So it’s true… ELEVATE jumped on the Harlem Shake band wagon last week. We had fun and it’s been fun watching the students share it through Facebook and Twitter.
What other band wagon movements have you and your ministry jumped on?
- Rick
Last year the Keystone staff went to the Verge Conference down in Austin, TX. The whole conference was based on how to live missionally and how to live out the gospel in your home and neighborhood. One of the speakers, Dave Ferguson, shared five ways to bless your neighbors.
Genesis 12:2-3 says, “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
How are you doing at BLESSing those around you? How are you reaching those that live closest to you? Share your thoughts… READY… SET… GO!!
- Rick
Great video that I saw this morning from Mark Driscoll. We all need this reminder!
I came across this article today and thought it was really thought provoking and challenging. Thought you might benefit from reading it too! Here’s an excerpt:
Am I saying this [inviting friends to youth group] is wrong? Of course not! Should we want our students to involve friends who don’t have a relationship with Christ in our ministries? Of course we should. So what’s the problem?
The problem is when this becomes the main thing our students hear when we talk about evangelism. If this is the case, we’re very literally leading them astray. And if this is our idea of a key approach to growing the Kingdom, not only is it not very biblical, it’s not very effective. Continue reading the article here.
Andy then goes on in the article to explain his thoughts behind this and offers solutions to this problem. Well worth the five minutes you’ll spend reading it… I promise!
- Rick
A few months ago, Danielle and I bought our first home. We love being home owners… even when the utility sink in our basement overflows because our main sewage line is clogged! (the joys of homeownership) However, as we were moving out of our small apartment, we packed up all the food that we had into boxes and moved them to the new house. As we were unpacking the food into the pantry in our house, we quickly put a bag of potatoes in the bottom of a basket that we had.
With everything happening so fast on moving day… we completely forgot about the potatoes. The old saying rang true for us, out of sight… out of mind. After about a month, we started noticing a funky smell whenever we entered our pantry. We recently got a dog (you can read about Gus on Danielle’s blog here) and his food was in the pantry as well… so we thought the funky smell was his food. But again after about another month, Danielle discovered that the absolutely nasty smell was NOT Gus’ food but rather rotting potatoes! When Danielle uncovered the potatoes, the smell got worse and just stunk up our house and the garage where our garbage cans are.
While the rotting potatoes is gross (and funny), it got me thinking. What are the areas in your life that are rotting? What areas of your life have gone unchecked or have you forgotten about? Scripture is clear that we should examine ourselves… that we should give ourselves spiritual check ups! Paul says to the Corinthian church:
Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test? – 2 Corinthians 13:5
The kind of testing Paul envisions is that which proves the worth or genuineness of something. In this case it is the Corinthians’ faith that is to be proven. The Corinthians have professed a belief in Christ, but he wants to know, does their life match their profession? Paul is saying that they need to check themselves… He’s asking, are you rotting?
What areas of your life need to be examined? What areas of your life need to be tested? Satan wants your life to be full of rotten potatoes. Spend time today asking God to examine and reveal to you areas of your life that are rotting (Psalm 139:23) and ask God to help you remove them from your life… take them out to the trash!
- Rick
Here’s a great video that really discusses what the role of the church should be. Awesome, challenging stuff!
How is your church equipping the saints? Do you feel equipped to go out and do ministry?
Enjoy!
- Rick
I know it’s been a while since I’ve posted anything, but I saw this video last week… Simple video with great impact! #lovemyjob
- Rick
Saw this the other day on a blog and thought it was cool so I thought I’d share it with you. How could you use this in your ministry?
- Rick
I saw this video plastered all over Facebook yesterday… and thought it was shocking! As disciples of Christ, I think it is our responsibility to get involved…
“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” – James 1:27
What are you going to do to get involved?
- Rick
After talking to a lot of pastors, I’ve come to see that the preparation that goes into preaching and preparing the sermon is what often hurts them… primarily because they don’t know how to do it. They love preaching but hate preparing! So when I heard about a 100% free conference online about preaching… I thought I’d share it with you. It’s a “behind the scenes” conference with some of America’s best preachers to find out how they bring great content week in and week out.
The conference will allow you to hear how Andy Stanley, Perry Noble, Dr. Charles Stanley, Louie Giglio, and Vanable Moody prepare their messages. You’ll also learn communication principles from one of America’s best comedians… Jeff Foxworthy!
All of this happens on Thursday, March 15 at 1pm EST. And like I said… it’s 100% free. Preach Better Sermons is a free, three-hour, online conference focused on helping communicators prepare and deliver messages that matter. Some of the best communicators in the world will unpack these seven preaching principles.
It’s 100% free and since it happens online, there are no travel costs. Register for the free event here.
Hope you guys will join me on March 15!
- Rick
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