Almost all kids love a good ghost story. They love hearing them and then telling them. We need to get better at telling them the best ones we can come up with. Of course, our favorite ghost is not Casper. Our favorite is Holy Ghost! You should have some good stories to share with younger believers. There are lots of […]
I just read a story about one man’s attempt at building relationships that was a sad indictment of how shallow much of our experiences with community are. He was planning a party. He thought it would be a great opportunity to get to know his Facebook “friends” better and even give them a chance to connect with each other. He invited […]
What difference does talking about the Kingdom make in ministry? The Gospel of Salvation does not produce servants The Gospel of the Kingdom will be preached everywhere before the end (Jesus: Matthew 24:14) The Gospel of Salvation is related to reconciliation The Gospel of the Kingdom is related to authority If 80% of the teaching of Jesus is about the […]
Consider your hand. With your hand still in sight, consider my hand. When the new dog bites my hand, you don’t experience the pain. You can care about my pain, you can show me real compassion if you have been bitten before, but you can’t feel it if the injury is in my hand. You feel the pain when your […]
Suppose that each week you had the profound privilege of gathering with some other believers who are mature with regard to their level of knowing Jesus personally and of manifesting Him frequently by bearing much of the fruit of His Spirit. Imagine that the meeting includes a meal, a time of praising God by declaring His mighty works in the […]
What very good advice Paul wrote to the congregations in Colossae about being co-members of Jesus: Therefore, God’s chosen ones, holy and loved, put on heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, accepting one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a complaint against another. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so also you must forgive. Above all, […]
We have spiritual gifts. Our ministries flow out of the gifts, influenced by our resources: who has parented us, what skills we have, who our neighbors are, and what other gifts are functioning around us. If I am an evangelist, I will need to be around unbelievers to have effective ministry. If I am a pastor, I will need to […]
If you want to build something, laying the foundation is always the first practical step. You can’t install a window or door without a wall to put it in, either. If you need to build a team for a project, it will be a stronger team if you build the peoples’ relationships before you put them to work by assembling […]
When Saul of Tarsus met Jesus while traveling one day, Jesus introduced him to His Ekklesia. He pointed over Saul’s shoulder and identified the people Saul had been persecuting as “Me.” “Why are you persecuting Me?” Have that fact in your mind every time you read something Paul wrote about “the Body” or “members” or “the Head.” When Paul looked […]
Why is there always a desert between the place where you hear the call of Yahweh and where the promised place is? The answer depends on who you are and who you are related to. Generations rarely bless each other, and it takes two generations to launch a movement. Wilderness for the forerunner generation is about preparing another generation; wilderness […]