Archive for the ‘random thoughts about ministry’ Category

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I Read Another Book! Here’s the Cliff’s Notes…


2011
08.16

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I know, I shouldn’t get so excited just because I finished a book.  But, given my proclivity for starting things and then moving on, I think I stayed pretty focused on this one.  Of course, that could have been because the information presented in Andy Stanley’s Seven Practices of Effective Ministry was simply captivating.  In many ways, the book gave me the chance to “pick the brains” of one of the best church leadership teams out there.

And, as I’ve said before, this amazing Kindle “highlighting” feature has allowed me to easily pull some of my favorite snippets from the text and share them with you here.  Since I’ve gotten better at clipping notes since my last post, there are more this time.  (Around 100 highlights in all.)

Please remember, what follows are not my thoughts.  They’re simply complied clippings from some writers who are much better at this than I.  If you like these, go buy the book (http://www NULL.amazon NULL.com/dp/B001E2WM6I/ref=r_soa_w_d).

Comment and enjoy!

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Here’s Why We’re Not Like God (and it’s not what you think.)


2011
06.09

Posted in ministry, random thoughts about ministry | No Comments »

I often hesitate to write blog posts.  I hesitate, not because I lack in things to say, not because I feel that my opinion doesn’t count or doesn’t need to be shared, not because I think no one really cares.  I hesitate to write because I only want to write truth.

Truth in my words, truth in my motives, truth in my commitment to God, and to honoring Him in the things I say, no matter the medium.

All those words said, here’s what I need to say.

The church is not a building.  It’s not a place.  It’s, well, us.  Those of us who choose to follow the way of Christ the best way we know how.  And this is the problem, really.

It would be much easier if the church were the building.  Because they would be strong, they would be varied but identifiable, they would be less-intelligently designed, and we could comprehend the church as we would like.  We would have problems with the church, but we could call a technician, or an expert, and have the problem fixed.  We could put a pricetag on it, raise the money, and pay the problem away.

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Some Thoughts On a Book I Just Read…


2011
03.31

Posted in book reviews, ministry, random thoughts about ministry | 2 Comments »

I bet you thought this post was about Love Wins, huh?

Here’s the truth.  I do believe that love wins.  Which I why right now I couldn’t really care less what Rob Bell wrote.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge fan of Rob’s work, and have grown as a Christ follower from many of his teachings.  But right now, at the place God has put me in ministry and life, I just don’t care about some debate.

I’m much, much more interested in how we can show God’s love, and introduce people to Jesus.  Because love wins when we show love.  That’s why God told us to do it, I think.

Enough about that.

The book I just finished was Ministry in Hard Times by William Easum and William Tenny-Brittian.  I don’t agree with every single thing they say, and you probably won’t, either.  But they make HUGE strides in moving the church in the right direction.  That is, moving us toward the people who aren’t coming in droves to us.

Essentially, their premise is that the world has changed, things move faster, and this inevitably has an effect on how we lead and function as an organized Church.

What follows are 50 short “clips” from the book.  This made possible by someone finally explaining to me how a Kindle works.

So, here goes.  Read this “Cliff’s Notes ‘Cliff’s Notes’”, and weigh in.

Perhaps, though, don’t give too many opinions unless you read the whole book.  We Christians wouldn’t want to be accused of rushing to judgment ill-informed, would we?

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