The Truth of God
The truth of God is undefiled and unchangeable, and God has chosen to use His truth to bring transformation to His people. By His truth we were saved and by His truth we are made holy and walk in freedom. Quite simply, transformation does not occur apart from the truth of God. In relation to […]
Thoughts from the Greatest Worship Book
The Book of Psalms is the greatest worship handbook ever compiled, the greatest hymnal ever penned, and the greatest collection of exhortations to worship ever assembled. Every worship pastor or worship leader is wise to throw him/herself into the sacred Psalms. The Book of Psalms ends with: Hallelujah! Praise God in His sanctuary. Praise Him in […]
Change the Character, Change the Story
While the plot and the context of a story are critical, the central characters are really what makes a story unique. The characters or central figures in a story are inseparable from the story itself. If you alter the character of the central figure, the story is not even the same story. For example, if […]
Corporate Worship: A Shadow of Eternity
Right now, this very moment, God is being perfectly praised in the heavens by angels and believers who have already entered His eternal presence. And every time we gather to praise Him corporately, our gathering is a foretaste of this eternal gathering. Our worshipping together shadows eternity. Then I looked, and I heard around the […]
Church Culture and the Gospel
Will Mancini is the founder and leader of Auxano, a consulting group that helps church leaders navigate growth with vision clarity. Since Will and I are often pigeonholed as “strategy guys,” some have viewed us as pragmatic types. But we are guys who deeply love Jesus and believe the gospel must impact everything a church […]
The Bride of Christ
Unless you have dozed off at every wedding you attended, you have heard the famous passage about God making two people one. When God first set the foundation for marriage in the book of Genesis, He said that two people will become one flesh (Gen. 2:24). God is describing the depth of a relationship where […]
Theology of Transformation
As church leaders, we long to see transformation in the lives of people, our church, and our city. Alton Garrison of the Assemblies of God says “Our mission is not complete until we have seen people have life change.” The word from the Scriptures often associated with transformation is “metamorphosis.” It communicates lasting and irreversible […]
Ignorance: A Barrier to Worship
Seeking satisfaction in the wrong wells and harboring unconfessed sin prohibit the worship that honors God and replenishes our souls. So, too, does ignorance. Jesus confronts and corrects this problem in the life of the Samaritan woman: “Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought […]
Spiritual Mock Prison
In the early 1970s, a social scientist named Philip Zimbardo led a team of scientists from Stanford University in an interesting experiment. The team built a mock prison in the basement of the University’s psychology department. The scientists placed advertisements in the local papers looking for volunteers who would participate in the experiment. Zimbardo and […]
Designing for Spiritual Growth
Church leaders must craft opportunities where people will encounter the grace of God. Simple church leaders are designers, not programmers. They excel in designing a ministry process that leads to spiritual growth and vitality. Spiritual growth is a process. It always has been. Thus, it would make sense for church leaders to design their churches […]