Pastors are the making of God's people. A pastor's ability and effort to lead a congregation, seek those who are lost, feed the flock, and be part of healing hurting people either develops or impedes. In this blog, I honor my pastors who most clearly demonstrated the four qualities in the Ezekiel 34 - Shepherd's Job Description. E. W. Caughron for leadership. Louis Green for feeding the flock. G.A. Mangun in seeking the wandering and T.F. Tenney in ministering healing to the hurting.
Are you effective with growing a church, winning the lost, and turning converts into disciples? If so, your effectiveness on behalf of the Lord Jesus Christ did not happen by accident. You made some intentional decisions.
Would you rather be "loved" or "respected"? A comedian is liked. People laugh. Is he respected? Respect is earned by loving people AND treating them with merciful and kind respect.
Ordinary people were able to do extraordinary things because the Spirit of God was at work in their lives. The ministry of the Holy Spirit is not a luxury; it is an absolute necessity
A great fallacy of the North American prosperity doctrine is that it presumes God having the same ambitions for us that we may have for ourselves. Such is usually not the case.
Do Christian leaders occasionally make the mistake of trying to bring people to a place of participation they are not ready for. People should be rooted in the church as well as rooted in the Word of God to be productive.
Began . . . a word that calls for a continuation. Luke was volume one of a saga that could not be contained in one writing,. God's approach is different, the tools being employed are different, but what He started has not concluded.
With Jesus there was action and doctrine. A bird must have two wings in order to fly. The church must also have the two wings of “action” and “instruction.” Seek balance – “to do and teach.” Both are necessary. To be over-balanced toward one or the other leaves the church weak.
I’ve been a pastor for almost 30 years and in ministry for nearly five decades. There have been more ups than downs, but in the down-times, when stress was high, there’s one thing I never did. Quit. Dealing with selfish...
Actually, my title is misleading. Some resources introduced here are written, some are videos and some information is about a great course on Disciple-Making that my church-planting son, Lane, and I developed. Books You Wouldn't Want an Ostrich for Your...
Infallible proofs were provided to the apostles. By extension, I can choose to believe and accept these infallible proofs though I did not see this proof for myself.
Let’s consider the keys to unlocking how to be effective at making disciples. Lock and key are apt descriptions. Too often when people are converted the church does not retain them. We need to ask ourselves why?
The book of Acts covers approximately thirty years. Understanding the time involved gives a sense of the time in Paul becoming a convert, a disciple, and then a student of the scripture. It helps see the development of Peter as the apostle preaching the first gospel message to the Jews and nine years later to a Gentile.
Acts contains an experiential theology of salvation whether dealing with those who conspired to commit murder (Acts 2); a prayerful and honest-hearted Roman military official (Acts 10), or an Ethiopian who had traveled to Jerusalem to worship (Acts 8). How to be saved is found in the book of Acts!
Step by step the gospel message moves from Jerusalem to Rome. The missionary effort was not easy. Persecution, personal disagreements among leaders, and people backsliding did not stop the missionary effort.
This view sees Acts as a pattern. Acts is thus like the Lord's command to Moses regarding the tabernacle. "...Look that thou make them after their pattern, which was shown thee in the mount." (Exodus 25:40)
Acts has much divine activity. God was breaking in on people of various cultures and backgrounds. Luke was especially concerned that his readers understand this.
