3 articles you should read
- The Wall Street Journal has an interesting article on why people can’t stop playing addictive games.
- Brad Lomenick wrote a great piece on what poisons a team faster than anything else.
- The New York Times had an article last week about the ramifications of growing up in a digital world.
what a difference a day makes
I was reading over some notes that I took when I heard John Maxwell speak several years ago.
“Oh, What a Difference a Day Makes”
The big days stand out, but every day counts.
Successful people make important decisions early in their lives, then they manage those decisions the rest of their lives.
Four Make-a-difference decisions:
1. I will make a difference for myself.
2. I will make a difference for others.
3. I will make a difference with others (teamwork).
4. I will partner with the difference maker (God).
press on
Nothing about God will change. Tomorrow he will be no more anxious to help our lives, our families, and our churches then he is right now. If we simply avail ourselves of his promises, we will see him do things we could never ask or think, just as he did in the New Testament. It is time to press on.
from the book, Fresh Wind Fresh Fire by Jim Cymbala
Ed Stetzer’s research on Transformational Churches
If you know the name Ed Statzer, you know he is a research and writing machine. He writes frequently on churches and leadership issues. I watched part of a video he recently did on Transformational Churches. The portion that I saw was excellent. Check it out [here] or stop by his blog [here].
pray and plan
Around 650 B.C. the Babylonians destroyed the city of Jerusalem. 100 years later, Nehemiah had a vision to return to the destroyed city and rebuild it. Before he did anything sporadically, he prayed and he planned.
Nehemiah didn’t plan for months and then pray to ask God to bless his dreams, he prayed from the beginning and made sure he was in the center of God’s will.
Then when the timing was right, and the King asked Nehemiah what he wanted, Nehemiah had a plan in place.
Pray and plan.
rubber band leadership
Recently I re-read parts of Nancy Ortberg’s book titled, Unleashing the Power or Rubber Bands: Lessons in non-linear Leadership. It is one of the best books on leadership that I have read.
Nancy encourages her readers through her unique writing style, to breath new life into your style of leadership by:
- naming someone’s giftedness
- offering hope
- vision inspiration
- give of yourself as a leader
- paying attention to the needs of your team
- learn to identify defining moments
Some quotes I enjoyed from the book:
Three components of a powerful crucible of development are opportunities, challenges, and a relationship.
The core of leadership is hope.
To lead well, we must possess the strong belief that our best days are ahead of us, always ahead of us.
Vision is about creating a reason to believe again.
You can purchase the book here. It is one of the best books on leadership I have read.
longing for change
“People yearn for change, they relish being part of a movement and they talk about things that are remarkable, not boring.”
- Seth Godin in his book, Tribes
fotia journal
announcement # 3
I am excited to announce fotia journal. Fotia journal is geared toward church leaders and students in the conservative holiness movement. This will be a fulfillment of a dream of some as well as boost an area of need.
The publication will be exclusively online. It will be published online twice a year. It will feature articles on pastoral leadership, Old and New Testaments, theology, culture, media, book reviews and more. It is intended to engage the church leader’s body, soul and mind.
The inaugural issue will launch in November. More details will be released in the coming weeks.
take me back
I love the story of the prodigal son in Luke 15. The one son wastes his inheritance, messes up his life and finds himself feeding pigs. Worse yet, he is even joining the pigs for dinner. Finally he has had enough and decides to head back home, to ask his father to be a servant. Because even his father’s servants were living better than he was. The story concludes with the son walking down the dusty lane and sees his father running towards him, welcoming him back to the family.
Ministry isn’t always full of glamourous stories. There are times when the life seems to be sucked out you. Recently I was startled to find out that one of my friends had fallen back to his old lifestyle. Individuals searched the city until he was found. As I was sitting beside him, he cried out, “pastor, do you think God will take me back?” It was a joy to walk beside him that night as I shared the story of the prodigal son and how God would gladly welcome him back home. We wept together and prayed together.
I can never thank God enough for taking me back.
hope, love, redemption // part 3
put your hope in the LORD,
for with the LORD is unfailing love
and with him is full redemption. - Psalm 130:7
I believe that redemption is still possible. At the Gospel Center , everything we do, we do with the ultimate of goal of redemption. By offering hope and love, we believe that is able to help us share the redemption story of Jesus Christ.
Here are two examples.
We have been doing Angel Food Ministries for almost two years now. Not only does it help our community tangibly, we are able to share the love of Jesus Christ through that ministry. We now have several individuals who are coming to the Gospel Center because we offered them hope and love and now we are able to share the story of redemption. We have joined them in the journey of life.
up7street is the same story. We offer hope to teens, give them a safe environment to hang out at, show them unconditional love and share the redemption of Jesus.
I am passionate about offering hope, love and redemption and I am thrilled that the people of the Gospel Center are too!
