As preachers and speakers, wouldn’t it be awesome if we could somehow make people do the things we know they should be doing? Like giving up a harmful addiction, restoring a broken relationship, or getting involved more deeply in your church’s community.
But the fact is, we can’t (and shouldn’t) control people. Even God doesn’t control people. He grants us the gift of volition because he loves us. And if we love people, we will shepherd and lead them while refusing to try to control them.
I wrote an article about that and wanted to pass it along:
READ: 3 Things You’ll Never Control as a Preacher
I’m also sharing a message outline this week from one of the Lectionary readings for this coming Sunday, 1 Thessalonians 2:1-8, as well as other helpful resources. Keep reading!
Let’s keep praying for peace in Israel and Palestine as well as courage and comfort for people living in Lewiston, Maine.
And let’s keep growing from the inside out!
Brandon
PS – My friend, Greg Atkinson, is the creator and host of the First Impressions Conference, an empowering and practical one-day online conference designed specifically for church leaders and pastors who are passionate about creating welcoming environments for their congregations. It’s coming up on November 9 and I wanted to make sure you were aware of it! There’s a free option and a couple of paid options, too.
Register for The First Impressions Conference
This Week’s Big Sermon Idea
The Good News of Jesus is Deeply Personal
A sermon outline based on 1 Thessalonians 2:1-8.
Sharing the gospel means far more than simply passing along information. It means sharing the good news about Jesus out of a relationship based on genuine empathy and compassion.
Links for Leaders
- As I mentioned above, don’t miss out on The First Impressions Conference. It’s free (with paid options for extra features), online, and packed with value for church leaders!
- Ron Edmondson shares a post in which he offers 7 Ways to Identify Constructive Criticism, and most of the leaders I know (including myself) need this!
- There’s a helpful article in Harvard Business Review by Frances X. Frei and Anne Morriss about 10 Beliefs That Get in the Way of Organizational Change.
- Rick Warren wrote a pretty important article about discipleship entitled The Fallacy of One-Size-Fits-All Discipleship.
- I found this article by Matt Southern pretty fascinating when thinking about our social media age: Majority Of Social Media Users Admit They’d Be Happier If It Didn’t Exist.
- Brandon Kelley offers some great sermon preparation and delivery tips, like pointing to “The Desperately Urgent Matter” within the first five minutes of the sermon, in his article offering 10 Tips for Preaching Better Quality Sermons.
Other Things I’ve Written
Here are links to a few other things I’ve written or recorded in the last week or two:
- Walk Humble: Learning All the Rules vs. Becoming Love
- My Patheos Blog: 4 Values Churches Must Model in Today’s Cultural Climate
- The Unstrapped Life: A Life of Freedom Is About Way More Than Money
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Is It Time for a Website Redesign?
When I start a website redesign project – for a church, a nonprofit, leader/pastor/speaker, etc. – I get obsessed with the details. I want it to shine! And more importantly, I want it to show up in search results.
If your website feels “clunky” or disorganized, hard to navigate, hard to find using Google, or just outdated in its style, let’s talk!! This is what I do!
Visit my creative services page and use the form to let me know about your current site, what you’d like to improve, and the budget you want to work within and we’ll have a conversation!
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