Category: Church & Christian Life

By Thom S. Rainer 

• When leading to make a change, start it with prayer. Beginning in your own power, confidence and cockiness is a big mistake. 

• When leading to make a change, you must asses unintended consequences. There will almost always be reactions beyond the change itself. 

• When leading to make a change, make sure to always communicate. You cannot over-communicate!

• When leading to make a change, deal with the people issues. Get buy-in from others, especially key people. 

• When leading to make a change, model the right attitude in leadership. 

• Five kinds of unmovable church members

1. 1. 1. 1. The Deniers. Some will just live in denial, but it is the fastest way to death. 
         2. The Entitled. Those who expect what they want. They don’t want anything that upsets their way of doing church.
         3. The Blamers. They would rather blame than take fault. They blame everything on culture, community and others. They resist change. 
         4. The Critics. They find fault in everything and everyone. 
         5. The Confused. Many times they are good innocent people, so they resist change. 

• The following is a roadmap for leading change in your church: 

1. 1. 1. Stop and Pray. 

Successful and sustaining change does not occur without prayer. 

Start with prayer. 

Ask for wisdom. 

You cannot see the future, but God can. 

Pray for courage. Pray for strength. 

1. 1. 2. Confront and Communicate the Urgency for Change. 

Look at the statistics and face the reality. 

Get outside eyes and ask them to be blunt with you. 

Openly and honestly share the feedback and facts with your congregation. 

1. 1. 3. Build an Eager Coalition. 

Find the influencers, get them on board and keep them in the loop. This will help to communicate to the rest of the group or congregation. 

1. 1. 4. Become a Voice and Vision of Hope. 

Hope begins and continues with God. 

You lead in hope by reading the Bible daily, communicating that hope to others, and finding low hanging fruit to share with others. 

Hope has to accompany vision. 

1. 1. 5. Deal with People Issues. 

Change is all about people. 

If you don’t deal with people issues, you will fail in the change. 

You have to love people more than you love change.

1. 1. 6. Move From an Inward Focus to an Outward Focus. 

First, you must be an example of focus as a leader. 

You cannot lead in change without embodying change first. 

Outward focus begins with you.

1. 1. 7. Pick low Hanging Fruit. 

What are some things you can do right now? 

Find, create and point out victories. 

1. 1. 8. Implement and Consolidate Change. 

If you’re not careful, the change becomes more important than what you are going to do after the change. The means becomes the end. 

The number one reason for complacency is unclear and unstated vision. 

We do not change for change sake, but for the Gospel sake. 

We live in urgency because the gospel is urgent. 

• There are always resistors, and many hesitant ones as well. What seems slow to you as a leader is likely too fast for those in the congregation. You need wisdom and discretion.

• Leading in change begins in prayer, but you must continue in prayer as well. 

• We do not want to change people, we want God to change people. 

By Gracia Burnham 

• There are two things things that are for certain, that there will be trials and that he has overcome them John 16:33

• Less than 1/4 of the world sleep in beds. The majority of the world are sleeping in hammocks, on the floor, on the dirt, or on something else.

• When life spins out of control, we find out who we really are. 

• What defines us is not what we have but who we are.

• Anger doesn’t help. Anger in the face of trouble is common, but that does not make it productive.

• Impatience is another way of saying I am important, what I want should happen, and it really doesn’t matter what anyone else needs. 

• A fruit of the Spirit is patience. God‘s timing and God‘s way is always best.

• Sometimes God calms the storm, and sometimes God calms you.

• Our only hope is God‘s grace.

• When we are weak, He can be strong. When we are shattered, He can put us back together again. When we are disputed, He can infuse us with His joy.

by J. C. Ryle

• “Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded.” — Titus 2:6

• Don’t wait until tomorrow. Tomorrow is the devil’s day. The devil wants you to put off tomorrow instead of living and serving God today.

• “Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment.” — Ecclesiastes 11:9

• Young man, do not deceive yourselves. Do not think you can fill yourselves of lust and simple pleasures now and then serve God when you are old.

• If you do not seek the Lord while you are young, your sinful habits will be so entrenched that you will unlikely seek Him when you are old.

• Some could say their sins are holding them back, others could say their idleness, but do not wait until later to serve the Lord.

• Seek the Lord early, and you will be spared of many bitter tears.

• There are dangers of young men face:

1. 1. 1. 1. Pride. 

• • • • • • • • • Pride is probably the oldest sin, and it sits in the heart of every man.
                • Young men often think old men are dumb, and cannot help. Like wild horses, they must have their own ways. This is pride. 
                • 1 Corinthians 8:2. Colossians 3:4, Romans 15:2. 1 Peter 5:5. 
                • Never be afraid to sit and listen. Jesus did this in Luke 2:46. 

1. 1. 1. 2. Love of Pleasures.

• • • • • • • • • Col 3:25; 1 Cor 6:18
                • Flee from the places that offer worldly pleasures. Flee from those who tempt you. Flee from talking about the worldly pleasures. Flee from the imaginations of thinking on them. 

1. 1. 1. 3. Contempt of Christianity.

• • • • • • • • • Beware of thinking you do not need to listen to preaching. Beware of mocking godly things. 
                • Psalms 14:1

1. 1. 1. 4. Fear of Man’s Opinion.

• • • • • • • • • Proverbs 29:25
                • What others call good, they call good. And what others call bad, they call bad.
                • The fear of being ridiculed, mocked, or what others will think stops many young men.
                • Learn to say no. Proverbs 1:10

1. 1. 1. 5. Not Considering Consequences of Sin.

• • • • • • • • • Proverbs 14:9

• Your body is to be the servant of your soul, not your soul the servant of your body

• Daniel sought God as a young man. So did Timothy, Josiah, David, and many others in the Bible.

• Determine to make God’s Word your guide in life. 

• Never make anyone a friend who is not a friend of God. Psalms 119:63; Proverbs 13:20

• Devise to remove any sin that distances you from the Lord. The little sins separate you little by little until you are far from God. 

• Resolve to never forget the eye of God. He knows you through and through. How many things are done because men think they are not seen, but He sees all. 

• Resolve that wherever you are, you will pray. 

By Eric Liddell

• The secrets of growth are to develop a walk with God.

• You will know as much of God as you are willing to put into practice. 

• The bravest moment in a person’s life is when they look at themselves objectively without wincing. 

• God asks you to surrender yourself to Him! 

• Righteousness includes honesty in every area of life.

• For a man to know his weaknesses is the first step in conquering them. 

• Love is the secret of a happy home. 

• The Bible says that we are stewards. God speaks of a wise steward, a foolish steward, a slothful steward, and faithful steward. 

• You are a steward of your mind, possessions, body, money, and time. 

• Fear comes from looking at self instead of looking at Jesus.

• The church needs your worship, your witness, and your work. 

By Elisabeth Elliott 

• It is through the deepest sufferings that God teaches us the deepest lessons. 

• We can come through anything knowing that God is in charge, He has a loving purpose, and He can transform something terrible into something wonderful.

• A simple definition for suffering could be: having what you don’t want or wanting what you don’t have. 

• We wonder if God is paying attention, and the answer is yes. He does love us and He is doing something and He will do something.

• From the worst thing in the world (the cross) comes the greatest thing in the world (salvation).

• Joy is not the absence of suffering, but the presence of God.

• When Job asks God questions during his suffering, God never does seem to answer the questions. God replies back with more questions for Job.

• Faith is not a feeling, it is a wield action of obedience.

• Two things that should distinguish a Cristian are acceptance and gratitude.

• Make it a habit of saying thank you Lord instead of complaining. 

• You can thank God in advance because you know that no matter what happens, God is still in charge.

• Gratitude honors God.

• Gratitude prepares the way for God. 

• If my life is broken for Jesus, it might mean that He wants to use it to feed the multitudes.

• Suffering will cause us to long for that better country.

• Colossians 1:24 and Philippians 1:29 speak about the joy of suffering.

• The best fruit comes after the pruning. The best gold comes from the refining fire. Joy comes out of sorrow, and life comes out of death.