Years ago I read "Renewing Your Spiritual Passion" by Gordon MacDonald. One of the points he emphasizes is the need for rest and reflection if we are to stay spiritually healthy. God understood this when he created the Sabbath. Jesus modeled it to his disciples by getting up early to pray. The rest of us struggle to find a balance. Or, if we do find time to rest we forget to reflect. We don't ask questions like ... "Why am I here?" "Am I being a good steward of my life?" "What one thing do I need to do different?" Reflection may not come naturally to us. We live busy lives and fill our time doing busy things. Busyness does not lead to godliness, however. I've been reflecting lately, mostly in the early morning hours before everyone else gets up. I fix coffee, listen to music, and pray. And listen. …
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I read this article this morning and thought I would pass it along. It's a good reminder for those of us in full-time ministry but can really apply to long-term success in any industry. ***************** The burnout rate among pastors and ministry leaders is alarmingly high but easily preventable. The number of leaders who leave ministry because of discouragement is just as high. Recently, I was talking with a long time pastor friend, and we were talking about sustainability in ministry and crossing the finish line as old pastors who still loved the church. We decided there were three crucial elements that must be present for this to happen. 1. Ministry must be for the kingdom Our motive for everything we do must be for building God’s kingdom and not our personal church empires. Sometimes, it’s hard to tell the difference, but if we keep our hearts honest, we will…
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I'm not sure who first coined the phrase "chasing rabbits" but it likely wasn't a rabbit lover. With the exception of those who hunt little bunnies, "chasing rabbits" typically refers to those who prefer to get lost on a tangent rather than staying the course. It's why people get so worked up over minor issues while the major issues are ignored. Rabbit chasers drive counselors crazy. Rather than deal with the root of a problem, they prefer to hack away at the branches. You might say, "Let's talk about ..." and the response is, "but I want to talk about ..." Sometimes employees will become rabbit chasers because it's easier to distract than accept responsibility. Back in my marketplace days, I noticed that under-performing employees had a wonderful gift of recognizing where other people were under-performing, too. Somehow they felt by raising awareness of other's shortcoming it made their own…
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The secret to growth and maturity is not a "more or less" attitude but a "more and less" attitude. For example ... I need to more focused on the needs of my family and less focused on my own. I need to more concerned with what people receive from my preaching and less concerned about how I deliver it. I need to spend more time on what's important and less time on what's urgent. More and less.
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Yesterday I had the privilege of preaching at Elevation Christian Church in Aurora. On the previous weekend, they celebrated their one-year anniversary as a church. Scott Bloyer, Ryan Duncan, and the rest of the team have done a great job of launching a healthy church. Elevation has grown from just a handful of people to nearly 200 in just one year. But that only tells part of the story. Most importantly, lives have been reclaimed for God and people are finding their way back to Him. Over 60 people have been baptized in twelve months. For me, I enjoyed the time in between services. I would ask people how long they had been at Elevation and answers ranged "from day one" to "just last week." Then they would tell me their stories. I left Elevation further convinced that church planting is the best way to expand the Kingdom of God.…
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