Now that I have your attention, let me share with you that our recently completed 2020 Ignite Conference was awesome! Thank you to Cody Missionary Alliance Church, Pastor Randy Shaw and Pastor Michael Lajko for hosting our gathering. Thank you, Bill Levy, Jim Evans and John Reese for sharing from your hearts and experiences from over 40…
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Have you ever noticed that kids have big questions about God and for God? I believe that because we were created by God, for God, we are born searching for Him. Kids show this search for God in the way they ask questions about Him. “Can God see me all the time?” “Why did God…
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I’m not sure who originally stated the words of the headline for this column, however, we all know that he/she was exceedingly accurate! In our world today, change is coming so fast, on so many levels, in so many directions that, at times, it can be almost overwhelming. More than once in each of…
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The people you lead need four things from you: The assurance that they can TRUST you, your COMPASSION, that you bring STABILITY in tumultuous circumstances, and the fourth–and last in this RMD Newsletter series–is HOPE. Hope is confidence in the future that God has planned. Followers who hope in God for the future are more…
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I often think of Psalm 20 as the Church Planting Psalm. I think it’s such a great picture of what we would want a sending church to say to a plant team that’s stepping out in faith. Here are the first few verses: May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble! May the…
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We moved when I was 11 years old. We moved from one region of the US to a completely different one. While not a country change, it felt in many ways as if we had been flown to an unknown part of the world and left to find our own way. The accents and idioms…
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So much has been said already about Covid-19. I still chuckle when I read news stories that call it “the novel Corona virus.” Not too much is novel about it now! With some loosening of restrictions having taken place, I’ve been able to get back out on the road and into our churches and meetings…
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Some time ago on a mission trip to the Copper Canyon of north-central Mexico, I met an old man named Condalario. As a young man he had lost part of his arm in a mining accident. He got by doing odd jobs, lived in a cave, wore sandals made from old car tires, and nearly…
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Reliable and copious research shows that followers need four things from their leaders: Trust, Compassion, Stability and Hope. In this tumultuous season when we might be tempted to hibernate (or if we’re like Jonah, board a ship headed in the opposite direction,) our churches instead need our Stability. Your stability–your strength to stand firm–is vital…
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The first one is Trust, with its counterpart, Suspicion. (Read more about that in last month’s newsletter.) According to Gallup, the second element followers need from their leader is Compassion. This research applies to all organizations–including both ministry and business–and reveals compassion as key to employee engagement, and ultimately a fat bottom line. We Jesus-followers have a different…
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