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