I've been on Twitter for a few years now (@kenhensley, if you care to join the conversation). Over time, I've come to appreciate a few things regarding Twitter and preaching. Here are just a few observations: Using Twitter forces me to be concise in communicating a thought. With only 140 characters at your disposal -- including spaces -- you have to trim the fat. In some ways, it reminds me of Fred Craddock's approach to preaching: you should be able to summarize every sermon in one sentence. Using Twitter allows me to follow thought leaders in various fields. On any given day, I am getting Tweets from Guy Kawasaki, Max Lucado, Dave Ferguson, Leo Laporte, Ed Stetzer, Don Miller, and many others. These tweets give me a real-time perspective into what they are thinking, reading, and doing. Using Twitter allows me to easily extend my own influence. Granted, I only…
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Below is a list of thirteen ways a church benefits by starting another church. The list is taken from Spin-off Churches: How One Church Successfully Plants Another by Harrison, Cheyney and Overstreet ********** Sponsoring keeps the church fresh and alive to its mission and vision and challenges the church’s faith. Sponsoring reminds the church of the challenge to pray for the lost. Sponsoring enables the church to welcome other people into the kingdom that it would not otherwise have assimilated. Sponsoring creates a climate open to birthing a variety of need-meeting groups within the sending church. Sponsoring provides evangelistic vitality and activity. Sponsoring encourages the discovery and development of new and latent leaders. Sponsoring encourages coaching, mentoring, and apprenticeship in ministry while providing a renewed understanding of how we are all part of a team effort. Sponsoring provides an occasion for church members to get to know missionaries personally. Sponsoring builds on the past and insures the future. Sponsoring…
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In a recent E4U class on the book of Acts, I talked about how the apostle Paul varied his method but stayed true to his message. A good example of this is in Acts 17. While in Thessalonica, he visits the synagogue and uses the Hebrew Scriptures to proclaim Jesus. The Jewish synagogue was a familiar place to Paul, who was raised as a "Hebrew of Hebrews, a Pharisee of Pharisees." With a primarily Jewish audience, Paul uses methods familiar to his audience. Even though his methods/reasoning reflected his audience, his message remained simple: Jesus is the Christ. Later in the same chapter, he stops in Athens and finds himself in the marketplace of ideas. I love how Luke describes the Athenians: "All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas" (Acts 17:21). Sounds like a…
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This weekend I'm teaching on how to resolve conflict within a marriage. While putting the finishing touches on my message (while enjoying a cup of coffee -- good preaching and good coffee go hand-in-hand), this thought settled on me: People come to church looking for something more than Dr. Phil. If Dr. Phil was working for them, they wouldn't be listening to me. And if I'm trying to be Dr. Phil, I won't match up -- notwithstanding the fact I'm not bald. Folks who are hurting or searching or wandering come to church looking for one thing: a word from God. Whether it be in regards to their marriage or their children, they walk through our doors wanting -- expecting -- to hear from God. In fact, they usually aren't surprised when we teach from the Bible. Ironically, they also aren't surprised when a restaurant serves them food. They are…
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