You may want to put on steel-tipped shoes before you continue reading. In part 1 and part 2, we talked about the word ‘church’ itself, parenting, and money. These last two traditions have to do with our attitude and our interaction with church itself. 5. Thinking ministers are there to do all the work. I once had a heated conversation with a Sunday School teacher who told me it wasn’t his job to actually get to know the kids he was... Read more
Last post I started a three part series on Six (Modern-Day) Traditions That Are Killing the Church. These traditions have nothing to do with style of music, whether the pastor uses a pulpit or round table, or whether the people come dressed in suits or blue jeans. There are great churches on both sides of those divides. These traditions are a little more insidious, a little more difficult to unearth. Here are traditions three and four: 3. Expecting the church... Read more
In Matthew 15, Jesus collides head on with the traditions of the elders. Jesus was never afraid to confront traditions that broke the commands of Scripture. 2000 years later, we still hold to traditions that run counter to the commands of Scripture. Here are two (and I’ll share the rest throughout the week). 1. Thinking the church is a building, not a movement. You remember how the rhyme goes? “Here is the church, here is the steeple. Open it up,... Read more
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. Ephesians 4:29 Bill Hybels, pastor of Willow Creek Community Church, recently shared a great message on the words that we use. The end of that message was so powerful, I wanted to share his thoughts with you. Bill Hybels sat down with a retired businessman who had started a company from scratch... Read more
Jack Welch – former CEO of General Electric Mike Krzyzewski – head basketball coach of Duke University, winningest men’s basketball coach in NCAA history John C. Maxwell – best-selling author and leadership expert Condoleeza Rice – former Secretary of State Andy Stanley – pastor of North Point Community Church Sanya Richards-Ross – 2012 London Summer Olympic Games gold medalist These speakers, plus many more, will be at the Chick-fil-A Leadercast on May 10, 2013. If you’re a leader of... Read more
I know I’m not supposed to admit this, but I struggled for years with tithing to my local church. (Yes, even when I was on staff at that church). It’s not like I didn’t know what the Bible said. I knew that God wants us to tithe. It’s not like I doubted God’s motives. I knew that money is the number one competitor with God for my heart. “You cannot serve both God and money” (Matthew 6:24). I knew what... Read more
February was a great month to push through. I had a couple of things that took me out for a couple of days, and I had some long conversations with my body about perseverance. Probably didn’t hit as many goals as I wanted, but I’m pushing through and proud for it. Mental Growth 1. Read 26 books and write a review on it (on my blog) with lessons learned. I started several books but only finished one (note to self: when... Read more
Right now I’m currently going through a great book called The Great Evangelical Recession (which I’ll post a review about later). In it, the author asserts that evangelicals are predominantly known for one thing among the American public: we hate homosexuals. We’re not known for the gospel, or our love for each other, or our charity to the poor, orphans, or widows. We’re known for our hate, specifically aimed at the homosexual community. I remember my denomination (Southern Baptist Convention)... Read more
This past week I had the privilege of traveling to Anderson, South Carolina for the Unleash Your Leadership Conference with Perry Noble and NewSpring Church. I had gotten connected to Perry through the Catalyst Conference, and was excited to spend a few days at his church, learning best practices that could benefit Mt Vernon Church in Columbus. Here are seven great truths I learned (or was reminded of): 1. Health of the leader = health of the church. Perry spent... Read more
War. Famine. Tsunamis. Genocide. Starvation. Earthquakes. Child Trafficking. Murder. Hurricanes. Why is there so much evil in the world today? More importantly, if God really is a good God, then why would he allow such evil to flourish in the world today? We’ve all wrestled with this existential question before. We’ve all been overwhelmed with the chaos in the world. It’s why you don’t like watching the news anymore. Who needs to be reminded every night that this world is... Read more
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