Since I have released my book on marriage this week, I have been encouraged by feedback. Granted most of the encouragement has come before they have read the book, but I appreciate it nonetheless! What God Has Joined Together was a resource I struggled with starting and finishing.
Ministry
The Ever-Changing Church
No matter what your church is like, change can be frightening. Whether it’s a tradition of 50 years or 50 days, the moment that something changes, it’s a difficult process for people of every age and every background to embrace.
Praying the Lord’s Prayer as a Church
Jesus taught us to pray in what we call the Lord’s Prayer. Have you ever thought about how you can use this prayer as a template to teach your church how to pray? Here’s how Jesus taught His disciples to pray: 9 Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven,hallowed be your name.10 Your kingdom come,your will be done, on earth as it …
Fall Forward
Whether you are a member or a guest of Rocky Creek, we want to keep you informed during this time of transition in the Fall of 2018. Rocky Creek continues to celebrate spiritual and numerical growth, and the church must provide space for current growth and plan now for continued growth in the future.
How to Have An Effective Group
Groups are important. Whether you call them Gospel Groups, small groups, community groups, discipleship groups, Sunday School classes, Bible study groups, etc., the committed gathering of a smaller group of believers is essential to discipleship.
Willing Hearts
Whether you are a member or a guest of Rocky Creek, we want to keep you informed during this time of transition in the Fall of 2018. Rocky Creek continues to celebrate spiritual and numerical growth, and the church must provide space for current growth and plan now for continued growth in the future. As we look forward to our future, here are some helpful pieces of information to keep you informed and equipped.
Empty Chairs
Whether you are a member or a guest of Rocky Creek, we want to keep you informed during this time of transition in the Fall of 2018. Rocky Creek continues to celebrate spiritual and numerical growth, and the church must provide space for current growth and plan now for continued growth in the future.
Open Doors
Whether you are a member or a guest of Rocky Creek, we want to keep you informed during this time of transition in the Fall of 2018. Rocky Creek continues to celebrate spiritual and numerical growth, and the church must provide space for current growth and plan now for continued growth in the future.
Discipleship Strategy for Your Family
Within the family contains one of the greatest opportunities for discipleship and one of the greatest challenges for consistency. Your family members provide you the greatest opportunity to encourage and to discourage spiritual growth.
Write God Your Letter of Excuse
Determining God’s will is a challenging endeavor. Ascertaining whether your potential leading is self-inflicted or divinely-prompted is a serious task.
Oftentimes, we have a hunch about a direction but we stop cold in our tracks. Either the challenge seems too daunting or our inabilities are too obvious for us to proceed. Feeling led to do one thing, we resist the urge and come up with numerous excuses of why we shouldn’t continue.
Jesus’ Prayer for His Church
When Jesus spoke of His Church, He spoke of a people and not a building (Matt. 16:18). We are not called to come to church but to be the Church. In John 17, we get insight into how Jesus prayed for the universal Church and how that applies to each expression of a local church. Our hearts should be comforted …
These Aren’t the Calvinists You’re Looking For
In Star Wars Episode 4, A New Hope, Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi uses a Jedi mind trick on a group of stormtroopers to protect the safety of this ragtag group of heroes. As he waves his hand upon the investigative soldiers seeking to identify if the robots in the back seat are the ones on the most-wanted list of the Empire, he changes their mind with the iconic phrase:
“These aren’t the droids you’re looking for.”
The stormtroopers are forced to believe him and they continue on to safety.
Sometimes, I wish I could wave my hand around and get people to think differently. Especially, when it comes to ministry. Let me explain.
Who Are the Pharisees in the Southern Baptist Convention?
It is true that in any arena of life, people have the capacity to position themselves intentionally or inwardly hope that they will rise to a certain platform. While we wish that was untrue in relation to ministry, it unfortunately exists there as well.
As a pastor, I see the attempts around me and notice the trends inside me to advance our personal agendas. But as someone who teaches the truth for a vocation, obviously, I should beyond such trivial pursuits. When I teach from the Bible, I should be able to come from a grounds of moral and leadership superiority and yet I often discover that quite the opposite is true.
Sometimes the religious leaders are the problem.
The Black Eye of the Southern Baptist Convention
My denomination is caught in a divisive moment at a critical time.
In recent months scandals and controversies have swirled around certain pastors, presidents, and professors within the Southern Baptist Convention. While some controversies have been front-page catastrophes and others have been suspiciously quiet departures, it appears as if someone is cleaning house. Some claim that institutions are cowering before cultural pressure and others claim this to be a day of divine reckoning.
God’s Favorite Style of Church
Every Christian has their favorite style of church. We all tend to gravitate towards a type of church that meets our desired preferences. Have you ever thought about God’s favorite style of church? God’s favorite style of church is a lifestyle church. Be the Church 01 – God’s Favorite Style of Church Jesus’ Great Commission provides a template for a …
The Gospel of Mark [Sermon Series Overview]
I chose to preach through the Gospel of Mark because of the book’s two main focuses:
- Christology
- Discipleship
Our world is in need of a higher view of both of these concepts. We need to know who Jesus is and we need to know what discipleship is.
Multiply Churches
The Multiply Initiative is our simple yet aggressive plan to multiply disciples. As we make disciples within our own church, our prayer is that we will see growth in our church and in the churches we plant or replant.
Why Preach Through Mark?
I am preparing to preach through the Gospel of Mark at our church. As I prepared the series, it is going to take 1 year to preach through this Gospel. While there are 4 Gospels in the New Testament (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John – same story but told from different perspectives), I have chosen to preach through this one for a few different reasons.
Preaching Can Be Expository and Engaging
As hundreds of teenagers spilled into the auditorium, I was going through last-minute preparations to preach. As I went to get my microphone, a pastor introduced himself to me and wanted to chitchat before the service began.
“So which one are you?”
“Umm…I’m not sure what you mean.”
“We come to this event every year, and there are only two types of preachers that they invite to speak. Either they are very theologically sound or very engaging to our students. The theologically sound ones are painfully boring and must think it is a sin to be engaging. The guys that are very engaging often struggle in their theology and I have to clean up after them. So, which one are you going to be?”
Honestly, I had a difficult time thinking of how I wanted to respond because I was so brokenhearted about his perspective and my fear that he was correct.
Multiply Yourself
The Multiply Initiative is our simple yet aggressive plan to multiply disciples. While we can multiply programs, events, services, and churches, the heart of strategy plan is when disciples begin to multiply themselves. If a new Christian simply replicated your life, would you be pleased with his or her maturity? PD 14 – Multiply Yourself Gathering Disciples Jesus first called …
Lamp to My Feet [And Not a Layout to My Future]
If a person believes in God, one of the most inevitable questions for him or her is: “What is God’s will for my life?” It’s an important one too. If God made you, then you should naturally consider what he wants for your life. When people ask for God’s will, they seem to want details more than direction. It never …
Multiply
Since Jesus rose from the grave, the Church has not grown by addition but by multiplication. What will it look like if we truly multiply disciples and churches?
You Can’t Make It On Your Own [Spoken Word]
You can gather with other believers Every single chance you find You can walk through religious doors Every time they’re open wide You can slip in and slip back out And yet still be barely known For all the good you think you’ve found You can’t make it on your own You can read your Bible daily And think how …
Four-Types of Work-Related Exhaustion
Most people talk about their jobs relating to how tired they are. We almost wear busyness and stress as a badge of honor. With the growing level of technology, we were supposed to experience more margin and less work but quite the opposite has happened. What causes work-related exhaustion? I think before you realize what you need to do with …
3 Vital Components of a Staff Member
An effective job has so much to do with what we do, how we do it, and who we do it with. While we are much more than what we do, a significant portion of our lives will be spent in the 9-5 realm. That’s why how we approach work is so vital to our overall outlook in life. Most …
6 Common Components in a Growing Disciple
I love hearing people’s testimonies. Celebrating the uniqueness of each powerful story encourages my faith in who God is and what he can do. One thing I have noticed about those who grow in Christ is that even though their stories are different, common components emerge in almost every story. In fact, the more stories I hear, the more often …
Why Did God Use Billy Graham?
At 99 years old, Billy Graham finally reached home. He passed away at his home in Montreat on Feb. 21, 2018. In his lifetime, this evangelist is believed to have preached to over 210 million people. While much will be covered in the days to come regarding his life, I am thankful for a man who finished strong loving Jesus …
7 Simple Steps for Scripture Memory
The discipline of mediating and memorizing Scripture turns God’s Word Bible from a book on a shelf to words on a heart.
What Billy Graham Would Have Done if He Served as a Local Pastor
Billy Graham has preached to over 215 million people in more than 185 countries in his lifetime. His impact for Kingdom work is significant. Have you ever wondered what he would have done if he served as a local pastor instead of an evangelist? He was asked that question years ago and his response was recorded in Robert Coleman’s masterpiece, The …
Do They Believe You Believe It?
I’ve often heard: It’s not what you say but how you say it. Well, yes and no. It’s most important what you say. But if you have something good to say – something true to say – shouldn’t it alter the way you say it? David Hume, a well-known Scottish philosopher and historian in the 18th Century, who was also …
2017 Sermon Series Recap
As 2017 comes to a close, here is a list of the archived sermon series for the year at Rocky Creek. I have loved our time in the Word together and can’t wait to continue in 2018. For Such a Time as This January 22, 2017 1 Sermon Jonah February 12 – March 5, 2017 4 Sermons Titus March 12 …
December’s Focus: Discipleship
It’s a new month and that means it’s time for a new focus for the leadership at Rocky Creek. Each month, we are focusing on a specific area to really develop as a church body. Just to catch you up, here’s what we have been focusing on at Rocky Creek: January: Pastor – I am so thankful you allowed me …
The Word [Free Resource for Your Church]
As a pastor, one of my greatest desires is to see our people grow in their knowledge of the Word. If believers can make scriptural study a habit, every other good work will come out from it (2 Tim. 3:17). That’s why it is so important to get them into the Word. I want to provide some resources to you …
Peace on Earth
When the angels announced the birth of Jesus to the shepherds, they told them that peace on earth had come. As we look around us, how do we reconcile this supposed peace with the state of the world? Did the Angels Waste Their Words? December 3, 2017 Peace on Earth Did the Angels Waste Their Words? (Luke 2:8-14) When the angels …
Lottie Moon Almost Settled for a Bad Marriage
Maybe you have heard of Lottie Moon. She is famous in Southern Baptist circles for a missionary offering that bears her name. She spent close to 40 years serving as a missionary in China. In her last years in China, the Chinese were struggling with poverty, famine, and the effects of war. When Moon returned from her second furlough in …
2018[ish] Sermons
As I began to plan for the 2018 preaching calendar, I asked the church to pray that I would receive clear direction. I set aside Sept. 26th as a day to fast, pray, and study. My specific prayer was to receive a good portion of clarity regarding 2018, but we all know that God does exceedingly abundantly above all we …
November’s Focus: Budget
It’s a new month and that means it’s time for a new focus for the leadership at Rocky Creek. Each month, we are focusing on a specific area to really develop as a church body. Just to catch you up, here’s what we have been focusing on at Rocky Creek: January: Pastor – I am so thankful you allowed me …
How You Wish Someone Would Describe Your Church
Every church has a reputation. The community has an opinion about the people in your church. How do you wish someone would describe your church? I came across a writing from Aristides the Philosopher from around 125 A.D. He had been converted to Christianity and later wrote The Apology of Aristides. It was a way to express the differing people of …
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