The views and opinions expressed here are my own and should not be construed as representing the corporate views of the church where I am a Pastor. (especially when I'm wrong or when I'm being an idiot).
the occasional blogger
sometimes blogs happen
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If Everyone Was Nice
We must not suppose that if we succeeded in making everyone nice we should have saved their souls. A world of nice people, content in their own niceness, looking no further, turned away from God, would be just as desperately in need of salvation as a miserable world. -C. S. Lewis
The 100 People Network
I thought this was a great (biblical) idea and a well designed website to boot. Check it out if you get the chance.I think what @_matt_carter said in this video is what more and more churches need to echo. What does God want from us? How can we reach people, equip them and send them? Our time is limited, how can we best engage people with the gospel both here and abroad?Francis Chan stepping out in faith
It is refreshing to me to see a senior leader of a successful church willing to leave it all to follow God's voice! Looking forward to what God has for him.Fearless Heretics
A friend recently sent me this book. I am about done with it, but today I came across a line that really struck me.-In the battle between two ideas, the best idea does not necessarily win. No, the idea that wins is the one with the most fearless heretic behind it.Interesting... I think we might just need some more fearless heretics. We need a few people that are willing to identify the issues and challenge the status quo.What area of your life and ministry needs a fearless heretic? Maybe you have an idea that you think is a great one. Do you have the courage to stand up and make it happen?thredUP
I thought this was an ingenius idea. Might try it myself... anyone out there every used thredUP before?what does not belong in this picture?
I am a minimalist at heart. I prefer things spartan and uncluttered. That might be shocking to some if they saw the condition of my apartment right now, or my desk after a hard days work. Despite the mid-organizational clutter I am constantly evaluating, pairing down and giving stuff away. How many times has your church done that? Okay you may have wanted to hand off a problem church member or two. I am not talking about that.
What I am speaking about is a program or property that is holding your ministry back. We’ll talk about programs first and get to property next.
The big question you need to constantly ask yourself is “What is the thing that does not belong in the picture for our ministry”? Little Johnny gets asked it all the time in kindergarten but frankly it rarely gets asked about church. Sometimes we just do stuff and continue programs because we’ve always done it or we somehow believe that programs are both attractional and transformational. It is sad but it happens. The best of us forget that the Gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.
You might ask, what do you believe church is about? I believe churches should live for Jesus, proclaim the gospel, engage in Gospel community and be on mission to make disciples of all nations. What in our churches is preventing that from happening?
Sometimes churches are consumed with getting a building and it takes their focus from what is most important or they are holding onto a building that is draining the church financially. If that is your church here are some helpful thoughts on the subject. http://tinyurl.com/y6ctexh | http://tinyurl.com/y2ye8ps I am thankful that the church of God is not bound to a building and local churches are not made of buildings but people. In Acts 2 the church did not have a formal, permanent facility and they seemed to do okay... we might just be able to make it too! :-)
It doesn’t matter what the something is, but whatever is hindering your church’s gospel ministry needs to be identified, evaluated and eliminated.
Thoughts? Share them in comments. Anyone have a success story about eliminating something and seeing new life because it was gone?
I ran across this post on RagamuffinSoul.com. @loswhit makes a good point. If your job is to make fantastic jelly beans stop trying to make bubbles. http://tinyurl.com/y26tw8yThe Story of Zack Smith
I had seen this video on Vimeo a while ago and put it in my "watch" list but never actually watched it. I did last night and I was greatly challenged by Zack, his story and his faith. I am a cancer survivor myself and I am thankful that God healed me in the way that He did. However that is not the plan God has for every person. We should pray and fight for healing and health all the while submitting to the will of our sovereign God. I hope you will be touched by this story as I was.The Jamba Juice Moment
This was my view for a precious 15 minutes this past Saturday morning. The weather was some amazing North Texas springtime weather. I was in Southlake Town Square sipping my favorite Jamba Juice, just watching people moving through the square, fiddling with my iPhone and enjoying the town I have come to love. It was peaceful, restful and it didn’t last for long. My slave driving iPhone buzzed with my next to do item for the day and on to the next thing I went. Thankfully even in the middle of busyness, turmoil and perplexing situations God has promised to give us perfect peace. The Prophet Isaiah described it this way...Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. -Isaiah 26:3 (KJV)I heard someone say once "you are responsible for your own serenity". It is true we all need Jamba Juice moments. Get a massage, do your yoga, take a vacation, close your email, turn off your phone, grab a Starbucks or whatever it takes to take a moment. However in the middle of kids and buzzing Blackberrys and soccer practice and business lunches and counseling appointments and all the other things that mess with our serenity remember this... if our mind is centered on Christ He will be the one who keeps us in perfect peace even if physically we are in the middle of chaos. Judging from this verse “God will keep us in perfect peace when our mind is focused on Him. How does our mind get focused? By trust in Him. He is bigger, stronger and smarter than our perplexing problems and personal pressures.Sometimes you need to sit outdoors, sip your favorite drink and unwind... sometimes we just need to say “God I trust you, please give me peace today”. I hope this thought will be a help as I am sure tomorrow will have it’s share of challenges.Peace!Something Out Of Nothing
Joshua Harris had a great post that I read the other day written to Steve Jobs regarding the release of the iPad. Basically he made the point that creativity, attention to detail and intelligence are all things that come from God. I have personally spent time with the iPad and marveled at it's ingenuity and intuitive design. It will quickly become a game changer in many facets of life just as the iPhone has.
However before we become too enamored and marvel at this creation of aluminum, glass and micro-processors I want us to think about a God that created our world with those very elements in it so that many years later he could give a dude the smarts to put it all together. How awesome is our God? Sometimes I worry that technology clouds our lives so much that that we revel in its awesomeness and not His awesomeness. Truly He was before all things and in Him all things hold together.
I love the way technology connects us, how it allows us to preach the gospel around the world and makes our lives more organized and efficient. I hope we will never forget the one God that was able to create out of nothing. Before there was anything and the only things that existed were God and nothing and from that nothing He created something... that should be a source of continuous amazement. Let's never forget how awe inspiring that is. I like what David said in Psalm 139.
Psalm 139:13-16
13 For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb.14 I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. 15 My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. 16 Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.
Take that thought and an awe for God into your weekend as you gather to worship and engage in gospel community.
State of the Church
Advance 2010 - What is the state of the church today? from Vintage21 Church on Vimeo.
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Gabriel Spence's Posterous
The views and opinions expressed here are my own and should not be construed as representing the corporate views of the church where I am a Pastor. (especially when I'm wrong or when I'm being an idiot).
