All posts tagged: church

Great Leaders can never fail. Uh… Come Again?

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You heard me! Great leaders never fail. No! I’m just kidding. I have never met a leader who doesn’t fail. We are all made of flesh and bones so we all fail from time to time. Somebody once said, “the better a man is, the more mistakes he will make.” So, I love the idea of failing forward because it conveys a positive attitude and perspective on the mistakes leaders are bound to make. Check out these quotes and get some inspiration: “Don’t buy into the notion that mistakes can somehow be avoided. They can’t be.” – John Maxwell “’Failing forward’ is the ability to get back up after you’ve been knocked down, learn from your mistake, and move forward in a better direction.” – John Maxwell “Failure is not a one-time event; it’s how you deal with life along the way. Until you breathe your last breath, you’re still in the process, and there is still time to turn things around for the better.” – John Maxwell “It’s hard to beat a person who …

Guard the spirit of Marriage within you: Don’t cheat on your Spouse

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Marriage Counseling for the cheating Spouse You fill the place of worship with your whining and sniveling because you don’t get what you want from God. Do you know why? Simple. Because God was there as a witness when you spoke your marriage vows to your young bride, and now you’ve broken those vows, broken the faith-bond with your vowed companion, your covenant wife. God, not you, made marriage. His Spirit inhabits even the smallest details of marriage. And what does he want from marriage? Children of God, that’s what. So guard the spirit of marriage within you. Don’t cheat on your spouse. I hate divorce,” says the God of Israel. God-of-the-Angel-Armies says, “I hate the violent dismembering of the ‘one flesh’ of marriage.” So watch yourselves. Don’t let your guard down. Don’t cheat. Malachi 2:13-16 (The Message Translation)

Conflict Resolution: Three Thing To Avoid

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If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. Matthew 18:15 1. Do everything in your power to avoid using email, text messages, or Facebook and twitter to either confront or respond to any conflict related issues. Chances are you will be misunderstood. Chances are the problem may take longer to be resolved. Chances are the problem could be blown out of proportion. Meet face to face, resolve the issue, give your apology, affirm your love or appreciation for each other, and recommit to the relationship. If this first step doesn’t work, study Matthew 18, all the while, staying humble, prayerful and sensitive to the Holy Spirit. 2. Always remember #1 3. Never forget # 1 Conclusion: Sometimes a conflict can happen between people living far apart geographically. In this instance a simple apology may suffice. Recognize your fault, humble yourself, give no excuses, give no explanations, just say – I’M Sorry!

You Inherited your freedom; now it is time to fight for it

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Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you. I am emphatic about this. The moment any one of you submits to circumcision or any other rule-keeping system, at that same moment Christ’s hard-won gift of freedom is squandered. I repeat my warning: The person who accepts the ways of circumcision trades all the advantages of the free life in Christ for the obligations of the slave life of the law. I suspect you would never intend this, but this is what happens. When you attempt to live by your own religious plans and projects, you are cut off from Christ, you fall out of grace. Meanwhile we expectantly wait for a satisfying relationship with the Spirit. For in Christ, neither our most conscientious religion nor disregard of religion amounts to anything. What matters is something far more interior: faith expressed in love. Galatian 5:1-7 (The Message Translation) ___________________________ Photo Via _ Boxing WallPaper

The Death Of A Dream, Tale of a comeback Kid

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Galatians 6:4, 5 Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Don’t be impressed with yourself. Don’t compare yourself with others. Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life. (The Message) Do not let the death of a dream define who you are – you are not your dream. Do not let the death of a dream stop you from dreaming for greater things – it is just a part of your journey. Do not let the death of a dream isolate you from friends, from God and new ideas – you need some love, encouragement, inspiration and revelation. Do not let the death of a dream create in you a false sense of entitlement – don’t force things… Learn when to change course, pack up, say goodby and move on. Do not let the death of a dream steal what you can learn from the experience – use it as a teaching …

What is the single most Important need in the American Church?

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Caution: This is tough read! For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power. 1 Corinthians 4:20 A few prominent church leaders were asked the following question in this short video clip:  “What is the single most important need in the American Church?” After the third pastor said discipleship, I was hoping that the last one will say something different. Here is what I think and I’ll tell you why. We are generally skeptical to anything supernatural. We’re encapsulated in a worldview that is materialistic. In other words, if I can’t feel it, touch it or wrap my brain around it, than I don’t want to come anywhere close to it. We usually write it off and condemn. Even some of our brothers and sisters in Christ, have a difficult time accepting what the bible teaches about the gifts of the Holy Spirit, Healing, prophecy etc… God is Supernatural. Everything He does is supernatural: The creation The New Birth of Salvation Regeneration Everything God does is supernatural. So it’s not very strange to me that He wants …

Testimony from the mission field

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I received this testimony today by email from one of our missionaries near Lilongwe, Malawi. I pray that it is blessings to you today. Dan and Noreen served for a long time in Angola and recently moved to Malawi to be Bible School teachers and do evangelism. The following story took place on Friday night, June 22, 2012, near Lilongwe, Malawi. I wanted to give you a report on our Friday night open-air meeting with pastor Benson in a village near Lilongwe where we live. We showed a portion of the Jesus movie then I had the opportunity to preach. I shared the text from Exodus 9:1 about God telling Pharoah to let His people go!. We made contemporary comparisons on being in bondage as the Israelites were. About 30 adults responded to the altar call and about 50 kids! A good number of these people do not attend church anywhere. We prayed for a few who had specific problems, nightmares, broken families and alcohol addiction. As we began driving out of the lot where we …

Is Treasure Island still a treasure?

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Yesterday I decided to visit treasure island in San Francisco, you don’t only get a great view of the city if you are a photography enthusiast; but I still have a few friends living out there. Well, there are two new things I noticed on the island. One that shocked me and the other that had me praising God. Let me start with the good one: There is new c3church campus on the island. According to them C3 Church exists to connect people to God. They are passionate about the local church as God’s expression of his love, grace and mercy on the earth. Their hope is that people would make C3 their church home and find community that will help them not just believe but belong. And their website provides all the necessary information and resources to get to know and experience God, – it is a Church and people for yourself. Their pastors are Mark and Gail Smallcombe Well, the second thing that I wasn’t crazy about was a new addition to the …

What good is the local Church?

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The Church is universal, the Church is local. The Church is the joyful assembly of the redeemed of all ages. The Church is the body of Christ extended through time and space. The holy church has two lives: one in time and the other in eternity. – Gregory the Great The Church is the bride of Christ, even though it sometimes acts like a wayward bride The local church is where believers are discipled, commissioned to be light of the world. The local church is where the broken is mended, the sick healed, and where friends become friends forever. The local church cares for the poor and fights for justice in our world. The local church is the body of Christ, the hands and feet of the master. The local church is where spiritual gifts are used for the common good, where believers learn to use their talents to serve others. The local church is where the gospel is preached, sinners are saved, prayers are offered, ministers ordained, the sacraments celebrated, and a cup of …

Oh how I hate small groups!

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A few years ago I preached a message at a thriving church where I served on staff. It was at the time small groups were gaining momentum. Every church around the world and especially here in the USA was all about getting people of the same interest, same profession connected in the same group. Unfortunately, I began to notice that all the cool people were joining groups with  other cool people – you know, like some did in high school. And the not so cool people we being left out. So I preached on a passage from Romans 12:16: Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. After my message I was sent into the office of the big man on campus (senior pastor) where I was grilled for a few minutes. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with wanting to hang with like-minded folks, but if we really want to live in authentic community, we need to understand what community really …