I had the chance to attend the Willow Creek Leadership Summit this past Thursday and Friday with about 30 of my fellow teammates from Mountainview. Over the years, I've had the chance to hear several of the speakers in person (It's been said and Tim Keller) and was introduced to several new thinkers and leaders. I always enjoy Hybels when he gets teary-eyed speaking about the purpose of the church -- the passion he has for reaching new people for Jesus is obvious and inspiring. Keller gave a great talk based on the story of the Prodigal Son, only looking at it from the perspective of the older brother. The warning was to not become an older brother, obsessed with "doing things right" and missing God as we do. Dave Gibbons spoke on "Third Culture Leadership" and raised some challenging points about obedience. Dave pastors a church up in Irvine,…
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A few years ago I read a book called "Communicating for Change" by Andy Stanley that changed my approach to preaching. Andy Stanley is the lead pastor at North Point Community Church in Atlanta and is the son of Charles Stanley. Ever since I began preaching I created sermons with three or four points. Stanley's book challenges you to craft sermons with one main point. Here's his quick explanation of how he structures messages: "Me--We--God--You--Us. The communication starts with Me-- let me tell you something about me. Then We, this is something we all have in common. Then God, this is what God says about it. You, this is what you need to do about it. And We, wouldn't it be great if we all did it. So it is a relational outline. Start with you. Connect to them. What does God have to say about this issue? What should…
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Came across an interesting website for men's ministry. It's called "Letters from Dad."
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We're kicking off a new teaching series at Mountainview called "Hope Lives." Here's a quick blurb about it: "The sheer enormity of the problem pins Christians to their couches. What can we do? Where should we start? And didn’t Jesus himself say the poor would always be with us? Beginning August 1 and 2, Mountainview is embarking on a one month journey in weekend services, LifeGroups, youth, childrens ministries, and in our personal lives to nudge us beyond the horizons of our 401ks. Not just to save the world… but also to restore our souls." (read more). This is a church-wide emphasis on how we can better engage the poor and disadvantaged. I'll be starting the series this weekend by talking about how God has designed every believer to be an impact-player. As Christ-followers, we all have the ability to make a difference. I'll be sharing one of my favorite…
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