One of the interviews at the Willow Creek Leadership Summit was with Jessica Jackley, the c0-founder of Kiva.org. What is Kiva? "Kiva is the world's first person-to-person micro-lending website, empowering individuals to lend directly to unique entrepreneurs around the globe." In other words, it allows individual, ordinary donors to lend as little as $25 directly to an entrepreneur in Uganda or another developing country. The site is easy to explore and the concept is truly revolutionary. In many cases, third-world entrepreneurs do not need thousands or millions of start-up dollars. For the cost of a dinner and movie, we can provide a person with the means to start a life-changing business. Check it out. Kiva.org.
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I had the chance to attend the Willow Creek Leadership Summit this past Thursday and Friday with about 30 of my fellow teammates from Mountainview. Over the years, I've had the chance to hear several of the speakers in person (It's been said and Tim Keller) and was introduced to several new thinkers and leaders. I always enjoy Hybels when he gets teary-eyed speaking about the purpose of the church -- the passion he has for reaching new people for Jesus is obvious and inspiring. Keller gave a great talk based on the story of the Prodigal Son, only looking at it from the perspective of the older brother. The warning was to not become an older brother, obsessed with "doing things right" and missing God as we do. Dave Gibbons spoke on "Third Culture Leadership" and raised some challenging points about obedience. Dave pastors a church up in Irvine,…
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A few years ago I read a book called "Communicating for Change" by Andy Stanley that changed my approach to preaching. Andy Stanley is the lead pastor at North Point Community Church in Atlanta and is the son of Charles Stanley. Ever since I began preaching I created sermons with three or four points. Stanley's book challenges you to craft sermons with one main point. Here's his quick explanation of how he structures messages: "Me--We--God--You--Us. The communication starts with Me-- let me tell you something about me. Then We, this is something we all have in common. Then God, this is what God says about it. You, this is what you need to do about it. And We, wouldn't it be great if we all did it. So it is a relational outline. Start with you. Connect to them. What does God have to say about this issue? What should…
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Came across an interesting website for men's ministry. It's called "Letters from Dad."
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