Revitalize Your Church

Most people come to church by means the church does not allow, else there would be no need their getting to her at all. . . the operation of the church is entirely set up for the sinner, which creates much misunderstanding among the smug. -- Flannery O'Conner

Here's a fabulous statement regarding the grand story of Scripture from my good friend, Mark Jalovick, director of Wisconsin Wilderness Campus. From Genesis to Revelation, God is seeking to rebuild his kingdom through obedient servants for the purpose of world redemption. And here's the translation by Jeremy Mavis, our Children's Pastor: The Bible is about God continually working to fix this world through his kind of special people in order to make his kind of world.

A great idea from Mount Union Wesleyan Church in Pennsylvania. Kudos to Pastor Josh Rhone and his missional, small town congregation who really get what Jesus meant when he said, "Love your neighbor as you love yourself." Small Town Church Redefines Potluck Dinners

A great post from my good friend and ministry partner, Heath Davis, at his blog, A Northwoods Life : If we desire to make wide sweeping change in the world, I think we must begin in the small and local. In today's global society we have become so enamored with the elephant-size agendas and global-change that we foolishly dismiss change at the local level as unimportant and insignificant. Nothing could be further from the truth! Read the rest here

When people encounter the living God in worship or through another aspect of our ministries, they hunger to know the God they have met. This inner urge to "know God" is what doctrine or theology addresses. Experience, by itself, is like a river without banks. We call that a flood. Conversely, doctrine without experience is like the banks of a river without any water. We call that a drought. -- Michael Foss in A Servant's Manual

"The church does not have a mission. The mission has a church. The crosshairs of God's mission is the world." -- Reggie McNeal (HT Pat Hannon)

The plan for a Christ­ian church is much more than an as­so­ci­a­tion of con­gen­i­al friends who lis­ten once a week to an in­tel­lect­u­al dis­course and mus­ic­al en­ter­tain­ment and car­ry on by proxy a mech­a­nism of Christ­ian work. But ra­ther, it is a church that can be at once: 1. The mo­ther and home of ev­e­ry form of help and bless­ing which Je­sus came to give to lost and suf­fer­ing people. 2. The birth­place and the home of souls 3. The foun­tain of heal­ing and cleans­ing. 4. The shel­ter­ing home for the or­phan and dis­tressed. 5. The school for the cul­ture and train­ing of God’s child­ren. 6. The ar­mory where they are equipped for the bat­tle of the Lord and the ar­my which fights those bat­tles in His name. Such a cen­ter of pop­u­la­tion in this sad and sin­ful ...

Bruce Wilkinsson has written a new book, You Were Born for This , which is absolutely transformational! The basic idea is that God invites us to join Him on his Miracle Mission in the world. If we make ourselves available, the Holy Spirit will guide us to people who need a special blessing. This often happens through the most unexpected encounters. We have to always be open, with the radar on! Anyone can do a good deed -- but some good works can only happen by an act of God -- and He can act through us! With inspiring personal stories, Wilkinson provides a step by step guide for joining the Miracle Mission. What a joy!! What a journey!! This book is a good reminder that God REALLY DOES work "that way!" Upon reading the book, I've tried some of the things he suggests -- and was blown away by the results. Good stuff!

God is so great, He communicates greatness to the least thing that is done for His service. -- John Wesley (Plain Account of Christian Perfection)

Either you are a minister or you need one. Either you are a missionary or you need one. -- John Huffman (Presbyterian pastor)

"There is a barbarian revolt taking place, and its command center is the Kingdom of God. Everywhere the Kingdom of God advances, there is a violent engagement against a dark kingdom. To be born of God is to be made a citizen in the Kingdom of God, and the Kingdom of God is at war. Do not confuse this Kingdom with Paradise. Salvation is not reentry Into a Paradise Lost; it is enlistment in the mission of God." -- Erwin McManus