Category: Church & Theology

By micoots
10/10/2016 0

5 Things to Remember When God Changes Your Schedule

Every Sunday afternoon, I take time to review the previous week and plan the week ahead. It is a discipline that has been a tremendous help to me over the years in being proactive with my responsibilities.

Sometimes, however, a well-planned week gets rearranged by an emergency or an all-consuming need. I’m in the midst of such a moment as our community mourns the loss of LAPD Sergeant Steve Owen who was killed in the line of duty. Our church has the privilege to serve his family and the law enf..

By micoots
06/10/2016 0

6 Places to Find Soulwinning Prospects

We know that Jesus came “to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). But sometimes we forget that He actively sought those who were lost.

For Jesus, gospel outreach was no passing interest or occasional hobby. He looked for lost people and personally brought them the message of salvation through Himself.

And He calls us to do the same: “Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled” (Luke 14:23).

We know that everywhere around us there..

By micoots
03/10/2016 0

Make Today Your Masterpiece

Coach John Wooden used to say, “Make each day your masterpiece.” I read that statement recently, and it got me thinking.

When you’re a kid, you’re asked from time to time, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” If you’re like me, your answer to that question changed from year to year, but it always included big dreams. You wanted to do something great—something honorable and noble…or at least noteworthy.

If I asked you today, “What is your greatest life goal?” or even “What is your next bi..

By micoots
03/10/2016 0

ETS, Heresy, and the Task of Christian Scholarship

In a recent open letter to the members of the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS), Stanley Gundry expressed concern about the ramifications of a recent resolution affirming traditional marriage and the sexual binary of men and women. Commenting on the dangers he sees in defining ETS’s boundaries beyond its current parameters (affirmation of the Trinity and the Bible’s inerrancy), Gundry asks:

What better forum is there for collegial discussion and debate of complementari..

By micoots
29/09/2016 0

4 Ways You Can Promote Grace in Ministry

Would you like your ministry to be full of grace? Your life? Your relationships?

Over the past few posts, I’ve shared the importance of motivating by grace, letting God’s grace work, and hindering grace. This is the last in what has turned into a mini-series on grace.

In the previous post, we noted four ways we hinder God’s grace. We boiled them all down to one—pride—and saw then that the answer is to humble ourselves.

But if we could name several manifestations of pride that hinder God’s gra..

By micoots
26/09/2016 0

4 Ways to Block God’s Grace in Your Ministry

We often talk about what God’s grace does for us. And, truly, it is abundant.

We talk about how greatly we need it in ministry. And we do.

But have you ever considered if you might be preventing God’s grace from working in your heart? If you might be blocking its flow in your ministry?

Scripture tells us that we can hinder the work of grace. How?

1. Walking in the Flesh
We begin our Christian life humbly seeking God, and we begin ministry hungry for the power of the Holy Spirit.

But over ti..

By micoots
21/09/2016 0

4 Ways Grace Works in Our Hearts

The grace of God is an incredible gift. It not only brings salvation (Titus 2:11), but it is the ongoing provision for our Christian walk.

It’s a peculiar thing about grace, however: it seems practically every Christian has their “angle” on the best way to use God’s grace—what grace is really all about.

Perhaps part of the reason for that is that grace is indeed multi-faceted. It doesn’t only bring salvation, only give Christian liberty, or only produce holiness. God uses His grace at every le..

By micoots
19/09/2016 0

Why I’m Reordering My Social Media Life

Follow @BrandonSmith85
When I joined Facebook over a decade ago, I assumed it would be a fun little social network like MySpace. I’d check it once a day at most, but probably no more than 4-5 times per week. After all, I barely knew anyone who was using it. It was largely the same handful of people that would comment back and forth with me on our “walls.” There was really no opportunity to catch up on news or any type of day-to-day commentary.
In 2009, I joined Twitter because Facebook was getti..

By micoots
15/09/2016 0

Is Your Motivation Style Demotivating?

I’m excited to announce a relaunch of the Spiritual Leadership Podcast—beginning with this episode!

While past episodes were primarily audio leadership lessons that had been recorded in other venues, such as Spiritual Leadership or Striving Together Conferences, the new podcast will include episodes video recorded specifically for this podcast.

Each monthly episode will focus on practical ministry leadership, with this first one being about biblical motivation. Future episodes will dedicate ti..

By micoots
12/09/2016 0

When the Battlefield Terrain Is Different Than You Planned

Do you ever have a day go differently than you planned? Or a year? Or an entire season of your life?

I’m a planner, and although I know in theory that God may change my plans and, in fact, has every right to intervene, I don’t always see His hand in the unplanned delays, changes, or upsets in the moment they occur.

I recently came across the paragraph below, written by an Irish Baptist pastor in 1840. It was a great encouragement to me:

Nothing can be more consoling to the man of God, than th..