One of the things I’ve really been asking God is a coaching/mentoring relationship with a church leader that would me grow, change, and become more Christlike. Unfortunately, I haven’t found one, but it seems like I’m not the only person who sees the value in these relationships

From Ed Stetzes Coaching, Mentoring, and Life Change

I am a big believer in coaching and mentoring. Coaching is essential for Christian life. However, it is often absent or underappreciated in churches. Even when there is mentoring, it seems mentoring is for the “few” and not the “many.”

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I assumed that most people had mentors– we sure talked about it often in the 90′s. However, I have since learned that mentoring relationships like these are all too uncommon. I have assumed it was normal to have men who would invest themselves in one’s life and ministry. It seems that it is more unusual than I thought.

TransforMissional Coaching: Empowering Leaders in a Changing Ministry is a new book concerning the topic of Coaching and Mentoring. Ed wrote the forward for the book and here are some snippets. Good stuff.

TransforMissional coaching is a holistic approach. Unlike business coaching models that are only concerned with productivity or results, TransforMissional coaching engages the whole leader in transformation. Steve and Tim suggest that coaches transform leaders by helping leaders clarify calling, cultivate character, create community and connect with culture.

Coaching may be the primary vehicle that makes the transition from modern to missional paradigms. Young and emerging leaders are looking for relationship, proximity and affinity with those they allow to empower them. They will receive coaching and mentoring from those they trust, those who will be there for them. TransforMissional Coaching is an effective process for empowering emerging leaders to engage in missional expressions of church.

The authors suggest the art of listening and the use of effective questions as the keys to empowerment. Emerging leaders are looking for empowerment that is consistent with their world view and life experience more than that of their parents. Listening and good questions effectively anchor the coaching conversation in the life and experience of the leader more than that of the coach. The resulting trust allows the coach or mentor to speak timeless truths in a timely way without imposing his views or preferences or models on the leader. As you will see TransforMissonal Coaching includes several lists of great coaching questions.

As you can see TransforMissional Coaching goes well beyond simple coaching formulas and will be very useful to those who are serious about transforming leaders and empowering mission.

From Brandon O’Brien’s Stiff Necks and Bruised Reeds

Rather, Jesus was truly himself because he did the will of God; he was most authentic when he was least concerned with doing things that suited his personality (Luke 22:42). There’s an important lesson here for Christian ministry. Our ministry should not simply flow naturally out of our personality. Our being real can’t mean that we only focus on what comes naturally to us, our strengths. We are not our own ambassadors. We are Christ’s. If God the Father opposes the proud but lifts up the humble and Jesus does, too, then maybe the Christian minister, who is an ambassador for Christ and who bears the image of God, should understand in these examples a rule for ministry: to the lowly we show mercy; to the stiff-necked, we offer rebuke. Perhaps one or the other of those activities will come more naturally to us. It doesn’t really matter. It’s the world, not Jesus, that calls us to be ourselves.

If we find our authenticity and identity in Christ, we’ll have to be prepared to stop judging our effectiveness by how people respond to us. We’ll no doubt be misunderstood by some. But we won’t, as some people fear, be disregarded or discredited for speaking or acting in each given situation according to the need. That doesn’t make us hypocrites. In fact, people are more likely to question your motives if you’re always affirming, always in-your-face, always cool and groovy.

From Orissa Christians: Attacks Will Glorify God, Bring More to Christ

Bardhan said that the persecution had been embraced by his pastors who see it as an opportunity to share in Christ’s sufferings.

“Many of our pastors have said, ‘Even if they kill us, no problem. This will cause thousands to come to Christ,’” he reported.

Christianity has continued to flourish in Orissa despite of years of persecution, Bardhan noted.

“The encouraging thing is that the attackers themselves acknowledge that Orissa used to be only 2 percent Christian, and now it’s 28 percent Christian,” he said. “They don’t understand that by doing this, the church will grow by leaps and bounds, and this will cause thousands to come to Christ.”

The sovereignty of a Savior who brings people to Him even through violence.

From Derek R. Keefe’s interview with Andy Crouch Cultivating Where We’re Planted

What does culture making look like in our churches?

I hope churches would dare to celebrate the cultivating and creating of their members that isn’t under the church’s banner, but is nevertheless deeply Christian participation in the culture around them. Church leaders are measured by their ability to motivate people to volunteer and contribute at their church. We’ve done a better job of celebrating people who teach really well in Sunday school than people who teach really well in the public school.

In their book Church on Sunday, Work on Monday, Laura Nash and Scotty McLennan tell the story of the woman who litigated the cleanup of the terribly polluted Boston Harbor for the Environmental Protection Agency—one of the major environmental breakthroughs of the 21st century. She was a member of an evangelical church, and the only time she was ever recognized from the front of this church was the year she taught second-grade Sunday school. Obviously we should celebrate our Sunday school teachers, but when one of our members acting out of vocation leads in such a tremendous restoration of God’s creation, why wouldn’t we celebrate that, too?

I’m conflicted on this. Should we celebrate people doing a good job at their job during a church service?

From Ed Stetzers’s Writing on the Wall: The Future of the Church and its Mission

Many evangelicalshave lost confidence in the gospel. Since society has marginalized the church, it seems people are saying: “Maybe this gospel is not all we thought it would be.” Since the church cannot be trusted, they think, maybe the gospel cannot be trusted either.

Our loss of confidence in the gospel is evidenced by the fact believers are sharing their faith less and less. The seeker movement has unintentionally disempowered evangelism by training people to bring their friends to church services so professionals can take over and seal the deal.

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One cannot read Scripture and miss the fact it focuses on a bloody cross and an empty tomb. The gospel is about a Savior who died on a cross in our place. These are facts — not just interesting things to think or talk about — and they are usually unpalatable to our neighbors. If we do not have confidence in them, then we do not have true faith, and we reduce the gospel to a 12-step program for inner peace.

Luke 24:47 says, “Repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations.” When believers lose confidence in the gospel, Christ’s evangelistic mandate withers away. But those who are confident in the gospel become living epistles, God’s love letters to individuals and communities, and messages that carry the gospel’s prophetic edge.

If we fail to regain confidence in the gospel, subsequent generations will continue to walk away from it. Staying culturally relevant is important, and it is beneficial to minister in fresh, new ways. After all, we must remove any roadblocks that keep people from getting to Jesus. But, in the end, if strategies and systems replace the core of the gospel, its meaning and power will be lost.

From John Piper’s How does Pastor John handle spiritual training in the home?

1. We encouraged our children from the very beginning to be alone with the Lord in the morning.
2. We were at the table together every morning, and I led devotions at breakfast with the children.
3. Then in the evening we had family devotions, which was a little longer. We read a longer portion of Scripture, and all the children–if they were able–would pray, not just me.
4. And then when we put them to bed, we tucked them in, blessed them with

The Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you.
The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace,
and joy, and hope, and love, and a good night’s rest,

Quote from John Piper’s interview with Mark Driscoll

Great thoughts also about raising boys vs. girls, ministry demands, and Piper’s wonderful honesty.

So I think that God’s character, as it is reproduced in a community of people, must be one of the most powerful witnesses to the truth of the gospel, both for evangelism and the edification of those already converted. So I would like to see evangelical churches— while not becoming unsophisticated in how they interact with culture—keep cultural interaction in perspective, and realize that the life-blood of your church continuing is not your contextualization (your similarity to the culture), but how you are blessedly distinct from the culture. The church is full of people who are born again.

From a conversation between C.J. Mahaney and Mark Dever. Listen to the full version here.

Great post by my former pastor, and close friend, Chris Rhodenhizer

what people expect…

safe place
smiling face
healthy atmosphere for worship

unhealthy, unspiritual, and unrealistic EXPECTATIONS some may have…

desiring that we have things
different belief system
critical spirit

when we strive for excellence…

we work our hardest for God’s glory
we usually meet the expectations put on us
we go first, not just show up first

when EXCELLENCE crosses the line…

we create a consumer mentality
we begin to build our own “kingdom”
we become critical

Fabulous article from Collin Hansen, which has particular relevance for New Life Church and the transient students who make up much of our congregation

How do you encourage the deep fellowship that only develops with years of experience if the congregation switches like a hockey team’s line change? Longevity is necessary for the kind of lay leadership that really gets things done in the church.

Anonymity is the enemy of ministry.

For the sake of loving each other and loving our neighbors, Christians should re-learn how to put down roots in one community. There will often be valid financial and educational excuses for leaving. But if you invest in your community, the community will invest in you. For too long Christians have followed that American dream to greener pastures, to the neglect of their genealogical and ecclesiological families. If we hope to reverse this trend, shepherds should set the example.