en mgrant@streamingfaith.com Copyright 2008 2008-07-31T17:10:41+00:00 http://316networks.com/blogcentral/posts/939/ http://316networks.com/blogcentral/posts/939/#When:16:30:29Z Alan Hirsch shares why we are going to have to take discipleship seriously again.For true followers of Jesus, discipleship is not simply the first step toward a promising career of being a Christian, rather it is itself the fulfillment of our destiny. So, Debs and I have decided to write a book on what we call "missional discipleship." Appropriately called Untamed, it is meant to be a penetrating look into the things that keep us from becoming all we were made to be and has many practical suggestions about how to become wild followers of Jesus again. The truth is that discipleship, at least the way the Bible understands it, cannot be limited to a personal exercise in personal spirituality. There are much greater, perhaps even global, consequences at stake in our becoming more like Jesus. So much so that we have actually come to believe that discipleship is a frontier issue for the people of God at this time in history. Why? Because most commentators would now agree that the Western Church, because of its deep embedding into the prevailing consumerist culture, has all but lost the art of discipleship. Reggie McNeal has concluded that "church culture in North America is now a vestige of the original [Christian] movement, an institutional expression of religion that is in part a civil religion and in part a club where religious people can hang out with other people whose politics, worldview, and lifestyle match theirs." If this is indeed the case, we should be clear that this is not what the church is called to be, and is, in fact, directly caused by a failure in discipleship and disciple-making. And it will have to be addressed if we are to give faithful witness to our century. Therefore, rediscovering what it means to radically follow Jesus is now an area of strategic-and definitely missional-concern. To recover mission we are going to have to take discipleship seriously again, but the reverse is also true; to rediscover discipleship we are also going to have to take mission seriously. We cannot be true disciples without also being missionaries (sent ones) to our worlds. The gospel is the power of God for the salvation of the world (Rom. 1:16), and God wants to redeem the broken and lost world around us and through us. Our lives, individual and corporate, play a vital role in the unfolding of the grand purposes of God. The gospel cannot be limited to being about my personal healing and wholeness, but rather extends in and through my salvation to the salvation of the world. To fail in discipleship and disciple-making is therefore to fail in the primary mission (or "sentness") of the church. And it does not take a genius to realize that we have all but lost the art of disciple-making in the contemporary Western church. No wonder Dallas Willard calls the systematic non-discipleship of the Western Church "the great omission" in his book by that name. There is much talk about missional church in our time-and we completely agree. The church must become missional or fade into increasing irrelevance in the 21st Century. But we simply cannot get there from here without factoring discipleship into the equation. We can't have one without the other: if there be no mission there can be no discipleship, and if there is no discipleship there will be no mission. And there can be no missional church if there is no disciple-making church-it's as simple as that. If ever there was a time to recover the true meaning of the Great Commission to make disciples of the nations it is now. The future health and viability of Western Christianity is at stake. We must not waste time. This article excerpted from Untamed: Reactivating a Missional Form of Discipleship, by Alan Hirsch, Feb 2010. Published by Baker Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group. Used by permission   2009-11-13T16:30:29+00:00 http://316networks.com/blogcentral/posts/935/ http://316networks.com/blogcentral/posts/935/#When:14:49:19Z Dr. Michael Youssef explains why when it comes to our lives, God will be glorified.Why? Perhaps it's because our time in the classroom was only one part of the learning process. The other part was time at home engaging with the material through homework, worksheets, and flashcards-all designed to prepare us for exams and to make sure we had a grasp of the material and were headed in the right direction. The exam brought panic because it was the culmination of all of our hard work and the measure of our direction and mastery of the material. These exams and tests were for our benefit. They measured our growth, highlighted our strengths and weaknesses, and guided us to the paths we should take. The same is true of our spiritual lives. We face tests and exams on a spiritual level, but they count for greater consequences because the results of these tests are indicators of our eternal future. We must examine ourselves with the guidance of the Holy Spirit and always be ready to be tested. Always being ready for exams is foundational to a positive life in Christ. Throughout 2 Corinthians, the Apostle Paul wrote about all that God taught him and what gave him power to live positively in Christ in the midst of fear, trepidation, imprisonment, and flogging. In his conclusion to this letter he says, "Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves!" (2 Corinthians 13:5, NASB). The Corinthians of old fell into the trap that some of our modern educators have fallen into today. If students are not keeping up and succeeding in school, some believe that the standards must be too high-so they lower the standards. The problem is that lowering the standards and changing the curriculum doesn't insist on accountability. When we refuse to examine ourselves on a regular basis we are taking God's grace and salvation for granted. But don't miss the fabulous news: In this test that the Bible talks about, we can be always a success. Even those who fail the test can succeed. If you examine yourself on a daily basis and find that you are in the faith, then you will be overjoyed by His grace and mercy and will give God the glory. But if you examine yourself and find that you have moved away from the truth, then God has given you an engraved invitation to repent and to return to the truth. God promised in His Word to receive anyone who turns to Him. The moment you come face to face with the reality that you have departed from the faith by sinning gravely and you repent, God in His grace and mercy receives you. He embraces you. He forgives you. He restores you. You are, again, overjoyed by His grace and mercy and give God the glory. Either way, God is glorified. Examine yourself.   2009-11-02T14:49:19+00:00 http://316networks.com/blogcentral/posts/926/ http://316networks.com/blogcentral/posts/926/#When:14:04:30Z Alan Riley shares the real reason we should celebrate October 31st.I am talking about Reformation Day, which is also on October 31. On this day in 1517, Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses on the door of the castle at Wittenburg (pronounced "Vittenburg"), listing the reasons that Dr. Luther was opposed to the church's practice of selling indulgences. It's hard for you and I to imagine this today, but in the early 1500s, the church sold forgiveness of sins like it was a "Get Out of Jail Free" card in a Monopoly game. You could buy one for yourself if you were planning to sin, or you could buy them for a loved one who had passed away, in essence paying the church to bribe God to remove your loved one from purgatory and take them to heaven. Indulgences were primarily used to pay for the construction of the massive St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. Martin Luther never intended to start a new church or to break away from the Catholic church. His intent was to reform the church, hence the name of the event that he set into motion on October 31, 1517 is to this day called the Reformation. As a result of his actions, Martin Luther was declared a heretic in 1521 and threatened with excommunication. He was given the opportunity to "repent" and agree with the practice of selling indulgences. This is what he said in response: "Unless I am convinced by Scripture and by plain reason and not by Popes and councils who have so often contradicted themselves, my conscience is captive to the word of God. To go against conscience is neither right nor safe. I cannot and I will not recant. Here I stand. I can do no other. God help me." We can learn a lot from the character and the actions of Martin Luther. He was willing to literally put his life on the line to stand up for what he knew God's Word said, even though that went against the accepted teaching of the church and the prevailing opinion of the day. This week we have focused on the subject of Spiritual Warfare in our Daily Devotionals. We thought that was appropriate considering Halloween fell during the week. I would like to leave you with the words of a song written by Martin Luther, the Great Reformer, concerning our adversary the devil. The song is the great old hymn "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God." A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing;Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing:For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe;His craft and power are great, and, armed with cruel hate,On earth is not his equal. Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing;Were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God's own choosing:Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He;Lord Sabaoth, His Name, from age to age the same,And He must win the battle. And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us,We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us:The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him;His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure,One little word shall fell him. That word above all earthly powers, no thanks to them, abideth;The Spirit and the gifts are ours through Him Who with us sideth:Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also;The body they may kill: God's truth abideth still,His kingdom is forever!   2009-10-26T14:04:30+00:00 http://316networks.com/blogcentral/posts/906/ http://316networks.com/blogcentral/posts/906/#When:14:17:13Z Kary Oberbrunner gives 10 suggestions when attempting to be progressive in a stagnant church.My vocabulary has increased a hundredfold. I thought concepts like pneumatology and hermeneutics were difficult to grasp. Now I find myself talking with people in Wal-Mart about words like "breech" and "bag of waters." If change is such a natural part of life, why does it seem that change is so often absent from Christendom? In fact, change is the only uninvited guest in many of our churches. An older pastor friend of mine often says the famous last eight words of the Church are "that's not the way we've always done it." Chances are that many of you have deeply agonized over the lack of change in your church. Although our culture has changed rapidly over the last few decades, it seems as if we are doing church the same way we did 50 years ago. People are stuck in their ways and have become obstacles to the change process. You probably struggle seeing how your church is dying, how it's missing people in the pews, how if it were just a little more open-minded, tremendous growth and change could happen. Yet it doesn't. To put it another way, you are a progressive in a stagnant church. So what are your options? Should you just leave? Should you dig in your heels and go to battle? Should you cause a church split? You've probably entertained all of these options. What's God's perspective in all this? Does He even care? Well, for starters, God is all about change. Salvation is intertwined with change. It's the essence of sanctification. We are being changed into the image of Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18). In fact, it's God's plan for each one of His children (Romans 8:28). It's been said that God loves us just the way we are, but He loves us too much to leave us that way. Be encouraged. Although you think you have a deep desire to see change, God's desire is much greater. God doesn't want minor change. He wants deep transformation for His Church and every individual who makes up His Church. In my journey, I've had to learn quite a bit. I'm still learning a lot. I challenge you to learn from my mistakes. So I have 10 suggestions to keep in mind when attempting to be progressive in a stagnant church. 1. EMBRACE THE HYPOCRITE WITHINJesus said it best. "You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye" (Matthew 7:5). And, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her" (John 8:7). I've noticed in my pursuit for change that I often have blind spots. I can clearly see how everyone else around me needs to change. You cannot expect change until you are willing to change. Until we allow God to change us, we cannot expect Him to change others. You must look in the mirror and embrace the flaws and hypocrisy in your own life. Carl Rogers says in his book On Becoming a Person, "We cannot change, we cannot move away from what we are, until we thoroughly accept what we are." If you are not willing to do this, then don't bother trying to change your church. Why? Jesus is opposed to the proud. It was these types of people who have no need for a Savior. Instead, they think they are saviors. It is only as we allow God to change us that we can be used to change others. 2. REALIZE THAT GOD DOESN'T NEED YOUYou can easily fall into a trap where you think God needs you to make His Church relevant. This could not be further from the truth. You are not irreplaceable. Just because you have the eyes to see the need for change doesn't mean that God can't allow other people to see that same need for change. Don't think too highly of yourself. 3. REALIZE THAT GOD WANTS TO USE YOUHopefully, you're beginning to see that being progressive is closely linked with paradox. You've seen that in order to change others you must first change yourself. And now you must understand that although God doesn't need you, He does want to use you. Throughout the pages of Scripture, God uses willing men and women to transform nations, kingdoms and families. This is His plan. Scripture says, "For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His" (2 Chronicles 16:9, NAS). The process of transformation is always bigger than we are. Robert E. Quinn, in his book Change the World, refers to transformation as "joining God in a dance of co-creation." Being a change agent is a spiritual activity. It's what many of us long to do, but few actually do. Transformation is God's heart and His story of redeeming humankind. No wonder change is such an inherent desire. It is etched into the very fabric of our hearts. 4. SURROUND YOURSELF WITH TRUTH TELLERSThere are few things more important than truth tellers. Such people are individuals who know you and your context. Make sure these key people aren't afraid to confront you. There is nothing worse than having a bunch of "yes men" who lack strong backbones. In myjourney I've had a couple key truth tellers who told me when I was wrong, strengthened me when I needed courage and loved me when I was unlovely. You will lose courage along your way. You will want to throw in the towel. Maybe you should. But more often than not, these are times when you're feeling the fire. God is using circumstances to extract all the impurities inside of you. Don't forget. As you play a part in changing your church, God is in fact changing you. The way you react and respond in your trials indicates what's going on inside of you. Truth tellers help contextualize your reactions. Because they know your situation, they can speak to it from a more objective point of view. They can help you when you feel like you've lost your way. 5. A TYPE OF DEATH IS INEVITABLEMost people fear death. We resist it. We won't even speak of it. Even when our churches are experiencing a slow death, they would rather do anything than acknowledge it. As a progressive, you dare to verbalize the slow death taking place, and sometimes your church will seek to kill you as a result of it. By speaking up, you are breaking the rules. Most of us are driven by fears of what will happen to us if we fail to conform to the will of the system. Yet despite our fears, we must refuse to conform. We have to kill our fears in hopes of preventing the slow death of our churches. Someone or something is going to die. Will it be your fears or your church? Quoted in Managing Transitions by William Bridges, 19th-century French literature critic Charles Du Bos said, "The important thing is this: to be able at any moment to sacrifice what we are for what we would become." It really comes down to how much you care. For many of us, even though we have a lofty desire to be a change agent, we also have a desire just as strong to simply exist. We don't want to rock the boat too hard. But if we don't overcome our fears, then we'll end up living lives of quiet desperation. Also quoted in Managing Transitions, French writer Anatole France said, "All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind is part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter into another." It's very possible that there are others in your church also craving change. Just like you, they lack courage to transcend their fears. Remember, courage is not the absence of fear, but the ability to act in spite of it. Do you love yourself or the God who is asking you to initiate change? Jesus said the one who loves his life will lose it and the one who hates his life will keep it (John 12:25). 6. BE READY TO GIVE UP CONTROLMany cynics and critics talk about their love for change. Such change is usually incremental change. "Deep change usually requires letting go of control," Quinn wrote. "It means facing the unknown, walking naked into the land of uncertainty. We spend most of our lives striving to avoid that very prospect." Quite possibly, you have no idea where change will lead you or your church. There are a couple reasons for this. One reason is that if you really knew, you would become overwhelmed and paralyzed. Another reason is that it's impossible for you to know. You are not God. More often than not, change means letting go, not taking charge. You can't know where change will lead, for if you did, you would inevitably control things and obstruct change. True transformation is letting go of knowing the next step. David didn't know what would happen when he stepped out to fight Goliath. Esther, when asking the Israelites to fast for her as she talked to the king, had no idea if she would survive. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego even added that if God didn't deliver them, they still would not worship the idol (Daniel 3:17-18). This is what faith is all about. It's about not having control, not knowing the outcome and not knowing the steps to get there. Rather, faith is reliance upon the One who does. It's our faith that pleases God (Hebrews 11:6). God is actually pumped when we trust Him and relinquish our illusion of control. 7. ADDRESS THE IMPOSING THREATWhy is your church scared of change? People have different reasons. Perhaps they've wrapped their identity in the way your church has always done things. Perhaps the old thick King James Bible sitting at the front of the church, the one that intimidates guests and really annoys you, was donated by their deceased Uncle George. Maybe they're willing to part with it, but they simply need to be honored and grieve through the process. Maybe other people feel that if they change, they'll no longer be needed or have a ministry. When organists transitioned out of Sunday morning services, did we empower them to find new ministries? I am convinced that the people most opposed to change are the ones with the biggest fears they need to work through. Brash decisions and thoughtless comments might actually hinder the change process. Instead, talk to people about what the change will bring. What are the underlying factors that contribute to the imposing threat? 8. ASK QUESTIONSThere is only one way to get to the underlying factors. We need to be people who ask more questions. Forget about the manipulative leading questions proposed in so many leadership books. Ask people questions so that you can understand them. I am convinced that if people feel honored and understood, they'll be more likely to play a role in the change process. In fact, they might become your biggest supporters. Don't shortcut the process by assuming you know what others are thinking. 9. BE PATIENTWe don't change overnight. God doesn't put unrealistic pressure on us. Rather, He invites us to change one step at a time. Your church will not change overnight either. A good tool that I've come to appreciate is the six-month test. I think back to my teen years. There were times when my friends were growing much faster than I was. I saw them everyday at school and was frustrated at how much shorter I was. Then one day I stood next to my friend and realized that we were the same height. Nothing magical happened. Rather, it was the slow process of steady change. It's the same within church. If you look at how much it hasn't changed from one day to the next, you'll get frustrated. Rather, as you daily employ the first eight steps, look back six months later. Has your church experienced transformation? Are there any ministries that have fingerprints of change? Is there one more person in the church who is "getting it"? These are small signs that represent growth. Celebrate them. 10. EMBODY CHANGEYou need to model the very behavior you are hoping to see in others. You need to incarnate change. Let others see how open you are to change. As mentioned before, the end road might be far different from where you first started. Others will watch how you respond to things that you didn't expect. God has a funny way of providing real-life examples for us. He often gives us the chance to live out the very behavior we are trying to work within our churches. In such cases, ask yourself, "Am I responding to change the way I want others to respond." Again, it is not about us changing them. Rather it's about us changing together. Change. "The only thing that's certain is that nothing stays the same," the old adage goes. Believe it or not, even stagnation is change. Stagnation is slow death, and death is slow change. We can settle for slow death or we can be used of God to be agents of change within our local church. As for my wife and me, our lives are going to change very soon. Deep change is only one phone call away. If only it were that simple in the local church. Who knows? Maybe it is. After all, although I've never given birth, I've sat in enough church meetings to feel the agonizing birth pangs of the change process. Sometimes things can get pretty unbearable. But if we stick with it, just like in life, we have a beautiful little bundle of joy on the other side. And although I can't control the process with the church or with my child, I can't wait for my life to change forever. It's a next step I'm thrilled to take.   2009-09-29T14:17:13+00:00 http://316networks.com/blogcentral/posts/891/ http://316networks.com/blogcentral/posts/891/#When:13:32:20Z Author Anne Jackson shares why grace can overcome our weakest moments.Have you ever had that moment when there's nothing left inside of you, not even a tear to shed, and at the same moment you see a drop of rain cascade down the window of your house or across the windshield of your car as you drive and you feel somehow divinely touched? This year, I've spent more time on airplanes and away from home than my previous twenty-eight years combined. And while I do wholeheartedly enjoy a life of travel, of meeting new people and hearing new stories, the amount of time I spend alone and inside my own head can get the best of me at my weakest moments. Recently, after a week away from home and an overnight flight schedule with little time for sleep, I hit that wall. The wall where the last bit of your spirit slips right through your fingers and the only thing you have left are your doubts and insecurities and the dark weights of your past - the things which are so heavy it seems like they'll never leave you. Taking my usual back row window seat, I rested my head against the thin plastic wall of the inside of the plane. A recent rain shower coated the plane in an army of tiny drops of water. Water, that, when we began taking off, gently rolled across the window in a pattern so parallel to the tears I wanted to cry, I could almost feel the cold, wet trails they would have left behind on my cheek if they had been my own. Yet they weren't. And as those drops rolled across the window, I no longer felt the need to cry. How precious did that grace appear. Provision. It's something we're literally - and sometimes figuratively - graced with, when we are, well...without.   2009-09-08T13:32:20+00:00 http://316networks.com/blogcentral/posts/889/ http://316networks.com/blogcentral/posts/889/#When:14:14:29Z Leadership coach Tim Elmore wants to know: What's Your Leadership Style?Your motivation for leading, will determine your... * Duration - If your motive for leading is good, it will impact how long you last. * Donation - If your motive is good, it will increase the value you add to the team. * Decisions - If your motive is good, it will enhance your wisdom and objectivity. * Direction - If your motive is good, it will determine your style and approach. In other words-why you do something will ultimately determine what you do, as a leader. Let me illustrate with the following popular styles of leadership, and suggest how motivation fits into the style and decisions of each type of leader. Commanders You know these people. They lead with a top-down style. Their behavior is marked by one-way communication. They download only. It's one person leveraging their power over the team. They may have begun their leadership journey in a different style, but as they aged or grew impatient with people, they got short and migrated to a "just do what I want you to do" style." It's an approach that's more about telling than asking. It's about demanding and requiring. You don't have to be a psychologist to see that this leader's motives are distorted. They now operate from a desire for power. The goal of the commander is to enforce their rules and authority. They want CONTROL. Kings Kings represent a slightly different style of leader. Their behavior is marked by a drive to maintain stability. Why? Because stability is the best way to remain king. They have a growing love for tradition; they have a vested interest in keeping things the way they've been in the past. It's as though once this leader got their position-their entire goal is to keep their position. These leaders are about managing order. The want order. They aren't necessarily bad people, but they are likely going to be bad leaders in this ever-changing world we live in. They are compromisers. They won't take risks unless the risk is about helping to maintain and manage what already is. The goal of the monarchy is to enrich the king; to keep him in power. They want COMPLIANCE. Celebrities Celebrities are a third type of leadership style. Their behavior is marked by the pursuit of perks and popularity. If you watch them closely, you'll notice a keen desire for applause and affirmation. Like the styles above, they aren't necessarily bad people, but this motivation for recognition not only diminishes their ability to lead well, it clouds their ability to make good decisions. Their perspective is colored by their own needs. They are the proverbial "YouTube" video maker who wants to post videos to see how many people watch them. They love accumulating friends in a Facebook group. Because this is their motive, they want peace between all parties. They want folks to get along, be happy, and look to them for entertainment and fulfillment. They love the fame that comes with their position. They love the attention it affords them. The celebrity performer wants CREDIT. So What Can We Do? Although each of these styles are common, they represent unhealthy leadership. Perhaps each of us struggles with one of them, but today's leader must emerge out of these ineffective styles, especially if we want to lead the next generation. I don't know of any young person today who is looking for a leader who is a "commander" or a "king" or a "celebrity." Students can sense that motives are wrong and that progress and purpose are diminished because of the leader. So, what can we do to change? What is the change we need to make? How should we target our leadership so it is relevant and healthy for a new generation who looks for good leadership? Let me suggest a fourth style below that most young people I know are looking for in a leader. To read the rest of this blog post by Tim Elmore, click here: http://tinyurl.com/mkbpkp 2009-08-31T14:14:29+00:00 http://316networks.com/blogcentral/posts/882/ http://316networks.com/blogcentral/posts/882/#When:15:26:01Z Author Tony Morgan shares why you can't lead 'creative' people like 'normal' people.Within the church, don't assume creative people only work in your worship arts area. They're likely to hangout there, but it's also very possible they're on just about every ministry team at your church. They may not sing songs or draw pictures, but they're still creative. And, if you don't learn how to lead them, they'll find someplace else to take their creativity. Here are some reminders for leading creative people: 1. Tell them what to do, but not how to do it. You can hold them accountable for the results, but don't force them to embrace a certain process. 2. If you want their input, you'll need to ask. If you stop asking, they'll stop contributing. 3. If you ask, you better consider their input. If you're not really going to use their input, it's better not to even ask. 4. Know that they'll be emotionally attached to what they create. So, if you decide not to use their creation, you'll have to process that appropriately and not abruptly. 5. You need to give them a deadline, but it better be reasonable. Creative people need room to dream and let their ideas percolate. 6. Don't try to motivate them with money, but they do want your praise. They'll react when the extrinsic rewards are taken away, but they're really intrinsically motivated. 7. They'll get easily bored if they find themselves stuck in the routine. They need the freedom to take on new challenges and opportunities and hate to get stuck in maintenance mode. 8. They deliver new ideas, but they dread the details. To bring the best out of them, you need to protect them from the bureaucratic structure and administrative tasks. 9. They need a creative and participative environment. Creative people need the fuel that other creative people generate. 10. You need to provide boundaries, but they need to experience freedom. Boundaries force people to get creative. That's when the best ideas are generated. But if creative people ever feel restrained, at best they'll start to sulk and at worst they'll join another team. Do you consider yourself to be a creative person? If so, think about the best leader you've worked for. What did they do that brought the best out in you? Do you lead creative people? If so, think about your most creative person on the team. How do you lead them differently to get the biggest impact from their contribution? Let's get creative about leading creative people.   2009-08-24T15:26:01+00:00 http://316networks.com/blogcentral/posts/871/ http://316networks.com/blogcentral/posts/871/#When:13:32:59Z Jarrett Stevens shares why heretics can help us see things we can't.Heretics help us see what our success or assumptions have blinded us from seeing. They see through what we're doing or not doing to what we could do, and sometimes...what we must do. Know any good Heretics? I do. While I do on some days consider myself one, I have friends who have their PHds in Higher Heretics. My friend Doug Scott comes to mind. In the 7 years I worked with him at Axis he was constantly pushing and challenging our assumptions. He was never as satisfied as we were with our accomplishments. Like our own little Pythagoras he saw a round new world when all we saw around us was flat (to our credit, we were in Illinois - everything there is flat). He was absolutely necessary to our efforts, and his contribution to our ministry is immeasurable. The question for you is not whether your Church or Team should have Heretics, but...ARE THEY HEALTHY? Healthy Heretics... Can Challenge without Personally Attacking Can back up Challenges with stories, examples, facts, and ultimately Vision Are always ultimately working to make things "better" vs. simply tearing down what they don't like Are at their best on a Healthy Team Actually Do Something on the team (other than wax heretic) Are ultimately committed to the Kingdom of God more than Their own agenda Are ultimately committed to the Kingdom of God more than Your Church, Team, or Tradition The evolution of the church has happened throughout history with the help of Heretics (some healthy, some not) Challenging, and Pushing us all into many times what God is already up to. We Need Healthy Heretics. Do you know any?Do you lead any?Are you one? 2009-08-17T13:32:59+00:00 http://316networks.com/blogcentral/posts/867/ http://316networks.com/blogcentral/posts/867/#When:13:56:49Z Columnist Rob Hurtgen shares why we shouldn't just pray during times of desperationI promise you this teacher was not paid enough to take teens on the interstate in a car. We were told to briefly look to the blind spot to make sure it was clear. But do not look to long because where you look is where the car will go. If you look to long to the right you unconsciously move the car to the right. If you look too long to the left the car unconsciously moves to the left. He was right. Where you looked is where you moved to. The gospel of Matthew records Jesus saying, "And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith (21:22). Some will read this verse and come away with the understanding that if before going to sleep you pray for a new shiny red sports car in the driveway when you wake it will be there. I respectfully disagree. While there is much in this verse the most basic message is to pray with expectation. When we come before God whether it be in a time of worship or a personal devotional time or in prayer do we really look for Him to be there. How often do we come to church with the expectation that we will actually hear from the Lord; that we will actually experience His presence in worship? When is the last time you prayed with the expectation that God was standing on tiptoe waiting to hear what you had to say? Praying with expectation in no way, shape or fashion puts us in a position to demand anything from the Lord. The universe is His footstool who am I but a blade of grass to demand anything from my Lord. Praying with expectation does mean though that where we look our hearts will follow. If we pray out of habit, guilt, or even desperation we come to God with a motivation of desperation not expectation. Should we come to the Lord in times of desperation? Absolutely, but times of desperation should not out our regular times of prayer. Pray with the expectation that God hears and stands ready to answer his children who call upon His name.   2009-08-14T13:56:49+00:00 http://316networks.com/blogcentral/posts/855/ http://316networks.com/blogcentral/posts/855/#When:13:58:45Z Grant Norworthy shares why most churchgoers misuse the word 'worship'Firstly, and sincerely, I want to apologize. I think it's people like me, musicians within the church, who have helped to create a great deal of confusion not only about the word 'worship' - but also about what it actually means to be a worshiper. This apology comes from a very real and personal conviction, yet, at the same time, I am trying to make a point for all of us with this apology. In the past I (and other musicians like me) have misused the word 'worship' as a synonym for music, in particular music intended for congregational singing by Christians - the songs we sing to and about God. More often than not we've used 'worship' as an adjective: 'worship song', 'worship band', 'worship service', 'worship leader', 'worship pastor', 'worship experience', 'worship CD', 'worship centre', 'worship iPod playlist', and so on. But the word 'worship' is never used in the Bible as an adjective - to describe, define, categorize or reduce something else. Nor is it used to mean exclusively music or the singing of songs. To use the word 'worship' as an adjective is to atrociously reduce and change its meaning. I believe that the word 'worship' is most powerful and potent when it is treated as a verb - a doing word. It's something I must do. Worship requires action, involvement, movement, engagement. It's a process to be undertaken. "But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship Him."John 4:23 "Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of God's great mercy, offer yourselves as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, and let that be your spiritual act of worship."Romans 12:1 I'm sure that many readers of this blog may be familiar with verses from scripture like John 4:23 and Romans 12:1. As we read these words, few of us would believe that the word 'worship' is used here to mean singing songs or a meeting of Christians - what happens between 10 and 12 on Sunday mornings. The tug of truth assures us that our Lord Jesus and the Apostle Paul are referring to something much larger, more mysterious, more wonderful, and all pervading. Furthermore, I'm quite sure that most churchgoers, upon deeper reflection, would know that true worship is more than singing songs about God. Yet we continue to misuse and overuse the word. We might say I didn't like worship this morning when we really mean, The guitar was too loud or, I didn't like the song choice. We hear, I got to church late and I missed worship or, I'm going to find a different church where I like the worship more. All of these statements mis-educate both speaker and hearer, as they suggest that worship is the experience of singing or playing church music, an idea that leads us away from grasping what worship truly is. Nowhere in the recorded words of Jesus is there a command to sing songs about His love; instead, over and over again, He asks us to be His love. Worship is not singing songs about God's love. To worship is to live selflessly, laying down my life - my worldly desires - and to love others the way Jesus does: demonstrated in His dying on the cross. More than a 'life-style', true worship is a living death-style. "If anyone would call themselves my disciple [or a worshiper] he must turn away from his selfishness, pick up a cross and follow."Matthew 16:24 "Pure and perfect worship in the sight of God is to care for orphans and widows and to remain uncorrupted by the world."James 1:27 Please don't misunderstand me. I am not against music in the church. I think we should sing and play songs that express to God our praise, love, hopes, hurts, faith, gratitude, and everything that's in us. There are many places in scripture that convince me that this is an important and wonderful thing to do. As a musician, I am extremely grateful for that. Through personal experience I am convinced of the wonderful and mysterious power of music to melt my heart and direct my thoughts and praises to God - to somehow open a portal through which God chooses to move and touch me in ways that I cannot fully explain. Let's keep singing! Absolutely! Let's sing more often, for longer, more passionately than ever before! But let's do so understanding that our church music, in and of itself, is not worship. Words are powerful. Words - the way we use them - change the way we think. The way we think changes the way we live. The word 'worship', in particular, is precious and sacred in its original, Biblical meaning - meaning that is fundamental to faith in Jesus the Christ. "If anyone would consider himself a worshiper, and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his worship is worthless."James 1:26 By our constant, and (in many cases) knowing misuse, we are allowing the word 'worship' to change in meaning entirely. This is not an issue of semantics; it is an indicator of a far greater crisis in our faith. When we no longer have in our vocabulary a word that carries the true meaning of worship, we will not be able to talk about worship, we will not be able to think about worship, and we will not be able to lay down our lives in worship. As wonderful as music is - a potentially powerful means to express worship - my life surrendered in worship is what is required. God doesn't want my songs of praise, my musical expressions of worship, unless He also has me, surrendered as a living sacrifice to be His love to my friends, my neighbors, my enemies and, especially, the 'least of these' to the ends of the earth.   2009-08-06T13:58:45+00:00