In the spirit of simplicity, The Reflectionary (the newsletter you’re reading) is now just going to be the Preaching for Change newsletter, because all of the resources referenced point back to the website, Preaching for Change. AND because that’s my ultimate goal – to help leaders communicate spiritual truth in a way that actually motivates people to live differently and love more boldly, like Jesus.
And in this edition, I’m sharing an article about the three ministries every church staff member should be empowered for carrying out.
Churches that continue to operate in a high-control, 8-to-5, on-the-clock vs off-the-clock mentality when it comes to church staff members will continue to miss out on the potential creative energy stored in the hearts of their leaders. AND they’ll also lose opportunities to hire the best talent.
Instead, churches have the opportunity to encourage staff members to think beyond the local church’s walls to enlarge the kingdom and relate to the community.
READ: 3 Ministries of Every Church Staff Member
I’m also sharing some message notes from Romans 8 and several other links and resources. Just keep reading…
And keep on growing!
Brandon
This Week’s Big Sermon Idea
Life in the Forever Family of God
A sermon idea based on Romans 8:12-25.
God is growing his forever family, and to everyone, he offers an open invitation on the basis of his own redemptive work in Christ. And being a member of God’s forever family comes with some special spiritual privileges.
Read and Share the Full Article »
Creative Sermon Series Ideas from MinistryPass
My favorite resource for sermon series and message ideas, complete series graphics, and video bumpers (but NOT full notes) to get you started is MinistryPass! Each week, I’ll feature a series I would recommend checking out for the upcoming season of the church year. This week:
From the Description:
This series seeks to help believers wrestling with regret. When we’re focused on our regrets, we tend to obsess about the way things could have gone and the lives we could have lived—and taken to an extreme, this can cause us to be poor stewards of the lives we actually have. How do we deal with regret? How do we forgive ourselves and others for mistakes? How do we move forward with a proper Christian perspective? This series will help believers think through these issues.
Check Out This Sermon Series »
Links for Leaders
- In The Liberatory Nature of Religious Freedom, Benjamin Huelskamp, writing for Red Letter Christians says, “Religious freedom is liberatory and collective because it shares with each person including those who utilize the freedom to practice no religion. But because religious freedom is communal it must be practiced with respect to the freedom of others.” Read the full article…
- In a recent newsletter issue entitled Kingdom-Shaped Christianity, Scot McKnight, author of Kingdom Conspiracy: Returning to the Radical Mission of the Local Church, shares, “Kingdom citizens are a moral fellowship marked by a cruciform life of righteousness and love, and this life permeates every dimension of life, including peace and possessions.” Read the full newsletter issue…
- Skye Jethani, in his book The Divine Commodity: Discovering a Faith Beyond Consumer Christianity, says, “Learning to see the world as it truly is — saturated with the presence and love of God — should be the essence of Christian discipleship, or what many call spiritual formation.”Check out the book…
- I also want to plug a great, free email newsletter from The Lighthouse Leadership Blog. It’s full of great articles and quotes about leadership and organizational management. Check it out!
If you have a resource relevant to pastors and church leaders that you’d like for me to include, feel free to message me. I can’t always promise inclusion but I’ll definitely take a look.
The Latest from Walk Humble
Walk Humble is where I host an ongoing conversation about life, faith, and relationships among people brave enough to admit they don’t have life all figured out yet. Here’s the latest if you’re interested…
- To the Spiritually Exhausted
- Leaping Into the Arms That Are Mighty to Save
- The Goal of the Christian Faith
Miss an Issue? Read The Reflectionary Archives!
A Coaching Community for Church Leaders
My friend, Jacob Schmelzer, hosts one of the best coaching communities for pastors and leaders of growing churches. UpLevel Leader Church Growth Coaching comes value-packed with
- A weekly coaching session
- Church marketing masterclass
- Facebook invitation system
- The 50 to 500 growth plan
- A library of courses on church growth and leadership
And more. Jacob is a leader who walks both confidently and humbly and has figured out how to lead well in a culture that offers plenty of challenges. Check out UpLevel Leader Church Growth Coaching today!
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Photo by Helena Lopes on Unsplash.
