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Don’t forget to preach repentance “of sins”
Sometimes when we preach the gospel, our tribe can preach salvation through faith, but conveniently forget to preach repentance. Now, yes, understood correctly, they are two sides of the same coin… The question is not whether you understand them correctly,… Continue reading
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Reblog: Tensions to manage, not solve
If you have portfolio ministries, you have multiple purposes, visions and goals for each portfolio. These are all things that you need to hold in tension with each other. The wrong approach is to try to find a compromise between… Continue reading
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The arrogance of humble Christian ministry
When you do ministry in the spirit (and in the Spirit) of the gospel, it beckons a humility unlike many things in this world; servant-heartedness, other-person-centeredness, the willingness to sacrifices ones own desires and preferences and opinions for the good… Continue reading
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Use energy changing it or waste energy complaining about it?
That’s meant to be a hypothetical question. But it’s one we need to keep asking ourselves when we get into “complain mode”. Have you noticed how draining and energy wasting it is to complain? Complaining really saps the energy out… Continue reading
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Most viewed posts of 2013
So this seems to be the things to do… here’s the top 6 posts from 2013: Why you should move people from front-of-house via back-of-house What happens when you don’t turn up Use the volume of background music to help your crowd Should… Continue reading
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Assuming the centre of attention – why you find some people so annoying
Yes… Some people just seem to be more annoying than others, and the reason is usually attention. You (me too) become annoying when – in a conversation – you assume the centre of attention. Say someone’s talking about school, and… Continue reading
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How to avoid thought-sin (i.e. thinking things you shouldn’t think)…
We mostly think of sins as actions; speaking lies, stealing, adultery, etc. We sometimes think of sins as attitudes; hate, rebellion, lust, ungratefulness, etc. But those attitudes don’t need physical actions to become sin. Our minds dwell on them, dream… Continue reading
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The difference between giving someone a brief and giving someone a job…
A job is… “I want a coffee table with four legs, 1200x900x500, in wood.” A brief is… “I have a coffee every morning and I want to out it down in something…” A brief is a problem, a need, something… Continue reading
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Why you should verbalise what other people are thinking…
It’s what makes the “awkward” call so good… It says out loud what people feel – awkward. If the people you’re speaking to are feeling shy, say, “I can imagine you might be feeling shy right now…” If they’re feeling… Continue reading
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Reblog: Staff should fight and trust
A staff team is made up of different perspectives, strengths and weaknesses. A good team member will be aware of their own weaknesses, and the other’s strengths. And this will lead to good fighting based on strong trust. I will… Continue reading
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If you want people to lay their cards on the table…
…you have to show some of yours. That’s just how relationships and trust work. There’s no use going into a conversation where it might be tricky and expecting the other person to tell you everything about themselves, where they’re at with… Continue reading
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Agree with the whining ones – because they’re right
I hate complaining and grumbling. I get the whole #firstworldproblem joke, but sometimes find it hard to laugh at. The petty whining that goes around!! Ugh! But there’s something to be redeemed in it. Everything people whinge about is probably… Continue reading
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As you walk into church on Sunday, never forget…
Every Christian in that room is a “convert”. They may not be your convert (but who cares). They may have converted years ago (but again.. so what?!). They may have converted as a child in a family that never knew… Continue reading
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Is your MTS program focused on the person or the position?
There’s some really exciting things happening with MTS at the moment. MTS National has been doing some great work, not only ensuring that MTS Apprentices are getting appropriate wages, training, mentoring, etc… but they’ve also got government approval to make… Continue reading
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People don’t know your church is there
Remember that people need constant reminding that your church is just up the road. They don’t know you’re there. They don’t know that you want them to come. They don’t even know what the church is called. They don’t think you have… Continue reading
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Growth = Change… in both senses of the word
If you want to help people grow as Christians, what you really want is for them to change… change they idols, their ideals, their dreams and desires. If you want to see more people saved – that is – to grow… Continue reading
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The first skill of speaking out the front is…
…learning how to NOT speak, and being comfortable with the silence. Whether you’re training MCs, band leaders, prayers or preachers, if they’re not able to cope with not-speaking, they’re going to try and fill all the gaps. And when you’re… Continue reading
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Persuading vs Being Persuasive
Only God can persuade people – by that I mean only God can change people’s hearts, opinions, decisions. Whenever anyone turns to the lord, it is only because of the lord’s work in them. However, we can be persuasive. And… Continue reading
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Facilities and facilitators need to know their place
I’m part of this crowd so I can say it. I spend about 80% of my time facilitating more gospel work. That means I build roads, equipment, and supply lines for the armies of gospel workers in our staff and… Continue reading
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Where to spend your church’s money
The simple answer is to spend money on leaders who will raise up more leaders (or facilitate that process). It’s the principle we see again and again in the bible. The glory of David’s earthly kingship was not his army… Continue reading
MINISTRY PRINCIPLES & PRAGMATICS 