David Clayton Shares Three Core Values of Ethos Church
David Clayton’s article over at Wineskins this morning reminds us that mission is more than just something we teach and preach. Mission is an organizing principle and culture that must infiltrate our thinking, our ministry, our speech and our actions. The main question here is not how do we talk about mission…it is easy to […]
How Well are We Receiving Those God Sends?
We have been in our new ministry at Westside for just under 2 months now. When you are brand new to a place you see things that “insiders” have a hard time seeing because they have passed by it so many times that they no longer see things how a fresh set of eyes see […]
How Money Shapes Our Definition of Church and Ministry
I recently ran across this statement in a book on equipping young ministers and it caught me off guard, “When one realizes that money is crucial to being able to conduct effective ministry, the number of dollars becomes important.” What would happen to the church if the church had no money? The most noticeable thing that […]
Restoration Movement – God is Interested in More than Proper Worship and Doctrine
The Bible starts off by telling us that God made everything and everything was “good”. Only 1400 words into the three-quarters of a million word story and the whole thing falls apart. Adam and Eve broke the sole command they had, followed by one of their kids killing their other kid, followed by ever increasing […]
The Allure of Elitism
When Justin Timberlake last hosted Saturday Night Live the opening monologue started with him talking about how it was his 5th time hosting the show. He talked about how it was such an elite group that they had their own exclusive club in NYC. You can enjoy part of the skit here While that is […]
Kirk Cameron’s Unstoppable Reminds Us What Duck Dynasty Has Already Proven
Americans are hungry for wholesome and biblical programming. I started to use the word “entertainment” but it is so much more than that. That is why this is significant. The paradigm is shifting from filthy to wholesome, meaningless to meaningful, and shallow to deep. People are longing for an experience of something bigger, something greater and […]
SWOT Analysis: A Helpful Tool for Understanding Organizations
In preparation for teaching at the Pepperdine Lectures in May Charles Kiser introduced Eric Brown and I to SWOT Analysis. I have been a fan ever since. Here is a diagram that will help you wrap your mind around it. This framework helps you identify what internal and external resources and liabilities and organization. This […]
Wanting the Growth Without Taking the Risk
I have been reading through Acts and one thing that has jumped out at me was their willingness to take risks for the kingdom. It starts fast…Acts 2 Peter preaches a bold sermon, telling the crowd that they killed the Messiah but that God was still inviting them to repentance and reconciliation. The result? Three […]
Common Ingredients of a Paradigm Shift
Ingredients involved in the growing realization there is a need for change & innovation: 1. Tension – A growing sense that the way things are don’t adequately explain or account for your experiencing or desires. 2. Dissatisfaction – with the way things are that leads you into an all out pursuit of a better way. 3. […]
Fine Line Between Radical Faith And Legalism
There has recently been a big push for Christians to get more radical about their faith. The big thing that is being preached more and more is that if you are radical, you will radically follow the commands of God. That is a good move. It is a biblical move (John 14:15). We have had […]