The Most Effective Evangelist & God’s Return Policy

The other night while roaming the streets of downtown Atlanta, a homeless man approached me and we became acquainted surprisingly quickly. The conversation started gradually, like "hey how is it going?" And just like that we started talking. He continued to ask me questions about my life before he even started talking about himself. When he talked he was very funny, he told jokes about people that he had ran into on the street. Then he started talking about love and marriage. Then he transitioned into telling me about God in his life and how he isn't as good as he should be, but everyday he tries to do better with the things he knows he struggles with. It was only after we had this long conversation that he asked for a couple dollars for transportation to get back to the shelter for the night. Even after he asked for the money he said, "but you know what, if you don't have the cash, I really just want you to pray for me because prayer changes things." While my friends looked at me like I was doing something wrong, I gave him the couple dollars.

I think their are 2 lessons that we can learn from my encounter with this man.

The first is I think this man was one of the most effective evangelist I have met in a long time. The reason is because he took an interest in my life before he even started talking about Jesus in his life. I was open to listen to what he had to say.

The second is that even though my friends looked at me strangely because I gave him my cash, when I got home that night someone needed me to do them a favor and they gave three times as much money as I had given away.

Book Review: Steering Through Chaos

A few weeks ago I received a lovely book in the mail. It was written by a pastor in Texas that I just happened to hear about through twitter. And to think I’ve only used twitter for a short while yet it’s trying to change my life and perspective on marketing already. Anyway, the Pastor’s name is Scott Wilson. He is the pastor of the Red Oak Fellowship. He just happens to pastor the church that Shane & Shane call home!

I would recommend it to any church planter or pastor who is in transition. The book does something very simply yet powerful at the same time. It tells you that you are not alone in the struggle for growth. We all have an idea of where we would like to see our congregation go. But it’s the journey from the there to the now, or the present to the future promise land that tends to where us out. And this book speaks clearly to that journey and the struggle that goes along with it. Part of being an effective leader means that you learn from the strategies and mistakes of others. I would highly recommend you checking it out! In fact I would also recommend that you buy copies for your staff. One thing I know for a fact is that we can always learn from one another.

Helping Each Other Grow

New Years has come and gone, and now that it's March some of us are second guessing our New Year’s resolutions. You know, we hit the gym hard the first couple months, but now our legs are a little sore, for most of us it's still cold outside, and you are wondering if you can really loose the holiday pounds by beach season.

Or maybe you are the guy who hit the gym consistently hard all year long. You were there rain, snow or shine! You were even there before you ate the Turkey on Thanksgiving and before you cut the ham on Christmas Eve.

Whether you relate to the first group or second group of gym goers, you probably could use someone to encourage your commitment and challenge you to push deeper than you think you can go. But don't worry, No, I'm not a personal trainer trying to sell you my services (I might even sneak you a piece of cheese cake if you ask nicely enough). It's just that we see most churches fall into similar categories when it comes to worship. When 2010 rolled around, some individuals, churches, and ministries committed to pursuing and asking God for more intimacy in worship. While others continued to do what they have always done well, they are consistent, steady. Both groups are in a wonderful God given place, but just like both groups of gym goers, both groups can benefit from someone encouraging their commitment and challenging them to push deeper than they think is possible.

I want us to come along side each other and encourage each other to grow in our passion of worship of God. Share your expertise with us, what are practical ways we can encourage each other in pursuing God in worship?