Aug

8

Empathy vs. Sympathy

August 8, 2007 | 2 Comments

The July-August Mighty Oak Ministries newsletter featuring an article on Communicating with Empathy was mailed last week. If you aren’t on the mailing list, you can read it here.
I received an email from a friend who said, “I would have loved to see you compare examples of how not to give sympathy in a way […]

Jul

23

Gary Sweeten Review

July 23, 2007 | Leave a Comment

My friend, Gary Sweeten, has posted an excellent review of Why Didn’t You Warn Me? on his blog. I quote Gary several times in the book. He has taught me more than almost any other person in terms of communication, renewing the mind, counseling skills, and inner healing. When he was with the LIFE Conferences […]

Jul

9

Small Groups that Lead to Transformation

July 9, 2007 | Leave a Comment

When I lead a small group, there are several elements I consider essential. As I’ve mentioned before, my goal is always to work in conjunction with the Holy Spirit to bring each member to maturity in Christ. Or at least to more maturity than when they started the group.
John Ortberg has an excellent piece in […]

Jul

2

Small Groups Help Us Change

July 2, 2007 | Leave a Comment

Michael Smalley at Gosmiley.com says,
Numerous studies have discovered how powerful small groups can be in terms of our emotional satisfaction in life. Married people should really pay attention to this information. Dr. David Olson discovered that for couples who attend a marriage enrichment weekend and then follow up the weekend by getting involved […]

Jun

23

The Present Future-Part 7

June 23, 2007 | Leave a Comment

For an introduction to this series, go to here
New Reality Number Six: the Rise of Apostolic Leadership
Wrong Question: How Do We Develop Leaders for Church Work?
“If church work is not getting the job done, why do we continue to train leaders to do it better?”
Apostolic leaders in the first and twenty-first centuries evidence distinctive […]

Jun

21

The Present Future-Part 6

June 21, 2007 | Leave a Comment

For an introduction to this series, go to here
New Reality Number Five: The Shift from Planning to Preparation
Most of what has ultimate effect on the church happens outside of it and outside of its control.
Wrong Question: How Do We Plan for the Future?
“Incrementalism as an anticipatory strategy is dead…. The better (and biblical) approach to […]

Jun

19

The Present Future-Part 5

June 19, 2007 | Leave a Comment

For an introduction to this series, go to here
New Reality Number Four: The Return to Spiritual Formation
“We have turned our churches into groups of people who are studying God as though they were taking a course at school or attending a business seminar. We aim at the head. We don’t deal in relationships. And we […]

Jun

17

The Present Future-Part 4

June 17, 2007 | Leave a Comment

For an introduction to this series, go to here
New Reality Number Three: A New Reformation: Releasing God’s People
“The first Reformation was about freeing the church. The new Reformation is about freeing God’s people from the church (the institution). Both Reformations have been fueled by an information revolution.”
“… church members no longer have to rely […]

Jun

15

The Present Future-Part 3

June 15, 2007 | Leave a Comment

For an introduction to this series, go to here
New Reality Number Two: The Shift from Church Growth to Kingdom Growth
With rare exception the “growth” [in the church growth movement] was the cannibalization of the smaller membership churches by these emerging superchurches. “Consequently, a large part of the leadhip of the North American church […]

Jun

13

The Present Future—Part 2

June 13, 2007 | Leave a Comment

For an introduction to this series, go to here
New Reality Number One: The Collapse of the Church Culture
“The current church culture in North America is on life support. It is living off the work, money, and energy of previous generations from a previous world order. The plug will be pulled wither when the money […]

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