3-27-11 - Kingdom Culture - I Am Significant - Joshua Finley from EGC on Vimeo.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Friday, March 25, 2011
5 steps of apprenticeship.
Here's some more practical tips on apprenticing from the book exponential.
5 steps of apprenticeship:
1. I do. you watch. we talk.
2. I do. you help. we talk.
3. You do. I help. we talk.
4. You do. I watch. we talk.
5. You do. someone else watches.
We teach what we know but reproduce who we are.
Let's make Jesus' last command our first priority!
5 steps of apprenticeship:
1. I do. you watch. we talk.
2. I do. you help. we talk.
3. You do. I help. we talk.
4. You do. I watch. we talk.
5. You do. someone else watches.
We teach what we know but reproduce who we are.
Let's make Jesus' last command our first priority!
Thursday, March 24, 2011
intentional apprenticing.
Here's some more practical tips on apprenticing from the book exponential.Jesus focused the last three years of His life on apprenticing 12 men.
11 of them revolutionized their worlds and set a Kingdom movement in motion that is still gaining exponential momentum today.
Here is an organic, yet intentional process Jesus walked them through.
Mark 3:13-15
13 Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him.
(Apprentice selection)
14 He appointed twelve that they might
(Apprentice selection)
be with him and that
(Apprentice preparation)
he might send them out to preach
(Apprentice graduation)
15 and to have authority to drive out demons.
(Apprentice impartation)*
*last stage not referenced in book but one I felt was evident in Christ's ministry and necessary for our day.
Apprenticing relationships flourish when each of these aspects of discipleship are walked out: selection, preparation, graduation, and impartation.
join the conversation with a comment:
- Have you ever apprenticed a new employee on the job?
- Have you ever apprenticed anyone for a role of service in a nonprofit organization?
- Which of these 4 stages have you found most challenging?
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
the 2:2:2 principle
Reading exponential by brothers Dave Ferguson & Jon Ferguson has been encouraging, scary, and challenging all at the same time.As a Christ-follower I want to make Jesus' last command my first priority.
His last command was to make disciples.
To join Him in the process of seeing a person's life transformed by His love, nature, goodness, and Kingdom realities.
Granted, the Jesus does all the transforming, but He has chosen to make us His body (hands, feet, mouth) in the earth. That gives us both the privilege and responsibility to play a part in this life altering process called discipleship.
Paul Johannson, a great father in the faith to many in our Elim family once said...
"To teach, open your Bible. To preach, open your mouth. To disciple open your life."
So true.
The apostle Paul said to the Thessalonians that he had come to love them so much that he shared not only the good news of the Gospel with them but his very life as well. (I Thessalonians 2:8)
That is not the easiest thing to do living as busy as we do in our culture, yet on the other hand it is pretty difficult to make disciples long distance.
Look at the Kingdom strategy Paul teaches Timothy, his son in the faith.
2 Timothy 2:2
And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.
4 Generations impacted...
1. Paul
2. Timothy
3. "Reliable men"
4. "Others"
Join the conversation with your comment:
Who has God placed in your life to disciple? Apprentice?
Help take steps on their journey to truly know God and fulfill their divine destiny?
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
2 questions for change.
I've heard it said that change most often comes through crisis. Either crisis of conscience or crisis of circumstance. Either way pain is involved.
I admit that I hate to believe that, but I am pretty sure it is true. "One of the most important lessons in life is to embrace difficulties and learn from them instead of trying to get them fixed as soon as possible."
-Dr. Samuel Chand
Reading John Maxwell's "Talent is Never Enough" I learned a great growth tool. Ian Harvey, CEO of London-based BTG asks his inner circle to tell him:
Two things he should stop doing.
Two things he should keep doing.
Two things he should start doing.
Self deception is par for the course when it comes to evaluating ourselves.
Ask those questions to some of your inner circle. Avoid a bunch of "yes" people that want to flatter you. Find people who love you enough to be honest with you.
Now that might just help you have the clarity you need for some positive change. After all, the only alternative is insanity...doing the same things over and over looking for a different result!
Join the conversation, leave a comment:
How many people do you have in your life that can be truly honest with you? Who are they? When was the last time you took some time to grow in your self awareness related to your strengths and weaknesses?
Monday, March 21, 2011
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Friday, March 11, 2011
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
bulletproof love.
To help one another experience Christ's transforming love...That is the goal of the Kingdom culture Elim Gospel Church is working to cultivate in our faith family.
Our mission statement also has a big "so that" in it. To help one another experience Christ's transforming love SO THAT we can love Him, ourselves, our family, our church, and our world.
In fact, "I only love God as much as the person I love the least." -Dorothy Day
Jesus' love is able to literally change the way we view Him, ourselves and every other person in the world.
Helping one another experience Christ's transforming love sounds simple but can very quickly become painful. To bring love to a fearful or hurting place in another person can come with it the very real possibility of pain.
"I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no
more hurt, only more love."—Mother Theresa
A love that hurts is a love that is also able to heal. Jesus' death on the cross for each of us is a perfect example of this paradox lived out.
Let's give what we've been given.
Christ followers are are by nature, stewards of a mysteriously consuming and supernaturally transforming love.
A love that is vulnerably bulletproof.
Let's find the courage to risk giving some of it away.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
lifetime learner.
"In times of change, learners inherit the Earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists." Eric HofferIt is very true that we need to reflect on the wisdom of the ages. The years still teach us what the days will never know.
BUT...it is vital that we remain openly aggressive in our learning.
Just because I've been a husband for 10+years now and Anna hasn't tried to poison me, does not mean I've arrived and have unlocked the mysteries surrounding my wife...
Just because I've been a parent for 5+ years and both of our boys are still alive, does not mean I a clue how to navigate the next season we will face with our boys...
Just because I have been a Christ-follower, church goer and Bible consumer for 2 decades does not mean my spiritual learning is complete or give me the option to slow up my pursuit for more of God!
Many times solutions or mindsets that beautifully brought fruit in the past, will only painfully produce frustration in your present challenges.
A mentor of mine tried instilling in me at an early age to embrace the lifestyle of a novice....never assuming that you know it all or have arrived in any area of your life.
Keep learning. Renew your mind. Stay teachable. Embrace humility.
Be a lifetime learner.
Join the conversation with your comment:
- When was the last time you unexpectedly learned a lesson from someone you would have deemed as less mature than you? a child, a friend?
- Why is it so easy to embrace a "Been there, done that, got the t-shirt" mentality?
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