Shift Your Focus

About a month ago, I attended District Council -- an annual meeting of Assemblies of God pastors in North Texas. The focus this year was on church planting. More specifically, on CHURCHES PLANTING CHURCHES. The guest speaker shared 3 paradigm shifts that we must have, if we are going to effectively build God's Kingdom in our city. Hope you are challenged by them, as much as I was.

Here they are:

1. We need to shift the focus from OUR problems to GOD'S problems.

2. We need a shift from SCARCITYto ABUNDANCE.

3. We need to shift our focus from building a MONUMENT to building a MOVEMENT.

Each of them has challenged me in a personal way, as well as sharpened my focus as pastor of The Bridge. I pray that God will help me to be a DOER of the Word, not just a HEARER only... Is this your prayer, as well?

More Than Words

Shared a message this morning by this same title -- and it is really sticking with me today. (Funny for a preacher to be impacted AFTER his own sermon, huh?) I just can't stop thinking about God's strategy for reconciling mankind: He didn't TELL us about His love, He SHOWED us! Talk is cheap. Even God knows that...

So think about it: "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen the glory of the Father." (John 1:14) God sent Jesus to reveal His glory. Now, Jesus sends US to reveal His glory, through our lives. But we have to do more than TALK -- we need ACTION...the kind of action that reveals God's glory!

That sets the bar pretty high, for me. Is my life GLORIOUS? (no laughing please, this is a serious question!) Here's the kicker: I'm a preacher, so that means I "talk" for a living...but now I'm realizing that it takes "more than words" to reach this generation. What a bummer -- now I have to get my hands dirty...