It’s quite possible – and horribly tragic – for people to agree with your list of sins and still not have a relationship with Jesus.
Great Churches Emphasize What They’re For, Not What They’re Against Read More »
The gospel was built on failure. The good news started as very bad news. It was never supposed to work. For a long time, it looked like it never would.
The Gospel Of Failure (A Good Friday Reflection) Read More »
Why should I smile when I’m talking on the phone? Unless it’s a video chat, the listener can’t see me smile.
Because they can hear me smile.
Yes, you can hear a smile.
The same goes for talking on the radio, a podcast, or while preaching a sermon. Smiling when you talk changes the way your voice sounds.
A smile gives your voice a more inviting, uplifting tone. It welcomes people in. And, for an introvert like me, who has a general dislike of talking on the phone, a smile works its way from my face to my mood.
Our emotions go from the outside in far more often than from the inside out. So smiling while doing something I otherwise dislike actually helps make it bearable, sometimes even enjoyable.
Besides, the gospel is good news. That’s worth a smile.
When you smile, they know it. And the good news starts feeling good to them, too.
Smile When You Talk On The Phone Read More »
I don’t go to church to be entertained.
I also don’t go to church to be bored.
I go to worship.
I go to read and hear from God’s word.
I go to be taught.
I go to be challenged.
I go to be discipled.
I go to fellowship with other believers.
I go to be inspired into action.
When we reduce the gathering of God’s people to an entertainment venue, we don’t enhance it, we diminish it.
The only thing worse? Boring people with the gospel.
The Church Does Not Exist to Entertain Us – Or Bore Us Read More »
What if the church, instead of yelling louder, gave a noise-soaked world something they had to lean in to? Instead trying to catch the attention of an overwhelmed culture with even more sound and fury, what if we undermined the dominant communications paradigm by doing something truly counter-cultural – a subtle gospel?
Maybe whispering the gospel is better than yelling it. At least in some situations.
Let Them Lean In: The Power a Subtle Gospel Read More »
No one ever built a great church by emphasizing what they’re against. (Well, no one but Jesus ever built any church, but you get what I mean.) After all, the word “Gospel” means good news. What you’re against may be really bad. And opposing it may be very important. But what you’re against isn’t good
#BestOf2014: Want a Great Church? Emphasize What You’re For, Not What You’re Against Read More »
Let’s revisit the stats. Ninety percent of the churches in the world have less than 200 people. Eighty percent have less than 100. Why? It’s been clearly established in both The Grasshopper Myth and on this site that the abundance of Small Churches in the world is not evidence of a problem to be fixed,
Why Are There So Many Small Churches? (Some Assumptions & Realities) Read More »
Imagine how different the world would look, if over billion people transformed by the Gospel of Jesus strategically placed by the hand of God in groups averaging 50 or so tucked into every corner of the world decided to really say “yes” to God. The Gospel of Jesus, packaged in Small Churches, is the most
The Astonishing Power of Small Churches: Looking Ahead Read More »
