We believe that to lead others well, you need to commit to reading, both widely and deeply.
So we asked our team to give us a few favorite books from 2016, and we’ve got a list of 10 books below. These aren’t necessarily books that were released in 2016, just books we happened to read this past year.
Recently we did a webinar on How to Preach For Discipleship and Mission.
One of the keys to preaching that empowers discipleship and mission is to preach to the imagination, not only the the intellect.
In our interactions with people about this, one of the most common questions we’ve heard is, “How do I do this? What does preaching to the imagination actually look like?”
[Read more…] about How to Preach to the Imagination: 2 Skills to Develop
It started out as a great Saturday with my family… and ended with me yelling at my kids and stomping down to the basement to watch sports alone.
And it’s all part of what God is doing in my life right now. Part of the way I am learning to follow Jesus more closely as a disciple.
There’s a South Indian proverb that says, “Nothing grows under a banyan tree.”
And it’s a proverb about leadership, actually. Here’s what I mean. [Read more…] about How a Leadership Crisis Is Killing Discipleship in the Church
When I was 27 years old I was offered what I thought was my ministry dream job. I was hired as a team leader for the one of the largest churches in the country.
I had a great corner office and oversaw over 80 staff. I was preaching every week to thousands of people, and the ministry grew numerically year after year.
[Read more…] about Why I Quit My Ministry Dream Job (And Would Do It Again)
One of the most difficult aspects of Christianity for me to embrace and practice has been the whole evangelism thing. I’ve just never been comfortable with it.
And as I talk with pastors and Christian leaders around the country (especially younger ones), I hear the same story. Evangelism just doesn’t feel natural to a lot of us.
It’s like evangelism is the awkward guy at the party who can’t follow the conversation and always talks a little too loudly. It’s fine, he’s nice enough, but you just don’t know how to relate to him.
So what’s the deal with that? Are we “ashamed of the gospel” and need to get over ourselves? Are we trying too hard to be “relevant” or something?
[Read more…] about 2 Ways Most Christians Fail at Evangelism
