Are You Standing in the Gap or Enlarging the Breach?
During Ezekiel’s day, there were many things going on in society that were similar to our day (read Ezekiel 22:23-31):
Why a Church’s Culture Always Trumps its Vision
In my over 25 years of overseeing a church and ministering to senior leaders, I have seen countless pastors (including myself) become frustrated because those in their congregations either do not catch or follow the vision of the church, or the vision they are preaching does not seem to make much of a difference.
Father’s Family Inheritance
True followers of Christ need to understand their identity, their calling, how to be equipped for their calling, and the power to fulfill their calling. The following is about all of these truths.
The Biblical View of Failure
Failure is an important topic because so many of us are driven to succeed more from a fear of failure than by the call of God on our lives. This is partly because in this nation we have a “black and white” view of success and failure that makes failure unacceptable. The following are points each of us need to understand to enlighten us with the biblical view of failure.
Why All Religions Cannot Point to God
A while ago I had a conversation with someone regarding Christianity. He told me that all the religions of the world were true and equally pointed to God, and that he thought it absurd and arrogant for anyone to think that their religion was the one true religion. To this I responded by telling him that the statement “there are no absolutes” is itself an absolute statement. Thus, he really did believe in absolutes (the person was stunned by this answer and had no reply). You see, it is impossible to escape from the concept of absolutism; it’s only a matter of what absolutes a particular person believes in.
The Five Point Evangelism Method of Jesus
The Lord Jesus was the greatest influencer and evangelist the world has ever seen. Proverbs 11:30 teaches that the soul winner must be wise. Jesus called His followers to become fishers of men (Mark 1:17).
Seven Contemporary Extremes in the Teaching of the Kingdom of God
Almost everywhere I go believers are attempting to apply the Kingdom message to influence the cultural mountains, which are described as the major areas we need to influence in order to transform society: politics, economics, education, family, religion, arts/entertainment, and science.
Five American Myths of Successful Churches and Ministries
In my reading of the word of God over the past 36 years I have noticed a keen difference between the biblical measure of success and the way many American churches seem to measure success.
Many of the ways American churches measures success are in fact direct violations of the teachings of Jesus in Matthew 23. In this passage Jesus speaks against people loving titles, celebrity status, and desiring prominent places in public events. The following are my opinions regarding five myths for success that have crept into the church from American culture.
Eight Leadership Principles for Finishing Well
There have been great leadership books on living a significant life and finishing well (Halftime by Bob Buford comes to mind). In this article, I want to focus especially on how senior pastors and apostolic leaders can finish well.
Five Reasons Why American Men Struggle to Find Their Purpose
Many men I come across are depressed and have an inordinate desire to be fulfilled in sports by vicariously living their lives through other men they set up as heroes. This is because in sports there are clear winners and losers, thus satisfying a man’s desire to conquer through mastering a skill. Also, because they feel purposeless, they need to live their lives through other men or through a team they can identify with, attempting to fill the void in their hearts.