Saturday Links
Praying Past Our Preferred Outcomes
Through prayer we draw close to him in our need. We tell him that we will not insist on our predetermined positive outcome but want to welcome him to have his way, accomplish his purpose.
A Brief History of Youth Ministry
The task before us is enormous. We need to change the way we pass the faith to the next generation. Believing in the sufficiency of Scripture, we must turn to the Bible to teach us how to do ministry (rather than just what to teach). Students need gospel-centered ministries grounded in the Word of God.
I can well remember Pastor Ken’s words in a service a couple of months ago where the new Interns got introduced: “We are thankful for the work that these guys are doing and are eagerly waiting for the day a young man stands here and can testify that God has used the work that Urban Promise is doing to turn his life around.”
I am this young man.
There in his office I was struck with so many emotions. Here stood a man who has buried over two hundred of his parishioners. And here I stand, a young-buck having buried a grand total of zero of our members.
Are You Tired of Your Boring Church?
Is the worship at your church stale? Is the preaching bland? Is the music dated, or even worse, boring?
My Advice to a Young Guy Starting Something New
I got an email from Chris. He’s just out of college and has been offered his dream job—but it’s big. He grew up attending a church of 250 people, and now he’s been asked to lead the community ministry in a church of 2,000.
Chris, here’s my advice…
Leaders (church planters especially), feedback is tough because our hearts are so raw. You are so deeply invested in loving and leading people and your people likely do not understand how much pressure you’re under, the stress and pain that happens behind the scenes, the sleepless nights, the dissonance between the vision God has given you and the reality in your own life and the church, and how much your heart beats for the things of God and the well being of your church. But this cannot be an excuse for avoiding feedback.
The Top 7 Things That Almost Guarantee Your Church Plant Will Win
There are a MILLION things you are thinking that you need to do…but here are my top 7 focuses when starting with a blank slate, that I believe if you pursue, with the help of the Holy Spirit, you will win.
A vague vision is almost as unhelpful as no vision because you don’t really know where you’re headed, so you don’t ever really know if you’re headed in the right direction. So, how do we know if our vision is vague and if it is, how do we move toward clarity?
The Dirty Little Secret Of Overnight Successes
Don’t cave to your mistakes, embrace them. In fact, mistakes are simply to the portals of discovery. There’s an old saying that “every bull’s-eye is the result of a hundred misses.” So the next time you feel the sting of failure, just realize you’re likely one shot closer to hitting your target.
