Support raising is a tricky subject for many people. For some, it is an enjoyable part of their ministry, for others it is a terrifying and dreadful requirement. Others see it as an annoying distraction from their “main ministry work,” while others see it as part of their call to make disciples. For many who raise support, the process is …
An Ethic of Listening
In times where the “cancel culture” goes both directions (a cultural reaction of taking offense and rejecting someone due to their biases and assertions), it takes maturity to listen with hope, love, and faith. We listen with hope knowing the Redeemer. We listen with love for our neighbor. We listen with faith that God will give us wise, gentle, humble, …
31 Days of Delight
We are invited to “delight yourself in the Lord” (Ps. 37:4a), but I have noticed that many Christians haven’t yet experienced God as actually “delightful.” The most enjoyable part of my entire life has been to discover new depths of the delightfulness of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and I would love to see others experience just how wonderful He …
Cyber Missional Pioneering
The internet is a missional and incarnational frontier The great missiologist Ralph Winter said that the future of missions was in the cities … while that is still true, we simply must acknowledge that a significant future aspect of missions is also online. Hugh Halter and Matt Smay mention in their book, “The Tangible Kingdom Primer,” that “missional” and “incarnational” …
Essential Elements of Kingdom Movements
(inspired by Alan Hirsch’s mDNA) What does it look like to make disciples of Jesus who actually go and reproduce more disciples? We need to think about the big picture, plant small seeds that can sprout trees and in turn create forests. Plant from the beginning with the end in mind. We see this in the parables of Jesus about …
The Mechanics and Spirituality of Trust
Trusting others is always a risk. Many kingdom leaders get burnt and slowly clam up or lose the ability to keep loving and trusting those around us. It is vital for church planters to consider how this issue of “trust” is influencing their life and relationships. I believe there are two aspects of trust: (1) the mechanics of trust (how …
The True Foundation for Our Rejoicing
Luke 10:1-24 has an incredibly diverse range of wisdom and brilliant insights. Perhaps if it was the only portion of scripture that we had, it’s diverse range of wisdom would still be more than sufficient to help us understand so many realities of the Kingdom of Heaven and service to the King of Heaven; but let me paraphrase one insight …
Grativangelism
Gratitude and Evangelism: These words elicit very different responses for most people, yet both are scriptural and represent deep values within our Christian faith. For some, “evangelism” has become a bit of a guilt ridden term, for others it has become a term that represents oppression, superiority and elitism. I have even met some in the faith who refuse to …
24 Hour Prayer: Fuel the Movement
In the scriptures we see examples where Christ prayed through the night. A friend challenged me to try the same thing. I had never cultivated this as a practice (although once or twice in a trial I prayed through the night) but the thought got stuck in my brain and kept simmering. Eventually I had the opportunity to visit a …