I love this! Pulled this off Facebook the other day and thought I would pass it on with some comment and an idea or two or . . . (we’ll see). It is the latest attempt to try to do something that is kind of a “pay-it-forward” and hope it goes viral. So, first, the … More Loving Neighbors at Christmas
I hope the answer is yes. I hope you know the meaning of Jesus’s parables in Matthew 13, in particular the one we talked about last week and the one we will take up this week. (Come and visit if you can or go to our website on Monday for the audio, ManchesterCreek.org) There is … More Do You Believe in the Divine Conspiracy?
Kids are back in school. School buses are cruising our roads. Footballs are flying through the air and the weather man says there will be no 90-degree days for the next 7 days. Fall is just around the corner and with it many new opportunities to tell our neighbors about the wonder of Jesus. As … More A Challenge for the Body of Christ in America
Reading with the Pastor Mark 3 and Psalm 73 Today we are reading chapter 3 in the Gospel of Mark again because it is a critical chapter in the book. One of the reasons it is so critical is the clarity of what discipleship looked like for the disciples. The verses to examine are 13-15. … More The Reason We Aren’t Making Disciples is Simple
Thursday is for Making Disciples I saw this video about two months ago. Then one of my elders sent it to me again after a discussion at our elder’s meeting on the difference between how the American Church thinks of the role of pastors and the way the New Testament depicts that role. Summary: They are … More When Your Thinking is Rigid, Change is Hard
Sunday Afternoon Musings “If we are going to call ourselves followers of Jesus Christ, we should be making disciples. But most Christians today are not known for making disciples.” —-Francis Chan, Multiply, chapter 1 If we love God and love people, we will make disciples. Period. Let’s make our churches known for making disciples of Jesus. … More What is Your Church Known for?
A Parable of Castles and Servants Neuschwanstein Castle-Bavaria (not far from my ancestral home in Germany) “The castle was just over the hill off the main highway leading to the city. I lived on its outskirts but I could see its tallest spire. Weekly celebrations were the norm there. We could see the throngs going … More A Modern Parable: They are Outside the Castle
Thursday is for Making Disciples “If the unchurched [in the USA] were a nation unto themselves, they would be the eleventh most populated country on earth today.” (Pollster, George Barna, in Rechurching the Unchurched)* We sometimes fall into the trap of thinking that because many of our friends are believers and go to church that … More Do You Have Eyes to See?
Over on Facebook yesterday, Neil Cole started a discussion that was quite lengthy with a retweet of @lanceford: If North American pastors worked as hard at Disciple-making as they do on Sermon-making we could change the world//Prob true! I’m not sure if the “Prob true!” comment is Neil’s or Lanceford’s. The Discussion went on for … More Neil Cole: A Bridge (destruction) Too Far (Is Preaching Part of Discipleship)
Today is for Discipleship It is hard to imagine a more straightforward and simple attempt to tell others about the Savior. Jesus calls Philip. Philip follows. First opportunity he gets, Philip runs to tell Nathanael that he has found the Savior. He feels compelled to tell Nathaniel about having found the one who is the … More Evangelistic Simplicity
ChosenRebel's Blog 