.

Jesus didn't die to keep us safe. He died to make us dangerous! The will of God is not an insurance plan. It's a daring plan. In fact, the will of God doesn't get easier. God gives us more difficult, daring, and dangerous things to do! Read Hebrews 11.

In the words of a daring twentieth-century missionary, C.T. Studd, "Some want to live within the sound of church or chapel bell; I want to run a rescue shop within a yard of hell."

The church needs more Studds!

121 that said YES to knowing how to connect to Christ
How would you love those people,how would you serve those people ,how would you bless those people in a way that would answer that question really well for them .

Interested in your thoughts

Plugged In

We had the first day of our "Plugged In" reach campaign yesterday .Check out this earlier blog for details .Thanks to Braden,Paul,Linda,Kirsty,Callior and Sonya who came up to help out

We managed to get people to fill out over 120 '"Plugged In" cards in just over an hour and a half
With over 50 of those people wanting to know how to have a Relationship with Christ

We have already started to phone these people and ask them along to the 'The Big Ask" class

We are up there again today and Thursday. Jesus said the Harvest is plentiful but the labourers are few ,gotta love it when people improve on the the few to reach the many !

O week

Wow its been a busy week, looked after 2 extra kids for a few days, I was sick for 2 days, and saw my cousin off at the airport

Waikato University has thier B semester starting form the week of the 14th July . We have an exciting plan in place to connect with Students and then connect them into a relationship with Christ.

The Theme that we are running with is Plugged in. On the front of the card is this picture and on the back it follows on from the theme ,by asking the question on a personal level

In our world, “staying connected” has perhaps never been easier. TV, Internet, Cell Phones, iPods, Laptops, BlackBerrys, Webcams…and the list goes on. Amazingly, though, amidst all of this “connection” we continue to see more and more loneliness and isolation.

The question is, “Who and what are we connected to?”

They fill in a series of questions ,including the question "Would you like to know how to have a realationship with Christ. Our aim is to have 500 students fill out the card ,I guess the draw for a free IPOD is a great hook!

The people who would like to know how to have a realationship with Christ ,will be phoned within 48hrs and will be sent a CD which will have a 15 minute Gospel presentation called "Just Stop And Think",Life stories of a couple of people, link to church website,and an invitation along to a next steps course called "The Big Ask".

This will run for 4 weeks, and then for those that are wanting to carry on doing Life togther with Christ and others ,we will just keep on keeping on.

Its great when you have a a fantastic team around you , together you can do so much more.

There is nothing like a sea of new faces to breath fresh life and vision into the Church

On a personal note ,I wont be blogging for the next 7 days as are away .See you when I get back Jeremy

Where Does God Go on Mondays

Hope you enjoy it as much asI did . Interested in your comments

Where Does God Go on Mondays By Danny Guglielmucci

How To Last In Ministry

Read a great post on Pastor Dave Fergusons Blog ,reagarding a message he had listened to by Pastor Rick Warren ,in regard to Ministry Burnout.

The thoughts of The Apostle Paul always challenge me.I have run the race,I have fought the good fight ,I have finished the race. God wants all of us to Run Fight and Finish well.

Developing People

When you are in leading people ,the purpose is to take people from where they are to where they can be. Most people don’t see their potential. They tend to see their faults and their limitations. We tend to see people’s past and their present. God sees our present and our future. He speaks into our future calling us to places where we haven’t yet been.

Someone once said the greatest use of your life is to spend it on something that will outlast it .

Thats why I love ministry because its all about creating vision in people lives and working with them to make that reality.Here is a great post from Pastor Craig Groeschel on this very subject of Developing People

Leadership “Be attitudes”

10 Essential Leadership “Be attitudes”

Lead from what you know but you reproduce who you are

1. Be a person of integrity ·

The work of Christ always begins in our hearts and works outward · Same on inside as you are on the outside · Leaders are often gifted.
They can begin to depend on their gift for success, to the neglect of their character · Daniel was incredibly gifted, ten times more than the next most wisest ·
Daniel 6:10 – “… he went home and got down on his knees and prayed as was his daily custom.” · Integrity isn’t developed in a day, its daily

2. Be a faithful servant ·

Don’t serve to get recognized or for promotion · Everything you do in the name of Jesus is significant ·
Your service prepares you for your calling and your calling prepares you for your service ·

In David there was a 20-year gap between the prophecy and the fulfillment. This is called process. Process prepares you for what he has called us to be. If he made us immediately into what we would be we would screw it up. Saul – chasing donkeys and then king – it messed him up. God didn’t do that to David, he took him through process

3. Be passionate ·

If you don’t have passion you will be consumed · Psalm 69.9 – passion for your house will consume me … the joy of the Lord is our strength and the oil that keeps our motors running · The word enthusiasm comes from the ancient Greek word EN +THEOS meaning “inspired by or possessed by God”.

4. Be growing in grace ·

2nd Peter 3.18 tells us to grow in grace. Grace itself does not grow. We grow in grace · If we fail to understand grace, we try to earn favour with God. End up in mere religious works. Entrapped. We must come to the understanding of how much God really loves us and forgives us · Heb 13.9 says that our hearts must be established by grace

5. Be knowledgeable in the basics ·

Don’t need insights in the secret mysteries of the Bible · But we need to understand basics as well · Unity/Offences/Forgiveness/Identity etc– Who we are and Whose we are · We can’t consistently perform in a way that’s inconsistent with the way we see our self ·

Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less

6. Be teachable ·

Read books · Talk with people further along the journey than yourself · Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind · The purposes of God being fulfilled dependent on God’s people thinking well

7. Be an opportunity taker ·

The righteous shall live by Faith · Faith is characterized by risk and adventure · This gets us out of the boat and out on the water · We need to shift from continually asking God what he wants, or what he wants us to do, and ask for the courage to do what we already know

8. Be yourself ·

Adopt from others but adapt to yourself · You are all Gods got, and you are the best God has got · He doesn’t keep a secret recipe up in heaven

9. Be plugged into God ·

Must be fueled by eternal connection · John 15vs 5.The time that you invest in your relationship with Christ isn’t preparation for the work, it is the work · 2 Corinthians 8:5 - “... gave themselves first to the Lord and then to others as was Gods will” ·

If your output exceeds your input, your upkeep will be your downfall ·

The Starving Baker represents the person who is so busy feeding others that he neglects feeding himself. Sometimes leaders put so much into the people they lead that they fail to nourish their own lives. “Their ‘talk’ is great. Their ‘walk’ becomes fake.” “They are spiritually starving … so close to food, yet never eating.”

10. Be surrendered to God ·

Nelson Mandela said our greatest threat is not so much that we are inadequate but that we are powerful beyond measure · To the degree that you come under power and authority will be to the degree that you are in power and authority · Luke 7. Roman centurion

Comfort or Comfortable ?

Christians are more uncomfortable doing evangelsim ,than Non Christians themselves

Please read that again -Nice and Slowly .Wow what a disturbing trend.

What can we do to change this around -What can you do?-What are you doing?

What is God concerned with most for all lives?
Is is that we are comforted or that we are comfortable?

My own conviction is that ,God is more concerned about our comfort than making us comfortable .Jesus didn't die to keep us safe. He died to make us dangerous! The will of God is not an insurance plan. It's a daring plan. In fact, the will of God doesn't get easier. God gives us more difficult, daring, and dangerous things to do! Read Hebrews 11.

In the words of a daring twentieth-century missionary, C.T. Studd,
"Some want to live within the sound of church or chapel bell; I want to run a rescue shop within a yard of hell." The church needs more Studds!

How To Last in Ministry

Read a great post on Pastor Dave Fergusons blog regarding a message he had listened to by Pastor Rick Warren ,in regard to Ministry Burnout. Some great lessons to apply here

Rick Warren - Preaching On Purpose

RICKS THOUGHTS ON "PREACHING ON PURPOSE"

• Nothing is a more powerful force in your church than the preaching.
• God's purpose is to make us like Christ. (II Corinthians 3:18)
• God wants to bring conviction and change our conduct and character.
• "...that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.: II Timothy 3:16,17
• Teaching the Bible is not about is not ultimately producing maturity; it's about ministry and mission.
• Application is what is lacking in most teaching.
• Our preaching needs to "build bridges" from the scripture to life.

HOW TO PREPARE TO PREACH ON PURPOSE

1. Study the text. (observation)
2. Find the timeless truth. (interpretation)
3. Think of your audience. (contextualization)
4. Apply the truth to their situation (personalization)

10 THINGS I'VE LEARNED ABOUT PREACHING ON PURPOSE

1. All behavior is based on a belief. We do what we do (good or bad) because we believe something about the behavior.
2. When we sin we think that is the best decision in the moment. When you figure out the lie behind the behavior you will be a better preacher.
3. Change always starts in your mind.
4. To help people change we must change their beliefs first. The battle of sin always starts with helping people to see the lie they believe. You must expose the lie.
5. Trying to change people's behavior without changing their beliefs is a waste of time.
6. We need to lead people to repentance. Repentance is simply getting people to change their mind. Repentance is another term for a paradigm shift. "Metanoia" means to change your mind; it is not change you're behavior.
7. You don't change people's minds; the applied word of God does change their minds.
8. Changing the way I act is the result or fruit of repentance.
9. The "deepest" kind of preaching is preaching for repentance.
10. To produce lasting life change: enlighten the mind, engage the emotions, and challenge the will.

Why We Do What We Do

Our heart and vision at Eastside Apostolic is to Win people to Christ and Develop them.
That is the purpose and passion behind everything we do. Our strategy to do that is simple.

We want to help people experience God, excel in spiritual growth, and express his love to the world. Simply put, Love God ,Grow together and Reach Our World .

At Eastside our primary environment to help people experience God is our Services . Our desire is that people would drawn to Christ through the worship, preaching, and fellowship.

Our primary ministry to help people excel in spiritual growth is Lifegroups. These groups meet at various times and locations throughout the city. There are groups for adults, youth, and young adults. While each has a slightly different focus, they are all centered on helping people grow in love for God and one another.

And finally, our primary avenue for helping people express God’s love is through ministry teams and outreach events. From cafe,host teams to visual media and sound, there are many ways to get involved in ministry.

One thing I never want to forget is why we are here and why we are doing what we’re doing.

With so much at stake, we must remember always to keep the Main Thing the Main Thing

The Power Of Example

Here is an excellent post regarding the power of living a life of example from Dunstan Bell ,who is the principal of Kings Bible College.

Living a life of Example

The combination of Concern and Oppurtunity

One of my goals of Reverb this year is to grow our evangelism muscle.

I love what Willow Creek church say about their approach to evangelism.
If you cut us we bleed evangelism." Their evangelistic temperature is white hot
No wonder they call themselves a missionary church rather than a missions church
Huge Distinction!

And it's not about sharing our faith out of guilt. It's about being so excited about who God is and what God has done that I can't not talk about it.

I love what one writer described his personal definitions of worship and evangelism.
Worship is bragging about God to God. Evangelism is bragging about God to others.
I think evangelism is a simple extension of worship.

Let's not stop bragging about God when we walk out of church!

At the Last Leaders Life Group I spoke about the powerful combination of concern and opportunity working together

When we only presenting evangelistic opportunities to Christians, but don’t work to raise the concern level, a very small response will be the outcome. But equally so when we only work on the concerned level and don’t present opportunity to people nothing happens, as a concern always needs a cause to attach itself to.

So what comes first concern or opportunity, the chicken or the egg? The chicken of concern always comes first, and births the egg of opportunity.

This is illustrated in the Good Samaritan story where 3 people were faced with the same opportunity, but 2 had a concern deficit disorder and chose not to respond. The 3rd person the Good Samaritan, had grown his concern level enough so when opportunity presented itself, he did something about it,

Concern and opportunity working in combination is powerful

So what can you do to grow your concern level for the Lost?

Communicating to Change Lives (Pt.7)

The fifth and final question I ask is …

5. “How will I say it?” [The Method]

Be practical. If the goal of preaching is changed lives, then application is the primary task of preaching! Knowledge doesn’t change the world, but action does (Luke 10:37. James 1:22). Interpretation of the Bible (what it means) is not enough. We must bring people to application (what they are to do). Exhortation without application leads to frustration. Jesus came to give life, not just information.

Always aim for a specific action (Matthew 28:20). Tell them why – explain the benefits. Show them how. We need far less “ought to” preaching and far more “how to” preaching. “Yes, but how?” People are looking for practical answers. We need clearer application not just deeper interpretation. Don’t be a commentator (content focus). Be a communicator (application focus). Changed lives are the goal, not just explained content.

A “lecturer” speaks about the Bible, is concerned about the facts (literary analysis), and seeks to inform. A “pastoral preacher” speaks from the Bible about the congregation, tells them what God wants from them, and is concerned about people. Life-changing preaching does not talk to the people about the Bible. Instead, it talks to the people about themselves - their questions, hurts, fears and struggles - from the Bible. Preach to people about their lives. Don't just lecture about a topic.

Finally, be creative. Make the message interesting (Proverbs 15:2. Ecclesiastes 12:10). Saying, “We’re not here to entertain”, sounds spiritual. Our message is too important to present it in a boring manner. “Entertainment” is simply capturing and holding the attention of an extended period of time. We are communicators of the greatest message in the world. It is a sin to bore people with the Bible. People will think that God is boring.

Never make a point without a picture. Have an illustration for every exhortation. A picture or story is better than a definition. A point gets to the head. A story gets to the heart. Use visuals, drama, or role-playing. We live in a visual generation. Get people involved. Use humour. Be interesting, appealing and delightful.

Humour relaxes people, it lowers defences, and it creates positive emotion. It’s not a sin to help people feel good.

Learn from others. No one can be brilliant every week. God has called us to be effective, not just original. Listen to good communicators and learn from them. Keep fresh. Ask for feedback.

Communicating to Change Lives (Pt.6)

The fourth question I ask is …

4. “Who is talking?” [The Messenger]

This makes me have a good look at myself. In many ways, as a communicator, you are the message. How you speak is very important – your personal style. Your personal style is a combination of your personality and your attitude. This has a big part in determining the impact of your message.

The basic elements of communication are message content, body language and voice quality. Communication experts tells us that effective communication is 7% content, 55% body language (things such as eye contact, a smile, gestures, dress, and appropriate movement), and 38% voice quality (things such as appropriate volume, pitch, and vocabulary).

When thinking about yourself as the communicator of your message, be enthusiastic. Do you really believe what you’re teaching? Are you excited about it? Do you believe it can change people’s lives? Put life and energy into your message. Inspire people. Make it interesting. Have a great attitude that’s contagious. Do it with excellence. Put a lot into it and show the audience their value.

Be open and personal. Honestly share your struggles, mistakes and weaknesses (2 Corinthians 1:8; 6:11. 1 Thessalonians 2:8). Be transparent. Drop your mask and let people see your heart. Talk about your problems. You’ll get people’s attention. Authenticity and genuineness are attractive. Share who you are and what you are currently learning. Be a model. This is the most effective way to change people. The minister is the message. The Word must become flesh (incarnated). Get people to trust you by being real.

Be encouraging. That’s purpose of God’s message as recorded in the Bible (Rom.15:4) and of everyone who speaks for God (1 Corinthians 14:3). Life is tough. Everyone’s had a tough week. People need their faith reinforced, their hope renewed and their love restored. Don’t tell it like it is. Tell it like it can be. “You have the potential to be … Here’s how.” Lift people to a higher level. Be positive. Jesus came to save, not condemn. He message was good news and so is ours.

The number one factor in communication is like-ability. If people like you, they’ll listen to you. Love them and they’ll like you. What you have to say (content) vs. how you say it (style) - both are important! Be yourself!

Communicating to Change Lives (Pt.5)

The third question I ask is …

3. “What will I say?” [The Message]

Once you have established your purpose and formulated an objective statement, you are ready to do your research and prepare the content of your message. Purpose first, then content and outline.

Ask yourself what the Bible say about this subject or the audience’s needs. We don’t have to make the Bible relevant. It already is! We have to show its relevance by applying it to people’s needs.

Gather information on your topic from Bible study, personal experience, and other resources (books, articles, statistics, research, or advice from other people). Think of any illustrations that could support your message. Once you’ve done your research, narrow your ideas into a few points. Be brief and concise - keep it fast paced. Eliminate what's unnecessary. Summarise key points.

Next arrange everything into a logical sequence. The basic parts of your message are: (1) the opening or introduction where you gain rapport, generate interest, and establish a need to talk about your topic; (2) the main body of your message (organised around your main objective); and (3) your close or conclusion, where you summaries and call for action and/or a response.

Work on the transitions so that you tie each part together smoothly. Each new point should begin with an overview statement and conclude with a bridging statement to lead the audience to the next point. Help move your listeners from thought to thought with you.

Also, consider the time element. How much time should you give to introduction, body (key points) and conclusion? What is most important? Allocate time according to priority.

Communicating to Change Lives (Pt.4)

The second question I ask is …

2. “What am I trying to say?” [Purpose]

Purpose is basic and central in preaching. You need a well-understood, clearly articulated and biblically justifiable purpose for your message. It is on this that you plan and execute everything you do when you preach. Whatever you do in a sermon, you should do consciously and deliberately to achieve some purpose. Everything should have its objective and you ought to know what that is.

Your purpose may be to inform, to equip, convince, or to motivate. It addresses what people should learn, believe, disbelieve or do. What do you want them to know or do?

If you can't write the objective of your speech in a single sentence, then either you're trying to say too much or you don't know what you're talking about. If you don't know what you're aiming at, you'll be sure to hit it. You will never be effective unless you know exactly what you want to accomplish with your message and thoroughly plan your strategy for achieving that goal.

Prayerfully choose a subject, then a central theme, and then narrow that down to a clear objective. Most topical messages are either in the form of an obligation message – ‘You should …’ or an enabling message – ‘You can …’ The logical question for the first is ‘Why?’ while the obvious question in response to the second is ‘How?’ For example, you might speak a message with an objective of communicating the message ‘You should pray’ and then you’ll show people why. Or you might speak on ‘You can be free from worry’ and the message will teach people how.

Whatever you speak on, it is essential that you have a clear purpose for your message and a single objective that you are trying to accomplish. Everything you then do or say in your message needs to contribute to this overall goal.

Communicating to Change Lives (Pt.3)

Every time I prepare to speak, I ask myself five questions. Let’s begin with the first question.

1. “Who am I speaking to?” [The Audience]

When preparing to speak, I always start with my audience. Who am I speaking to? The first question is not “What do I speak on?” It is “Who am I speaking to and what are their needs?” The goal of teaching is to move people from where they are to where they need to be. Where do we start? Where they are!

We should always begin with: the patient, not the medicine; the student, not the curriculum; the customer, not the product; and the audience, not the message. Preachers at times are the only group who don’t do this! Something can be good in and of itself, yet irrelevant if it doesn’t match the needs of those being spoken to. Jesus always started where people were, not with the next lesson in his Scripture reading. The majority of his teaching to the crowd began with their needs. This determined his preaching agenda (Luke 4:18-19). We should do the same. The aim is to find ‘common ground’ (1 Corinthians 9:22-23) so you can speak words that will be helpful and beneficial (Ephesians 4:29).

Who are you speaking to? Think of your listeners right from the beginning. If you don't meet a real need, then your message is a waste of time. A message that is specific is much more powerful than a general motivational message. For every sermon we preach, people are asking, “Am I interested in that subject or not?” If they aren't, it doesn't matter how effective our delivery is, they won’t be attentive nor will they benefit from the message, no matter how good we think it is.

Ask questions about things such as people’s needs, problems, stresses, challenges, hurts, and interest. Get appropriate and relevant information. Do all you can to know all you can about your audience. Take a survey of your congregation or of the needs in your community – “I wish someone would preach about …”

If we don’t do this step well, then we will be scratching where people aren’t itching!

Communicating to Change Lives (Pt.2)

Jesus was a master communicator and therefore he is our model for preaching to change lives. Jesus was the greatest speaker, teacher and communicator who ever existed. He spoke to large audiences in places like the synagogues, the mountainside, the seaside, and in the streets. He addressed small groups such as the Pharisees who liked to debate him, the disciples who wanted to learn from him, and his friends such as Mary, Martha and Lazarus who conversed with him about their daily needs. He also spent time one-on-one with people like the Samaritan woman and the rich young ruler.

Jesus was always prepared and he spoke with authority and confidence. So much so that the people were often amazed at his teaching (Matthew 7:28-29). He used simple language (not shallow, but easy to understand) yet the awed the educated. He used a variety of techniques (parables, object lessons - coin, analogies, humour, role models, questioning, and lectures). No wonder the Gospel writers tell us that the common people heard him gladly – they listened to him with delight (Mark 12:37).

In John 12:49, Jesus tells us that the Father told him what to say (the content of his message) and how to say it (the delivery style of his message). Both of these are important. Through learning from Jesus, the disciples gained confidence in speaking even though lacking in formal education (Acts 4:13).

The objective of our communication is not oratory or brilliant speech but to make the message clear so that people can respond (1 Corinthians 2:4-5). The great commission commands us all to be teachers of the gospel and of God's ways of living. There must be a balance between our preparation (skill) and our dependence on the Holy Spirit (anointing).

Tomorrow we’ll begin looking at five questions I ask myself every time I prepare to speak.

Communicating to change lives

Hi everyone!

Mark Conner, senior pastor of CityLife Church in Melbourne, Australia - a church with around 5000 people attending each weekend in a number of locations, has done an excellent series on communicating to change lives

Mark's Blog is one of my personal favorites. Its great to have people like Mark, who is a bit further along the leadership journey than I am, to learn from and gleam off

It has 5 parts to it , so I will post 1 part per day
Enjoy!

Communicating to Change Lives (Pt.1)

TEAM EFFORT

TEAM EFFORT THE PRINCIPLES

Team effort doesn’t happen by accident. It takes focused effort from the leader to make it a reality. Here are some lessons in team building, from John Maxwell

1. Express the God-given vision for growth and excellence regularly.

2. Clearly communicate and regularly update specific goals.

3. Share consistent information about progress toward the goals.

4. Make every effort to help team members identify and utilize their spiritual gifts.

5. Provide ample opportunities to improve the skills necessary to complete the goals.

6. Keep individual spiritual vitality a priority, and find ways to encourage it.

7. Express gratitude publicly and privately for faithful and effective service.

8. If a team member is not performing adequately, confront the problem with love, andprovide an opportunity for additional training or resources to improve performance.

9. Saturate the atmosphere with openness, understanding, and affirmation.

10. Demonstrate to the team your commitment to excellence, personal integrity, and spiritual vitality.

11. Devote top-quality time to building a strong administrative team who will move thewhole team toward the vision.

12. Recruit additional positive team members, and make it an ongoing priority.

What ones jump of the page and speak to you?

My suggestion is pick two that you want to focus on and action this week. Remember buliding a strong team culture doesn't happen in a day, it happens daily.

Let me know how you get on

Happy Mothers day

Simply Amazing!

Peanuts or Continents?

Do you know why I often ask Christians, 'What's the biggest thing you've asked God for this week?' I remind them that they are going to God, the Father, and the Maker of the universe. The One who holds the world in His hands. What did you ask God for? Did you ask for peanuts, toys, trinkets, or did you ask for continents?

I want to tell you… it's tragic!

The little itsy-bitsy things we ask of our Almighty God. Sure, nothing is too small--but also nothing is too big. Let's learn to ask from our big God some of those big things He talks about."

Dawson Trotman, Founder, The Navigators

Crash

Crash

In his book, The Barbarian Way, Erwin McManus writes about different animal groups. If you’ve studied ornithology or entomology or herpetology, you know that different groups of creatures have different names.

A group of fish is called a school. Ants are called colonies and bees are called a swarm. Cattle are herds, birds are flocks, and a tribe of lions is a pride. For what it’s worth, a group of buzzards is called a committee!

But here’s my personal favorite: a group of rhinos is called a crash.
That name seems so fitting! Believe it or not, a rhino can run about thirty miles per hour which is pretty amazing considering how much weight they are carrying! They are actually faster than squirrels which can run about twenty-six miles per hour. There’s a mental image!

Here’s the funny thing. Rhinos have terrible eyesight. They can only see about thirty feet in front of themselves. So they are running thirty miles an hour with no idea what’s at thirty-one feet! You would think they’d be timid creatures because they can’t see very far in front of themselves. But God, in his amazingly creative foresight, gave rhinos a big horn on the front of their head.

Erwin McManus piggy-backs off the crash analogy: “The future is uncertain, but we need to move toward it with confidence. There’s a future to be created, a humanity to be liberated. We need to stop wasting our time and stop being afraid of what we cannot see and do not know. We need to move forward full of force because of what we do know.”

Great quote

I love the way Erwin McManus says it in his book Unstoppable Force:

“The center of God’s will is not a safe place but the most dangerous place in the world.”

Then he makes a great distinction:

“To live outside of God’s will puts us in danger; to live in his will makes us dangerous.”

RADAR, BUCKETS, CHUNKS, and MARINATE.

Rob Bell is the Teaching Pastor at Mars Hill Bible Church in Michigan. He is a speaker, author, and the creator of the Nooma visual presentations. Rob is a very interesting person – creative, arty, humble and insightful. He also has some excellent tips on sermon preparation and how to be always on the look out for insights well ahead of when we preach them. He uses four words to describe his process: RADAR, BUCKETS, CHUNKS, and MARINATE.

Let me unpack those for you ...

RADAR
As communicators of God's Word we need to have our spiritual radar on all the time. Preaching preparation is not something we set aside for a specific day each week. We need to be listening to God's promptings ALL the time - while talking to people, while driving down the street, while watching the news, while reading the Bible ... all the time. God can turn an ordinary place into a sacred place, just like he did for Jacob sleeping out in a desert area (Gen.28:10-17). The truth is that God is everywhere and he is speaking all the time. Are we tuned in? How easily we can miss God at work all around us at each moment of the day. Preaching preparation is be a lifestyle. Wake up and get your radar on!

BUCKETS
We need a way to capture these thoughts and ideas as we receive them. Write down whatever moves you. You might choose to use a paper notepad or in a Word file on your computer. But create a heap of buckets to record your insights. If you don't, you'll forget them.

CHUNKS
Over time, some of your individual thoughts and ideas will start to connect together with similar thoughts and ideas to form 'chunks'. A fragment starts to form part of a larger story. It could be a Bible verse, a thought from a TV advertisement, something someone said to you, or a reflection you had - all on a similar topic. Begin to chunk them together. They become the foundation for entire messages or segments of messages.

MARINATE
The best meat is marinated! It's tender and tasty. In the same way, the best messages are ones that you have been marinating in your spirit for a while (even for months), not something you threw together on Saturday evening. Ensure that the message is part of you and that it's something you're living out. Allow the Word to become flesh in you. You can't fake this or do it quickly. Allow God's words to become your words. Your teaching will drip with depth and anointing. You will know it and so will those who listen.
As we take time to hear from God, then deliver His message with creativity and passion, His Spirit will use our words to bring about positive change in people's lives. Go for it!

Seven Keys to Discovering Your Destiny

Seven Keys to Discovering Your Destiny
1. Understand Grace.
II Peter 3:18 tells us to grow in grace. Grace itself does not grow. We grow in grace.
If we fail to understand grace, we try to earn favor with God. End up in mere religious works. Entrapped. We must come to the understanding of how much God really loves us and forgives us.
Heb. 13:9 says that our hearts must be established by grace.

2. Develop Faith.
Faith comes by hearing the Word of God. The more Word we have in us, the more faith we will have. Faith must be developed.
*Read the Word. *Believe the Word. *Speak the Word. *Act on the Word.

3. Be a Jesus Person.
John 15 - Develop a strong, personal, intimate relationship with Jesus not just a Sunday morning, congregational kind of relationship.
"I want to be a Jesus Person, not a miracle person. Not a healing person. Not a worship person. Not a tongues person."

4. Forget the past and forgive.
Isa. 43:18-19 tells us to forget the former things. You can't go forward if you are always looking in your rear view mirror.

5. Be quick to obey the Holy Spirit.
If we don't obey quickly, the enemy comes in to steal the Word. (like in the parable of the sower). We must obey quickly because the devil will try to come and convince you that it was only you, not God.God has a school of obedience. The first way we learn to obey is in the area of giving. God uses those who are in obedience in tithing and giving. We learn to hear His voice and obey.

6. Be teachable and submitted.
Matt 8:6 -10. Amount of power you have in the Spirit realm will be related to your submission. We must be submitted, humble and willing to learn.

7. Live your life with passion and eternal perspective.
God wants your whole heart! Be on FIRE for Him!

Faith, Hope and Love

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13vs 13

The core of an Apostolic movement is: Faith, Hope and Love.

Our communities of faith must:
Live by Faith (defined by risk and sacrifice)
Be known by Love
Be a voice of Hope

Altars to God or Monuments to yourself?

Excellent post from Pastor Mark Batterson,its a ripper

This morning I'm doing a session at the Evolve Conference titled The Secure Leader. I'm going to use Saul as a case study in insecurity. Two verses represent two defining moments in his life.
I'm going to use Saul as a case study in insecurity.

Two verses represent two defining moments in his life."I Samuel 14:35: "And Saul built an altar to God; the first one he had ever built." So far so good. Saul is building altars to God. But fast-forward one chapter.

I Samuel 15:12 says, "Saul went up to Carmel to build a monument to himself." Somewhere between those two verses, Saul stopped building altars to God and started building monuments to himself. "There is a fine line between Thy Kingdom Come and My Kingdom Come. At some point, it was no longer about God. It was about Saul."

Here are seven habits of secure leaders:
"1) Don't play the comparison game. "No one wins! Comparison either leads to pride or jealousy!"

2) Success isn't numbers"
Saul got caught up in the numbers game. And David had better stats. Listen, if my children grow up to love God and everything else falls apart I'm successful. But if NCC grows to 50,000 people and I sell 10,000,000 books it means nothing if my family falls apart. Jesus was successful because he poured his life into twelve people!"

3) Celebrate your failures.
"Insecure people are afraid of failing. Secure people laugh at themselves. They celebrate failure because it accentuates what God can do inspite of us!"

4) Don't panic"
Saul panics when his men start scattering so he makes a sacrifice instead of waiting for Samuel. Insecure people get nervous. They give up. Secure leaders hang in there no matter what."

5) Don't get defensive
How you handle criticism will make you or break you. You need tough skin and a soft heart. If you're insecure your defense mechanisms will get the best of you. So instead of leading out of imagination you'll lead out of insecurity.

6) Surround yourself with the right people"Who was Saul's greatest asset? David. But if you are insecure, your greatest asset will become your greatest threat. And it will short-circuit your ability to surround yourself with a great team. And it will limit your influence.

"7) Keep building altars to God"
God often uses us at our point of insecurity because then He gets all the credit. I pray for the favor of God as much as anything else because I want God to do things for me that I cannot do for myself. And every time we experience God's blessing we need to build an altar. The blessings of God either turn into pride or praise. Are you building altars to God or monuments to yourself?"

Four Rules of Preaching

Sorry about the lack of blogging over the last week ,I havent been to well.
On the positive side I was able to have a little bit of time surfing the Blogging World

Found this article on preaching form Dunstan Bells blog site

About two years ago I heard Chris Hill share TD Jakes' four rules of preaching - here's an exert...

1. Study Yourself Full
Know absolutely everything you can about the text you’re speaking on

- when was this text written
- why was it written
- who wrote it
- who was it written to

Look at the text from the perspective of every person and object. For example: If preaching on Job, don’t just be Job, be his wife, be his friends, be the boil!

When approaching a text, don’t speak from what you’ve heard others say about that text.
Know the text so well that you can live it

2 Timothy 2:15
Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

It only takes one person to stand up and ask a question at the end of your sermon; if you don’t know the answer your credibility is gone.

Study one hour for every five minutes you plan to speak
- i.e. 30 minute sermon, 6 hours study text

2. Think Yourself Clear

Once you have gathered your information/revelation of the text, you must think your way through it logically
Points are the skeleton of your sermon upon which you layer the muscle (revelation)
A sermon with no points is pointless; a sermon with too many points is a porcupine and nobody can handle it
It’s often difficult to communicate with your mouth what you hear in your heart, therefore say your sermon out loud before you come to preach it

3. Pray Yourself Hot

> Prayer burns you hot with passion
> Prayer gets the sermon from your head to your heart
> Prayer gives you a burden for the people
> If I’m not red hot about it before I speak, I have not prayed enough
> Pray for one hour for every five minutes you plan to speak

4. Let Yourself Go

> We have a generation that is looking for people to keep it real. One of the characteristics of a postmodern generation is that they want things real.

> "Preacher, don’t cover up, smile, and pretend that your life is perfect. If you’re perfect, I don’t want to listen to you because my life is not perfect and I cannot relate to you."

> Any speaker you enjoy shows you that they are a real person
> Only when you’re transparent will the light of Jesus shine through you.

> Preaching is the process of unzipping yourself and letting people see your guts. Let people see your raw emotions, let them see that you have highs and lows.

> When you get up to speak, let everything that’s burning inside of you come out and don’t worry about how you look or what people are thinking.

> When you have diligently studied your text, given your sermon structure, and prayed yourself hot, only then can you let yourself go

The "Tyrany of Busyness"

I was reading my good mate Clive Smits Blog on "busyness".

I really appreciated what he had to say.
I believe part of what makes a great leader is that you are able to survey the horision ,and make nessecary changes before you are forced to.
So thanks Clive for the heads up and for watching my back

I also wanted to add a few things to..


If you get busy ,skip your devotions.
Signed Satan

Some peoples definition of life balance is rushing from place to place in moderation

I try to live by the motto. "The key to living a fulfilled life is to foucus on the things that are really important and to disregard everything else".

The best way to spend your life is to invest it in the things that are going to outlast you .
When everything is a manageable pace its easy to see these things ,but the tyrony of '"busyness" is that it so often clouds over the obvious.

We have to work hard to stop that happening. I love this story

The Big Rocks

One day an expert in time management was speaking to a group business students and, to drive home a point, used an illustration those students will never forget. As he stood in front of the group of high powered over achievers he said, "Okay, time for a quiz."
Then he pulled out a one-gallon, wide mouthed Mason jar and set it on the table in front of him. Then he produced about a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully placed them, one at a time, into the jar.
When the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, "Is this jar full?"
Everyone in the class said, "Yes."

Then he said, "Really?" He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. Then he dumped some gravel in and shook the jar causing pieces of gravel to work themselves down into the space between the big rocks. Then he asked the group once more, "Is the jar full?"
By this time the class was on to him. "Probably not," one of them answered.
"Good!" he replied. He reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in the jar and it went into all of the spaces left between the rocks and the gravel. Once more he asked the question, "Is this jar full?"
"No!" the class shouted. Once again he said, "Good."

Then he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in until the jar was filled to the brim. Then he looked at the class and asked, "What is the point of this illustration?"
One eager beaver raised his hand and said, "The point is, no matter how full your schedule is, if you try really hard you can always fit some more things in it!"
"No," the speaker replied, "that's not the point. The truth this illustration teaches us is: If you don't put the big rocks in first, you'll never get them in at all."

What are the 'big rocks' in your life?
Your relatinship with God? Your husband or wife? Your children? Your loved ones? Your health? Your education? Your dreams? A worthy cause? Teaching or mentoring others? Doing things that you love? Time for yourself?

Remember to put these BIG ROCKS in first or you'll never get them in at all. If you sweat the little stuff (the gravel, the sand) then you'll fill your life with little things you worry about that don't really matter, and you'll never have the real quality time you need to spend on the big, important stuff (the big rocks).

So, tonight, or in the morning, when you are reflecting on this short story, ask yourself this question: What are the 'big rocks' in my life? Then, put those in your jar first.

Love it

This is a quote from Ravi Zacharias that has huge implications for evangelism in the emerging culture.

"We must learn to find the back door to people’s hearts because the front door is heavily guarded."

Engaging Culture

Mark Conner shares some interesting thoughts on how to be relevant in the world we live in

When it comes to culture, including media (TV, movies, etc), there are three different approaches that Christians tend to take:

1. Reject Culture.
Some Christians see the world as ‘evil’ (and at times, rightly so) and therefore all culture is to be rejected. Christians are called to be ‘holy’ which means to be ‘separate’ from the world. Christians end up living in their own sub-culture – with Christian communities, Christian bookshops, Christian TV, and even Christian jewelry! The danger with this approach is that Christians end up very ‘different’ from the world but because of their isolation they have ‘no audience’ and therefore no positive ‘influence’ on the world.

2. Embrace Culture.
Other Christians go the other way – they fully embrace culture in response to Jesus command to live ‘in’ the world. The danger with this approach is that if we uncritically embrace everything in our culture, we can end up no different than the world we live in. As a result, we have no message to offer them, despite the fact that we have relationships with them. We aren’t isolated, as in the first approach, but we are so immersed in the culture that we lose our distinctiveness.

3. Engage Culture.
A more balanced approach, modelled exceptionally well by Jesus, is for us to ‘engage’ with our culture. We are to be ‘in’ the world, but we are also called to be ‘not of’ the world. Jesus’ used metaphors for this – ‘salt’ and ‘light’. Both of these things make an impact but only when there is proximity. Salt in the salt shaker has no affect and light only helps if it is shining in the darkness.

The first two approaches are easy - they are 'black' and 'white'. The third approach is much more difficult - even risky. It's 'grey' ... but it's well worth the effort.
Jesus spent a lot of time with people far from God and, amazingly, he never got angry or aggressive with them (‘sinners’). The only people he did get angry with were extremely religious people, especially the Pharisees who were very legalistic.

Which way do you lean? Do you tend to reject culture too easily? Do you tend to embrace culture too much? How could you engage with culture more effectively this week?

They like Jesus but not the Church

Found a great article on the website "missional church network"
Raises some good thoughts

I have been reading Dan Kimball’s new book “They Like Jesus But Not The Church.” I have found several insights from the book to be helpful. One section I found funny (in a sad kind of way) is titled “The Transformation From Excited Missionary Into Citizen Of The Bubble.” In this section of the book Kimball shares his observation concerning what happens to many believers as they “mature” in their Christian walk.

Phase 1: We become Christians
In this phase Kimball reminds Christians of the time they first placed their faith in Christ, understood the grace of God, and experienced the excitement and joy of learning new things from the Bible. He writes, “Remember that burst of understanding God’s grace and joy in Jesus as you told your non-Christian friends about your faith? Probably this occurred in a natural way, since you were friends rather than strangers. . . This is only natural because generally everyone in a new Christian’s circle of friends is outside of the church.”

Phase 2: We become part of church life
As we get involved in the life of the church, we make Christian friends and participate in all kinds of church activities with them. New believers tend to slowly lose touch with non-Christian friends and become more and more immersed in Christian activities. The reality is that the longer we are Christians the fewer the number of friends we have who are not Christians. Again Kimball writes, “Even though Christians often work alongside non-Christians or have non-Christian neighbors or sit next to non-believing students in class, we generally tend not to actually befriend them, or pray regularly for them, or get involved in their lives so they trust us and we can be salt and light of Jesus to them.”

Phase 3: We become part of the Christian bubble
“As we slowly withdraw from ongoing relationships with those outside the church and focus on relationships with those inside the church, something happens. Once, it was more natural and even exciting to share life with people at work or at school, with relatives, or with neighbors. But slowly we begin to see evangelism as something the church does, primarily through events. We get more excited about going overseas to the mission field on summer trips than about the mission field we live in every day.

We start to see evangelism as inviting people to go to a church, where the pastor will do the evangelizing and explain Christianity, instead of spending time with people and talking with them and being the church to them. . . . During this phase, we stop praying daily for those who don’t know Jesus and instead pray for our church’s latest building project or latest program.”

Phase 4: We become Jonah
After being citizens of the bubble for several years we begin to complain and point out the terrible things happening in the culture. Like Jonah we don’t want anything to do with those who aren’t following God as we are. Like Jonah, we may even have a secret sense of delight thinking about how God will one day punish all those sinners in our towns and cities. “And like Jonah, who, even after God gave him a second chance and he saw the people of Ninevah repent and cry out to God, complained about not having shade over his head and being uncomfortable, we complain about how well the church is providing what we want and grow numb to the fact that people all around us need the love and grace of Jesus.”

At this point Kimball makes reference to the Talking Heads song “Once in a Lifetime” when David Byrne cries out “My God! What have I done?” Or in our case maybe “My God! What have I become?”

How much of an accurate description do you feel this is?
How can we turn this pattern around?
Interested in your comments