Do We Really Believe What We're Saying? by David Platt

Do We Really Believe What We're Saying? from The Church at Brook Hills on Vimeo.

No Such Thing as "the Gift of Evangelism" by Ed Stetzer

This is from Ed Stetzer's blog: Recently, I spoke at the Church of God Triennial meeting in Decatur, IL. One of the things I talked about was my belief that there is no such thing as "the gift of evangelism." Part of my concern is that I hear many people saying they don't have the "gift of evangelism" and thus believing it is not their responsibility to do evangelism (since they don't have the "gift"). And, since evangelism can be a challenge at times, that seems to be a "gift" that people don't want.

In the mid-90s, a well-known leader who created a "spiritual gifts test," told me that about 10% of people have the gift of evangelism. Yet, that number seems to be on decline. Barna recently released research saying, "Among the interesting facets of the research was that just 1% of believers claim to have the gift of evangelism (down from 4% five years ago)."

Hmmmmm.

I don't think this means there is a widespread growing realization that no one has the gift of evangelism. My best guess is that it is because people are talking themselves out of their obligation to do evangelism.

I think that the current challenge of evangelism is why an increasing number of people do not think they have the gift.

Here are four proposals I made at that meeting.

1. All believers are given the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18). That is, their role is to be agents of reconciliation and share how men and women are to be redeemed and changed by the power of the gospel.

2. Timothy was called to do his work in evangelistic ways (2 Timothy 4:5) but based on the fact that all are called to present the gospel of reconciliation, it makes sense that we can heed that admonition in all our lives. Thus, I encourage pastors to do ministry in evangelistic ways, but particularly church leaders (since Timothy was a church leader). Like in 1 Timothy 3, leaders are almost always commanded to do the things believers do-- just more so.

3. The church is gifted with evangelists (Eph. 4:11) who help us be faithful doing evangelism. We should talk more about the gifted people called evangelists.

4. It is unhelpful to refer to evangelism as a gift because it removes the responsibility of all believers. In other words, many think that if they don't have the gift, it is not their job. Evangelism is not a gift, it is a call to all believers.

What do you think?

The Missional Church, Simple

This is a great video my buddy, Art Rogers, posted on his blog. It is a great, simple explanation of what it means to be a missional church. If you have any thoughts on the missional church, I would love to hear them.

A NINES Review

9/9/9 there was an online conference put on by the Leadership Network. They had several quality speakers, and although I was unable to listen to each of them, there were many great things to glean from those I did listen to. Here are some of the highlights:

Ed Stetzer – God’s mission is the opposite of self 1. Pastor’s on mission seek God’s glory and God’s mission, not our own
a. When we worry about stuff, it’s typically our stuff instead of God’s
b. We need to encounter God so we can be on mission for God
2. Those on mission reflect being with God
3. Those on mission no longer live for themselves

Scott Wilson – Raising the Leadership Bar• Leadership sets the bar for where the church can grow, you church cannot grow beyond your own leadership
• Ephesians 4:11-ff, equip the saints for ministry
• Pastor’s are the anointed few… people in the pews need to move from spectators to being players, pastors need to move from being players to coaches
• Pastors are not here to do the job, they are here to equip members to do the work
1. As leaders we grow– we should all read 35 leadership book and listen to 120 leadership CD’s - $500 bonus if you do it, if you don’t grow you gotta go.
2. As leaders we need to mentor leadership – mentoring leaders
3. As leaders we need to multiply leadership – leaders building leaders

Bryan Carter – How to be a succession pastor1. Learn to live with a shadow: honor the person you follow
2. Learn to lead yourself: be your own self… be who you are
3. Learn to be patient: it takes 5-7 years to be their pastor, don’t get in a hurry

David Foster – Importance of Preparation• In communicating the Gospel, you must prepare to deliver God’s message to His people
• To stay fresh you must take hours to prepare God’s message (prayer, think and write)
• Preparation is the key to longevity and effectiveness
• Speak out of the overflow of what you are experiencing yourself

Rick Rusaw – How can we be the best church FOR the community?

Leonard Sweet – How do you deal with a big head?• How do you deal with pride and success…
• Create in me a clean heart oh God and give me a right spirit
• Humble confidence, confident humility is found in God (Phil 4:13)

The NINES Leadership Broadcast

The NINES broadcast from Leadership Network and Catalyst.

I'm excited about the opportunity to see the presentations and themes. The desire behind those involved in the leadership is, "that this program might birth a robust discussion around theology, mission, and ministry." There will be some things with which you will agree and some things with which you won't. Hopefully, this will be beneficial to all.

Here is an outline of some of the speakers. This does not include everyone, but should give you an idea of when to watch. (All times are Central.)

9AM -- Troy Gramling, Mark Beeson, Anne Jackson, Dave Ferguson, Scott Hodge

10AM -- Perry Noble, Stacy Spencer

11AM -- Dino Rizzo, Nancy Beach, Steven Furtick, Reggie McNeal

12PM -- Craig Groeschel, Leonard Sweet, Greg Surratt, Jon Tyson

1PM -- Margaret Feinberg, Larry Osborne, Matt Carter, Pete Wilson

2PM -- Neil Cole, Reggie Joiner, JD Greear

3PM -- Mark Batterson, Dan Kimball, Mark DeYmaz

4PM -- Jud Wilhite, Brian McLaren, Bob Roberts, Rick McKinley, John Ortberg

5PM -- Alan Hirsch, John Bishop, Toby Slough, Ed Stetzer

6PM -- Mark Driscoll, Darrin Patrick, Brad Powell

7PM -- Darrin Whitehead, Brian Bloye

8PM -- Eric Bryant, Nancy Ortberg, Rick Warren

LifeChurch.tv Is Smarter Than Everyone Else

Brilliant would be the only word to describe Craig Groeschel and his team at LifeChurch.tv. A la the presidential debate on CNN, they will be integrating Facebook into all of their 11 services this weekend for Easter Sunday. While some have reservations about online church, it is impossible to argue a method of being all things to all people in hopes to, engage and intersect people “where they are at” online.


Jess from my church has talked about using a similar idea for real-time questions and interaction, but LifeChurch.tv is making it happen, and doing so on the grandest Sunday of them all. Kudos to Groeschel!

Live On Mission (pt. 2)

In church lingo we have the term CEO, but it does not Chief Executive Operator, it is a term that refers to those many people who only tend to come to church at Christmas and Easter. Easter is just around the corner, and we need to make sure we are inviting people to come to church so they can hear the Good News of Jesus Christ. Pastors everywhere need to be sure to share the story of how God loved us that whosoever believes in Him can have everlasting life. People need to come to a place where they decide to accept or reject and God that loves them limitlessly. If you are a follower of Christ, may you use Easter as an opportunity to share the true passion of Christ.

Disclaimer: I do not believe that the church is the only place where people should hear the Gospel. Each person who bears the name of Christ(ian) has been charged with the task of living to share Jesus on purpose. However, we also know that when Jesus if lifted up, He will draw men unto Himself so again, use Easter and its unique influence to invite people to church where they can hear how God much God loves them!

(The graph is can be found on edstetzer.com).

Don't Impose Your Faith, Propose A Relationship

Mark Driscoll provides a great example about how we can share our faith and have the mind/action/mission of Christ in a practical way. This is helpful and beneficial for anyone who cares to make a difference for Jesus. "Not imposing anything, proposing relationship."

What If Starbucks Marketed Like A Church?

From Richard Reising: A few years ago, I was sitting in my local Starbucks and happened to overhear a group training session for new employees. And it was awesome! The employees were being trained on the atmosphere and experience that they were hired to create. The mission statement was given clearly through examples, so everyone could grasp it. The meeting was visionary. I was just about ready to fill out an employment application! The people holding the training had a picture of how the employees were to treat each other and the leadership, but the tone was not focused on what the workers wanted to get out of the job. Instead, the training was centered around the experience they were to provide for each other and in turn, the customers. They were taught to be relational with frequent guests and sensitive to those who might not even know what a latte is…

I hesitated posting this as I am not really sure what to think of all the parity, but it is making me think. My hope is you might have some comments on this too. Let me know your thoughts.

Live On Mission

Many people have a tendency to underestimate the power of their influence. Many Christians fail to think of the influence they have and how God can use that to draw people unto himself. In my time, I have learned that God places us in our jobs, not to draw a paycheck, but to draw people to Him through us. He places us in our community, to show the power of true community focused on serving others. He even puts us in our families to share Jesus to those in our family who do not know Him. Here is a graph that shows we should never underestimate our influence (courtesy of edstetzer.com).