Saturday Links
Are You Missional? 10 Diagnostic Questions
In the book Live Sent: You Are a Letter
, Jason Dukes lays out 10 questions to help Christians discern whether or not they are operating with a missional mindset. I’ve adapted and explained them below. Challenging words!
The Church Is Not The Hope of the World
If we really believed that Jesus was the hope of the world, wouldn’t our lives and ministries look much differently than they do?
A Letter to the Church from Billy Graham
Let God’s Word, the Bible, saturate your soul every day. Let its message of hope and freedom from sin change you into the person God wants you to be–a person who reflects Christ in all you think and do and say. And then let that message send you to your knees in prayer for a dying world, and let it send you in the power of the Holy Spirit to tell others that there can be hope … there can be new life … there can be forgiveness … and there can be Heaven before us because of Jesus Christ, the only Savior of the world.
Why Should Churches Prioritize Church Planting?
While I am thankful for the resurgence in church-planting we are not comitted to it because it is popular but because it is biblical. I really believe that it is right and that it is effective. As leaders we have attempted to create a culture that prayerfully and purposefully longs and plans for church planting. Below are some of the reasons why.
Important reminders:
- Be more consumed with Jesus than starting a church.
- Be the community you want to be.
- Be missionaries.
- Be a lead inviter.
- Be sacrificial.
Rural Ministry is Not Second Rate
Do not treat these mission fields like training wheels for “real” ministry. If that’s your perspective you shouldn’t be in ministry anywhere.
It’s true that God may call young pastors and planters into small towns and rural areas to prepare them and train them for ministries of Jabezian levels of “more territory.” But some he calls to come and stay. Many of us are praying you young guys are listening.
“Should I date a non-Christian?”
Given the lack of godly, Jesus-loving, potential spouses, a common issue among Christian singles is, “Should I just date a non-Christian?” This has become an increasingly common issue within Downtown Cornerstone, so I thought I’d take a brief opportunity to address this practical issue and open it up for discussion.
Five Ways to Lose and Gain Influence
I think there are some characteristics around influence that attract us, and conversely, also repel us when they are not present.
So, let’s be specific. What kills influence? And conversely, what cultivates it?
Praying for Grace Instead of Judging Others
What if instead of judging others, we saw their failings as our own?
