One of the bloggers/pastors that I enjoy reading (and following on Twitter) is Tim Stevens. He is the executive pastor at Granger Community Church and his writings always give me something to think about. I'm passing along two posts that reflect on a decade of change in the church. I think you'll enjoy them, too. A Decade of Change, Part One A Decade of Change, Part Two
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The mistake many leaders make is to delegate responsibility without giving the proper authority needed for the recipient to develop and grow. The word for this is discretion. For younger leaders to learn how to lead, they'll need the discretion to make decisions. By making decisions, they're learning to how exercise discernment and what it means to live with the consequences. By drawing the boundaries too tightly, we are actually encouraging them to follow instructions rather than create and implement ideas. Rather than develop leaders, it may actually result in developing one of the following: hack, n. ... 2. a professional who renounces or surrenders individual independence, integrity, belief, etc. in return for money or other reward in the performance of a task normally thought of as involving a strong personal commitment: a political hack. drudge, n. 1. a person who does menial, distasteful, dull, or hard work. 2. a…
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Another of our new E4U classes at Mountainview is "Creation Science." Course Description: Have you ever wondered if you are hearing the whole scientific story of how we came to be? Has the age of the earth been scientifically established? What about dinosaurs, fossils and long periods of geologic formation? The information presented will be scientific in nature but should be understandable to adults and teens over the age of 13. Teacher Bio: Jeff Schuster is a professional engineer who has owned an energy engineering firm for the past 13 years. Jeff graduated from Colorado State University with a Bachelor Degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1987 and has been fascinated with origin science since college. Jeff has a lovely wife and two kids and has been attending Mountainview Church since the mid 1990’s.
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One of the greatest needs of every generation is to have leaders with vision. An even greater need is to have mature leaders who can help younger leaders catch God's vision for their life. Buried in a list of men who joined David's army are these guys: "men of Issachar, who understood the times and knew what Israel should do ..." (1 Chronicles 12:32). We need men and women of Issachar who understand the times and seek God's direction. As we work with younger leaders, it's important to see the need to have a vision that is larger than life. This is not some pie-in-the-sky, Pollyanna wish for things that will never come true. A God-given vision is one that understand the current realities and sees a God-enabled future. We need to catch emerging leaders at the intersections of life when they are making decisions that will continue to unfold…
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We're launching a new spiritual formation initiative at Mountainview called E4U. Organized around four tracks, we're seeking to help people develop and grow spiritually. Over the next week or so I'll be previewing the classes here on the blog. The Firsts of Jesus Course Description: Things that are mentioned first and last in Mideastern cultures have special significance. In this course we look at some important firsts in the life of Jesus. They include His first act, His first public quote, His first miracle and His first parable. We will examine these firsts to discover more about the process of transformation and to learn how each person can apply these discoveries in one's ongoing transformation. Teacher Bio: Brian Cook is a fellow traveler on the path of transformation that Jesus teaches us about. Raised as a Catholic, Brian attended seminary for a year and a half before becoming disillusioned with…
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