Connecting
First and foremost in any form of teaching, it is imperative that you make a connection with your people. It is a huge mistake to think of them or refer to them as an “audience.” If they are merely that, you will likely never really connect. You and I are people who [...]

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When an utterance of thanks or praise is made to God by a New Testament character, the context is clearly that the person has been moved from their hearts to speak in this way. They are not parroting a learned speech pattern from someone around them. They have not learned a concocted culture [...]

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It is indeed true that we are not growing in the western Church (North America and Europe) for many reasons, but near the top because we have no consistent way to give people a chance to come to know Jesus.
Think about your own situation.
A. Do you do a simple, clear cut, [...]

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Have you been pondering attending the North Carolina unConference, Walking in the Outflow, on June 22 or 23? You should make your decision now because early bird registration ends on Friday, May 25. You can get all the details in the online "brochure" here.

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What is it that causes a church to grow – really grow in all the ways that matter? Numerical increase in weekend attendance is not always numerical "growth." A church in my city recently reported they “grew” by 2,000 over the past year when indeed they merged with another congregation in the last few [...]

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The “Highly Committed” are the next on the scale of the committed. These are the ones who think a bit longer than the crazy committed. In come settings, as all things are adjusted down according to your version of “decently and in order” – what I call “Highly Committed” may be your version [...]

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Today as you prepare for your weekend message, prepare with your heart, your mind and your passion for both God and his people.
Don’t back away from challenging people. Just challenge them realistically and challenge them in love.
Realize this important truth - people are begging to be challenged. Those who [...]

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When I was asked to fill a pastorate in 1995, the person doing the asking asked the question: Do you have a vision for ________________ ? I had to tell him, "No." Over the next few weeks as events unfolded I began to hear the whispers of the Holy Spirit. Part of the transition process [...]

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How did the mall-walk go? No, I was really serious about that. If you haven’t done it yet, then do it today. If we don’t slow down long enough to feel the pain of our community, then compassion will not have a starting point.
Many times in Jesus’ ministry he was "moved by compassion." We [...]

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