We’re starting a series of messages this month at Cornerstone called “5 Love Languages”. It’s taken from the book with the same title
I used Apple’s Motion app to create a video “bumper” to show before the message and use with other media we’ll make in connection with the series (weekly video update on Facebook and archive video of the message).
Check it out below.
I’ve noticed a bit of an attack on resolutions this year. Okay, “attack” may be a strong word, and it may not be widespread. However, I’ve come across several blogs that expressed some negative sentiment towards the idea. I’m not sure where this is coming from, but on one of the posts I read, the author expressed her disdain for resolutions. To her, they were never kept, because they were too radical. Instead she said, we should look to improve areas that we are already excelling in. She then proceeded to make goals for what she wanted to do in 2011. Maybe I was missing something, but they seemed like resolutions to me, regardless of what you call them.
Life works in cycles. We need to experience the ebb and flow that these times bring. For me, the New Year is a time to reflect on the past and find vision for the future.
It’s healthy to slow down and consider the road we’ve been on. For me, 2010 has been marked with transition. I’ve changed my role in ministry, moving from being a Youth Pastor to Executive Pastor). And we’ve moved from Chicagoland to the St. Louis area. This past year has been a time to heal and be restored. I had to let go off some things as a result of our move that were incredibly important to me (family, friends, familiar environment, etc.). The end result, however, is that my family and I are healthier and stronger because of it. It hasn’t always been easy, be we have great new friends and a church family who have walked with us through the process.
I made 3 commitments/resolutions/goals last year.
So, there you go. That’s my list. What’s on yours?
Somehow I ended up on the the email lists of a few book publishers. I get several offers to review books on my blog, but many of them just don’t interest me and I don’t have the time for the extra reading (especially on topics that don’t apply). But every once in a while, I get an offer that sucks me in. “Exponential” is one of those books.
I’ve been a staff pastor for several years. I have dreams of one day leading a church and/or planting one. When that happens, I’ll be revisiting this book for some of the ideas and concepts it contains.
“Exponential” is a book about creating and sustaining multisite ministry among churches. At the core of this is the idea of reproduction through apprenticeship. This is something that applies to every believer, not just pastors interested in adding an additional location for their church. And for me, that’s what makes this book great. As much as this is a book about church planting, it’s also a book about how to create ministries and leaders who seek to reproduce themselves in apprentices (to use the term in the book) who will in turn continue to pass their heart/vision/skill on to others.
I found this book to be very accessible and easy to read. It’s written by Dave Ferguson with some humorous notes from his brother, Jon Ferguson, along the way. It has some great personal stories/examples to balance out and illustrate the philosophical and strategic content. And there’s a lot of that here. It’s full of practical advice and tips for how to reproduce and raise up leaders and churches. This is one of those books that will end up on my shelf for future reference.
For me, a book like this challenges me on a couple of levels. First, it causes me to evaluate my current ministry assignment and find ways to improve on how I am leading and what I am passing on to others (apprentices) around me. Second, I begin to step back from my current situation and dream about what God is calling me to and where he will eventually lead me–sort of a big picture or long term vision.
If you’re a pastor interested in starting a multisite location or if you are a lay leader in your church, “Exponential” is an excellent resource for you to find ways to reproduce yourself in others and expand the Kingdom and the ministry you lead.
You can buy “Exponential” at amazon.com (if you purchase through this link, you’ll help support the blog).
When I started reading this book, I breathed a sigh of relief. That’s because I received a copy of this book for free for the purpose of reviewing it on my blog. In addition to that my friend Justin Lathrop (who is on staff with the author) invited me to the “blog tour” of the book. When I accepted the invitation, in the back of my head I said, “I hope this is good, because I really don’t want to struggle to give it a decent review.” However all fears were quickly forgotten as I began to read. “Steering Through Chaos”
In “Steering Through Chaos”
Scott does a great job communicating in a way that comes across as sincere, authentic and experienced. His approach and style made reading this book not only informative, but enjoyable as well. Often I felt like Scott was just having conversation with me over coffee. In chapter 8, he discusses the importance of having a life coach. For the author, it’s the single most important principle in the book. I couldn’t help but think that the book itself is like a mini life coach session with Scott.
Most books that I read end up back on the shelf and get lost in the mix. A few books go to the shelf and stick out. These are the books that I make note of their position, the look of the spine and its height. These are books that I want to find again. The ones that will serve as a reference for me in the future. “Steering Through Chaos”
For me, this book was a refreshing look at what pastoral ministry is about. Reading it served as a sort of “realignment” for me. Unfortunately, in the past I’ve seen a lot of what ministry is not. This book has come to me at a time when I really needed to see an optimistic, healthy, God-honoring perspective of ministry and the challenges that it brings. I appreciated that Scott’s passion isn’t to lead effective change in and of itself. Instead his focus is to be deeply committed to following Jesus and bringing as many people as possible with him on the journey (even though that often results in a bit of chaos along the way). This is probably best illustrated in chapter 5, which deals with the importance and need for corporate prayer. It’s a powerful reminder to make sure we’re listening to the right voice.
This is a book that I’m going to be recommending to the staff I serve with at Cornerstone. It provides some great insight on how we can work through some of the challenges that we are/will be facing as we continue to grow and transition.
I recommend this book to anyone in a leadership role, especially those in ministry and those who need to keep a vision alive in front of a group of people.
You can purchase “Steering Through Chaos”
Several weeks ago I was reading from the One Year Reading Plan when I came across 1 Corinthians 6. The Apostle Paul is writing about how some of the Christians at Corinth had disputes with each other and had brought those disputes to secular courts for judgment. Paul criticizes them for their inability to resolve their differences on their own.
But then Paul takes the topic to a deeper level. He says in verses 7-8,
“Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated? Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers.”
And then week ago Pastor Phil spoke about forgiving those who have hurt you and caused you pain. It was a great message. One of those where you nod your head and think, “yeah, I need to forgive those horrible, evil, arogant people who have wronged me. They’re so bad for treating poor, innocent me that way (#sarcasm).”
Then came the proverbial “kick in the teeth”.
Pastor Phil closed the message out by encouraging us to not only forgive, but then to also pray that those who have wronged us would experience blessing.
Ouch.
Then this past week, Mark Batterson wrote on his blog about bitterness and how to overcome:
I honestly believe that prayer is the only antidote to anger, bitterness, and unforgiveness. You can’t just forgive. You’ve got to pray for that person. Why? Because it will change your heart. You’ll find that a supernatural love for that person disarms your anger. Forgiveness will set your free. And prayer is the key.
Um, anyone else see a reoccuring theme here?
Yeah…I think I have some praying to do….
