Sunday Musings I was at it again Saturday, asking embarrassing questions of restaurant personnel while with a friend. JimmyJohns in Big Rapids, MI was the site this time and my somewhat shocked friend was the son of my pastor friend in Michigan who I am filling in for while he is away on a much … More What Will You Do with Today?
Update: The picture associated with this post is not relevant to the summer season or to South Carolina. But the story in this post is relevant for all of us who want to see our neighbors come to faith in Christ. Simple acts of kindness done in the name of Christ can have a powerful … More Intensely Local Ministry is as Simple as a Garden Trowel
“Using what you have, where you are, whom you are among, to make a difference for Christ.” Here’s a series of exercises to help your small group or house church begin to develop an Intensely Local texture to their ministry. Principle: The home and the ‘hood rather than the church building and programs, are the primary … More Intensely Local: God gave you that house, how will you use it for His glory?
Weekend Musings The following are excerpted from the book The Wisdom of Stability, by Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove. All of them are about community. Bold topic headlines and bracketed [ ] comments are my own. On Facebook “Friends” I get to choose who I want to ‘friend’ and whose friendship requests I respond to. We gather around … More The Dangers of a Facebook “Friend”
Monday Discussion Thesis #1: The world economy creates some barriers to gospel expansion. I am not saying that it doesn’t create some opportunities as well, but in this post I want to suggest some of the barriers. In a macro-economy like we have today, all relationships that we have with non-family members are in some … More Understanding the Times for the Advance of the Gospel
Monday is for Discussion A day after Easter is a good time to think not just about resurrection joy, but Christian faithfulness in light of the extraordinary lavishness of God’s grace and love for us. Evangelism is not only done by individuals, but is a function of the body working together to show the beauty … More Loving People Enough to be Hated
Monday Discussion [Revised and updated from 2010] Developing an “intensely local” vision for church planters and others who just want to make a difference. Thesis: To really get to know a community, you have to “press the flesh.” You need to develop real relationships with real people. This will involve changing both our mindset and … More How to Do Reconnaissance into the Neighborhood’s Soul
Wednesday is for Prayer “You are probably going to heaven and I’m probably going to hell.” The elderly man, Bill 87, was speaking to an elderly woman, Ruth 94, in hospital room 335 at Mercy Hospital. It was Monday, and I was at the hospital with my mother (room 332) as the family was preparing … More What Do You Do When Your Neighbor Says He is Probably Going to Hell?
Wednesday is for Prayer I would prefer to talk about prayer rather than dole out prayer requests. But you, the growing audience for this blog have been traveling with me in the journey of exploration into what it means to be Intensely Local in focus and so I want to share some prayer requests that … More Neighbors in Crisis
Ideas for recruiting for a church plant: or as my friend Frank Abt phrased it —“How do you go about recruiting for a church plant?” For an intro to this post see yesterday’s post. 1. If you are going to try to start a church by gathering Christians to help you: Pray that God … More Recruiting Tips for Church Planters
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