Knowing what God has called you to do is very important. The strength of conviction of a Moses, who heard God from a burning bush, or a Peter, who had the son of God give him his marching orders is unparalleled by those who have arrived at their calling by other means.
My friend, Steve Sjogren, [...]

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One church planter I know of thought he’d show the love of Jesus as he launched so he touched 10,000 people with practical acts of love. As he told me this he thought I would be impressed by this project. I kept waiting for him to finish the story.  After a long uncomfortable pause I [...]

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So many I meet who are leading congregations are stuck in depression because they overwork something awful.  To quote a metaphor I used in my book, The Day I Died, many are living as “Rabbits.” A rabbit doesn’t live a strategic life. He or she responds to the urgent needs that are thrown at them [...]

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From Community of Kindness:
Pray — really hard. Don’t pray-whine, but pray, truly pray.
Gather continually, habitually ever day.
Pray some more.
Read Scripture.
Serve perpetually.
Have coffee, build new friendships, build new networks.
Read — stay fresh.
Write. Write some more.
Develop leaders.
Clarify your vision.
Assimilate like crazy the new people coming into your community.
Do outreach in a variety of creative and consistent ways.
Get [...]

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If the church was a mission to the moon, and I was the commander of the mission, my call to Mission Central would be: "Oh God, we have a problem!" The problem is that when the vast majority of people think of the Church, or of a Christian, their thoughts are negative!
The Church in America [...]

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Most churches don’t know who they are, why they exist, or where they are headed, and they don’t have the foggiest idea how they are going to get there.  It is essential that we clarify our reason for being and our vision. If we hope to be effective, we must communicate these guiding factors and [...]

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When Jesus called people to repent and believe in him, he used a phrase that, according to The Challenge of Jesus by N.T. Wright, was the dynamic equivalent of a modern command to "give up your own agenda and trust in me." Jesus calls us through that original band of believers to an agenda of [...]

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Be prepared with a timely Easter message that will bridge the gap with not-yet-believers.
Download the MP3 message "Where are Jesus’ Bones!" Buy Now! for $4.99
Download the PDF file containing the word-for-word manuscript for "Where are Jesus’ Bones!" Buy Now! for $9.99
Visit PrettyGoodBooks for resources.

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