Posted in Evolving Culture, Relevant Ministry, tagged Evolving Culture, Relevant Ministry on December 3, 2008 | 1 Comment »
In my last post, I asked the question, “Is suffering a precursor to learning?” Could it also be a precursor to becoming a great Christian, a great parent, or a great pastor?
Here are some insights from two books: Geoff Colvin’s “Talent Is Overrated” and Malcolm Gladwell’s “Outliers”:
Talent is overrated. You are not a natural-born clarinet [...]
Posted in Evolving Culture, Relevant Ministry, tagged community, Evolving Culture, love, Missional Ministry, Relevant Ministry on November 17, 2008 | 3 Comments »
Has anyone ever told you they’re a Christian but that “church” just isn’t their thing? There’s far too much of that today. You may have felt it yourself.
The Search Institute, a Minneapolis based research firm, recently discovered 55 percent of young people (6835 from age 12 to 25) say they are more spiritual now than [...]
Posted in Evolving Culture, Relevant Ministry, tagged Evolving Culture, future, love, Relevant Ministry, Sacrifice on November 14, 2008 | 3 Comments »
I wasn’t sure exactly why I was crying as I walked through Dulles airport last Friday. I had just passed a magazine rack where stories and pictures of Obama were everywhere, and it took me back 33 years…all the way back to my freshman year at Purdue University.
My roommate and I were moving into Shreve [...]
Posted in Evolving Culture, Relevant Ministry, tagged connection, Evolving Culture, millenials, Obama, Relevant Ministry on November 11, 2008 | 48 Comments »
We’ve often discussed how Millennials (those under 30) view the world quite differently. Many suggest that it was the Millennials that put Obama in the White House. Here’s the world through their eyes.
Amber is a Sign Language Interpreter and Brock is finishing an M.A. in philosophy. He plans to pursue a PhD in philosophy of [...]
Posted in Evolving Culture, Relevant Ministry, tagged Evolving Culture, Relevant Ministry, Soul Cravings on November 10, 2008 | No Comments »
“The Christian Right isn’t Christian or right” is the belief of 80% of New Zealanders. New Zealand author and pastor Alan Jamieson surprised us with that observation last week at our West Virginia retreat. Alan was with us to share his research on why people leave church. His findings are captured in his recent [...]
Posted in Evolving Culture, Relevant Ministry, tagged Relevant Ministry, Connecting, Evolving Culture, connection, connecting online, Participation on November 6, 2008 | 12 Comments »
I’m hanging out here in the West Virginia mountains with Bible historian and futurist Len Sweet. He’s been a significant voice into the Christian community authoring over 25 books.
Today, Len suggested that we now live in a Google era. The past 500 years we’ve been in a left-brain world, a linear, modern world…think accountants [...]
Posted in Empowering Leadership, tagged Empowering Leadership, Relevant Ministry on October 29, 2008 | 18 Comments »
Nobody knows the implications of this economic storm we’re stumbling through. We all sense that these are transformational times and that transformation must begin with us. Rosanne Cash once shared, “The key to change…is to let go of fear.” The key to letting go of fear is to build trust. But in what or with [...]
Posted in Empowering Leadership, Evolving Culture, Relevant Ministry, tagged Relevant Ministry, Evolving Culture, Empowering Leadership, mega church, Rex Miller on October 27, 2008 | No Comments »
So what were you thinking last month as the dominoes fell one right after another? The demise of Lehman Brothers tipped into the rushed sale of Merrill Lynch to Bank of America, which was followed by the federal takeover of AIG and the $700B bailout. What does this financial crisis change for you?
In a [...]
Posted in Empowering Leadership, Evolving Culture, Relevant Ministry, tagged Empowering Leadership, Purpose, Relevant Ministry, test, Valuable life goal on October 20, 2008 | 12 Comments »
“Everyone wants to know if they ‘have it’. And every person has to be tested to find out. A real battle tests you and shows you what you’ve got! And young people can’t ‘find it,’ because they’ve never been tested.”
These are the words of Johnny Wilkerson, our 90 year old neighbor who flew 69 missions [...]
Posted in Empowering Leadership, Evolving Culture, Relevant Ministry, tagged Church growth, Ed Stetzer, Empowering Leadership, Evolving Culture, mega church, outreach, Outreach magazine, Relevant Ministry on October 6, 2008 | 12 Comments »
80% of the churches in the US are on the decline, and that includes every traditional denomination. The younger crowd has been quite clear about loving Jesus but disliking the church. In fact, According to Dave Kinneman’s book, “Unchristian,” they trust the gay community more than the Christian community!
So what’s up with the continued growth [...]
Posted in Empowering Leadership, Evolving Culture, Relevant Ministry, tagged Empowering Leadership, Evolving Culture, Leadership, Relevant Ministry, vision on September 28, 2008 | 3 Comments »
It was a breath of fresh air to hear my pastor friend Dave Ferguson (Community Christian Church) talking about “Big Dreams” at the recent Multi-Site Exposed Conference in Chicago. Thriving in this rapidly changing environment requires the ability to inspire and provoke others. Here are his thoughts to get you started:
Big dreams change your questions
Big [...]
Posted in Empowering Leadership, Evolving Culture, Relevant Ministry, Three Relevant Ministry Responses, tagged Al Hirsch, community, community needs, Empowering Leadership, Evolving Culture, missional, Missional Ministry, Missional Resurgence, Relevant Ministry, Three Relevant Ministry Responses on September 26, 2008 | 4 Comments »
Community Versus “Communitas”
If you build it they may not come! That’s why they no longer build enclosed shopping mall in the US. We’re now drawn to these community oriented lifestyle centers. From shopping to church we’re walking away from mere convenience and consumption and are drawn to connection and purpose.
Thanks for hanging with me as [...]
Posted in Empowering Leadership, Evolving Culture, Relevant Ministry, tagged Empowering Leadership, Evolving Culture, Relevant Ministry on September 24, 2008 | 3 Comments »
Apostles and Movements
Australian Al Hirsch sobers us a bit with this definition of today’s reality:The church in the west is facing a massive adaptability problem. Positively in the form of compelling opportunity and negatively in the form of rapid discontinuous change.
This “Missional Resurgence” may in part be God equipping the church to navigate this rapid [...]
Posted in Empowering Leadership, Evolving Culture, Relevant Ministry, Three Relevant Ministry Responses, tagged Relevant Ministry, community, Evolving Culture, community needs, Empowering Leadership, missional, Three Relevant Ministry Responses, Missional Ministry, Missional Resurgence, youth ministry on September 22, 2008 | No Comments »
To reach their community, a church doesn’t have to have fancy programs or an elaborate mission statement – they simply need a genuine passion to serve their neighbors.
When pastor Rick Thiemke came to New Life Church in Yorkville, Ill., eight years ago he discovered that the community saw churches as “takers.”
“I would call a business [...]
