In simple terms, the "gospel" refers to the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. Through his atoning death and the power of his resurrection, he is able to make wayward sinners friends of God. In short, he is able to do for us what we are unable to do for ourselves. As one called to preach, I've thought about how the gospel should infuse our preaching. Not every message must be an explicit explanation of the gospel. But every message should strike a note of hope, offering a bit of gospel to the topic at hand. Gospel-centered preaching recognizes that the true power of transformation lies with God, not within us. Reconciliation, forgiveness, patience, endurance -- and other godly virtues -- are the result of allowing God to work in our lives. When we give the impression that we are "three steps" from any life change without mentioning God's role,…
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One of the most daunting tasks a person can undertake is preaching. Every seven days you must stand before a group of people and offer a word from God to them. If you're week gets filled with appointments, Sunday is still on the way. A preacher must wrestle with the text before he can adequately present it. There are times when clarity unfolds slowly. Yet, the preacher must find the right words to describe The Word. Preaching is also one of the most fulfilling tasks a pastor can undertake. As one entrusted with the word of God and people's lives, we stand at a unique intersection. We have the opportunity to meet real people with real needs -- and do so in the power of the Holy Spirit. On any given weekend, we will stand before a variety of people, each expecting to hear from God. It's why no one…
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Over the last six weeks, I've begun playing racquetball again. The last time I played racquetball was in 1988 in Decatur, AL., and all I remember is drinking a Fresca afterwards. I've been playing with a few friends from Mountainview, including our newest pastor -- Mark Scott. He only seems like a nice guy when he preaches; get him on the racquetball court and he shows no mercy. To help improve and get in better shape, I've been playing what they call "lunch time shuttles." The idea is simple: you play to fifteen points or fifteen minutes, whichever comes first. Win and you move up a court. Lose and you move down a court. It's been a great way to get playing time while also meeting people from the community. On a typical shuttle day, at least twenty to twenty-five people show up. Not all my movement has been to…
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From Tim Keller: All in all, church planting helps an existing church the best when the new congregation is voluntarily 'birthed' by an older 'mother' congregation. Often the excitement and new leaders and new ministries and additional members and income 'washes back' into the mother church in various ways and strengthens and renews it. Though there is some pain in seeing good friends and some leaders go away to form a new church, the mother church usually experiences a surge of high self-esteem and an influx of new enthusiastic leaders and members. However, a new church in the community usually confronts churches with a major issue--the issue of 'kingdom-mindedness'. New churches, as we have seen, draw most of their new members (up to 80%) from the ranks of the unchurched, but they will always attract some people out of existing churches. That is inevitable. At this point, the existing churches,…
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In some churches, breaking into leadership requires the blessing of Moses or an act of God -- or both. Older churches may be unknowingly restricting their leadership pipeline. If you require new leaders to work within existing confines, you are restricting the type of leader who will step forward to lead. Existing churches often need to create new outlets in order to develop new leaders. However, the cost and challenge of doing so may prove to be too difficult. New churches, however, need new leaders. These potential leaders are often drawn to the risk involved. One reason why new churches create new ideas and new methods is that they attract entrepreneurial people. If we want to increase the number of kingdom leaders, we need to increase the number of kingdom opportunities.
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