Category: Kingdom Community

Fellowship and koinonia

baby

Is Evangelism Hurting Your Discipleship?

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About a year ago I was at a conference that was promoted as a growth conference for Christians. One of the speakers pastored a church that was very successful at evangelism. At one point he said that occasionally someone asks him if his church produces mature believers. He responds by saying he doesn’t know if they are producing mature believers, but that‘s not his focus. I sat stunned for a few moments. It’s not often a pastor of a big church all but admits that he isn’t trying to produce disciples of Christ, but rather focus on evangelism. Doesn’t this lead to many Christians being stuck as spiritual “babies”? Of course this approach flies in the face of the many passages in the New Testament about becoming mature, growing in Christlikeness, or at least growing to the point of the maturity of an elder. God doesn’t want us to remain Continue Reading →

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The Four Biggest Pitfalls In Leadership?

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Many years ago I was attending a really good church where the Holy Spirit was present and the people were genuinely seeking God. I was especially thankful because my previous church had just collapsed due to some unresolved issues between the pastor and the elders. Everything was going well at this new church then one day I received a stunning message. The senior pastor had just left his wife and run off with the attractive worship leader, who left her husband to run off with the pastor.  The two of them had been spending a lot of time together in ministry and people on staff expressed concern but the pastor did not respond. Over the years I have observed first-hand pastors and other leaders who fall into moral failure or severely restrict their effectiveness because of four different issues. Maybe there are others that belong on this list but these Continue Reading →

holy spirit dove stained glass

10 Temptations of Spiritual Renewals In Your Life – Part 2

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Do you ever face these temptations when you are trying to let the Spirit guide you? Keeping ourselves open to the Spirit is essential to a complete Christian life but it comes with temptations that can gradually derail us. This continues a list of temptations that individuals and churches experience which we began last week. Bad principles of discernment. When the Holy Spirit moves people are happy and everyone wants to encourage and trust each other in what they do and say. But this causes problems especially in the area of prophecy, (i.e., speaking words from God.) The temptation is to encourage people that if they are focused on God and asking for words from God then if something comes to them then it is probably from God. I’ve been in more than one gathering where this was clearly taught. But Hebrews 5:14 states “But solid food is for the Continue Reading →

holy spirit dove stained glass

10 Temptations of Spiritual Renewals In Your Life – Part 1

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The Holy Spirit has brought many renewals to individuals and to his church over the centuries, bringing needed refreshment and invigoration to the people of God. Usually there is a strong sense of his presence and believers find themselves experiencing God in ways they never had before. This continues today. If we want to preserve the benefits God gives in renewal we will be wise to watch out for common temptations and faults that often accompany renewals, whether it is individual renewal or community renewal. Here are 10 temptations of renewal we need to watch out for today: A spiritual sweet tooth. This means putting a high priority on sweet spiritual feelings or blessings. This becomes a huge distraction from God’s work in renewal. He definitely wants to give good spiritual feelings but the problem is that we become attached to and focused on them. We seek God’s hand instead Continue Reading →

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True Discipleship Is A Taste Of Heaven – Col. 3:12-15

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Colossians 3:1-17 is one of my favorite passages in the bible. It’s hard to think of other passages that describe what it means to be a disciple of Jesus so well, It reminds me of the Sermon on the Mount! Today we are looking at Col. 3:12-15: “Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. 14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.” (NLT) In Col. 3:10 Paul directed the Colossians to put on their Continue Reading →