“We stand and fall on our definitions.” I believe this is true and critical to our understanding of the issues of faith. Our society has become a master of hijacking words, changing their meanings, and making something grey from that which was clearly black and white. However, other instances of distorting the meanings of wordsContinue reading “Are YOU a Missionary? (Spirit-led Outreach Series)”
Category Archives: theology
The Power of Outreach (Spirit-led Outreach Series)
Nothing can be produced by a Christian that is eternal value, unless the Holy Spirit orchestrates the production. We can try to make things happen, even attempt to “save” people. Yet, our plans will fail if the Holy Spirit is not at work. The Lord reminded the prophet Zechariah of this truth. The Lord spokeContinue reading “The Power of Outreach (Spirit-led Outreach Series)”
Who is “Called?” (Four Hurdles Series)
Decisions, actions, and the words we speak are birthed from our belief system. All possess beliefs about who God is, who we are, and our purpose in this life. Christian discipleship is, at the core, an alignment of our belief system with the thoughts and commands of our Lord and Savior. So, when something goesContinue reading “Who is “Called?” (Four Hurdles Series)”
Four Hurdles For Volunteers (created by Church Leaders)
There is a reason that the average church has 20% or less of the members serving in ministry. Church leaders create too many hurdles. Often this is unintentional, but it warrants our attention. Is it possible that we are making ministry service difficult for most believers? There are four particular hurdles that I want toContinue reading “Four Hurdles For Volunteers (created by Church Leaders)”
A Quick Guide to Spiritual Gift Discovery
First of all, God is not playing a “hide and seek” game with spiritual gifts. It has been biblically established in the last post that every follower of Christ has at least one gift for the purpose of ministry in the Church. So how does God reveal these to believers? There are many theories thatContinue reading “A Quick Guide to Spiritual Gift Discovery”
Spiritual Gift Nuggets
Ten Nuggets to Discover from 1 Corinthians 12 About Spiritual Gifts 1. God does not want us to be ignorant about the work of the Holy Spirit or the use of spiritual gifts. (verse 1) 2. There is diversity in the Body of Christ, because we have differing gifts. (verses 4-6) 3. There is unityContinue reading “Spiritual Gift Nuggets”
Who has Spiritual Gifts?
If spiritual gifts are the key to ministering within the will of God in the Body of Christ, then the Church is failing to teach and train believers to follow Christ in an effective way. According to George Barna, “Among born again adults, the percentage that say they have heard of spiritual gifts but doContinue reading “Who has Spiritual Gifts?”
The Purposeful Gifting of God
Everything has a purpose. God created water, Oak trees, Japanese hornets, Roma tomatoes, and even cats for a purpose. One of the deepest longing of the human heart is to discover and fulfill this purpose. Without an understanding and use of spiritual gifts, a follower in Christ will wander aimlessly through the Christian life. InContinue reading “The Purposeful Gifting of God”
What are Spiritual Gifts?
What is a “spiritual gift?” Some churches talk about these, others never mention them, and some talk about them all the time. Few issues have garnered more controversy in the Church than gifts of the Spirit. But what are they? Bruce Bugbee offers a definition of “what” for spiritual gifts as “Specially endowed abilities thatContinue reading “What are Spiritual Gifts?”
Is 100% Possible? (Grammatically Correct Church Series)
Some fellow pastors think I am crazy. I honestly expect that every church should have 100% of the believers in the congregations involved in active ministry. Is this unrealistic to expect that every person in my church who has trusted Christ for salvation would use their gifts and time to serve others? But I find that someContinue reading “Is 100% Possible? (Grammatically Correct Church Series)”
Shepherding Well 