Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Great post from John Maxwell on Leadership
http://johnmaxwellonleadership.com/2012/04/02/from-the-archives-how-to-know-youre-out-in-front/
John Maxwell has written much on the topic of leadership - his newest book The 5 Levels of Leadership is an excellent resource for young as well as seasoned leaders.
Monday, January 2, 2012
What we lose
Check out this quote from a book I'm reading:
"What we lose by excluding the distinctly feminine from the "official" ministries of teaching and preaching is of incalculable value. That loss is one of a few fundamental factors that account for the astonishing weakness of "the church" in the contemporary context."
I'm just getting into this book, but so far it's phenomenal. It's How I Changed My Mind About Women in Leadership: Compelling Stories From Prominent Evangelicals - it's a collection of chapters written by well known evangelical Christians (Stuart and Jill Briscoe, Bill and Lynne Hybels, John and Nancy Ortberg, Gilbert Bilezikian, and others), with a forward by Dallas Willard. Well researched, well documented, excellent exegesis of the Biblical text, and well written.
What a blessing to serve at a church like Southview where women and men serve according to their giftedness and are encouraged to live out the calling that God has placed on their lives!
"What we lose by excluding the distinctly feminine from the "official" ministries of teaching and preaching is of incalculable value. That loss is one of a few fundamental factors that account for the astonishing weakness of "the church" in the contemporary context."
I'm just getting into this book, but so far it's phenomenal. It's How I Changed My Mind About Women in Leadership: Compelling Stories From Prominent Evangelicals - it's a collection of chapters written by well known evangelical Christians (Stuart and Jill Briscoe, Bill and Lynne Hybels, John and Nancy Ortberg, Gilbert Bilezikian, and others), with a forward by Dallas Willard. Well researched, well documented, excellent exegesis of the Biblical text, and well written.
What a blessing to serve at a church like Southview where women and men serve according to their giftedness and are encouraged to live out the calling that God has placed on their lives!
Thursday, December 29, 2011
January
Southviewers, we are rolling into 2012 with some serious God-provided momentum, and I absolutely cannot wait to see what God is going to do next! The baptismal waters continue to move, and the Spirit of God has been present in worship in such an awesome way in recent weeks. We’ve got a lot planned for 2012, and I am looking forward to that – but I’m really looking forward to seeing how God will surprise and amaze us this year. I say it often, but I really mean it – what a blessing to be a part of a church that is committed to doing whatever it takes to reach people far from God and help them become fully devoted, mature followers of Jesus!
Don’t forget that on New Year’s Day, we’ll meet as normal at 11 a.m. but SMBS will not meet. And on Sunday, January 8, we’ll have a small groups kickoff event called CONNECT at 9:30 in the Fellowship Hall, designed to explain what small groups are all about, answer questions about small groups, and give you an opportunity to meet our group leaders and plug into a group!
Many of you have already signed up for the neXt discipleship classes that begin January 15 – if you haven’t signed up yet, go to our website and click on the neXt banner in the rotating announcements and you can read information about the classes that will be offered and sign up online. The classes will be capped based on room capacity, so be praying through which class you'd like to sign up for and go ahead and do it! I'm excited about the class offerings this January and believe that they will assist us in our mission of reaching out to people far from God and helping believers to grow spiritually more mature into fully devoted followers of Jesus.
In January we’ll commission a new group of deacons and a new Elder at SCC; we’ll have a Family Experience on January 6 that is designed for our families to worship alongside their kids and learn about the new theme in Kids Worship for January; and we’ll have our first Night of Worship on January 18, when we will gather as a church and lift our voices to God in praise together. What a month it’s going to be!
Thank you for being a part of what God is doing at Southview and beyond – I believe the best is yet to come my friends!
Loving, growing, and serving with you,
--Pastor William
Don’t forget that on New Year’s Day, we’ll meet as normal at 11 a.m. but SMBS will not meet. And on Sunday, January 8, we’ll have a small groups kickoff event called CONNECT at 9:30 in the Fellowship Hall, designed to explain what small groups are all about, answer questions about small groups, and give you an opportunity to meet our group leaders and plug into a group!
Many of you have already signed up for the neXt discipleship classes that begin January 15 – if you haven’t signed up yet, go to our website and click on the neXt banner in the rotating announcements and you can read information about the classes that will be offered and sign up online. The classes will be capped based on room capacity, so be praying through which class you'd like to sign up for and go ahead and do it! I'm excited about the class offerings this January and believe that they will assist us in our mission of reaching out to people far from God and helping believers to grow spiritually more mature into fully devoted followers of Jesus.
In January we’ll commission a new group of deacons and a new Elder at SCC; we’ll have a Family Experience on January 6 that is designed for our families to worship alongside their kids and learn about the new theme in Kids Worship for January; and we’ll have our first Night of Worship on January 18, when we will gather as a church and lift our voices to God in praise together. What a month it’s going to be!
Thank you for being a part of what God is doing at Southview and beyond – I believe the best is yet to come my friends!
Loving, growing, and serving with you,
--Pastor William
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Christmas Eve offering at Southview
I have never seen an outpouring of response like we did for the Christmas Eve offering at Southview this year. We started the tradition of taking up an offering at those services in 2009, 100% of which would go to a missions project. This year, our focus was on clean water - working through Compassion International to provide clean water filtration systems, called Water for Life, to families in Rwanda. The total collected, as of today, is $55,757,50 - that's enough to provide these Water for Life systems to 1,013 families in Rwanda!! Way to go Southviewers - what a blessing to serve with a church that is focused on serving other people in Jesus' name!!
From the Willow Creek Association blog...
The local church is a paradox. In some places the church is flourishing and in others it is declining rapidly or dying out altogether. In regions of the world with limited religious freedom, the church is thriving. In China, for example, there are an estimated 100 million believers today, and the pace at which conversions are occurring will soon make China the largest Christian nation on the planet. In other regions where the church was once strong, the future is not as bright. In parts of Europe, less than 5 percent of the populace attends church regularly.
In the United States, with more than 162 million self-professed Christians, the news is sobering. Each year, between three to five thousand churches in the United States hold their last service, close their doors, and put up the “for sale” sign. Statistics indicate that from 1999 to 2009 the combined membership of the major Protestant denominations declined 6 percent, while the national population has increased 12 percent. The proportion of Americans who claim to have “no religion” has increased to 15 percent, up from 8.2 percent in 1990.
A solution of global scale is needed to create a movement of transformed leaders who will turn around local churches that are struggling to survive, who will lead effectively in churches that are presently thriving, and who will plant new churches that are set up for success from day one.
--------
The challenge is before us - as Jesus said, the fields are ripe for harvest.
May God's church rise up and BE the church; may we lead well as we follow His voice; may we care more about helping people who do not know Jesus to meet him than about our own comfort and preferences; and may we do all that we can with all that we have to bring "up there down here" - may His kingdom come, His will be done, on earth just as it is in Heaven!
In the United States, with more than 162 million self-professed Christians, the news is sobering. Each year, between three to five thousand churches in the United States hold their last service, close their doors, and put up the “for sale” sign. Statistics indicate that from 1999 to 2009 the combined membership of the major Protestant denominations declined 6 percent, while the national population has increased 12 percent. The proportion of Americans who claim to have “no religion” has increased to 15 percent, up from 8.2 percent in 1990.
A solution of global scale is needed to create a movement of transformed leaders who will turn around local churches that are struggling to survive, who will lead effectively in churches that are presently thriving, and who will plant new churches that are set up for success from day one.
--------
The challenge is before us - as Jesus said, the fields are ripe for harvest.
May God's church rise up and BE the church; may we lead well as we follow His voice; may we care more about helping people who do not know Jesus to meet him than about our own comfort and preferences; and may we do all that we can with all that we have to bring "up there down here" - may His kingdom come, His will be done, on earth just as it is in Heaven!
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Great devotional by Rick Warren today on love...
The Bible Says Love Is a Choice
“That you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” (Deuteronomy 30:20 NIV)
Today we’ve bought into this myth that love is uncontrollable, that it’s something that just happens to us. In fact, even the language we use implies the uncontrollability of love. We say, “I fell in love,” as if love is some kind of a ditch. It’s like I’m walking along one day and — bam! — I fell in love. I couldn’t help myself.
But I have to tell you the truth: That’s not love. Love doesn’t just happen to you. Love is a choice, and it represents a commitment.
You must choose to love God; he won’t force you to love him (Deuteronomy 30:20). You can thumb your nose at God and go a totally different way. You can destroy your life if you choose to do that. God still won’t force you to love him because he knows love can’t be forced.
This same principle is true about your relationships: You can choose to love others, but God won’t force you to love anyone.
During the Christmas season, we gather to celebrate with family and friends. It is often a joyous time. But I’ve been a pastor for more than 30 years, so I know it can also be a time of tension and heartache.
Is there someone you might have trouble loving this Christmas season — someone in your family, a friend, or a neighbor? God will help you love that person if you make the choice to do so.
That doesn’t mean everything will become perfect; it doesn’t even mean that person will accept your love. But you are the only person who can stop you from loving someone else — because love is a choice you make.
“That you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” (Deuteronomy 30:20 NIV)
Today we’ve bought into this myth that love is uncontrollable, that it’s something that just happens to us. In fact, even the language we use implies the uncontrollability of love. We say, “I fell in love,” as if love is some kind of a ditch. It’s like I’m walking along one day and — bam! — I fell in love. I couldn’t help myself.
But I have to tell you the truth: That’s not love. Love doesn’t just happen to you. Love is a choice, and it represents a commitment.
You must choose to love God; he won’t force you to love him (Deuteronomy 30:20). You can thumb your nose at God and go a totally different way. You can destroy your life if you choose to do that. God still won’t force you to love him because he knows love can’t be forced.
This same principle is true about your relationships: You can choose to love others, but God won’t force you to love anyone.
During the Christmas season, we gather to celebrate with family and friends. It is often a joyous time. But I’ve been a pastor for more than 30 years, so I know it can also be a time of tension and heartache.
Is there someone you might have trouble loving this Christmas season — someone in your family, a friend, or a neighbor? God will help you love that person if you make the choice to do so.
That doesn’t mean everything will become perfect; it doesn’t even mean that person will accept your love. But you are the only person who can stop you from loving someone else — because love is a choice you make.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
October
Around Southview, in August and September we ask our ministry leaders to be praying and planning about their ministry plan and budget requests for the following year's budget. In October, the Elders meet to pray through and discuss the strategic plan, vision, and direction for the following year and beyond. We seek to discern God's leading and follow His voice wherever He leads.
Last night, we met for 3 and a half hours, and I walked away from that meeting more excited and encouraged about what's ahead for SCC than I ever have been. On November 6-20 in worship, I'll be laying out the pieces of the strategic plan and budget that we'll be proposing at the Annual Members Meeting on the evening of November 20. We are unanimous in believing that we have heard God's voice and direction in this, and we are excited about what's next.
Don't get me wrong - we're also trembling a little! This is the largest, God sized thing that any of us has been a part of putting together - and we are setting goals and dreaming dreams that only God can accomplish through the faithfulness of His people, the church.
Get ready SCC - the best is yet to come...
Last night, we met for 3 and a half hours, and I walked away from that meeting more excited and encouraged about what's ahead for SCC than I ever have been. On November 6-20 in worship, I'll be laying out the pieces of the strategic plan and budget that we'll be proposing at the Annual Members Meeting on the evening of November 20. We are unanimous in believing that we have heard God's voice and direction in this, and we are excited about what's next.
Don't get me wrong - we're also trembling a little! This is the largest, God sized thing that any of us has been a part of putting together - and we are setting goals and dreaming dreams that only God can accomplish through the faithfulness of His people, the church.
Get ready SCC - the best is yet to come...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)