Aug

30

Think You’ve Got it Bad?

August 30, 2010 | Leave a Comment

Sometimes we think life is pretty difficult. Sometimes we feel sorry for ourselves. Here’s someone who knows that joy isn’t based on our circumstances. Now, stop whining!

Jun

25

Creating Other People

June 25, 2010 | Comments Off

I’ve been reading a great book called SuperCoach: 10 Secrets to Transform Anyone’s Life by Michael Neil. The book is full of  helpful hints for successful living. I especially liked his chapter on “Listening” in relation to my interest in challenging people. He says, We’ll nearly always hear what we’re listening for. This creates a [...]

May

26

Life In Spite of Me

May 26, 2010 | 1 Comment

Do you get tired of people whining and complaining about their circumstances? Sure, some people have pretty serious situations and I certainly don’t want to minimize the problems of others. Sometimes I barely manage my own issues. But when I meet someone who handles adversity well, my admiration soars. Kristen Anderson has become such a [...]

May

13

American “Millennials” Are Spiritually Diverse (Part 2)

May 13, 2010 | 1 Comment

Today we’re presenting the second part August 2009 LifeWay Research study of a national, demographically representative survey of 1,200 Millennials in the United States.  The first part of the study is reviewed here: Here is how Millennials respond to a series of doctrinal statements: God, Satan, sin and salvation * “God is a real being, [...]

May

11

American “Millennials” Are Spiritually Diverse (Part 1)

May 11, 2010 | 1 Comment

Two-thirds of American “Millennials” – those born between 1980 and 1991 – call themselves Christian, but far fewer pray or read the Bible daily, attend weekly worship services, or hold to historical positions on the Bible and its teachings. These findings, which will affect how we lead our churches and small groups, are from a [...]

May

6

The Gift of Dignity

May 6, 2010 | 1 Comment

When dealing with challenging people, I’ve found that simply treating them like human beings makes a huge difference. Very often, a challenging person in your church or group is a challenging person everywhere. And because of this, they are often shunned or ostracized. For many, this has happened all their lives. What we consider challenging [...]

Mar

10

The Law of Entropy

March 10, 2010 | 1 Comment

A while back we watched the movie I Am Legend. In the movie, a virus has spread across the planet and turned the human race into bloodthirsty monsters. Now, mankind’s only hope for survival is scientist Robert Neville (played by Will Smith), the one person left unaffected by the epidemic. When he’s not fighting for [...]

Feb

19

The Bad Apple Effect

February 19, 2010 | 2 Comments

Dan Lentz posted a great article on SmallGroups.com on what he calls the bad apple effect. I call it the challenging people effect. No matter what you call it, it can create havoc in your group. Dan cites a business-based study by Terence Mitchell, a professor of management and organization, and recently published by the [...]

Jan

27

Valuing the Unlovely

January 27, 2010 | Comments Off

Do you have challenging people in your small group? People who don’t fit in anywhere? I love this quote from S.D. Gaede in Belonging: Our need for Community in Church and Family (Zondervan: 1985). “More than anything else, community in the modern world depends on our willingness to emulate the Samaritan’s choice—on our willingness to [...]

Dec

16

Biblical Foundations for Freedom

December 16, 2009 | 1 Comment

I’ve been doing a lot of personal ministry lately and have been increasingly impressed again with a book that I carry in my store. I wanted to share it with you in case you need a last minute gift for Christmas. It’s Biblical Foundations for Freedom: Destroying Satan’s Lies with God’s Truth by Art Mathias [...]

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