March 2012

Movement Maths  The power of multiplication by Hamo All movements have their own special arithmetic. Movements, for example, always prefer multiplication over addition. They just love geometric progressions. So, to build movements everywhere, we need to understand how movement math works. Let me give you one example: In the chart below, compare the results of evangelism by addition with evangelism by multiplication.In the left column, you help win and disciple one person to Christ per day for the next sixteen years. In the right column, you win and disciple one person per year but disciple that person so that he or

How Much Church Is Enough? How much church involvement does God really expect from Christians? It’s a relevant question for people who are busy with work and family commitments yet want to be faithful to their churches at the same time. After all, it can be tempting to skip small group Bible study, Sunday night services (if your church has them), and even the occasional Sunday morning. Thankfully, the Bible is not silent on this issue. It gives at least two principles to guide us. First, don’t neglect to meet with other believers. Rather, encourage one another through the regular

Why are there so many Bible translations, and how do I choose one? The multitude of Bible translations on the market can seem overwhelming. But there are good reasons for having so many versions of Scripture available. Perhaps the most important reason is that different translators have different translations philosophies. Some believe that it is best for an English Bible to reflect the sentence structure, style, and expressions of the original Greek and Hebrew—a word-for-word translation. Popular word-for-word translations include the Revised Standard Version, the English Standard Version, and New American Standard Bible. On the other hand, some translators believe

Jesus + Nothing = Everything: Review from the White Horse Inn Occasionally, we pull our pastor friends away from their ecclesiastic duties, and through our cunning wiles and irresistible charm manage to wheedle them into writing for us. Today, we have our buddy Brian Thomas, the Vicar of Grace Lutheran Church in San Diego, California, reviewing Tullian Tchividjian’s Jesus + Nothing = Everything.  (If this whets your appetite, check out the Rev. Tchividjian’s latest MR article here.) Math has never been my strong suit, but Tullian Tchividjian’s latest book, Jesus+ Nothing=Everything, presents a liberating equation for troubled sinners. Written in

Metrics are difficult and we in the church of Jesus Christ tend to measure the wrong things.  Here is a great article to help all of us consider what we measure in ministry.  Theological Metric for Ministry- Credo Magazine:By Pastor Tom Fillinger —  “You shall not have in your bag two kinds of weights, a large and a small. You shall not have in your house two kinds of measures, a large and a small. A full and fair weight you shall have, a full and fair measure you shall have, that your days may be long in the land

Preparing for Easter Church Guestsby Diana Davis on Friday, February 05, 2010  You’ve inundated your town with prayer and printed invitations to worship at your church on Easter. Your individual members’ interactions with people in your community have reinforced those efforts. You have a sudden, terrifying thought … “What if they all show up?!””   My husband often says, “You get what you get ready for.” Need fresh ideas for getting ready? Prepare for the masses Update website, guest packets, directional signage and first-time-guest parking spaces. Make the church facilities sparkle; they reflect your love for God. Prepare extra bulletins,

“HOW DO YOU CHANGE ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE?  by Michael Hyatt Intentional Leadership Blog  On Sunday night at the NRB Convention, I was on a panel discussion led by Phil Cooke. Our topic was “How to Change Organizational Culture.” This is something every leader eventually faces.”   Phil began the session by stating, “culture triumphs vision.” I agree completely. Leaders often wonder why they can’t get traction in making the changes they know are necessary. They articulate a new vision. They change a few policies. They might even replace a few key people. But nothing substantive changes. The problem is that culture

The Gospel Project Webcast Here is an inside look at The Gospel Project, LifeWay’s new gospel-centered Bible study resource, through this special webcast video replay. I hope you were able to participate in The Gospel Project webcast last week. Over 3000 leaders participated and the hashtag #thegospelproject was trending number 2 on twitter during the webcast. You may now watch the entire webcast here …Trevin Wax, Managing Editor of The Gospel Project, hosted as Advisory Council members Matt Chandler and J.D. Greear, and General Editor Ed Stetzer, talk about gospel-centeredness in the lives of Christians and the church, today.  Matt Chandler  discusses the need