In reading Alan Hirsch's material on missional communities, he asks the question: "What is a church?" Here are the key elements of his definition: A covenanted community – a church is a group of people bound together in a distinctive bond. A covenanted community centered on Jesus – Jesus is the new covenant with God and he thus forms as the true epicenter of an authentic Christ-ian faith. But, more is required to truly constitute a church. A true encounter with God in Jesus must result in… A covenanted community that worships, defined as offering our lives back to God through Jesus. A covenanted community that practices discipleship, defined as following Jesus and becoming increasingly like him A covenanted community that is on mission, defined as extending the mission of God through the activities of his people.
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Each day at Opportunity Camp I'm sharing a parable from Jesus. Today's parable was "The Unmerciful Servant." It's the story (Matthew 18:21-35) of the man who is forgiven of a multi-million dollar debt who refuses to forgive a fellow co-worker of a few bucks. It's a powerful story about forgiveness and perspective. How easy it is for us to want to be forgiven; how hard it is for us to be forgiving. After tonight's talk, a little boy eight or nine years-old approached me on the stage. He whispered a question: "How many times do I have to forgive someone who is mean to me? Do I really have to forgive them hundreds of times?" And then he said something that nearly broke my heart: "I really want him to like me but he doesn't." He was referring to another camper. His eyes were tearing up, which made my eyes…
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Day one of Opportunity Camp is drawing to a close - at least for me. Our cleaning crews are just now hitting the bathrooms, rubber gloves up to their elbows. Our theme this year is about the stories of Jesus. I'm retelling different parables in the morning and then applying them at night. Today's parable was about the sower and the soil from Matthew 13. I spoke this evening about three ways to prepare your soil/life for God's involvement: plow the soil put down roots pull the weeds At any given, we may be doing all three. Spiritual growth and development is rarely linear. In other words, it's not as easy or straightforward as doing this, then this, then that ... and here comes the growth. But spiritual growth does require intentionality. It also requires action. We can't just think our way to a better, more meaningful spiritual life. For…
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(How to) Make less meaningful work more meaningful. Take all the senseless BS out of people’s jobs – unnecessary tasks, paperwork, and CYA-related nonsense. When you ask someone to do something, use what they’ve done, or quit asking them to do it. Ask people to develop their own best ways to accomplish results, hold them accountable, and reward them for hitting targets. On the premise that we all need to see the needle move once in a while, give them some opportunities for quick wins. Source: Contented Cows
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Contented Cows is a great blog about how to facilitate cooperation in the workplace. The premise is simple: contented cows produce more and better milk. While not looking to produce milk, as a leader I am interested in how to create an environment where people can be productive, feel appreciated, and accomplish great things. In that spirit, I pass along this post entitled "Stop Being Ordinary!" ****************** Have you seen the YouTube video of the Thomson Airways (a UK carrier) safety video? If not, click on it (above), take 3 and a half minutes to look at it, then keep reading. Sure, it’s cute. The kids are really good. Adorable. And the creative team that put it together is brilliant. But what makes it work is that it’s anything but ordinary. Thomson passengers actually watch the thing, and I have to believe that retention of the material is off the…
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