Blah Blah Blah Preaching

You get no credit for looking in the mirror and knowing you’re a mess. What will you DO? You can memorise 12 great principles of successful marriage and still be instant messaging behind her back to that young girl in the office. It’s the same with money, parenting, or business. The blessing doesn’t come because I know. Or don’t.

Atomic Preaching #Bgbg2

I came to faith partly as a result of hearing one great evangelistic sermon, but later when I first started regularly attending church I figured sermons were just something you just had to get through 95% of the time, perhaps because purgatory had been abolished.

A God Shaped Dream – and how to hold onto it. #Bgbg2

Talk by Alan Taylor at Ivy Manchester Genesis 21:1-7   Sarah called her son Isaac because what they heard from God seemed so ridiculous to her, she laughed at the idea. Abram was promised a family, though his wife could not conceive. He would have lived in a place with a lot of stars out every night. His descendants would outnumber them. What do our dreams look like when they are fulfilled? It may be you’re in a hard time, struggling to hold on to your dream – hold on! God wants us to dream along with him, a good dream, a big dream – that brings joy to our hearts. When you read the Bible, ask; 1) Where does this story fit into the bigger story? 2) Where do I fit in this story? God’s dream for Abraham and Sarah was way bigger than a family, it was for them to be blessed to be a blessing – a family on mission. That’s our story now. We carry that too. Called out to bless the world. Isaac was laughter […]

How Grace Works #Bgbg2

Sometimes grace can be a great antidote to legalism and preaching morality. It’s a great way to grow a church to just say  ‘God loves you as you are, so stay the same.’ But that’s not real grace. 1 Cor 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. Paul effectively says ‘I am who I am by grace BUT… I worked. BUT grace was working in me It wasn’t me working – it was grace. There’s an apparent contradiction, it really it’s a both/and Grace is not a licence to do wrong but the power to do right. Works don’t lead to grace; that’s legalism But grace causes us to work. We have to fundamentally understand grace because God not need your good works, but the world does. You could never do anything to earn it, but when you get it – you are motivated by it. And God […]

Leadership notes from @leadnet gathering discussions

Some notes from discussion with Greg Surratt and Dave Smith in Q & A at  @leadnet gathering   Read ‘The Triumph Of Christianity’ – Rodney Stark –  Traces the Jesus movement through to now.  Describes how the demise of the church in Europe was because it became a lazy church. The answer to the demise is church planting. The most important person in the church for it to be effective is the church leader. And if that’s true… The next most important person is… Who? His or her PA. Who should help you only do what only you can do.   Let other very capable people lead other things. You can’t start with complete delegation on day one, but you have to learn to delegate more and more. You are never going to lead anything big and still enjoy life without good systems that free you up. Be ruthless on what do I really need to know? What do I really need to do. Virtual Assistants can be very helpful.