Celebrate Good Times Common... Danana Nanana Dana!

Found this great post from Ps Steve Furtick about Celebrating... lets learn from his leading (will actually it's all from the Bible's leading)...


If you saw how much effort we put into celebrating special occasions (like our upcoming 3 year anniversary) at Elevation, you might think we’re a little silly.
We have multiple parties, worship services, and other activities planned around our anniversary this week, this weekend, and continuing on through the first part of next week-at a staff, volunteer, and church-wide level.
And at first glance, I can see how all this may seem like a misappropriation of energy and effort. After all, doesn’t a growing, thriving, mission-centric church have more important things to do?

To read the rest click HERE.

Also, check out there celebration video HERE.


How & what do you celebrate in your church & youth ministry?
I look forward to your comments!

Godspeed & Kaizan
Clive

Preaching Ain't Dead - Pt 1

I love great speeches...
God has ordained that in the spoken word, men may be moved.
It is through the preaching of the Gospel that people are saved.
There carries with the spoken word a great force.

I have just finished watching William Shakespeare's Henry V which was directed by Kenneth Branagh.
I thought I'd post a piece of the King's motivational talk to his disheartened men (they were out-numbered 5 to 1, and the french army was fresh, while the English were battle weary, sick and exhausted from there great journey) as they are about to begin the battle of Agincourt:

"We few.
We happy few.
We band of brothers.
For he today that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother. Be he near so vile this day shall gentle his condition.
And gentlemen in England now abed shall think themselves accursed they were not here and hold their manhood's cheap.
While then he speaks that fought with us upon St Krispin's day."

Let me encourage you, that while we live in a time that belittles preaching... know this, that when we speak God's Word... it carries with it a great and awesome power to change men & womens lives!

Proverbs 18:20-22 (New International Version)

20 From the fruit of his mouth a man's stomach is filled;
with the harvest from his lips he is satisfied.

21 The tongue has the power of life and death,
and those who love it will eat its fruit.

Keep posted to this weekly blog as we continue to look at other great speeches and encourage one another in this great craft of preaching.

Let me know your thoughts by leaving a comment.

Till next week

Godspeed & Kaizan

Clive

A Powerful Ministry Tool?

Welcome back from an awesome summer break. I look forward to stepping into all that God's Kingdom has for you and I in 09.

There are heaps of media tools out there to connect with people. Twitter has stood the test of time and can prove to be very useful... can it work in NZ?

Here's an introductory video:



Click HERE to see a powerpoint on Twitters usefulness as a marketing tool.

They say that people hit any 1 of 5 stages in the Twitter deal... where are you?


You can check me out on Twitter HERE.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on the matter. Please leave a comment and lets get the conversation rolling.

You Are Responsible For The Outcome!

Well summer is flying by! I can't believe that we are in february already! I trust that you have had a chance to rest and recieve refreshment and renewed vision and passion from Jesus. 09 is going to be amazing! Remember friends, "The best is yet to come!" as Brian Houstan always like to declare.

Check the sidebar for the upcoming events this year. You won't want to miss out on any of these little beauties!!!


I've been in ministry for a long time now... some 13 years. I have a great passion for quotes and I've picked up a few beauties along the way. One of my favourites says this, "It is a sin to make the God of the Bible boring!"

With this in mind I have a great extract to share with you out of Seth Godin's latest book called 'Tribes':
"If you hear my idea but don't believe it, it's not your fault; its mine.
If you see my new product but don't buy it, thats my failure not yours.
If you attend my presentation and you're bored, that is my fault too.
If I fail to persuade you to implement a policy that supports my tribe, thats due to my lack of passion or skill, not your shortsightedness.
If you are a student in my class and you don't learn what I'm teaching, I've let you down.
It's really easy to insist that people read the manual. It's really easy to blame the user/student/prospect/customer for not trying hard, for being too stupid to get it, or for not caring enough to pay attention. It might even be tempting to blame those in your tribe who aren't working as hard at following as you are at leading. But none of this is helpful.

What's helpful is to realize that you have a choice to make when you communicate. You can design your products to be easy to use. you can write so your audience hears you. You can present in a place and in a way that gaurantees that the people you want to listen will hear you. Most of all, you will choose who will understand (and who won't)."


How do you see this extract pertaining to your ministry tht God has called you to steward?
I would love to hear some of your thoughts through commenting on this post.

Taking A Break

Just thought I'd let you know that I am going to take a break from posting until February.
I don't know about you but I am pumped for what God has in store for us next year!

If you're interested in checking out a good post on our generations lack of a Biblical world view then click HERE. This is of such vital importance as stats tell us that 85% of Christians going to Uni loose their faith by year 2!

Until February 09...

How Are You Leveraging Your Influence?

In this post I just wanted to share a really great piece from Ps Mark Batterson of National Community Church.
Ps Mark challenges us with how we leverage our influence. This is a question of great importance, so read up and please do leave a comment!



Over the last couple years I've been rethinking influence. As a pastor, I used to think in traditional categories. Influence = Attendance + Budget. Right? And I think those numbers are significant. But I also think the influence game has dramatically changed.

Just thought I'd share what is going on inside my head as I think about where to leverage influence in the coming year. Quantitatively, my blog is by far my avenue of greatest influence. Qualitatively, nothing comes close to my influence as a dad. But everything we do is a unique combination of quantitative and qualitative influence.

I think pastoring has a unique quantitative and qualitative dimension. Qualitatively, you get to be part of some of the most significant life moments--weddings, baptisms, funerals. That is uber-influence. And you have a touch point week in and week out via preaching. Yes, people forget 95% of what they hear after 24 hours! And that's downright depressing as a preacher. But I think there is a cumulative effect that results in transformation. I honestly can't remember all the meals I've eaten over the past year, but all of them sustained me and nourished me. That's how I think about preaching. I hope the spiritual diet we provide moves people toward spiritual health.

I think podcasting and webcasting are amazing ways to exponentially expand quantitative influence. Your congregation may only be twenty-five people, but you can influence twenty-five hundred via a podcast. Does a podcast make the same qualitative difference in a person's life? That depends on lots of factors. But here's the bottom line: If it's worth preaching it's worth podcasting. And the quantitative potential is amazing. I preached in 83 countries last year without going anywhere! How? Via webcast.

For me, writing books has become the primary vehicle of influence. Instead of influencing thousands, I can influence hundreds of thousands. And there is something unique about influencing someone via writing. I write with a sense of destiny. I really believe that one sentence or one paragraph or one page can change a person's life. And you can influence people after you die. Few people have influenced me as much as A.W. Tozer. I'm pretty sure he died before I was born. But his books outlive him and continue to influence.

One last thought. Not long ago, someone pitched the idea of putting together a TV pilot for a new network. Part of me dismissed it. That's not my thing. But when you think in terms of influence, it's a little more difficult to dismiss. I don't think Television has the same qualitative influence. But it's a form of influence that is still unrivaled quantitatively.

Just thinking out loud.

How are you leveraging your influence? Where can you experience the greatest influence qualitatively and quantitatively? Do you need to reallocate your time and energy? Or is there an influence opportunity you need to pursue?


To read other great posts by Mark Batterson click HERE

So what did you think? Are there some other unique ways to leverage your influence?
I look forward to your input!

Godspeed & Kaizan
Clive

FREE FREE FREE

Life church has done it again... this church really has a fantastic heart to resource the church. Here are a few of the amazing FREE resources on offer:

Free Video Teaching... click HERE
YouVersion (an on-line Bible thats not just for the iphone!)... click HERE
The Swerve (their blog for church leaders)... click HERE
Open (resources from Lifechurch.tv from graphics to videos)... click HERE
Church Metrics... click HERE

I trust you will find a wealth of resources here.

Godspeed & Kaizan
Clive