My Guest Appearance @ Church Planting Wives Series

I am blogging over at Truly Captivating (Suzanne Reeder) today. She is doing a Church Planting Wives Series and she asked me to post today... so stop by! We are blog/twitter/FB freinds. We met through our hubbies (Craig (me)/Chris (her)) who talk church planting from time to time. The Reeders are launching/planting Revolution Church in Florence, SC. Suzanne is a precious woman of God who has a sweet spirit! I am blessed and privileged to call her my friend!

By the way she is ALSO doing a giveaway for those who comment this week! The prize will be a Gift Box including THIS, THIS, THIS and THIS!!! Pretty neat, huh? Suzanne thought you could use some pampering, and these are some of her FAVORITE things!! So don’t forget to leave your comments on each post. You’ll only be entered once, but she wants to know what you think about this series. Feedback is always a good thing! ;-)

I'll talk with ya'll soon!

Four Arguments You Just Can't Win Pt 4 Perry Noble

Part 4 of Perry Noble's series on "Four Arguments You Just Can't Win"...

Four Arguments You Just Can’t Win - Part Four Posted: 12 Dec 2008 05:27 AM CST Final post on this! #4 - Your Church Is Too Entertaining. I ALWAYS reply, “should the church be more entertaining…or boring?” One of the definitions of entertainment is to hold ones attention for a specific amount of time…and if that is what I am being accused of then I am GUILTY AS CHARGED!!! God often used EXTREME language AND unique circumstances to get people’s attention in Scripture…I think we, as His church, should be willing to do the same. NOW…the KEY here is to not allow the tail to wag the dog. A church service should never begin with, “I’ve got a really cool video idea…let’s design a church service around it.” The CENTRAL driving force in a church should be the Scriptures. However, placed around the preaching should be our BEST…our best music, video, greeters, children’s workers…EVERYTHING! We should go all out every week to offer up our best…and BEG God to make up the difference. Every week we are going to preach the Gospel at NewSpring Church…AND we are going to do our best to make sure that the experience is something that people want to bring their friends and family members to. Some people may argue that, because of the planning and preparation that goes into a service that there is no room for the Holy Spirit…two things to keep in mind here… #1 - I think the Holy Spirit works THROUGH the planning and preparation process!!!! I know I’ve seen Him do so. And… #2 - There should ALWAYS be room in a church service for Him to move and blow everything up…which He often does!!! Saying all of that…our Christmas services are going to be incredible. We are planning like crazy and preparing one of the most creative presentations we’ve ever been led to design… HOWEVER, we are also BEGGING GOD to show up and make up the difference. Prayer and preparation are NOT supposed to work in opposition to one another…but in harmony! YES, Christmas services WILL be entertaining…and lives will be changed! I can’t wait!!!

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Four Arguments You Just Can't Win Pt 3 Perry Noble

And here is part 3 to Perry Noble's series on Four Arguments You Just Can't Win...

This one is one all pastors have or will hear at some point. Perry has some great wisdom and insight on this based on how New Spring approaches discipleship... we ain't talking cloning folks!

Four Arguments You Just Can’t Win - Part Three

Here’s the third…

#3 - Your Church Doesn’t Disciple Anyone.

Ever heard this one? Once again…look at WHO it usually comes from…a guy who ISN’T actually discipling anyone himself…but LOVES to sit around and complain about what he perceives to be a problem.

This may sound a lot like the last post I did not this…but, ANYTIME someone asks me to define what making a disciple is they usually just look at me with a blank stare. AND…when I push them on it they finally admit that a disciple is usually someone who acts and thinks JUST LIKE THEM!!! (Which is the pinnacle of arrogance!)

Anytime I hear this argument I think about the story in Acts 8:26-40 where Phillip led the Ethopian eunech to Christ…and then BAM, the Bible says God took Phillip away! OBVIOUSLY God doesn’t care about discipleship because he didn’t tell the eunech to immerse himself into a culture that ignores the world.

Should we desire to grow in our faith? ABSOLUTELY! Should the church provide an environment for that to take place in? Once again, ABSOLUTELY!

HOWEVER, it is not the churches job to MAKE people grow…but rather to provide the environments for it.

Every Sunday at NewSpring Church it is our goal in every sermon to either…

#1 - Teach someone something they did not know…

#2 - Remind them of something they have forgotten…

AND…

#3 - Challenge them to take action based on what they learned.

THAT, in our minds, is discipleship. If people are reminded or learn 52 news things every single year and follow through on them…they are changed…and so is the world they live in!

Sure, we do other things as well…groups, volunteer teams, taking an offering (all a part of discipleship)…but, in my opinion, we make the process of discipleship WAY too complicated!

Paul dealt with this in Acts 15 (great story)…and Acts 15:19 is one of the most descriptive verses on what the responsibility of the church is when it comes to discipling…we should NOT make it difficult…but rather do our best to assist people in taking their next steps…which are usually difficult without the church even getting involved.

One more thing on this…the person who usually throws this argument out there will also say things like, “I’m not being fed!” Which actually is a reflection of their pitiful spiritual condition!!!

You see, when Charisse was a little girl, I fed her. She is now 17 months old…and I place the food in front of her and she eats it. In a year or so she will be able to go to the fridge and get her own food…THAT is simply a sign of her maturity.

The same is true spiritually. When someone first comes to Christ we should invest heavily in them. As time goes on we should consistently place the food in front of them. (We do this every Sunday). And then, one day, we should hope that they actually open up the Bible and feed themselves.

Arguments You Can't Win (Pt 2) Perry Noble

Part 2 from Perry Noble's four part-er on Arguments You Can't Win....

This is one argument that like the previous argument in Part 1 that I have heard and just don't care to waste time discussing. I am not "deep" as in confusing... I am very practical and break it down. My husband has always told me not to worry because Jesus wasn't "deep" in that sense either... that is why he told parables (stories)... so I guess I am in great company! Enjoy!


Four Arguments You Just Can’t Win - Part Two

Continuing this series…

#2 - You Are Not Deep Enough!

We’ve all heard this one…and it used to bother me! Seriously, I have always tried and tried to show people how practical and real the Scriptures are…I prepare like crazy and study a ton…and so when someone used to say this I really took it personally…until…

I actually began looking at the type of person who said this.

They were usually someone who was OBSESSED with INFORMATION but cared very little about TRANSFORMATION!

SO…I began asking them this question whenever they brought this complaint, “Can you define ‘DEEP’ for me?”

What I usually get are blank stares and a lot of stuttering. No one, I mean NO ONE has EVER been able to define “deep!” SO…I realized that I was allowing other people to hold me captive to a standard that they could not even define! Folks, that pretty much makes that argument one you just can’t win.

Two things before I leave this one alone…

What MANY people mean when they say “deep” is actually “confusing.” They want me to teach line by line, verse by verse (something Jesus never actually did) and say REALLY obscure things and REALLY big words…and then GLOAT that they actually understood some of the sermon…and look down on those who didn’t

Our job is not to confuse people…but to preach Jesus Christ, the GOSPEL…and when presented in its most simple and purest form, God uses it to change lives.

The second thing I noticed about this person is that they usually aren’t actively doing anything for Christ. They think the more they know the more like Christ they are becoming. Which actually isn’t true at all…NO ONE knows more ABOUT Christ than satan, yet he doesn’t follow through on what he knows! SO…the person who knows what they should be doing but suppress that by saying they want to go “deeper” and know more aren’t actually becoming more like Jesus…but rather they are becoming more like satan!!!

Pastors, we are responsible to teach WHATEVER and HOWEVER God leads us to teach! And if people aren’t satisfied by our “depth” and “wisdom” then we’ve GOT to be okay with that; after all, MOST of us are educated WAY beyond our level of obedience anyway.

OR…as I once heard someone say, “it’s not the parts of the Bible that I don’t understand that bother me…it’s the parts that I do understand that bother me!”

We can spend our lives trying to impress those already in the Kingdom with our knowledge…OR by trying to reach those far from God by simply explaining the Gospel! I’m going with the Gospel…EVERY SINGLE TIME!!!

Awesome, awesome stuff!!! I just had to do a re-print!!!

An Arguement You Just Can't Win (Pt. 1) Pastor Perry Noble

As I have said before, I truly enjoy Perry Noble's blog. Once again, he has hit it out of the park! He is doing a four part-er on arguments you cannot win. I come from a long line of argumentative people and it took close to 30 years for me to realize that I do not HAVE to argue about everything! Akthough some days that argumentative side does creep back up (I am certain my husband is somewhere saying amen!). However, several years ago I learned that there indeed some arguements you cannot win.. nor should you even try.

Four Arguments You Just Can’t Win - Part One by Pastor Perry Noble Posted: 09 Dec 2008 05:44 AM CST I know lots of church planters/pastors read this blog…and so this week I want to hit five arguments that I believe are absolutely meaningless to be involved in because…you just can’t win them–ever. These are arguments that will ALWAYS exist in your church…but you should not waste your time with them (mainly because of WHO is voicing the concern and not the actual concern itself…another post, another time!) #1 - You Are Full Of Pride & Arrogance Let me be very clear about this…you have GOT to have people in your life who… § Love Jesus § Love the church § Love you AND they need to be in that order! We need men and women who have permission and feel the freedom to step into our lives and confront/rebuke us when necessary. Scripture is clear that God HATES pride…and so we should invite the correction of people who love us enough to tell the truth. HOWEVER, what I have discovered is that the overwhelming majority of the time I have personally heard this accusation it comes at a time where I cast strong vision as to the direction of the church…and some people just aren’t able to deal with it. Make no mistake…a confident leader will ALWAYS be perceived by those who do not like the direction the leader is taking the church as “prideful.” Telling someone they are full of pride is the “silver bullet” if you will of a critic because…you CANNOT refute them–you just can’t!!! I personally think one of the problems that dominates our churches today are leaders who are just not confident, spend no time with God and receive their direction from impotent “leaders” in the church who can’t actually lead in the real world…so they FLOCK to the only place that will allow them to have a voice–the church. And…they understand how to play the game…once you are there for a while…they will make you the “leader” by default! I’ve seen this in action…these people many times (not in all cases) do not actually have a passion and a vision for the church…they simply want to see how fast they can complete the meeting and, by faith, increase the budget by 3% for the upcoming year. And…when these people are not personally catered to…then you are considered to be full of pride. What is even GREATER is when people who don’t even attend your church begin to shoot you emails that spell out God’s direction for your church…and when you refuse to listen to them they say you are “full of pride.” Pastors - our PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITY is to be faithful to God, to allow Him to place a white hot passion inside of us, to be CONSUMED with what consumes Him…and then to walk in COMPLETE and TOTAL obedience–PERIOD. WHEN you do this…people will accuse you of being prideful because, unfortunately, the church for the most part just isn’t used to a confident leader! BUT…make sure you have the right people around you, the ones who will speak TRUTH and tell you what you NEED to hear rather than what you WANT to hear…get your vision and direction from God…and then be unapologetic in your pursuit of what He reveals! And…when the crowd begins to use the “pride” card…you will KNOW that you are sticking to your vision rather than becoming a “paid servant” of the “committee on committees!”

The Hater by Pastor Penny Hipp

Pastor Penny Hipp, Co-Pastor of Cross River Church in Mobile, AL wrote this awesome piece... I just had to post it and give her a shout out!!! She and her husband Joey co-pastor Cross River together. Craig and I had the opportunity to meet Pastor Joey here in Chicago when he spoke at a local church. We thoroughly enjoyed and received from his ministry. I also just found out that Pastor Penny is Facebook friends with one of my sistas, Sandy Phinazee! Sandy is a precious and powerful woman of God too! Anyway, I know you will enjoy this blog piece as much as I do! Be encouraged!

The Hater

A hater is someone who is jealous and envious and spends all their time trying to make you look small so they can look tall. They are very negative people to say the least. Nothing is ever good enough! Do you know anybody like that?

When you are successful, you will always attract some haters. I want friends who will be with me when I am successful and on the mountain top. Sure, it’s good to have them when things aren’t so good too!

That's why you have to be careful with whom you share your blessings and your dreams, because some folk just can't handle seeing you blessed!

It's dangerous to be like somebody else. If God wanted you to be like somebody else, He would have given you what He gave them! Right?

You never know what people have gone through to get what they have. The problem I have with haters is that they see my glory, but they don't know my story.

If the grass looks greener on the other side of the fence, you can rest assured that the water bill is higher there too!

We've all got some haters among us!

Some people envy you because you:
a) Have a relationship with God
b) Light up a room when you walk in
c) Have a great personality
d) Are magnetic
e) Are financially blessed
f) Have been promoted by God

Haters can't stand to see you happy. Haters will never want to see you succeed. Most of our haters are people who are supposed to be on our side.

How do you handle your undercover haters?

You can handle these haters by:

1. Knowing who you are & who your true friends are (VERY IMPORTANT!!)

2. Having a purpose to your life. Purpose does not mean having a job. You can have a job and still be unfulfilled. A purpose is having a clear sense of what God has called you to be. Your purpose is not defined by what others think about you.

3. By remembering that what you have is by divine prerogative and not human manipulation.

Fulfill your dreams! You only have one life to live...when it’s your time to leave this earth, you want to be able to say, “I've lived my life and fulfilled ‘my’ dreams, now I'm ready to go HOME!”

When God gives you favor, you can tell your haters, “Don't look at me...Look at Who is in charge of me...”

Guest Blogger... Shelisa Hull

My friend Shelisa Hull co-pastors with her husband Billy in Valdosta, GA at The Winner's Church. She wrote this blog post recently.. and I just had to re-post it here....


Guest Blogger... Pastor Shelisa Hull

Please do not read this post if you are easily offended and overly sensitive. This post is the cry of a prophet calling for the end time warriors to gain strength and push into the enemies camp and advance the Kingdom of God!


2 Kings 19 : 3 {Amp version} "Hezekiah said, 'THIS IS THE DAY OF {extreme danger} and DISTRESS, of rebuke and chastisement, and blasphemous and insolent insult; FOR CHILDREN HAVE COME TO BIRTH AND THERE IS NOT STRENGTH TO BRING THEM FORTH,"


Ladies and gentleman I have been preaching and blogging the last few months about birthing. I believe that we need strength in these last days. The problem according to Hezekiah was that it was time to give birth but there was no strength to bring forth. I believe this has been true of the church for the last few years or maybe even decades. I believe that God has impregnated us with revelation and truth for this generation but we have become weak individuals that could not push forth the secret truths and hidden mysteries that have been hidden for us in these last days. This not the time to rest or get comfortable. We have to push like never before. We need strength for the battle. I have prophesied that 2008 will be the YEAR OF BREAKTHROUGH and 2009 will be the YEAR OF MANIFESTATION! When I first begin speaking of breakthrough I will be the first to admit I did not know all that it involved. Now that we are at the close of the year and I have studied and prayed and meditated on this word all year I am beginning to see what is happening. Let's look at it.....


Breakthrough means:

* 1. a sudden advance especially in knowledge or technique

* 2. an offensive thrust that penetrates and carries beyond a defensive line in warfare

We always think of breakthrough in the first definition "a sudden advance" we like that.....we like the idea of suddenly and we like the idea of advancement. This is part of breakthrough but what I have learned is that part 1 does not happen without part 2. The second part of the definition of breakthrough is an offensive thrust that penetrates and carries beyond a defensive line in warfare! In other words there has to be a thrust....A PUSHING..... that carries us beyond and into the enemies line.

So here is what I believe Spiritual Breakthrough is - Warfare that causes you to seek God's will, purpose and agenda for a set time or place then push it, {birth it} from the realm of the spirit into the natural realm while simultaneously moving into the enemies camp, beyond the defensive lines and taking dominion thus bringing a sudden advance to the Kingdom of God.


The devil draws us into this nice little box and says there.....you can live a simple, mundane, non-threatening life inside this box....but don't cross this line. Can I just be honest with you and tell you what I believe. I believe most Christians have become comfortable in their devil made comfort zones. Custom designed to keep them right in the middle. They don't drink, cuss or chew of hang with anybody that do.....but they are not advancing the Kingdom of God!! They are stale and stagnant. They have a Sunday School mentality of the Christian life. They believe the "Good Book" is made up of good moral stories but they are not ready to do warfare and break past enemy lines and have BREAKTHROUGH manifested thru them.


I understand that we are in a season of breakthrough and we are right on the edge of manifestation. I know this is the case because things are more intense now then they have ever been. We are making headway inside enemy lines....we are in the place of war. The battle is on! Are you going to be one of those who decides to retreat and go back to your lazy-boy way of being a Christian or are you going to man up, put on your spiritual armor and FIGHT! The Bible says that the Kingdom of Heaven sufferth violence and the violent take it by force. The Bible also makes it clear that if you are a fence riding, lazy boy sitting, comfort zone living christian that you are considered luke-warm and He will spew you from His mouth.


I believe we are in the last days. There is a clarion call going out that all intercessors, gatekeepers and watchmen are hearing. There are dividing lines being drawn......who side are you going to be on?


Be Blessed,

Pastor Shelisa

Perception... Not Necessarily Reality

I thought this was an awesome devo today... thought I'd share!

Is Perception Reality?
TGIF Today God Is First Volume 2, by Os Hillman
07-06-2008

"The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too" (1 Kings 19:14).

The CEO walked into his manufacturing plant only to observe an employee standing by idly not working. Angrily, he walked over to him, peeled off a $100 bill and gave it to him: "Here, go spend your time elsewhere!" The man looked at the CEO somewhat puzzled, but left with the $100. "How long has that man worked for us?" said the CEO to the employee standing nearby. "Well sir, that man does not work for us; he is only the delivery man."

Perception is not always reality. Elijah was in a crisis. Jezebel wanted to kill him. The nation was falling to Baal worship. From his vantage point - it was all over. He was the only prophet remaining in all the land who had not bent his knee to the idol of Baal. He wanted to die.

Then, the Lord sent His angel to correct Elijah's perception: "Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel - all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and all whose mouths have not kissed him" (1 Kings 19:18). There were seven thousand Elijah knew nothing about! Elijah's perception was not reality.

Whenever things are going poorly, there is a temptation to believe God is not working in the situation. We may even believe our life is over. Everything from our vantage point is dark. We see no future. However, even in these times, God's plan is being orchestrated behind the scenes. He is accomplishing His purposes. But we need a fresh perspective on our situation.

Do you need a reality check on your situation? Ask God to show you the truth. It may be very different than your perception.

Accepting the Call (Craig Sloan)

I have tried all week to sit down and put into words what God is saying to me right now. I can't... and it is hard for me to admit that as a writer. However, know that I am here, all is well and God IS speaking... and I am listening.

Instead of me writing some random post that won't matter much... take a read at what God has been speaking to my husband Craig. It is some GREAT stuff....

"Accepting the Call"

Pastor Craig Sloan

Return to Home
Luke 14:25-33

Now great multitudes went with Him. And He turned and said to them, 26 "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. 27 And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. 28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it -- 29 lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30 saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish.' 31 Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace. 33 So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.
NKJV

This is one of my favorite text in the entire bible. Jesus is transitioning the disciples from following him, to being willing to die for Him. The relationship is about to change, and the requirements of following are about to be raised. Notice Jesus does not focus on the benefits of following Him, but rather the costs of following. Here are some things I noticed.

* In ministry there will always come a point of separation from those who are close to you because they do not understand the commitment to your call.

* You will face the test of family and friends, Jesus family told Jesus to go to the passover before His time and when it was His time, they questioned Him. His brothers did not believe in Him.

* Throughout the bible great men had to pass the test of the opinion of the family. Why? Because most family members are too familiar with you to see the greatness in you. They will many times misunderstand and misrepresent your call.

* I really struggled with Jesus saying that you had to hate your mother... to follow Him. He is not referring to the English word for hate, He is saying you must be more committed to me than even your mother.

* Why is it that the critics that try to talk you out of your call, are the ones that most of the time do not know their call. Maybe misery loves company.

* Jesus goes on to say that if you are not commit ed to the call, you are salt that is no good. In other words when you listen to the critics who want you to stay the same as them, you lose your uniqueness and ability to impact.

* Not everyone will agree with your call and commitment. The true test is can anyone talk you out of it? If they can, you are not ready.

* before you respond to the call, count the cost, lest you are not able to finish. There is something very negative about those who do not finish. Can you go the whole way with me? (Jesus)

* One of the ways you know you are really anointed is the odds are stacked against you.

* Who is your voice for God's will, is it people or is it God?

* You must be convinced that God spoke to you before you can commit.

Here is a final question to ask yourself. Is the person trying to talk you out of accepting the call life worth emulating. Do you want the kind of life they have. Usually not!

We see a transition from a call to follow to a call to die with Christ. Are you willing to die for Him/ Are you willing to ignore family, and those close to you when they try to talk you out of it? Tomorrow I will share a story of how my parents tried to keep me from doing what God called me to do. I knew I was supposed to serve my Pastor but they said he was brainwashing me.

Blessings,
Craig Sloan

Read more on this topic and lots of leadership related material at Positioned for Greatness.

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