Weekly Wisdom [07.20.18]

Need some Weekly Wisdom?  Here are my favorite resources of the week.

VERSE OF THE WEEK

The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance [Ps. 16:6].

BOOK OF THE WEEK

Gaining by Losing: Why the Future Belongs to Churches That Send by J.D. Greear

People are leaving the church J.D. Greear pastors. Big givers. Key volunteers. Some of his best leaders and friends. And that’s exactly how he wants it to be.

When Jesus gave his disciples the Great Commission, he revealed that the key for reaching the world with the gospel is found in sending, not gathering. Though many churches focus time and energy on attracting people and counting numbers, the real mission of the church isn’t how many people you can gather. It’s about training up disciples and then sending them out. The true measure of success for a church should be its sending capacity, not its seating capacity.

But there is a cost to this. To see ministry multiply, we must release the seeds God has placed in our hands. And to do that, we must ask ourselves whether we are concerned more with building our kingdom or God’s.

In Gaining By Losing, J.D. Greear unpacks ten plumb lines that you can use to reorient your church’s priorities around God’s mission to reach a lost world. The good news is that you don’t need to choose between gathering or sending. Effective churches can, and must, do both.

PODCAST OF THE WEEK

4 Biblical Laws #2 – The Law of Planning by Mark Driscoll

Are you ready to make some major life changes in 2018 – but aren’t sure how to get started? Pastor Mark’s 4-part series, ‘4 Biblical Laws That Change Your Life’ will give you the keys to experiencing lasting transformation this year.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

You tame time through a routine – knowing what’s around the corner, and knowing how much time you have to do it.  Not all of your time is routine, but enough needs to be to create a framework. –Bradley Blakeman

SONG OF THE WEEK

We saw Home Free in concert this week. This video is like what we heard last night from Adam Rupp’s amazing drum vocal solo.

POST OF THE WEEK

Evangelism: Just Do Something by Ed Stetzer

Sometimes, when people read the word evangelism, they stop reading. They think it doesn’t matter to them and they move on to doing something else with their day.

Below I want to highlight a few things to help you, especially if you are a pastor or church leader, to find new, intentional ways to prioritize evangelism in the life of your church and ministry, as well as in your own personal life.

TIP OF THE WEEK

Provide Sufficient Leeway for Volunteers Regarding Preparation. As a pastoral leader, your job is to equip the saints for the work of the ministry (Eph. 4:12).  In order to do that, you need to give them a sufficient amount of leeway time to prepare.  For years, I operated as a last-minute leader because I could pull certain things off on the fly.  I was restricting followers to use their gifts because they all were not wired to serve like that in that capacity.  When I realized that I was hindering their ministry, I changed.  Are you giving your volunteers adequate time to prepare?