11 Leadership Lessons from 12 Disciples- Mark Driscoll

This series is based on the recent sermon Jesus Calls the Twelve, onLuke 6:12-16.

In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God. And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles: Simon, whom he named Peter, and Andrew his brother, and James and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot, and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor (Luke 6:12–16).

From “Come and See” to “Go and Die”

Thus far in Luke’s Gospel, Jesus’ ministry has mainly been about come and see. Crowds have come to see him preach, teach, perform miracles, cast out demons, heal, and help those who are suffering and needy. InLuke 6:12–16, Jesus calls his twelve disciples to transition from “come and see” to “go and die.” And this is incredibly important. These men’s lives will change, and history will change with it.

Asking the Right Questions- Andy Stanley

I have a friend I spend a lot of time with, but he doesn’t know me. If you asked him what was going on in my life, he would have a hard time answering. The reason is simple; he doesn’t ask questions. I know all about him. I could tell you about his hopes and dreams, because when we’re together, I ask him questions. And that simple tale of a somewhat disinterested friend embodies a valuable principle.

In our lives, in our families, in our churches, questions accomplish two critical things. They reveal values and they reinforce values.

They reveal what matters. Questions tear through all the clutter and get at the heart of what we care about, what’s crucial to our day, and what we’re ultimately invested in.

They reinforce what matters. They keep us focused on what’s critical.

Are We Training Up Our Teens To Be Priests or Levites? – Brian Ford

I’m sure by the time you read this post you’ve already seen the video footage of the homeless man that helped a woman that was being mugged. He was stabbed and then left for dead on the sidewalk. For an hour he laid there with no help. People just passed by him, stared and one person even took a picture of the dying, bleeding man with his cell phone. When I saw this it disgusted me. But it also stirred something else in my heart and mind. Are we training our teens to be the Samaritan or to be like the priest and Levite? Have teens become so desensitized they pass by those who are dying spiritually and in need of Jesus?

Success at a Campus- Jeff Love

Something exciting is happening at Continental Ranch! In case you have not heard, we do have a campus in the Continental Ranch community and this last weekend we baptized 6 people! Way cool!!! There are now around 250 of you who have made that campus your preferred environment here at Alive Church. Let’s keep going and reach the CR community. You guys rock, and Toby, our campus pastor, is doing awesome. (last weekend we had 3 people make decisions to follow Jesus – yoo hoo! That’s a chocolate drink isn’t it?)
What’s an Alive campus you ask?

Stuff I Cannot Comprehend- Chris Elrod

Chris Elrod had this post on his blog the other week about 15 random things he was wondering about.

There is some stuff I just cannot comprehend.  Try as I may to get it…it doesn’t make any logical or Scriptural sense. Here is a partial of things I do not understand.

1. Folks that show up to church only a few times a year but expect the pastor to drop everything to provide them with his undivided attention.
2. People that put nothing in the offering plate but still have the stones to expect that their opinions on the church should count.
3. Parents who ground their children from church or the youth group…the very things that could help them with their behavior, future and afterlife.
4. People that expect the pastor to tolerate their political views…but leave the church because of his.
5. The occasional volunteer that expects the church to throw a parade in their honor just because they finally did what the Bible commanded.

Is Your Senior Pastor Like This?

Posted: 01 Apr 2010 04:24 AM PDT- Perry Noble

Brad Cooper is our student pastor here at NewSpring Church…and is one of the most gifted/anointed leaders on the planet.  Since he has been with us our student ministry has grown from about 125 to over 1,000 kids every weekend…and the number of committed, sold out volunteers has multiplied dramatically.

Anytime people hear about what is going on in our student ministry they always ask me, “So, what did you do?”  It’s pretty simple…

#1 – I hired a leader, someone I could trust, someone I would not have to stand beside and make decisions for.  (Some pastors won’t do this because they need to be needed!)  AND…I made sure he was able to assemble the team he wanted around him…I did not hire for him!

#2 – I made sure he was resourced.  We don’t do car washes or bake sales…and we never have.  I’ve read that over 85% of the decisions to follow Christ happen before the age of 18…if THAT ISN’T a ripe mission field then I don’t know what is.  Churches don’t make the senior adults do a bake sale if they want to go somewhere…why in the heck do they make the students do it?  (By the way…it’s ALWAYS been this way, so please don’t email me with, “What did you guys do when you were small?”  We took care of our students…period!)