Little Q- BIG Consequences


This is a painting my wife brought back for me from Liberia, West Africa.

When I saw it, I was reminded…

‘Streams of living water will flow from deep within the person who believes in me.’

Which brings BIG Q’s?

  • If the water flowing from us is "Living" water, who is finding life from you right now?
  • If the water is flowing, are those around you drawn to you?
  • Remember the woman at the well, she found the "living water" as Craveable. Are you Craveable?
  • When we accurately reflect Jesus, people should hold out both hands to receive the life that flows from us!

I was challenged by these questions, and I have hung this painting directly across from my desk. Whenever I look up and see it, the question keeps coming to my mind…

"Is Living water flowing from me and giving life to others?"

How are you doing with that question?

Simple-Sermon Template… Explained


Yesterday I posted the new sermon template we have begun to use, and some wanted to see it filled in with an example. So this is a scaled down version of how I used it this past Sunday.

I was preaching on the dangers of unforgiveness using the life of Joseph. This is an overview of how I used the template… Continue Reading…

A Powerful-Simple Sermon Outline


In the process of wrestling with God over Mission, Vision and Direction, I "fell into" a new sermon outline that has proved to be extremely helpful to me. And I love its simplicity. It goes like this…

  1. Story-Opened
    • Open with a story that has enough weight to carry the entire sermon. It can be the context of Scripture you are preaching, but doesn’t have to be. But the story must be "heavy" enough to thread through the entire sermon.
  2. Head
    • This is what some are thinking  now. The wrong frame of thinking in their heads that is producing the wrong beliefs and wrong actions.
  3. Heart
    • This is that God says we should be thinking and believing. The real Truth that will bring transformation to those who receive it.
  4. Hand
    • This is what we should do with this new revelation of Truth
    • Many times I will break this up
    • A challenge to those Outside
    • A challenge to this Inside the Kingdom
  5. Story-Closed
    • I like to go back and tie a knot in the thread of the story that has been woven through out the sermon. And end it in a way that adds an urgency to the previous challenge.

I’ve been using this for several months now, and our other campus pastors and teachers have found it be very valuable to them. It really helps when studying, and delivering, it’s really easy to keep in your head, and helps to add content in the right places.

I pray it will be a tool that  you can use to impart real Truth and challenge to those you lead and pour into.

Do you think this type outline will be helpful to you? 

You can’t Lead while on the Bus


Yesterday my son wanted to go with his high school to a track meet. However, when he got on the bus he called me to see if we had anything planned for that evening… I told him his sister was coming home from college and we really wanted to go out to eat together. He said, "Dad what am I supposed to do?" I told him to tell the driver to stop the bus and let him off!

The coach reluctantly stopped and I met the bus a block away and picked him up. When he got in the car I could tell that his countenance was down. When I asked him what was the matter, he said he felt embarrassed getting off of the bus. I told him, sometime son, you have to get off the bus in order to lead!

As leaders, if we get on and stay on the same bus with everyone else going in the same direction, there will never be any trailblazers.There will never be any new routes discovered or found to be dead ends.

Off the bus leaders…

  • Listen to other bus drivers, but follow the voice of God
  • They cheer other drivers as they go "off road"
  • Joyfully share resources with others who may be "stuck"
  • Will let someone on their bus get on another if that direction is a better "fit"
  • Will never throw rocks at another driver for not taking his route

Can you add any to the list?…

10-Ninja Moves of Craveable Leaders


I love ninjas! Those guys you never know are there, but before you know it they can mess you up! Leader ninjas, are the ones that aren’t loud or proud, but powerful and able to guard you and build you.

They Watch

They aren’t quick to move, only when absolutely necessary. They generally watch very closely to see what their best move should be.

They Run

They don’t engage on every front. They aren’t proud, thinking they have to win every battle, they have the humility to bow out when the the outcome doesn’t adversely effect the mission.

They Jump Continue Reading…

5-Q’s Your Team Needs to Answer


It’s so easy for a team to become fragmented and lose focus and effectiveness. We continue to check all the boxes, talk about our numbers and vision, but frankly all of that may be…Old and tired! We have to be in a state of mind where we constantly question, and adjust.

One of the best and simplest ways I found to do that is to ask the right questions, and let the team come to a united mind and purpose. We need to answer these five on a consistant basis…

Why are we doing "This"

If we begin with the why, it draws boundaries, and we can quickly recognize an element that is out of place. Knowing and starting with the Why will give fuel to the vision and direction.

What Must we do

Knowing the "What" drives home and clarifies conviction and calling. It identifies our core values and gives shape to what our church or organization should look like

What Must get Done

This question puts accountability into play. It makes us place metrics in place to know if we are winning, playing or not even showing up.

How are we going to do it

This forces systems and practices into place. One churches how will not look like another. We put the how in place for our Culture, Community and Context. The key…Make sure we are getting done what must be done.

Who is going to do it

Knowing how every team members responsibility is directly tied to the success as a whole is vital! Every activity that is needed in the "How" must be assigned to the right person and team. Seeing this will give clarity to the fact, no one, or no single component can stand alone.

These questions are simple, but if asked with the right mind set and conviction, they will help recognize deficiencies and aid in crafting a new simple more effective strategy.

 

3-Things I wish I knew 3-years ago about Vision


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Vision. We all talk about it. Its importance, it’s power, it’s ability to draw people and resources. But some lessons associated with vision will never come from the mouths of  others, you may hear them, but you will have to EXPERIENCE them. Once you see them, they will always remain etched in your soul… Continue Reading…

Give them FIRE not just Wood!


In order for those on our team to "Finish Well", they will need to catch our passion. Passion fuels the journey to accomplish the vision.

So…

Establish Vision

Time with God, hearing and listening to others.

Ignite Passion

Give time for the vision to move from their heads to their hearts! The vision is just "wood." The fire in your heart over time should ignite the vision, the "wood" you have communicated.

Give Direction

This is the not so fun stuff. Like, reading, praying, fasting and others disciplines that many will fall away from if they are not continually pointed toward the vision, fueled with fire and passion!

Give them FIRE not just WOOD! The Kingdom is changed by such as these!

5-Ways to Always BE Ready


"Always Be ready, then you never have to get ready."

That was a quote from Kenny Miles, a running back for the University of South Carolina. When asked how he performed so well when called upon at the last minute.

He said his dad always taught him that principle. That everyday he should work hard to be ready at any time, because he would never know when he would be called on. Continue Reading…

Would People describe you as Craveable?


"I don’t care what they think!"

Its far to easy to blow people off and say that, while feeling blameless because we have  fulfilled some checklist …

How people see us, is how they see Jesus. We are His ambassadors, we are to be His true reflections. So we must care what people think of us! Many lives and destinies hang in the balance. And what others think of us, the perception we give others  is determined by three things, what they …

Right now those outside the church think we (Those inside) basically suck! Continue Reading…

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