Tag: disciple (Page 14 of 29)

Four Must-Haves

May 1, 2023 / Derrick Hurst / 0 Comments

For over 20 years now I’ve done pretty much one thing with my life. Some people say I’ve worked one day a week and it must be nice to have this kind of gig. And well they’re kind of right. Ok not the one day a week bit but it is a pretty nice gig! However, I have to admit, the 20 years have not been all roses and candy, and that’s largely my own fault. You see I had a wrong focus for the first several years that I served as a pastor and that caused me a great deal of grief. It also likely led some people to a bad understanding of who we really were. For that I must apologize.

For decades, we’ve seemingly missed a key point in what it means to be followers of Jesus. It’s evident in the way we talk and how we use some key words in our vocabulary. We’ve changed the meaning of words to fit our comfort levels. We’ve left parts out of the Bible. Maybe we did it because we didn’t know better. Or perhaps it was because we just weren’t comfortable with going that far.

This post is about going that far. I’m growing increasingly tired of lowering the bar to make life easier and that’s exactly what the church has done for decades. We’ve become the lovey dovey, sissified, passive but vocal group that really doesn’t do a lot. There are exceptions but from what I see this is more the norm than the exception.

Warning: What follows is not a lowering of the bar. It’s not an attempt to make the church feel better about itself and tell you it’s going to be ok. Actually it’s just the opposite. It’s not going to be ok. If things don’t shift, and we don’t start to take our calling more seriously then we’re doing a great disservice to the gospel and leading people into a false sense of hope.

Being the church cannot be a hobby for weekends when we’re bored!

Acts 2:42 is a powerful verse that provides insight into the early Christian church and its practices. The verse reads, They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. This simple sentence outlines four key practices that were absolutely critical to the early Christian community and should be seen as vital to the church today. I will even go so far as to say that without all four of these parts we cannot be the church.

The Apostles’ Teaching

The first practice that the early Christians devoted themselves to was the apostles’ teaching. This simply refers to the teachings of Jesus passed down by his apostles. These teachings were foundational to the Christian faith and formed the basis for the early church’s beliefs.

They knew that the only way to truly find meaning and power in life was through the word of God. Just like God created Adam in the Garden of Eden but he wasn’t alive until God breathed into him, so also we aren’t really alive until we have the life-giving words of God in our hearts and minds.

For the church today, the apostles’ teaching refers to the Bible. We need to be devoted to the reading, hearing and talking about the Bible. We need to spend time regularly in the Bible as individuals, couples, families, churches, Christians. All of us need the Bible, especially as we look around at the cesspool of crap the floating in the world today.

A special word of caution for parents: if we are not making the Bible a key part of our family diet, then what will our children do when they are met with challenge in their day to day lives? We should fill our children so full of the truth of the Bible that when the world cuts them, they bleed the word of God.

Fellowship

The second practice that the early Christians devoted themselves to was fellowship. This refers to the act of gathering together with other believers to share their lives, encourage one another, worship, and hold each other accountable. The early Christian community placed a high value on fellowship, recognizing that it was important for believers to be in community with one another.

Unfortunately we’ve watered down the idea of fellowship and simply toss the label on anything the institutional church does as a group. We have dart team fellowship, pickle ball fellowship, trash collection fellowship, fellowship luncheons, fellowship conferences, youth fellowship and the list goes on! But is it really fellowship? Or just a fun activity that we want to pretend is churchy so we throw the label on it to make ourselves feel better?

The concept of fellowship was so vital that it wasn’t about what each individual got out of the time together. Instead the point of fellowship was what you brought to the group. When they devoted themselves to fellowship they didn’t focus on themselves but on the rest of the gathering. They truly had a oneness to their community and it was evident to everyone around them.

The Breaking of Bread

The third nonnegotiable practice that defined the early Christians was the breaking of bread. This phrase refers to the act of sharing a meal together. The early Christian community recognized the importance of sharing meals together as a way of building community and celebrating their faith. They knew that eating together was a great way of building a bond that wasn’t easily broken.

This phrase is also about a very specific meal though – communion. The gathering together for the bread and wine, body and blood of Jesus, was a vital part of what it meant to be the church. When they gathered together, they expected to meet Jesus. They didn’t come to be entertained or given a feel good message. Nope! They gathered together expecting to experience the God of the universe right there in their midst.

When we gather for worship, bible study, small groups, fellowship gatherings and the like do we really expect to see Jesus? Or just have a mildly entertaining time, get a spiritual high, then go back to life as usual? If the church is really going to be the church that God calls out into the world we need to expect to see Jesus when we gather!

Prayer

The fourth and final pillar that held up the early church was a devotion to prayer. They didn’t shy away from the act of praying together whenever they met and we shouldn’t either.

There are so many times when we say we’re going to pray for someone but we just feel like we’re not capable, good enough, adequate in our vocabulary, educated enough and we shy away. But praying together should be like breathing. We need to be able to offer prayers for one another every time we gather. No one is better or worse at this task because we are not the point of prayer…God is!

So there you have it four key things that define what it means to be the church. You either have them or you need to make these part of your life! No time like the present. Being the church isn’t a weekend hobby or something for the faint at heart. God doesn’t lower the bar for us and we shouldn’t either. It’s time to be the church.

What About After Easter?

April 14, 2023 / Derrick Hurst / 0 Comments

Wow it’s been a week to say the least. There’s a thing in a pastor’s life called the Easter Hangover. It’s the few days or week after Easter when we go into hibernation mode to just recover. I know it’s odd since we only work one day a week and just because we have an extra service or two over the Easter season shouldn’t make much of a difference. Yeah yeah yeah I hear you.

But the week following Easter is always a week for me to slow things down a lot and refocus on what’s really important. Sure I’ve taken things easy this week and gotten a little more rest than I normally would but I’ve still done the regular functions of my job. One thing that’s really sat on my heart this week is what about after Easter? What are we to do with all the hype?

You’ve probably heard the popular sermon that states It’s Friday but Sunday is coming. It’s the idea that Good Friday was so terrible and so awful and so horrifying, but it wasn’t the end. It had to happen in order for Sunday to have its power. So the message kept repeating that Sunday was just around the corner. But what about after Easter?

I recently heard someone ask what about Easter Monday? What happened the Monday after Jesus rose? What did the disciples do that day? What did Jesus do? What should we be doing?

I think there was a bit of an Easter hangover that happened even for the disciples. I mean look at the emotional toll that this weekend took on them! Their teacher and really good friend was just horribly beaten and died in front of them. They watched as his body was buried and guards were placed so no one could get to him. They mourned and cried and sat in sheer shock and bewilderment. They were terrified about would then happen to them.

But here we are, it’s after Easter. Nothing happened to them. Jesus is no longer in the grave. He’s risen and that’s truly amazing but wow are they exhausted! We don’t have a lot of specific detail on the actions of Jesus after he rose from the dead. We don’t know specifically what he did on Monday after Easter or how he spent his Friday this week.

Maybe they had a fish fry? Or took a trip on the sea with the guys in the boat. We know that he did spend time with them and appeared to them several times. We know that he was in large groups of people who all were shocked to see him alive. If I had to guess this week was spent letting the disciples get used to the idea that the resurrection was real. He didn’t require a lot of them. Or give them any really important information because they probably wouldn’t have remembered it in the first place!

You see the most important thing the disciples did after Easter was tell everyone what they had seen. It’s crazy easy to show up to church on Easter morning and hear the pastor and greet the people. We can sing the songs and get all emotional about the moment, but what do we do with it when we leave the building? What about the rest of the week? What about next Sunday?

This is a week to let it all sink in. Take time to get used to the fact that the resurrection is real! And it’s just as real for you and me today as it was for them that first Easter week. So get used to the idea that Jesus’ resurrection is real. But it’s time we start doing something with the reality of the resurrection.

The Sound of Silence

April 7, 2023 / Derrick Hurst / 0 Comments

In the early morning hours, before the sun began to peak above the horizon, darkness covered the landscape. The air was cool. No one was around. It’s almost as if the earth stopped for a moment. There was an eerie silence that was oddly deafening.

As your feet strolled slowly across the dew covered grass, you notice that nothing was moving. No animals were scurrying about. No birds were chirping. No rustling in the woods. Nothing. Not a single sound could be heard but that silence was so powerful it was almost audible.

The farther you walk, the more uneasy you feel. No noise around you is bringing feelings of fear to your mind. The air is heavy with humidity, yet it is cool on your lungs as you take in a slow, deep breath. You can smell the aroma of flowers cut through the moist air. But still no sound to be heard.

The only sound is that of your feet touching the ground as you make your way across the terrain. Step. Shuffle. Step. Shuffle. You stop walking to see if anything is out there, but alas nothing around you. Not a single moving thing on the face of the earth can be heard.

This sound of silence is reminiscent of the events of Good Friday and Holy Saturday (the day before Easter). It’s the sound, or lack of it, that had overcome the world. The disciples were no longer confident. They were cowering in fear. The soldiers were fast asleep. The enemies of Jesus were dreaming sweet dreams thinking they had won. Satan was even comfortable in the blow of defeat that he dealt to Jesus.

Now displayed lifeless in his tomb, Jesus was gone. No one was looking for him anymore. His cries from the cross were silenced in the moment his head fell. The silence of this moment speaks volumes in our lives today. It’s the sound of silence.

Most of the time we are somber in silence. We are fearful in dark quiet places. We think that victory is loud and boastful. But not today. Today the victory is found in the stillness of that morning. The triumph is experienced in the deafening moments of quiet.

On this Good Friday, pause for a moment. Enjoy the quiet of the early morning. Remember the silence the women heard as they traveled to the tomb. Focus on the quiet and dark of that Good Friday morning. Listen to the silence. What does this moment say to you?

On A Tuesday

April 4, 2023 / Derrick Hurst / 0 Comments

The events of this week are powerful for those who live out their Christian faith. From Palm Sunday celebrations to seemingly business as usual until the special services on Thursday and Friday and then the big reveal on Easter morning, this week is filled with power and emotion. But it’s not just the big days that are important. There is something special about each of these days through the week that we call Holy Week.

Yesterday we dealt with having the case of the Mondays. And today we’ll move into that day often called Holy Tuesday. The word holy is a word designated for things set apart or different for a specific purpose. This Tuesday of Holy Week is a special one to be sure.

A few key things happened on this Tuesday of Holy Week that make it stand out from the other Tuesdays in life. First, we see Jesus on a trip which isn’t all that unusual. On the way he discusses what faith really means by killing a fig tree. I know it seems a bit odd to do this but the point was made in a bold fashion. The disciples, kind of like we are today, were a bit on the hard headed side and easily missed the often obvious!

So Jesus kills the fig tree for not bearing fruit and then tells the disciples that if they had faith they too could do similar things. The point wasn’t about killing a tree really. The key was faith. We say we have faith, but when it comes time to actually act on that faith there are often crickets! No action. Faith gives way to fear which gives way to freeze. But Jesus offers an alternative. Believe that the one who called you to do this is able to help you accomplish it.

But there’s more to this Holy Tuesday than a dead fig tree. Jesus makes his way to a mountain called Olivet. And here he gives a sermon that is often referred to as the Olivet Discourse. I know super original naming right?

Well on this mountain, Jesus starts to teach that things are going to change drastically over the next few days. He tells them he’s going to die. Then that he won’t be around anymore. Then that they will be in charge of keeping this movement going in his absence. This is really why he was teaching them about faith through the fig tree. He needed them to believe they were able to do what he was calling them to do.

Nestled in the middle of the Olivet Discourse is a section dealing with the end of the world. Insert ominous music in the background. Well the section dealing with the end is really a lesson on how the world will un-evolve when he’s gone. So Jesus is saying that he’s going to die and rise and ascend. But when he’s gone the world is going to be really hard. And increasingly so as we get further and further from His death and resurrection. The more time lapses between when Jesus was here the harder and more evil the world will become.

But there’s a glimmer of hope buried in that sermon. Not only will things get hard and we’ll really not like it at all while it’s happening, but when it runs its course he will come back. That’s the cool part of this whole week.

Jesus is hailed as King. Paraded through town. Then quickly abandoned for a more convenient prospect. Then killed and tossed outside the city to hopefully be forgotten. But his followers are supposed to carry this message just like he carried his cross. Until one day life will be so full of evil and death and wrong and sin that God will call it over. He’ll send Jesus back and collect what’s rightfully his. The rest will dealt with in what is called judgment.

So this week isn’t really about Jesus dying and rising as much as it is laying the foundation for something that is yet to come in the future for all of us. Holy Week is about Jesus coming back again to close the book on this sinful world and set us up in a place that is far better than anything we could ever imagine. And that’s what happened on a Tuesday.

Trip Down Memory Lane

March 29, 2023 / Derrick Hurst / 0 Comments

I recently had the chance to take a trip down memory lane. You know one of those moments when you’re surrounded by people you knew in a former life and all the feels came flooding back. After getting home from a funeral in my home town, I started thinking about all the people that have impacted my life through the years. And be careful because the older you get, the more people are on that list.

As I looked around the room that day, I saw face after face of people I knew. Some of them I haven’t seen in more than 20 years! It was crazy to see that many people from my past all in one place. It was saddening to see that so many of them had become sheer memories until we walked into that funeral home.

The really sad part was that so often these trips down memory lane happen at life altering moments. Sometimes they’re at weddings and reunions but often we see these people and trigger these memories as we walk past the family at a funeral. And that was the case for me.

I was leading a funeral service for the mother of a friend. He and I connect periodically. But the crowd that came into the funeral that day to pay their respects were the ones I hadn’t seen in far too long. In an age of social media and all the communication devices that we have at our disposal, there’s really no reason to not stay connected.

It’s as if we’ve grown comfortable with being isolated from one another. It’s as if we’ve grown somehow ok with distant relationships and virtual connections. There’s nothing ok about virtual relationships! Call me old fashioned or whatever you want for that matter, but relationships are best celebrated in person!

I can’t tell you how to do life. I don’t have that right to be honest. But I can tell you that even if you’re an introvert you still need people. Doing life in a bubble of isolation is not good. Removing yourself from the people who mean something to you is unhealthy and will eventually leave you stranded on an island of loneliness.

Don’t wait for a funeral to reconnect with friends from your distant past. Reach out. Grab a coffee. Sit down over a glass of bourbon. Go for a walk. Have a barbecue. Host a game night. Gather as friends. This life is far too short to try to go it alone. Open up and let people in. You won’t regret it especially when you’re wading through the mess of life, broken and lonely.

Take your own trip down memory lane! It will do you some good.

What’s Your Why?

March 2, 2023 / Derrick Hurst / 0 Comments

If you’re a parent, or you remember your childhood at all, you likely have a love-hate relationship with the word why. While this is a question I have asked more times that I can even count, it’s a question that I couldn’t stand receiving from my children.

So to be totally honest, I don’t have a problem with the word why, it’s generally the tone in which it is spoken that’s of great disturbance to me. The word is normally said through a sigh or a whining voice. It normally comes with the word but preceding it. This is the kind of why that I really can’t stand!

There is another why that I believe is really important. Many years ago a friend told me the importance of knowing your reason why. He said – if your reason why isn’t strong enough, you’ll always find a reason why not. So very simple of a thought but it explains so much that’s wrong in our world and culture right now.

This is why our New Year’s resolutions don’t typically last. Our why is too weak. I’ve seen this far too often. She wants to lose some weight to fit into her wedding dress. It works for a time but she quickly loses steam. Her why was too short sighted. He wants to stash away a few extra dollars for a rainy day but can’t seem to get any traction. His why was far too broad.

You see the why must be greater than any excuse or why not we can come up with or we’ll lose. This is why our attempts at the new year body don’t generally make it beyond February. We don’t have a good long range picture or reason to keep driving us forward.

What’s your why?

Ok so here’s a warning. I’m going to get a little “churchy” on you for a second. Don’t tune out just yet though. This is a bible example to help drive our point home.

There’s a passage in the latter portion of the Bible that is generally answered wrong. It is in one of Peter’s letters and he says always be prepared to give an answer to anyone who asks you for the reason for the hope that is in you.

Did you get it? What’s your why?

We generally read that verse and say our hope is in Jesus. And while this is correct, it’s answering a question that wasn’t asked. He didn’t say where is your hope. He said why is your hope there. This is a big difference.

Knowing your reason why is really important. Have you ever seen someone go through a really bad time in life and waffle in their faith? I don’t mean they were late for work or overslept kind of bad time. I mean lost their spouse or their house burned down in a freak accident kind of bad day. In these types of situations our why is tested tremendously.

What’s your why?

So often when we go through these really challenging moments in life, we default to asking things like where is God or how could he let this happen to me. We then wonder if it’s all worth it. I’ve been there. I know how this goes.

But what’s your why keeps you from falling off the deep end when trouble and struggle and hardship arise. When we know the reason for the hope that we have, we’ll be able to see that there’s a bigger picture at play here. We’ll be able to get through some of the hardship and struggle and pain because we know something that we can’t see is just around the corner.

Ok back to that summer swimsuit body or wedding ready figure. If this is as far as you can see, then when the wedding is over or summer is past you’re likely going to fall off the wagon. But if you have a big enough reason why to drive you, then even when the event is over you’ll still have a habit and lifestyle that will continue.

I’ve been asked why I get up at 4:30 in the morning to go to the gym. I used to do it to be able to lift a certain amount of weight. But then I met that goal and it was tempting to let things slide. Now the reason is much bigger than bench pressing 350lbs or running a certain distance in a set timeframe. It’s about overall health, wellness, mental clarity, stress management, being around to see my kids get married, meet my grandkids, manage my property, take care of my family. These are reasons why that will far outlast my ability to lift certain amounts of weight or run a set speed.

What is your why? When you can answer this with a big enough and strong enough reason, then you’ll be able to stop every excuse from flooding into your mind.

Know the reason why and soon you’ll have a lifestyle that matches the desire of your heart today.

Come Back

February 23, 2023 / Derrick Hurst / 0 Comments

This week we celebrate a different kind of holiday in the church. We call it Ash Wednesday. Yeah it’s the day when you see people with those funny little dirt smudges on their foreheads. Some of us pastors are not good at art it seems! But the idea behind ashes on foreheads might seem weird to some people. So what’s it all about?

There’s a section in the bible written by a man named Joel. He’s one of the oldest recorded prophets in the Bible. He wrote super early in the life of the Israelite people. But his writing followed a pretty typical model for the prophets. Illustration and Warning were the two typical themes of the prophets. They’d write to show how a certain thing happening was an illustration of how they’ve wandered from who they were supposed to be. Then it would also serve as a warning that without correction, things were going to get drastically worse.

A quick glimpse into the book of Joel would be helpful. So he’s writing when things aren’t going well for the Israelites. Actually life is pretty crappy. The economy is tanking. Leaders are lying. They can’t trust their politicians. Recession is looming. Division is everywhere. People are hated simply because they look, act or think differently. I know this is a hard situation to even imagine. Sure glad we don’t know anything about this kind of trouble. (Immense sarcasm intended)

So the book starts with a recap of what’s going on. You see while the regular worldly trouble is lurking around there’s another issue sweeping across the land. Locusts. Lots and lots of locusts. ICK! If you know anything about locusts you know that they can be pretty destructive. And you rarely see just one of them. They come in swarms. Thousands. Hundreds of thousands at once. They lay eggs in the ground. The babies emerge and chomp on anything living. When they get strong enough to jump, they reach for food higher up. Then come the wings and soon there’s nothing out of their reach. It’s awful. Nothing is left the way it was.

If the troubles they were facing weren’t bad enough, the locusts would pretty much make the land unlivable. Ok to really understand the importance of the locusts we need to see how God functions in two different, yet similar, ways. I call them his passive and active judgment or anger.

The trouble they were facing with political upheaval and economic mess and division was all part of what is called the passive anger of God. This can be seen as the natural result of the choices we make. Kind of like speeding and getting a ticket, it’s the natural result and you really can’t be mad about it because you knew it could happen.

Now back to the Israelites for a minute. All the mess they were facing was a result of their lack of focus on God. They pulled away from God and then things started to unravel. Instead of drawing near to God again, they blamed him for their trouble and tried to fix it themselves. This only made things worse than before. Enter locusts.

When the passive anger of God is allowed to run its course, the next step is the active anger of God. This is the scary one. You see since the people kept pulling further and further away from God and tried to fix things themselves, God helped them go even further away. He sent the locusts to make their problems that much worse. But the intent wasn’t to kill them or destroy them. It was to wake them up. You see there was mercy in the locusts. The point was that the locusts would make life so hard that they would turn and finally ask God for help.

So what about the ashes you ask? It’s kind of like locusts. The ashes are a reminder that the good and healthy and vibrant parts of life struggle and die. Ashes were a symbol of mourning and death and devastation. Ashes were a reminder that all things living will be pulverized and die. The ashes we use on Ash Wednesday to put the little smudge on your foreheads are actually burned up, pulverized palm branches from last year’s Palm Sunday service.

That means that the ashes are a reminder of God’s mercy. There’s mercy in the ashes. It’s God’s way of saying come back! I want you back with me where life is best for you and where you can thrive like never before.

I have to be honest I would much rather have God put a few ashes on my forehead than send a swarm of locusts to eat my garden! Maybe you missed the service on Ash Wednesday. There’s always next year! But in reality it’s not the ashes or the service it’s what happens in our hearts. You can turn back to God without the ashes and without the locusts and without the calamity. So how about it? Are you ready to come back?

Build A Boat

January 23, 2023 / Derrick Hurst / 0 Comments

This week is about faith. When everything around you seems to be going in one direction, but you see God moving. God calls you to have faith. It’s like building a boat when it’s not even raining.

Can you imagine being Noah from the Bible? Think about it for a minute. No rain. No large body of water near by. No real prediction of a storm in the meteorological forecast. But you’re supposed to build a boat. What do you do?

The passers by all laugh and point and call you names. Your friends look at you like you’re crazy. What in the world is this man doing? What do you do?

When the world is spiraling in fear and hatred seems to be all the world cares about. But you know there’s a different message. You know there’s a message of love and hope and peace. What do you do?

Today’s Music Monday song says that you build a boat! When the sun is shining and everything looks great, build the darn boat already.

I don’t know what God has laid on your heart or the things holding you back from making the first cut on that board. But I want to encourage you to build the boat. The rain will come. The promise will be fulfilled. You have what it takes. And just like Noah, you’re not building alone. You might have to look a little but you’re not alone.

So grab the tools and get your supplies, it’s time to build a boat.

Same God

January 9, 2023 / Derrick Hurst / 0 Comments

Have you ever just sat and contemplated the wonder of how big God must be? I mean for those of us who believe in God as Father, Jesus as Savior and Spirit as Comforter, there’s a hugeness to God that is really hard to get our minds around. But not only the idea that God is so big but also that he has so much on His plate that how in the world could he handle my tiny problems?

You know I think this is something that’s pretty cool about the way we understand God in the church where I serve. He’s mighty and majestic and powerful and massive and other worldly. He’s king and savior and creator and Father and all the things for the entire world (then and now). But he’s also that for me today.

There’s a personal nature to God that is something pretty significant. He’s in my corner. He’s for you. He’s in the muck and mire of your crappy day and throwing parties on your good day. He cares about your divorce or your raise. He’s just as present with you today as he has been with anyone, ever!

This week we pause to worship on this Monday morning and reflect that the God we worship is the same God that showed up in mighty ways for Abraham and Moses, Mary and Ruth, Joseph and Paul. He’s the same God who’s been present throughout history. The God of creation is the God present when you are struggling to make it through the day. The God who healed the sick is the same one sitting by your side when you get the cancer diagnosis. The God who raised Lazarus from the dead is the same one standing by your side in your mourning.

The same God is right here with us. The same power, majesty, might, love, presence. All of it. Just as real as it was for the men and women of the Bible, he’s right here and real for you and me today.

As you begin this week, pause and reflect on the God who is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

A New Thing Is Coming

December 21, 2022 / Derrick Hurst / 0 Comments

A new year typically brings all sorts of new things. We try that new diet that we’ve read is all the rave. We venture back into the gym for a new routine of workouts. We try on those new running shoes to give the treadmill a try. There’s all sorts of things we pick up at the start of a new year in hopes of forming a healthy trend or habit. We even start reading new books or start bible reading plans or change our sleep routines.

I’m not one to make New Year’s Resolutions for many reason. The biggest reason is that all too often these New Year New You kind of goals end up being broken in just a few short weeks! Being a workout enthusiast it’s easy to see how fast people stop coming to the gym so soon after the near year starts. But this year might be a little different.

No I’m not going to set some unrealistic expectation or goal for the year. I’m not going on a diet. And for goodness sake, I’m not training for a marathon. I am however going to start something new.

As 2022 came to an end, I made the intentional decision to restructure my workload. I had to say no to a couple of things so that I could say yes to a couple more. One of my passions has always been to work with churches and pastors and leaders to help them see the world through a new set of lenses. In an effort to do that, I went through the John Maxwell leadership training program, worked on getting a coaching certificate, and built an array of resources that have helped me understand a variety of challenges that ministry leaders and non profits face.

A new thing will hit the blog and my calendar in 2023. I’ll be working on intentional resources to help congregations see their community with different lenses. I’ll be working on materials for congregations to use to help create an intentional strategy to move people to a deeper level of commitment and engagement in the life of the church.

I’m super excited to see how this move will allow me to better come alongside churches, leaders, and followers of Jesus to help them take strides in living the Kingdom life today! Stay tuned…

Tag: disciple (Page 14 of 29)