A couple months ago, I wrapped up reading Change your Church for Good by Brad Powell.  I found it to be a very encouraging and highly practical when thinking about ministry.  It is a story of a pastor’s journey to lead his church from one stage of life into another, but the majority of it can be applied to any ministry setting.

In all of my time in Student Ministry, there is always a motion towards change.  The students are always changing and the culture surrounding students is always changing.  So for me, I have gotten used to change.  It doesn’t bother me and I have actually grown to like change very much.

This book was encouraging to me as I seek to push into my leadership and volunteers a desire to stay relevant to our students and always seeking for new ways to reach them.  My hope is the church of God would stay grounded in Christ, but always change our practices to reach new people.

“Remember God’s vision isn’t about numbers or buildings; it’s about people.”

In Steering through Chaos, Scott Wilson dives into the arena of church leadership.  Not just in how to lead, but how to lead well.   He is an accomplished pastor who leads out of his humble obedience to Christ.  This book is a must read for pastor’s who want to learn how to creatively lead their staff and congregation’s on the journey of where God is taking their church.

One of the main things that I was impacted by this book was the simple, yet profound importance that Scott put on people.  This book emphasizes the importance that people play in the times of transition and yet are usually overlooked or seen as just another number.  How many in attendance, how many giving units, how many staff we have to lead, and yet we forget that they are the reason that we are serving here in the first place.

Another major focus of this book that grasped me was his emphasis on partnerships and mentoring.  His church is known for the way they lead the next generation of pastors, teachers, musicians and how they are committed to this to their very core.  He also puts a major focus on surrounding yourselves with others.  Pastors are known to be out in silo’s by themselves, but we must be those that gather others around us.  We need accountability, and not just another check off the to-do list, but true brothers and sisters in Christ who will speak hard words into our lives.

Throughout the book, Scott reminds us that no matter what our plans could be or how great we could make it be, it is ultimately the Spirit of the Living God who is at work in our midst that we must pay attention to.  So we must be in tune with Him everyday and that needs to be the major focus of how we lead everyone around us.  We are to lead others only out of the strength that we first find in Christ alone.  May you be challenged by Scott’s call to steer through the chaos that God may be leading your church and into a heart felt focus on the kingdom of God and Him working through the lives of the people that you are called to lead.

awesome outdoor lighting

this time I used my Iphone camera and did a little touchup with the Photoshop app.

a sweet old water tower near my house

I have seen many people do a photo blog of themselves every day for 1 whole year.  Since I am new to the Digital SLR game, I thought I would just challenge myself to take at least 1 picture every day.  So away we go.

In Primal, Mark Batterson draws us into the heart of God, and calls us to our first love.  He reminds us of the God who desires to fill our soul with His wonder and to draw us home.  Primal pull its main premise from the call for us all to “love the Lord your God, with all your heart, mind, soul and strength.”

This book really pulled me back to the dangerous wonder of truly seeking out God.  When we read… do we really take the time to meditate??   When we pray… do we believe that God could answer??  When we tithe… do we do it expecting God to do mighty things??   Are we really loving God with all of who we are.

Batterson does it again in calling is to the true primal calling in our lives and to place God in his rightful place, at the cornerstone of our lives.  This is a must read for anyone desiring a pull back to that defining moment where you surrendered your life to Christ.

Mark is challenging many to read Primal as the first book of the New Year, and I would echo that desire.  What a way to start the beginning of a New Year, than to return to the fulfillment that is found only in loving God with all that we are.

“God has created us with the capacity to keep learning until the day we die.”

So go pick up a copy of this book today and enjoy the opportunity to be drawn into the PRIMAL story that God has written all across humanity since its very beginning.  To order your copy, Click Here!

Great classic that I am just starting to read and loving every minute of it

New book that I just picked up about reaching the next generation

I love reading.  It is something that my Grandmother instilled into me at an early age and I have continued it ever since.  Throughout seminary, I had to read a lot of assigned books, but still managed to read about 10-15 books that I “wanted” to read.  Now that seminary is behind me, I have much more time to pick up reading.  If your not much of a reader, I challenge you to turn that TV off for a little bit (that’s why we have DVR) and pick up something and read it.  Enjoy the journey through an author’s mind as they try to open you and I up to a whole new reality or to simply just open our eyes.