Your Church Needs Armed Police Presence

police presence

…Do you want to communicate ‘safe’ or something else? The news of two horrible shooting incidents in Colorado recently brings back to the national spotlight what I have been shouting from the rooftops for years to church leaders.  If your church is more than simply providing chaplaincy services to your city in a maintenance capacity,…

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Your Noticing Radar

iced latte

Today, flip the switch on your noticing radar. Stop by Starbucks – and notice your way through the place. Here’s a heads up. The person or even two behind you need to have their drinks paid for – and you will do the paying. When they at first order a regular tell the barista, they…

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Agreeing with Jesus

daybreak

Leaders – how do we stay in sync with the life of the Spirit so we continue to love, live, flow with the care of God for the not-yet-believers around us? – Not just because it is the right thing to do – But because that devotion is the center of the heart of Jesus?…

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In The Groove

groove

In times like this – lots going on, me being the point guy in setting out to establish the new culture of Coastland – it is tempting to step out of my strengths.  To use my regular metaphor, life is pulling me to fall back into the rabbit mode and away from the turtle mode. …

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Specific Prayers

pray

We have been strongly provided for as a team.  We felt we were to pray for a total provision amount of between a $1 million leaning toward $1.5 million.  When all is said and done the total amount our planting talent team will have raised is on the upper end of that amount.  Thus the…

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Looking Outward…

window seat

I recently sat on a two-hour flight next to a guy who initially was a bit miffed when I asked if I could sit next to the window where his ticket read because I have great difficulty getting up and down on planes (my damaged legs and all).  This tall guy reluctantly agreed.  I am…

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The Scandal of “Either – Or” Thinking

microscope view

An Ode To Extremes One of my “favorite” TV Bible teachers (I won’t mention his name, but he often says, “Now listen to me…”. He has a son in the same city with a church that is significantly larger than his church – you have no idea who I am talking about…) is a guy…

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Soft Power Before Hard Power

David and mountain

The early Church had an oppositional atmosphere that, in some ways, served the purposes of God. The opposition to the message of the coming of the kingdom is not so much in the culture at large but in the status quo religious stalemate institutions of the day. A cursory look at Church history will show…

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Profound Influence

influence

How do we know when we are being affected by real leadership? That is not a matter that can be adequately blogged about unless we take a year to discuss the matter and not miss a day’s worth of entries. One matter that begs to be touched upon, however – … leadership is a profound…

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River Part 2

flowing river

I for one have grown tired of the talk of “growing as a leader” in Church circles when the majority of the information is derived from non-functional business principles. There is nothing in the least wrong with business principles. I am an avid reader of many business writers – not to assume anything falsely, but…

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