daddy4ms

You Can Change by Tim Chester has been on my bookshelf for a few years.  I started it this year and I am sorry that I didn't start it sooner.  This book is so good!  Chester's book cover states "God's Transforming Power for Our Sinful Behavior and Negative Emotions"  Go buy the book.   But for now, here are several great quotes: We're not changed by systems or rules. We need a Redeemer to set us free, and we have a great Redeemer in Jesus...What this book tries to do is connect the truth about God with our Monday-morning struggles. The message of this book is that change takes place in our lives as we turn to see the glory of God in Jesus. We "see" the glory of Christ as we "hear" the gospel of Christ. Moral effort, fear of judgment, and sets of rules can't bring lasting change. But amazing things happen when we "turn to the Lord." What the law does do is show us we can't change ourselves or make ourselve...

I am continuing to read through Recovering Redemption by Matt Chandler.  I highly recommend this book and will be leading a group of adults through it in 2015.  Here are some quotes related to struggles, belief, and changing: repentance growing up out of our hearts is a leading indicator of genuine belief on the inside. It shows us we're His from the roots up. But sin can't be trained; sin must be killed. In the end, godly grief produces within us such a hatred of our sin, we then receive from God the renewed motivation to actually turn from our sin. The secret, of course--the mystery--is that the Judge has rendered His decision based not on what we've done, on our innocence, but on the sacrifice and willing substitution of the innocent, crucified Christ.  His resurrection provides all the objective evidence we need that proves His promises are true, that His ability to conquer death is real, and that His atonement for our sin is activel...

Today, I began reading Jesus Is ________ by Judah Smith. He begins the book with the story of Zacchaeus. I look forward to reading the rest of the book. Here are a few quotes from Chapter 1: "Nowhere in the Bible, however, do we find God distinguishing between levels of sin. God doesn't share our rating system. To him, all sin is equally evil, and all sinners are equally lovable. Obviously sins have different consequences: some will get you incarcerated or your face punched in, while others won't even be noticed. But God just calls sin, sin." "What changed Zacchaeus? Biblical principle? Personal devotion? Religious duty and deeds? No-just a few moments with God in the flesh." "Jesus is not your accuser. He's not your prosecutor. He's not your judge. He's your friend and your rescuer. Like Zacchaeus, just spend time with Jesus." "Don't allow the opinions of other people to shape your concept of him. Get to know him f...

This is the third post from the LEAD ONE event held at First MB in Wichita, KS.  Derk Madden's topic was "Leading Change in the Congregational Church Model.  Derk shared about his experience navigating change within his church.  Process Change Is it really necessary? Would it be easier to just add something new? Is the timing right within the body? Do other key leaders agree? How much impact will the change have? Do you have the resources to allow the initiative to succeed? Ripple Model of Implementing Change First Circle-Strategic Planning Team Gather together the best possible team of three or more people to assess the situation and create a clear new desired goal, why the change is necessary using metrics if possible, and how it would be implemented. Understand how new change will be implemented in old system. Discover and put it into the framework of biblical mandate or perspective. Second Circle-Staff Communicate and get feedback from staff abo...

Well, I had another great day of reading & good coffee at the Perk today. I am reading several good books right now. For staff meetings, I am reading Sticky Teams. I continue in my reading of Radical, The Christian Atheist & The Dad in the Mirror. Last week, I shared several quotes from Radical so this week I will share from The Christian Atheist by Craig Groeschel . These quotes come from Chapter 7: "Jeremy, like other Christian Atheists who've tried to change and failed, wrongly believes that God simply can't change him." "He (Satan) lies to us until we're convinced that we're stuck and can never escape our problems." "Addictions are idolatry. We're trying to meet some need that only Christ can, looking to anything but him." "Admitting our problems is only the first step. After that, we must invite God to work, because he is the one who can change any problem." "God is bigger than our problems, no matter wha...