Saturday Links
Sometimes It’s So Hard To Go To Church
Yeah, it would be easier to worship in isolation. It would be easier to do church at Starbucks with our iPods and Bibles. But if we do that God misses out on the glory and we miss out on the power of the Spirit.
Rescuing Church from a Facebook Culture
We must be aware of the challenges that it creates for ministry in our modern and postmodern world. The technology does not necessarily create sin patterns, but exacerbates the sin patterns that are already present within our hearts, and the hearts of our congregations. In response, we need to do something that we needed to do anyway: give our people a robust and vibrant picture of what the church is and their place in it.
The 10 Warning Signs of an Inwardly Obsessed Church
No church is perfect; indeed most churches will demonstrate one or two of these signs for a season. But the real danger takes place when a church begins to manifest three or more of these warning signs for an extended period of months and even years.
4 Ways To Ruin A Ministry Monday
Mondays can be difficult for ministers, especially those who preach and teach on Sunday … Mondays are crucial. Wasting them are detrimental to the week. Here are some ways ministers can ruin them.
Why It’s Hard to Invest in Exponential Growth
When you think about it, making disciples of Jesus could be like this. If I make, say, 8 disciples, and they all make 6 disciples each, and all of those people make 4 disciples each, you end up with 248 disciples of Jesus by the third generation. The exponential equation only gets more incredible after that. And all I have to do in the first generation is make 8 disciples. So why do we find it hard to invest our energy in making disciples who can make disciples? I can think of a couple reasons.
More Questions, Fewer Statements
Instead of telling people what you think in every conversation or telling them what they should think, try asking questions.
For Church Leaders, is 50 the new 30?
Here is my contention: You simply couldn’t lead a meaningful Kingdom movement before the age of 50. You could maybe start one and plant seeds for it. But in terms of leading one, growing one, sustaining one … I wonder if you have to be 50 and older.
In the drive to make churches more guy-friendly, we risk confusing cultural (especially American) customs with biblical discipleship. One noted pastor has said that God gave Christianity a “masculine feel.” Another contrasted “latte-sipping Cabriolet drivers” with “real men.” Jesus and his buddies were “dudes: heterosexual, win-a-fight, punch-you-in-the-nose dudes.” Real Christian men like Jesus and Paul “are aggressive, assertive, and nonverbal.” Seriously?
10 Things Your Commencement Speaker Won’t Tell You
Don’t try to be great … The less you think about being great, the more likely it is to happen. And if it doesn’t, there is absolutely nothing wrong with being solid.
