Random Fridays. July 15th

1. Difference between nutritional doctors and medical doctors, and the need for more nutritional doctors. Good documentary. 
2. Learnt of a great example of leadership from Alexander the great here. 
3. Good panel discussion between Mark Driscoll, Albert Mohler and others about the relationship between seminaries and local churches. You can listen to it here. 
4. Some great resources to help you with creative blocks!
5. Really loving this book right now! Highly recommend it. 

Faith in action

This is a devotional that I recently wrote for Streaming Faith. 

The subject of having faith in God is something that seems very elementary in our walk, but a closer look at faith might change that. Everyone of us who is a christian became one by placing our faith in God. But if we don’t examine ourselves on a continual basis, we will soon find ourselves placing our faith in everything but God.

It all starts with believing. You cannot act on something if you don’t believe. It is important that what you and I believe is in line with the word of God. Believing in God is not the same as having faith in God. Faith requires action. We see this over and over again in the Bible. Every time God..... You can finish reading it here....

Rest like Jesus

There is a pretty familiar story in Mark 4:35-40, where Jesus tell his disciples, "Let us cross over to the other side."

³⁵ On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.” ³⁶ Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. ³⁷ And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. ³⁸ But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”
³⁹ Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. ⁴⁰ But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” 

In this story we see that both Jesus and His disciples were experiencing the same situation and storm but the the way they reacted was very different. On one side we see the disciples panic and think that they were going to die and on the other hand we see Jesus resting like there was no storm.

As Christians we know that storms are a part of life and we also know that Jesus is our example on how to live our lives. Since we know that there are going to be storms that are unavoidable in our lives, we need to make sure that we prepare ourselves to act the way that Jesus did. 


We often find ourselves reacting the way the disciples did because in most cases we don't trust place our faith in God's Word. We know this because of what Jesus said after calming the seas. In verse 40 he asked them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?”. If the disciples truly placed their faith in what Jesus said they would not have panicked because He clearly said, "Let us cross over to the other side."


So the real question is do we believe God's Word and do we really place our trust in Him? How we react in the storm reveals a lot about who we really are. It would do us good to learn from Jesus and rest like He did when we face our next storm. Let the Word do the work. 


Rest in Him and you will cross over to the other side. 


Why is it hard for us to rest in a storm? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment. 

The Journey by jason Anderson - Book Review

A few days ago I started reading The Journey by Jason Anderson and here is a quick review of the book.

I think the book is a great read for every christian. It matters very little if you just started learning about Jesus and became a Christian or if you have been one for decades. There are things you will learn from this book that will help in your personal journey no matter what stage of life you might be in.

The author writes the book in a conversational style and draws parallels between the Israelites' journey from Egypt to our Christian walk with God. So if you are feeling stuck or just need to make sense of what is happening and where you are in your life, this book might just help you answer those questions. 

Faith in God ...

1. ... is a gift from God. 
2. ... is a servant. 
3. ... works by Love.
4. ... gives.
5. ... takes.
6. ... can move mountains. 
7. ... is the victory. 
8. ... is the currency in the Kingdom of God. 
9. ... is the substance of what we hope for. 
10. ... is the evidence of the unseen. 
11. ... comes by hearing and hearing the Word of God. 
12. ... does not consider the circumstances. 
13. ... is no respecter of person. 

and when we have IT, God is pleased! 

John Piper interviews Rick Warren

This video has been out on the web for a few days and thousands of people have already seen it. If you have not seen the video, I would really recommend that you watch it.

It can get a little complicated at times. It was for me. I actually had to listen to a few parts a few times before I got the point. It was slightly bothered at the number of people who had problems with Rick Warren's book 'The purpose driven life'. I know that there are a lot of people that have already changed their minds after watching this interview.

I really hope that there will be more interviews like this so that most of the controversies that are talked about on the internet would stop and pastors would get a chance to explain themselves. I really believe that most of the things that are fought over in the church are because of miscommunication and misunderstanding.

Anyway, those are few of my thoughts. Let me know what you think of the interview.

Emotional stability & Patience

When we look at the life of Jesus and His ministry on the earth, there are many things we can learn from His life when it comes to leadership. Today I just want to focus on two areas that I have been studying and focusing on:

1. His emotional stability
2. His patience

Jesus had three years of active ministry on the earth and was on a mission to accomplish the greatest and most important thing in eternity. HIs job was to save the world and turn enough people into believers who were willing to lay down their lives even after He ascended into heaven.

The amazing thing is that Jesus accomplished all of this while remaining emotionally stable and patient with His disciples.

There were times when He did get frustrated with them regarding their lack of faith but he never blurted out things out of frustration. There was times when Jesus spoke sharply to both His disciples and the religious people of the day but there was never a time when Jesus had to regret what He said and never a time when He felt like He had to "take back" the words that He said or spoke to others (Mark 9:19).

We also see Him as a leader who was patient with His disciples. He continuously taught them, even when it seemed like they were not growing. When some of his disciples made emotional comments and commitments about never leaving HIm, He did not get carried away. When the same people who promised to never leave Him, said that they never knew Him, He did not give up on them. He was patient enough to meet with them after His resurrection.

As leaders we absolutely need to develop emotional stability in our lives. It is not just needed when we are in our office but in our houses as we lead our families. In the last few months I have seen leaders fail because they lacked emotional stability and have seen leaders succeed in difficult times and circumstances because of emotional stability.

Patience is another area that we need to develop in as leaders. As leaders, most of us like things to get done quickly and would like to see people around us move at a fast pace. This is of course needed in certain areas but when it comes to developing patience, it just doesnt work! As leaders we need to be more patient with the people that we are leading. We need to take the time to disciple them and coach them along the way.

What are your thoughts on these two areas? How have they affected or effected your life and leadership? Can you share any examples?

In the following posts I will talk about how we can develop emotional stability and patience.

Do You Really Believe?

One of the words that is used to reference Christians is the word “believers.” Every human being believes something. So, why are Christians called believers? What exactly does it mean to be a believer?

The word “believe” comes from two old English words: BE and LIFON. BE meaning "life" (as in being) and LIFON meaning "according to." Therefore, to believe means to live in accordance/agreement with something. Continue reading here....

Whiteboard Sessions 2010 : Jonathan Falwell

Here are some of the things that I jotted down during Jonathan Falwell's session.

• When a man of God dies, the work of God continues.
• What you are doing as a leader should outlast your life.
• 1 Peter 5:5-6,10,12. Two ways of doing ministry and leadership:
• Pride - Its all about me.
• Grace - Free and unmerited favor of God.
• We are called to STAND - firmly planted.
• Distractions are present even in church and ministry.
• Be who you are. Don't wear someone else's armor. (Saul and David)
• "Know who you are, accept who you are and be who you are"- Chuck Swindoll.
• Many of us try to be on the lists of the greatest and end up on the list of the broken!
• Be what you are - A minister of the Grace of God.
• As a minister of Grace - you CANNOT fail!
• God always equips you to be successful with the things he has called you to.
• Pride and grace can never coexist.
• Pride and organizational leadership will stifle personal ministry.
• It is the grace of God in which we stand. Especially when things get tough.
• Strategies are good but they cannot replace who God has called you to be.
• It is about your motivation and focus.

Tony Morgan was next and you can get his notes here!

Whiteboard Sessions 2010 : james Macdonald

Notes from James MacDonald's session.

• Ministry is hard but it is worth it in the end.
• 2 Timothy 4:9-16
• There is loneliness in ministry.
• There is discomfort in ministry.
• There is a lot of conflict in ministry.
• There is rejection in ministry.
• Through it all God is always there.
• There are no enduring relationships without forgiveness.

Whiteboard Sessions 2010 : Perry Noble

Notes from Perry Noble's session.

• Learn to embrace seasons of pain.
• Criticism is always going to be a part of ministry and leadership.
• Surround yourself with people who love Jesus and you, but love Jesus more than they love you.
• Depression is part of the many leaders lives.
• Those who deify will/can also crucify.
• Fun, family and focus are three things that help deal with depression.
• Be still and know that He is God!
• Sometimes being still is that hardest thing to do but it is a must!
• If you as the leader don't get healthy, your church will never be.

Whiteboard Sessions 2010 : Jon Tyson

Here are the notes from Jon Tyson's session.

• Jesus - "apart from me you can do nothing!"
• Church of Ephesus in the book of Revelation.
• They did a lot of things well but had forsaken their first love.
• As a leader, how do you cause people to love God more?
• A few myths about how to do it:
• Have a "super pastor" and people will love God.
• The miraculous will cause people to love God.
• If we get more missional people will love God.
• If cultural impact takes place people will love God.
• If we have a better discipleship strategy, people will love God.
• If we have the right doctrine people will love God.
• What/Where did the Church of Ephesus fall from?
• A lukewarm church does not declare the glory of God.
• The Church of Ephesus did all the "myths" yet forsake their first love.
• As leaders our responsibility is to tell and show people to Remember, Repent and Return.
• It is about the way God sees us not how we see Him!
• Our responsibility is Ephesians 3:14-19
• To make sure that they are rooted and grounded in Love.
• When that is not primary, you create a culture of work and failure.
• Leaders need to receive love and receive from God.
• When the Father blessed Jesus, He did it before Jesus started His earthly ministry.
• We are so dependent on strategies because we are bankrupt of the power of God.

the Christian atheist

Craig Groeschel, the Pastor of lifechurch.tv is coming out with a new book called The Christian Atheist.

Here is a short video of him explaining why he wrote the book.

There are 10 copies of the book that will be given away on their website! All you have to do is click here and enter to win!

That's My King!

This is an amazing video that I saw today!!

That's My King from Dustin Bankord on Vimeo.

You can check out more videos from Dustin Bankord here.

Did you know 4.0

The Times They Are A-Changin' - Bob Dylan

Hillsong: I Heart Film

4 ways to be a terrible leader!

Jesus gives us an idea of what terrible leadership looks like in Matthew 23:1-12 when he talks to a crowd and His disciples.

Here are four ways to be a terrible leader and hurt the people you lead:

1. Put too much pressure and weight on your followers.

Instead of serving the people you lead, put too much pressure and weight on the people, while you don't do what you are supposed to do as a leader.

2. Do things just to be noticed by people.

Instead of doing things out of a pure heart to glorify God, do things so that people around you can notice you, praise you and give you accolades!

3. Be obsessed about your "title".

Instead of gaining influence by the level of trust the people have in you, influence then by throwing around your authority and title. Always make sure that people call and address you by your title. Take yourself seriously all the time.

4. Exalt yourself.

Instead of humbling yourself under the might hand of God, exalt yourself for who you are and what you do!

Do these four things and you will definitely ruin your chances of being a great leader.

North Point Online!

North Point Community Church has finally made the decision to take their church online!!

This is very exciting!! Even though I have never attend the church in ATL, I have always heard great things about this church and I believe that the decision to take their church online will be a great tool that God will use to bring people to Himelf!

The first service will take place on Aug. 16th at 6PM EST. CHECK IT OUT!

Here is the promotional video for the series that they will be kicking off with called "Losing your religion".

Promo: "Losing Your Religion" from North Point Media on Vimeo.

I believe it is going to be a great series for people who have not yet made a decision to receive and follow Jesus!

So if you have family or friends that you have been praying for, this might be a great opportunity to invite them to church online!! Let me know if you do!

Listen to Faith+Hope+Love by Hillsong for FREE

Here it is!! The new album from Hillsong!

Enjoy!

Faith+Hope+Love - Hillsong

The Children's Song by Josh Garrels

"The Children's Song" - Josh Garrels from Josh Garrels on Vimeo.