Jeff asked N.T. Wright... basically... "what would Paul say to a pastor of a smaller church today? A pastor who wanted to be successful in his calling, and was concerned about growing his/her church?"
Wright's answer speaks to an understanding of "for we wrestle not against flesh and blood..." He knows where the fight is, and what victory looks like. He understands the basic disciplines that make up a "Rule of Life." Check it out...
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Jeff continues to talk about the power you need to do ministry - not in your flesh, but in HIS mighty power.
He reviews the nine practices that make up a rule of life for the modern era, according to John Mark Comer at practicingtheway.org. We simply must move away from doing ministry in the power of the flesh. 
We don't fight with our people (wrestle against flesh and blood). We are to be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power, to fight against the principalities and powers.
In order to have this power of God, we must live in communion with him, and that comes through... a rule of life! Today I introduce the practices that form a rule of life. And in doing so I reference PracticingTheWay.org. Enjoy! 
We think we are serving in God's power, but if you had a gun to your head, would you say you're serving out of the power of Jesus Christ? Or your own power.
Pastors, I think this is a HUGE issue in our churches. We need the power of the LORD, not the power of a blog post, or the latest self-help book. Where DO you get your power? 
Pastor, how do you get the ball down the field, and anywhere close to the end zone, when you have opposition, when you have opposers?
How do you get things done in church? How do you enact new programs and initiatives? How do you create change? That's what I'm going to talk with you about this week... 9/24/2022 0 Comments Weekend Edition 25 - How Pastors Can Help Remove the Stigma of Mental Illness in the Church
Kay Warren joined me and my friend/colleague Jonny Craig to talk about mental illness, its presence and, unfortunately, stigma in the local church.
Rick and Kay Warren lost their youngest son, Matthew, to suicide almost ten years ago, and they have devoted their lives to helping others who struggle with mental illness. You can see everything that Kay is doing in her quest to help others, right here: https://kaywarren.com/mentalhealth In this Weekend Edition episode, Kay shares some very practical things you can do to help your church become more "mental illness literate." 
In Episodes 152-155 Jeff argues that there is ONE THING that he would ask his congregation to do, above everything else.
In Episode 156, he gives his closing argument. This is our mandate, our charge to keep, to teach this to our people, and teach them to obey it... 
Love is candy, roses, Valentines, velvet, fluffy, soft, compromising, weakness, fall over, take-it-on-the-chin, anything goes Christianity.
No, not really. Our culture trashes the meaning of love. They've lost it completely. Here's my best shot at the meaning of truly biblical love... This is the ONE THING I want my people to live out, more than ANYTHING else! 
Have you ever had an encounter with someone (in the church) where they weren't very loving toward you? Okay, actually, where there was ZERO love in your interaction with them?
I have. Many times. There's lots of reasons for that. But we can't indulge it anymore. No more church demons! 
Sometimes the most important, crucial truth - is also the most fundamental, the most elementary, the most basic.
The ONE thing I want my church to be known for, about everything else. So it is with the ONE thing I want my church to be known for, to be about. It's not rocket science. It's not profound or transcendent. But it is absolutely necessary, and before all else, primary and the #1 Priority. In this episode I reveal what the ONE thing is I want all new members to do. And for the record, I had FUN recording it! Enjoy! |
AuthorJeff Keady has been a pastor for 35 years and podcaster to pastors for 9 years - Coaching For Pastors is his latest podcast! Archives
April 2023
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