November 28, 2018
teamwork

Your Team is Brainstorming All Wrong

Shared with kind permission by Leading With Questions. Guest Post by Art Markman | Originally posted in the Harvard Business Review When your team is tasked with generating ideas to solve a problem, suggesting a brainstorming session is a natural reaction. But does that approach actually work? Although the term “brainstorming” is now used as a generic term for having groups develop ideas, it began as the name of a specific technique proposed by advertising executive Alex Osborn in the 1950s. He codified the basic rules that many of us follow when getting people together to generate ideas: Toss out as many ideas as possible. […]
November 22, 2018

The Relationship of the Old Testament to the New Testament

Reposted with kind permission of the Table Podcast. In this episode, Drs. Mark Yarbrough, Darrell L. Bock, Mark Bailey, and Pastor Andy Stanley discuss the relationship of the Old Testament to the New Testament, focusing on communicating biblical truth to a variety of audiences.   Timecodes below: 00:15 Yarbrough introduces Bock, Bailey, and Stanley 02:03 How does Acts 15 fit into Luke’s work as a whole? 05:48 What is the central issue in Acts 15? 10:50 How did Gentiles become Christians in the 1st Century? 18:14 Explaining Acts 15 to new believers today 21:39 Letting go of the old covenant and an improper view of the […]
November 20, 2018
difference

The Difference Between Churches That Grow and Churches That Don’t

So…what’s the difference between a growing church and a declining church? Well, there are many, but one of the biggest differences I see is the attitude of the leaders. The leaders of growing churches almost always share a common attitude. So do the leaders of declining churches. And the attitude has a huge influence over the results each church sees. Attitude may or may not be everything, but it’s close. Here are 5 attitude differences I see again and again in growing churches and declining churches. 1. WE CAN V. WE CAN’T Perhaps the biggest differences I see between growing churches and declining churches is the attitude around […]
November 15, 2018
weight

When Someone Doesn’t Pull Their Weight

Post reshared with kind permission from Josh Reich. One of the realities of leadership and relationships is that someone will always do more work than the other person. When you are the person who is taken advantage of it can be hurtful. When you are the person who is taking advantage, it doesn’t feel as bad. For many, this can be devastating in a relationship or job. The closer a person is to us, the more hurtful it is. As I preached through the book of Nehemiah this year, I was struck by a verse in chapter 3. Verse 5 says: The nobles, […]
November 13, 2018
fundraising

Fundamentals of Fundraising

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” Matthew 7:7-8 One of the hardest things we do in ministry is to ask others for money or financial assistance.  Yet God’s Word tells us that if we ask for whatever we need in His name, we shall receive it.  When we ask God in prayer for the things we need for our ministry, including money, it is through […]
November 9, 2018
create

How To Create Amazing Ministry Content (Part 1)

One of the most common comments I hear after preaching is, “How do you preach a 40 minute sermon without notes?” People tend to be dumbfounded that I, and others who preach at our church, can do this. The honest truth is that I think anyone could because it has to do with the creative process that I choose. My creative process is both simple and complicated. It’s simple because I do the exact same thing every time that I preach and yet it is complicated because it’s a long, multi-step process. I decided to share the process in this post. Now, you may or may not […]