By Steve Murrell As I type these words on my iPad, I am 35,000 feet in the air somewhere between Nashville and Detroit, heading to Manila, reading Acts and thinking about church growth. Too many of us (pastors & church planters) find our value in how many people show up at church functions. The more time I spend in the West, the more I have to shake off that sad obsession with size and remind myself that I am called to make disciples, not to build churches. Jesus said he would build his church – ….
by LA Mumar What do you see? Jesus was strolling on the beach when he saw someone that people usually ignored – Levi, the tax collector. (Mark 2:13-17) A little context here for you to appreciate this picture… Society saw tax collectors as traitors (they worked for the Romans), dirty and dishonest (they weren’t allowed to testify in court). They were despised and looked down on by society. Yet, Jesus called one of them! Here is a contrast between how people and Jesus saw Levi. People saw Levi as a problem … Jesus saw his ….
by Stephen Mansfield | Posted onSaturday, September 17th, 2011| Tags: character, Discipleship, faith, family, leadership, Lordship, love, making disciples, Parenting, Power of God, prayer, reaching the lost, Relationship, service, Will of God |no responses by Stephen MansfieldI received an email this week. It asked that I offer again a piece I wrote nearly two decades ago. I’m happy to do so. May it be an encouragement to those who serve in unnoticed roles.________________________________________Her name was Elizabeth Anne Everest. Few today will remember her. In fact, few would have known of her even during her lifetime, which ended in near obscurity in 1895. She was, after all, only a nannyone of thousands in Victorian Englandwho quietly spent their days caring for the children of other people. Strolling in a park ….
by Rice Broocks | Posted onTuesday, August 16th, 2011| Tags: Blogroll, calling, Discipleship, faith, knowing the truth, love, making disciples, mission, perseverance, preaching, reaching the lost, Theological |7 responses “YOU DON’T HAVE to know a drowning person to save their life.”There has been enormous emphasis placed on the need for relationship with people as the prerequisite for evangelism. So much so that some go as far as saying that relationship with others should be the only motive and not the hidden agenda of evangelism. Relationship-Relationship-Relationship… This seems to be the word of the hour. I spoke to church planters who had not succeeded in their efforts to launch a ministry. As I dug deeper it became apparent that they made a lot of friends ….
By Joey Bonifacio Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. Genesis 2:8 After God created the first man He placed him in the garden. Isn’t it interesting that God made the first man a gardener. I am convinced that God has an important reason why. That’s because much of life is like gardening. God’s intent was man would learn how to live life as he tended the garden. It was His way of teaching man – the very first “discipleship ….
By Dennis Sy Just finished reading the Dark Knight Returns. The story revolves around Commissioner Gordon on his last day and the city of Gotham is as bad as ever. Evil still triumphs. Frank Miller depicts how inhumane the city has become. Prostitution, Gang wars and killings were the norm. Batman has been silent for almost twenty years. He was beyond his prime but he wanted one last run. So the Dark Knight returns to solve the problem of Gotham city. He thought he could but instead of being hailed as a hero, he became ….
By Ross Middleton There is such a double standard when it comes to the way we as mere mortals, talk about celebrities. Its almost like we throw all the standards in the way we treat people that are in the Bible, right out the window. If we are watching sports on TV, cries of, “You suck! How did you miss that you idiot?!” frequently come out of our mouths, myself included. Now isn’t it funny that just because we don’t know these people personally, we somehow feel we have the right to not treat them ….
by Mike Watkins Traditional pastoral ministry is often like being an ambulance driver. Medics know little about the private lives of those who call 911 until there is an accident or crisis. After a call, they often arrive to find the aftermath of an unhealthy lifestyle or driving laws not being heeded. The same can be said for the police who respond to domestic violence calls. Even though most calls might be legitimate emergencies, there are some people who just want the immediate problem fixed and afterwards they will resume the same unhealthy or abusive ….
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