Revitalize Your Church

"Mark Wilson takes you on a memorable fishing trip and treasure hunt that will motivate you to reengage in God's mission with a new sense of vigor.  This book is witty, engaging, down to earth and transformative!" --  J R Woodward, Natual Director, The V3 Church Planting Movement, author of Creating a Missional Culture. Purple Fish Releases July 1 Amazon Link

"Most authors make you smile or make you think. Mark Wilson does both, even at the same time. Purple Fish inspires me to share my faith without shaming the sinner or stressing me out. Mark is what's needed today, a folk-theologian, a personalized pastor, an everyman's evangelist. Meaning: you can actually understand what he’s saying in Purple Fish, and it matters. It might matter more than anything else.” -David Drury, author of Being Dad and other books Chief of Staff, The Wesleyan Church Headquarters Purple Fish:  A Heart for Sharing Jesus releases July 1.

You will never read a more fun or helpful book on evangelism than   Purple Fish .    The most reprinted book in English after the King James Bible is a f ishing manual entitled The Compleat Angler (1653). This little classic on  another kind of "fishing" deserves a similar future. --- -Leonard Sweet , best-selling author, professor (Drew University, George  Fox University), and chief contributor to  sermons.com

Mauna Loa, earth's largest volcano on Hawaii's Big Island, has been steaming lately. Pundits wonder when a full eruption will occur.  That reminds me of some human relationships -- steam, steam, steam -- and "Thar She Blows!"  Some people have a low frustration tolerance. At the slightest annoyance, they over-react with tantrums.  A sticker on a box I saw a while back made me smile. It said, "Warning: contents may explode under pressure."  Wouldn't it be great if people wore stickers like that?  "Warning: if you bother me right now, I'm going to snap your head off!"  Sometimes, we're tempted to stuff our stress and pressures down into our souls. Instead of resolving issues, we shove them down and try to ignore them.  Unfortunately, an unresolved issue is like a dead skunk. You won't get rid of it by shoving it under the bed. Ignoring it just makes everything smell worse!  For the times you are all stressed out and "likely to...

My book, Purple Fish: A Heart for Sharing Jesus ,  releases next month.  Wesleyan Publishing House is offering a great opportunity for a limited number of people to participate in the Purple Fish Book Launch Team.  You get a free electronic preview copy of the book in exchange for some help getting the good word out to others.  The invitation is limited to 50 bloggers/social media users -- so if you're interested, apply asap.  Here's the Link:   Purple Fish Book Club Application

“[W]e cannot overlook the fact that God is glorious in such a way that He radiates joy, so that He is all He is with and not without beauty. Otherwise His glory might well be joyless. And if a different view of His glory is taken and taught, then even with the best will in the world, and even with the greatest seriousness and zeal, the proclamation of His glory will always have in a slight or dangerous degree something joyless, without sparkle or humour, not to say tedious and there finally neither persuasive nor convincing.”  -- Karth Barth

We cannot always choose our setting, situation or circumstance. Our plans and ideas don't always go the way we had hoped.  The only thing we can choose is our response. Life has a strange way of suddenly careening out of control, and putting us in the ditch. One thing I know about the ditch - nobody ever intends to go there. It just happens. (A variation of a popular bumper sticker: "Stuff Happens") "Bad Luck" often brings with it a sense of despair and pessimism. When problems pile high, we lose our hope, and find ourselves singing the children's jump-rope rhyme: "Same song, second verse. It ought to get better, but it's gonna get worse." Whatever happens -- you can make the worst of it, or you can make the best of it. The choice is yours. Wherever you are in life, you can just sit there and complain, or you can start planting a garden. If you plant, you won't see results right away. Tiny seeds need time to grow - but they will sprout, f...

Whatever you need today is found in the name of God. God's name displays His character and He is true to His name.  Even 1000 names are like a thimble in an ocean, when describing our Creator's majesty and care. Here is a great list:  1000 Names for God from the Bible.   I enourage you to prayerfully look at the list, and select one name that speaks directly to your current situation.

MorningSong Worship Father’s Day, T rinity Sunday June 15, 2014 Minister -- Mark Wilson Liturgists --   Tom Correll, Steve Gerich, Stacy Wilson Worship Leader --   Ryan Wilson GATHERING Call to Worship Leader:  Grace, mercy and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ be with you. All: And with thy spirit. Collect of the Day   Leader:   God be with you. All:   And also with you. Leader:   Let us pray. Almighty and everlasting God, you have given to us your servants grace, by the confession of a true  faith, to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity, and in the power of your divine Majesty to worship the Unity: Keep us steadfast in this faith and worship, and bring us at last to see you in your one and eternal glory, O Father; who with the Son and the Holy Spirit live and reign, one God, for ever  and ever. Amen ** Hymn  Great is Thy Faithfulness p. 43 ...

Purple Fish is an adventure-filled read that helps alleviate the fears and misgivings about what it means for a follower of Jesus to tell someone else about Jesus.  As a personal friend, I can almost hear Mark Wilson pronouncing the Wisconsin lake and river names as they appear in the fishing scenes of the book.  Purple Fish is a refreshing reminder, with practical witnessing tools, that Jesus saves and our privilege is to come alongside others to do what Jesus commands:  to Make Disciples of all Nations! Dr. Jim Dunn Executive Director Church Multiplication and Discipleship Division The Wesleyan Church World Headquarters

A few friends have inquired about the order of worship for our new early MorningSong service -- a fresh expression of ancient tradition.  Here is the liturgy we used last Sunday, June 8 (Pentecost.) GATHERING   Call To Worship To a world dry and thirsty God has poured out Living Water ; To a world fainting and breathless God has stirred a mighty wind; To a world cold and dark God has ignited the flame  of the Spirit; Let us worship -- for the Holy Spirit has come The Spirit has come – hallelujah! ** Hymn: "O Worship the King" p. 10 WORD Old Testament Reading:   Psalm 512:1-13 Reading from the Epistles: Acts 2:1-21 ** Gospel Reading:    Luke 11: 9-13   ** Passing the Peace Offering   (Please pass attendance notebooks in each row) Offertory: "Pentecost is Coming" Homily:   A Re-Creation Community TABLE Prayer Eucharist Communion Song   “The Old R...

I sat in the woods one day, with pen in hand, and open journal, pondering deep spiritual matters, reflecting on the meaning of life and hoping for a burst of inspiration. Instead, I got a mosquito. The pesky little critter buzzed in my ears and bit me! Frustrated, I sputtered, swatted and swung, but the illusive insect must have taken flying lessons from the Red Baron. He dodged me every time. Arrrgh! My tranquility evaporated. How could I possibly contemplate life's deepest meanings, when bombarded by such nuisance? About seven bites later, I finally triumphed. The weary warrior paused for a moment to catch his breath and rest his wings. Giant fighting is hard work, you know. The unfortunate bug came in for a landing right on my open journal. THWACKK!! I slammed the pages together -- and the pesky mosquito was dispatched. I'm sure his relatives would be glad to know he didn't suffer. The little fellow didn't even know what hit him. He started in ...