I've Been Thinking About This…

Scott ?:
If we really believed that sin destroys people, wouldn’t we want to heal them by guiding them into grace?
Jesus came in Grace and Truth, not one or t’other.

Jim Shepherd:
Passion = generosity
FAT thinking means we don’t bother about right priorities.
Scarcity environment clarifies priorities & identities. What do you put on the back burner.
When money is plentiful we need to be prepared with good plans.
The challenge can be an opportunity.
3-point litmus test for priority setting:

1. Urgent
2. compelling
3. aligned

Luke 14:28 – planning & strategy go hand-in-hand with the Gospel.

Brian Boyle:
Character matters to 10-year-olds, let alone adults. Can bring down sports figures, politicians, ministers.
Character counts.
Character – moral or ethic strength.
Who are you when noone is looking – before God and noone else – Prov 10:7
Revealed in pressure situations.
Prov 4 – guard your heart.
Truth about character: if you lack it, it can ruin your life and that of those around you. Or it can guide you.
Ps 84:11 – For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.

My character can bring blessingh to my children and theirs.
Prov 2:7 He is a shield.
Pastors are desperate for their lives to count.
Character = God’s Holiness + our humility + honesty
How do I get it? Pursue it.

Naeem ?:
Story of a muslim who converted to Christianity and became a pastor, who travelled back to Pakistan. Met a woman on the plane; didn’t want to talk to her (in Pakistan they execute people like him who convert to Christianity).
Do we recognize God out of context of our normal environment?

Eric Bryant:
Advocating for the rights of those who do not yet believe. The church is not here to meet our needs – we are the church, and we must meet the needs of the world.
We shouldn’t expect others to adopt our values.
Kids don’t believe, but we make space for them until the time is right.

Nancy Ortburg:
Leadership is about managing tensions. Think of people who poured themselves into you. What would they do?
Although you can be mentored by that person, you can’t be that person.
1. David & Goliath story: David is frustrated at the Israelites’ cowardice; get’s Saul’s armor; then takes it off and returns to who he is – a shepherd boy.
2. Work with passionate people – get things done, attract people, build teams. But they can hide narcissism & insecurity. Humility gives you confidence, peace, freedom from worry over results. Humility always elevates others who you see are better than you at something.

The big lie: one size fits all – journal; confess; read your Bible every day.
God’s response to rules – I restore them with wonder upon wonder.

Rick Warren:
Care about our churches growing larger through evangelism; warmer through fellowship; broader threough ministry; wider through missions; deeper through discipleship.
But most churches don’t have a structure that moves from “come and see” to “come and die”
Need to be more intentional; should get back to catechism.
Jesus’ first words – “come and see”.
But you don’t leave people there.
you’re my disciple if … you bear fruit.
Right before He dies – take up my cross and follow me.
Church has to have a plan.
Make disciples not just converts.
Know your flock.
cultivate, channel and commission new people.

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Michael Trent:
(The Church Bartender)
We have to consider the environments we’re creating.
Are we building churches in such a way that can support the community?
God has given the church some amazing real estate.
Are we listening to what others are saying? intergenerationally, etc..
Jesus is coming back to used & dirty churches, not clean & closed ones.

Brad Powell:
We need to reflect and represent Christ in whatever we do.
Answering questions that noone was asking.
We are suppoed to be about ‘revolution’. But it’s odd that it’s odd to say that. We have turned to the world.
To stop the revolution, we get rid of Jesus.
We need to let Jesus back into the church so revolution can begin.
Commit to a present mission, rather than the history.
93% of the churches in our world are stagnating.
Need to lead people to Rom 12:1-2.

Ken Fung:
Inasmuch as “familiarity breeds contempt”, the preacher has to overcome familiarity in his audience, but even more so in himself.
Confess it and find new ways to see it afresh.
For some read different passages. Also try Buechner (Peculiar Treasures and Wishful Thinking); listen to other preachers.
Avoid predictable patterns of preaching to help congregation stay fresh.
preaching isn’t a lecture, it’s a conversation.
Zero in on one point.
Book – Made to Stick by by Chip Heath and Dan Heath

John Coulombe & Bambi Encarnation:
Don’t assume that older adlts have no room to grow
1. We need a sense of purpose with this age group (ps 78; 1 Tim 4) – they have a lot of skills
2. Need a sense of mission and service for the lost.
3. A sense of honor toward their age
4. A sense of humor (doing youth ministry with older people)
5. A sense of completion
6. Wrap up their lives so they move into the next life with grace

Darren Whitehead:
My 3-year-old daughter’s imagination was taken captive by the world.
(Dreamed about Elmo)
Matt 6:34 – Ask, seek, knock – what would you ask for?
Are our desires hauntingly similar to the world?
We’re called to eat delicious ripe fresh apples; are we going to be content eating the rotten ones?

Matt Williams:
Big challenges at his church in gender issues.
Gen 1:27 – both genders are part of God’s nature
Is 66 – Nurturing is part of God’s nature
2 Sam 7 – Masculine is found in God
from Bible, being equal is not the same as being the same.
Men don’t carry beauty the way women do
God is beautiful
Males are powerful – the average male is 60% stronger than the average female.
God is powerful
The idea of becoming one flesh cannot happen unless they wren’t one before.
the one-ness idea is foundational to understanding the rest of thge Bible.
Our gender has everithung to do with our identity, intimacy, roles in the marriage, for him to honor w/out abuse, for her to respect.

But then he moves into passivity by Gen 3 & she moves into independance by Gen 4 – the Gospel redeems.

Milton:
Within 20-40 year Hispanics will become the majority in many states. Will we reach out the the Hispanic community?

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Judd (name not suppied):
Titanic sank because of the bolts not the iceberg; someone who cut corners on several million rivits.
The larger you get – the more you get criticism.
There is an assassin for each one of us. He says, “Forget about the details”
If character assassination can happen to better, brighter people than me, they can certainly happen to me.

“Keep your hands off the money, keep your pants up and stay out of the hot tub” – and you’ll at least be the last person standing.

Eugene Peterson’s book title: “A long obedience in the same direction” – may God give that to you.

Brian McClaren:
(mostly on the phone)
I hope the pastors in the US would ask themselves, “What is the Gospel?”

We tend to think that the Gospel is all about getting to Heaven; Jesus says it’s all about bring Heaven to us.

The Gospel is not an evacuation plan, it’s a transformation plan.
It’s not about numbers, it’s about change.

Bob Roberts:
For the first time in history, we are global, no matter what types of church you’re in – house church, mega- or otherwise.

1. Talking about moving from interfaith (compromise) to multifaith.
2. Changing from critiquing others’ faith to critiquing ourselves.
3. Need to explain it so that everyone (not just our followers) ‘gets it’
4. We must live out our faith at its very best.
5. We must live out our faith in front of others
6. We move from focusing on the preacher & the church to on the disciple

Brad ?:
1. How many pastors have forgotten what it means to be a disciple.
We as pastors have to read our Bibles for ourselves, not just for message prep.
If the pastors says the people have to bleed, the pastor has to hemorage.
2. Pastors need to take care of themselves. Eat right, work out. Be Mach 1 to the detriment of your soul.
Stories of men & women who have flamed out in ministry are a dime a dozen.
3. Take care of your marriage – nobody carries the torch for that ministry.
4. If you have kids, the greatest church you pastor is at home.

John Ortberg:
The gap between me 1.0 and me 2.0 can be filled in Jesus. Just don’t quench (grieve) the Spirit. Too many times we think we must manage the gap.
Disciples are hand-crafted, not mass-produced.

Judy West:
If you’re leading a church but not leading in your life
Pete Scazzero’s “the emotionally healthy church”

Rick McKinley:
God still has the power to transform me – this wasn’t a one-time thing, but one that goes on throughout my life.
At the end of the day, my hope isn’t that I get my life figured out, but that Christ continues His work in me.
Live your life before God and before your community.

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Mark Batterson:
“I’d rather have 1 God idea than 1,000 good ideas.”
Everything that’s been created is a product of somebody’s mind.
Ideas are incredibly important.
2 Cor 10:5 – take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ.
We tend to think this applies to bad thoughts, but maybe we should consider good ones disciplined into His work.
Example – the Christmas catalog at NCC.
So – how do you get a ‘God Idea’?
Oliver Wendell Holmes – “a mind stretched by a new idea never returns to its original shape.”
Every leader needs a watchtower – Habakkuk. A place to go where the Holy Spirit can impress the idea on your mind then take it captive.

Rich Nathan:
We should be a “both/and” church, not an “either/or” church.
social justice should not preclude evangelism and vice versa.
Micah 6:8 – be both.

Sam Chand:
What is the difference between mega-church leader and a growth-challenged church?
Pain threshold.
About %10 of the church is there just to help our prayer life – the complainers.
Growth = pain.
Economic pain.
Staffing pain.
Relational pain – which ones to hold onto.
Leadership pain – never stop being a leader.
View pain as a teacher. Don’t allow leadership leprosy.

1. reflect on your pain
2. hang with people with high pain in their life (assume every major leader has a high pain life)
3. Take care of yourself. Pace yourself
4. listen to your spouse.
5. Don’t ask God to grow your pain threshold – He might!

If you’re hurting, that’s not all bad – you can’t grow without more pain. You only grow with pain.

Dan Kimball:
In the church tradition should never get in the way of mission or it is a sin.
We should be desperate for others to be part of the kingdom of God – without compromising Scripture.

Mark DeYmaz:
I believe that God is less interested in healing the race problem in America, and more in healing the church through the race problem.

Jim Tomberlin:
9 myths

1. Multisite is just a fad – reality – the new normal; 2000 churches embraced it and the number growing. 10% of Christians already attend a multisite church
2. MS is a vehicle for ‘celebrity pastors’.
3. MS is a video-driven model. Actually, only 1/3 are.
4. MS is just a space solution.
5. MS is neither incarnational and non-communal. Actually each campus is more personal.
6. MS is a church growth engine. Actually a vehicle; can’t fix a broken church.
7. MS is not a church plant. New congregation sure thinks it is.
8. Video teaching doesn’t work in my church. Actually, it is adopted very quickly.
9. MS inhibits raising teachers.

Chip Henderson:
Take care of yourself.

Assume responsibility for yourself. Stay away from ‘bad stuff’.
You’re the only one who can.
God doesn’t work through programs, He works through people.
Take care of yourself spiritually, relationally, physically.
“I can look into the eyes of your wife and tell the kind of man you are”
Look after your kids and make sure they grow up respecting the Lord.

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Jim ?:
Church needs to be a safe place.
People need to know that pastors are human too – take off the mask.
What we need to do is lift Christ up, not ourselves. “Point over there”.

Neil Cole:
Phil 2 – a song written by Paul to Jesus.
We want to make a name for ourselves – rather than being like Jesus and making a name for others.
Be an agent of God’s kingdom.
There’s a lot of brands in Christendom.
My father-in-law was a great man, worked for LAPD, loved Jesus and others more than himself.
Most important thing, whether you’re a leader or not, is that you’re a servant.

Reggie Joiner:
Nehemiah’s
fight for you family and faith:

• Those on the outside changed their opinion of who God was.
• inside changed their attitude – read the Scriptures as never before
• then a celebration like no other.

Bill Easum:
your legacy is less what you leave behind than who you leave behind.
Pastors can get so tied up in life they spend life doing life instead of helping others.
Set your own agenda – based on your call and the size of your vision. Don’t let your church set it.

• Ask yourself what you need to stop and start doing.
• Gather people around you who you can disciple. The ‘to be’ list. Hang out with them. They may become your next staff person.
• Real leaders grow other leaders. Life has got to be passed on.

J. D. Greear:
Center of ministry has to be proclamaition of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Good News is that the battle has already been won.
Don’t confuse the effects of the Gospel (radical Christisn living) with the presentation of the Gospel.
Any time the Gospel was preached, there was also a sign of it. (Preaching about spiritual sights, Jesus opened eyes.)
Acts 8:7 – there was much joy in the city – is there joy in our city?
Gospel is not about what we must do but what God has done.

Geoff Surratt:
Taking about comitt

1. take care of your family
2. go to church
3. be in a small group
4. prioritize personal worship
5. grow your faith – read material outside your prep.
6. give generously – generous giving defeats selfishness
7. be missional – live outside your primary ministry
8. volunteer – we’re so professional that we don’t know what it’s like for others
9. practice forgiveness
10. believe the best about the other staff members

Jennie Catron:
“We have shrunk Jesus to the size where He can save our souls, but we don’t believe He can change the world.”
Speaking about how Crosspoint has increased their missions budget from 10% up to 20% by 1% per year.
“Don’t fail to do something just because you can’t do everything.”
Since she’s soing something, she’s convinced that Jesus can do it.

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Margaret Thineburg:

Searching for the meaning behind metaphors in the Bible by interviewing people who have those jobs today – vine growers, shepherds, etc..

Where God has planted you – in a bulk vinyard like Fresno or a small one like Napa – celebrate where you’ve been planted.

Pete Wilson:
The Crisis of transformation
People are attending church, but they’re not changing very much – not becoming more Christlike. What’s the difference.
As church leaders we have reduced church to numbers. We need to save people not just ‘from’ something but ‘for’ something.
Not going to mention what happened at the pool…

Vision – We’re drawn toward God’s vision for our lives – or we try to change God’s vision for us.
Intention – People must own their own spiritual lives.
Method – teach people to abide in Christ.

Walter August, Jr:

What we do in minstry in church:

1. Commit to God’s word above everything else – even when we become unpopular.
2. Must continue to pray – in the plural – so that everybody can be impacted. God has to move. Go to Him in prayer first.
3. Commit to each other.
4. Worship together without focusing on self
5. Go out into the world in that spirit – it’s our witness.

Jon Tyson:

• As pastors we are spiritual leaders – we need spiritual stamina and strength.
• We need power, not just techniques.
• It’s possible to empty the Cross of its power.
• The spiritual leader who spends time in prayer resonates with the Holy Spirit. Following someone else we become an echo which has little power.

Larry Osborne:
Most of the problems we suffer today have a response in the NT only because they had parallels in those days.

We can neither be people who say the sky is falling, nor people who bury heads in the sand.

We need to be encouraged – we know how the game ends.

Matt Carter:
“Letting God go” is about a religion reporter who stops believing in God, because the only difference between Christians and non-Christians is that non-Christians are more open.
Confession of sin to God results in forgivness.
Confession of sin to one another results in healing.

Is there an unseen sin in your life? If so, it will destroy your ministry.

Scott Williams:
talking about “Church diversity sucks” (but it doesn’t have to).
church worship is the most segregated time of the week.

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