Philippians Series Week 3 | Jesus Is Greater
I preached this sermon at our College service on Thursday night. It's on Philippians 3:7-8.
Jonathan Edwards and Revival
This was week 3 of our series on revival where I taught on the Jonathan Edwards, Mars Hill Church and how we should expect to see revival in our generation again.
Q Conference 2017
I went to this conference last year in Denver and it was so good. I am going again this year. You should sign up and join me!
Affirm the Next Generation
This is PJ Moon, he is the Jr. High & High School pastor at the Church of Living Water. We made this video for Back to School Weekend on September 11th, 2016.
Mobilize the Next Generation
This is Christina Wagaman, she is the college pastor at the Church of Living Water. We made this video for back to school weekend September 11th, 2016.
Embrace & Engage the Next Generation
This is Beth Green, she is the Children's Pastor at the Church of Living Water. We used this video for Back to School weekend on September 11th, 2016.
Collide Summer Camp 2016 Recap
So proud to be a part of this church team. Simply amazing what God does at camp.
College The Biggest Story Part 2: Rainbows
I preached this two weeks ago at the College ministry of Living Water. Enjoy. let me know your thoughts and share it with others if you like it.
Collide Summer Camp is Coming
I can't for this summer! We have our biggest camp ever. Registration is full. I am posting this here so that you can pray for the camp, and the the students who have registered. If you are a student, plan on coming next year.
5 Ways to Succeed While You Are Young
I preached this message last Thursday at the College ministry of Church of Living Water.
Let me know what you think!
Leave your comments in the post.
Anthem in Cambodia: Give it away
I have been in Cambodia for the past 4 days with a team of 19. The majority of the team is made up of Anthem students with some other leaders from The Church of Living Water joining us well. This photo was taken 4 days ago when we were leaving. I have included some other great photos from the past 4 days for you to enjoy.
Giving away leadership sounds easy but is always hard.
I lead a team of 19 and because they are such great leaders I do very little beyond shepherding the students and being ready in case a crisis happens.
Everything in me wants to do more but then the leaders I am training would not grow in their ability. So, I have to give up my rights to lead at a lower level to lead at a higher level. Sounds easy right?!
It's not.
It takes humility for the leader giving it up.
It also takes trusting the leaders you training to lead well and being a champion, not a critic.
I am relishing this opportunity in Cambodia to give away leadership and be present to watch those in my care flourish.
Sovereignty - Preaching at Living Water College
I had the opportunity to preach at the College service for my church Living Water on Thursday. Take a listen and share it if you like it. If you live in the Thurston County area you should come by the service on Thursdays at 7:30. 1615 Chambers St. Olympia Wa 98501.
Another World
“I have found a desire within myself that no experience in this world can satisfy; the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.” CS Lewis
Coaching for Leaders
Today I am teaching a short class at the Foursquare Education Symposium on the need for coaching in the life of leaders, both students and directors. Did you know that the win percentage for Michael Jordan was only 48% before he met coach Phil Jackson? After he was coached his win percentage went up to 75% and he won 6 championships, wow! Coaching is essential for any leader to improve.
Here are my notes from today.
Coaching leaders is about helping them come to their own conclusions.
Coaching leaders is about helping them see that being like Jesus is being a better leader.
Coaching leaders is about helping them hear from God, not telling them what to do.
Coaching leaders is about helping them win, not making you feel better.
Coaching leaders is about helping them see the next right thing to do.
Here are the three questions I ask every leader I coach, I got them from Ministry Coaching International.
1. What is your greatest victory? (since we last spoke)
2. What is your greatest challenge? (since we last spoke)
3. What is your hot topic? (This is a catch all question)
The best writer that I know of coaching is Michael Hyatt, he just wrote a book on the topic that I highly endorse.
Let me know your thoughts on coaching.
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Four Phrases of a leader from Eric Gieger
This post is from Eric Gieger. I really appreciate how he writes and what he writes about. I highly recommend his blog.
Four Essential Phrases in Leadership Development
By Eric Geiger on Feb 09, 2016 06:12 am
The fruit of an effective leader is not merely followers but other leaders. Leaders are responsible for future leadership. While some worry that developing others and “working themselves out of a job” will result in not having a job, the reality is that those who can develop other leaders will always be in demand. Leaders who develop and deploy others greatly multiply the mission while simultaneously making a significant impact in those they invest in. In other words, leadership development serves both the organization and the individual being developed.
Developing others requires a deep conviction, a belief that part of one’s responsibility is to equip others. Without intentionality and commitment, leadership development will not happen. Whether explicitly stated or implicitly lived out, leaders who develop others use these four phrases:
1. “No.”
To focus on developing other leaders requires saying no to other opportunities, to other initiatives, to other things. The urgent will always threaten to pull a leader away from developing others. Developing others takes great discipline because the pay-off is not immediate. It is a long, slow, and arduous process to develop and deploy leaders. And it means staying focused on the task.
2. “Join me.”
Instead of viewing development as a task on the list, effective developers invite people along for the journey. Leadership development begins with an invitation: Join me. When I was a student pastor in my early 20s, I remember hearing Doug Fields challenge student leaders to relationally invest in teenagers. I am paraphrasing here, but he essentially said, “Invite students into your already busy lives.” It was a liberating concept for me. He was not saying to carve out tons of additional time but, instead, to invite students to participate in your life as it is. The same is true for leadership development.
3. “Your turn.”
After inviting someone along, those who develop others hand significant responsibility to the person being developed. More than a lecture or a book, the work develops us. Learning most often occurs by doing. Leaders who value developing others are willing to hand the wheel over to someone else.
4. “Let’s debrief.”
Without feedback, leadership development is greatly hampered. Thus, leaders who effectively develop others debrief with them as responsibilities are handed to them. They talk about what went well, what can be improved, and what should be done differently. They offer insight, ask questions, and provide encouragement.
If you are going to develop others, these four phrases will be a regular part of your vocabulary.
Sunday Spirituality | Joy in the Spirit
The following is a quote from Aimee Semple McPherson from a sermon she preached on August 26th, 1923 on the fruit of the Spirit.
“Then Joy “The fruit of the spirit is...joy.” I believe that this old world need the fruit of joy. So many people have such heavy burdens to bear. You have heard people saying, “well it is all right for people that have no burdens, no troubles such as I have to have joy, but I...my load is os heave, how can I have joy?” Ah, but if you only knew it many of the people who are the most filled with divine joy which is a fruit of the Spirit are those who have heavy, heavy burdens to bear. It is often the case that the Christian with the sweetest, brightest smile is a Christian who finds life pretty hard many times. They do not exploit their troubles, do not go around telling others what a hard time they are having. “Love endureth all things.” The Bible speaks of our being “longsuffering with joyfullness.” Some people may suffer long but wear a long face about it. But, Hallelujah! “The Joy of the Lord is our strength.””
Saturday Leadership | 7 Lessons from Wayne Cordiero
Here are 7 lessons from the book Leading on Empty by Wayne Cordiero.
- Do Not Overproduce - When your day is done say, "Come back tomorrow and I will have more."
- Steward Your Energy - Use your best energy on the most important things.
- Rest Well, My Friend - We are never more vulnerable to depression and temptation than when we are fatigued or overtired.
- Exercise Your Way to Recovery - Your physical body effects your spiritual life. Take care of it.
- Eating Your Way to a Good Life - What you put into your body will effect how you are able to ministry and lead.
- Recharge Daily - Every day we need to hear from God and refresh our souls.
- Fight For Your Family - Your greatest ministry will be the next generation. That starts with your family.
Abundance & Scarcity
Abundance
“An extremely plentiful or oversufficient quantity or supply”
Scarcity
“Insufficiency or shortness of supply; dearth”
What words would you like to define your life, home, family, ministry, workplace etc.?
The difference between those who have an abundance and those who have scarcity is: Belief.
Do you believe that there will be more tomorrow or less?
Do you believe that hard work does pay off?
Do you believe that you can make a difference?
What do you believe?
I have seen over and over again that the people who believe in abundance have an abundance. They seem to make things happen in life by shear will and effort. I can't explain beyond the grace of God and belief that abundance is real.
I have also seen people who believe in scarcity be destitute and poor. They never seem to be joyful with what they have and never have enough. In contrast these people seem to invite failure into their lives. They don't finish projects and they don't dare mighty things in their life.
“And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”
Do you believe in a God who will supply all of your needs up to the riches of the glory of Jesus?
I do.
Start your day today believing something different and see how things change.
Row Boat vs. Aircraft Carrier
One of the best books on leadership that I have read in the past few years is called The View From The Top by D. Michael Lindsay and M.G. Hager. I highly recommend it. At end of chapter 4 he pulls a quote from John Ashcroft that is gold. Here it is.
"It may be more difficult to turn a big ship than it is to turn a rowboat, but I think you have to decide where you want to go. And if you're going to go with the flow, neither is hard to turn. If you're going to go against the flow or you're going to change the direction, they're going to be hard to turn. If you're in the rowboat, you probably can turn it by yourself, and that's a solo activity, and that's not leadership. It may be noble, but it's solo. If you're in a larger craft, you're going to have to have help to do it, so people are going to have to be convinced by the nobility of your objective and the intensity of your activity."
What kind of organization do you want to work for?
How far do you want to go?
You can't dare mighty things in a row boat.
You can't lead in a row boat.
You can't do much but go on a joy ride in a row boat.
You can fight and win wars with an aircraft carrier.
You can lead with an aircraft carrier.
You can raise up leaders and send people from an aircraft carrier.