By Steve Horn As a pastor, I seemed to always face the temptation to dread the summer because of the “summer slump.” The truth is too many times as churches and as leaders we “throw away the summer.” We decide that there are too many distractions, too many vacations, so we must wait for the fall. The problem is that we lose great momentum. So, even though some summer slump in churches is inevitable, I encourage all of us to “embrace the summer.” How do we do that in the church? Resist the notion that you cannot grow this summer. People move in the summer. We have our largest evangelistic outreach of the year in Vacation Bible School. These are opportunities to grow. Raise the Expectations for the summer. Often times, we set up our own failure by low expectations. I encourage us, since we know that there are challenges to the summer, to … Work harder. Set the tone by your own preparation. Seek other ways to stay connected. Reset the Mission of your class, small group, or church. The summer may be just the time to shake things up, try new things, and then be ready for the fall. Rally around something. Have a “summer project.” Just do something. Rally around a cause. People will stay connected … [Read more...]

By Waylon Bailey God’s Word is filled with lessons about life. It is one of the reasons the Bible has sold more copies than any  other book in history, possibly over one billion copies. Within Holy Scripture there are multiple passages which draw us closer to God and help us cope with the daily struggles of life. Psalm 23 stands near the top of that list. Here are three amazing lessons which help us with life. First, God wants to guide us as a shepherd guides his sheep, giving leadership and protection. In Israel, shepherds did not drive their sheep; they led them. While we sometimes think of God as demanding and driving, He actually wants to walk with us and lead us in His righteous paths. We all know that life can become difficult and overwhelming, but God leads us with His presence through the deepest valleys of life. Psalm 23 teaches that we can always depend on God. Second, God wants us to enjoy His presence forever. He “prepares a table” for us. Is there any time of the day better than when we sit around a table eating, talking, and laughing? God desires that we have that kind of fellowship with Him. Third, God wants to bless you. The psalm ends in a grand crescendo when the psalmist declares: “Surely … [Read more...]

By Joe McKeever “When you pray, say , ‘Our Father….'”   (Luke 11:2) I used to have around fifty books on prayer.  C. S. Lewis said he would never write one, but that’s been done for him  posthumously.  Someone took articles he wrote in various books and insights from his letters and assembled them into How to Pray, which Bertha and I are reading with enormous pleasure.  (Most of my collection I gave away over the years as I down-sized my library twice.) I fear with all the books on the subject that beginners may be scared away from serious praying, thinking it’s harder than it is, more complicated than it should be, and reserved just for the most religious among us.  And what a tragedy that would be. Prayer is for every child of God. I love to find insights and encouragements in Scripture about prayer.  One of the best is on display in the amazing and rich 8th chapter of Romans, everyone’s “mother lode” of treasures.  It’s this… –Romans 8:26 says that while we do not know how to pray as we should (we smile at the wonderful and honest admission), the Holy Spirit intercedes for us.  I have no idea what that is like in the Throne Room of Heaven.  But wait…. –Romans 8:34–just eight verses later–informs us that the … [Read more...]

By Waylon Bailey Several years ago John Ortberg wrote a book on spiritual disciplines entitled, “The Life You’ve Always Wanted.” It deals with prayer, Scripture, solitude, and other practices which will bring us the kind of life and relationship with God we’ve always wanted. That seems to be the same kind of message Paul gave to the Church at Colossae. He encouraged those new believers to set their minds on the things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father. He also encouraged them to leave earthly things (meaning things of the flesh which are opposed to God) behind. He gave them a list of things to “put on” and a list to “put off.” He then told them to live according to who they are in Christ. What can we do to have a life that pleases Christ and by extension gives us “the life we’ve always wanted?” Paul reminded them of the virtues which are uniquely Christian but which non-Christians appreciate and desire to see in those who believe. Paul gave eight areas where we should live according to our new life in Christ and endeavor to let the Spirit of God work in our lives. These areas are compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forbearance, forgiveness, and love. Who would ever … [Read more...]

By Steve Horn As a pastor, I seemed to always face the temptation to dread the summer because of the “summer slump.” The truth is too many times as churches and as leaders we “throw away the summer.” We decide that there are too many distractions, too many vacations, so we must wait for the fall. The problem is that we lose great momentum. So, even though some summer slump in churches is inevitable, I encourage all of us to “Embrace the Summer.” How do we do that in the church? Resist the notion that you cannot grow this summer. People move in the summer. We have our largest evangelistic outreach of the year in Vacation Bible School. These are opportunities to grow. Raise the expectations for the summer. Often times, we set up our own failure by low expectations. I encourage us, since we know that there are challenges to the summer, to … Work Harder. Set the tone by your own preparation. Seek other ways to stay connected. Reset the mission of your class, small group, or church. The summer may be just the time to shake things up, try new things, and then be ready for the fall. Rally around something. Have a “Summer Project.” Just do something. Rally around a cause. People will stay connected … [Read more...]

By Jeff Ginn Baseball is a game of statistics. Baseball fans love them. They chart everything — batting percentage, home runs, strike outs, and the list goes on. From this mountain of statistics, we learn that certain achievements are rare. For example, it is rare when a team executes a triple play. It is rare when a batter hits for the "cycle" in a game. Those feats are roundly celebrated. But among the rarest of achievements in America’s pastime is when a pitcher throws a “perfect game.” This is when a pitcher is able to get every batter out in a nine-inning game. He faces 27 batters and sits them all down with no hits, no walks, and no errors. Baseball has been played professionally for about 145 seasons. There have been over 217,000 games contested. Of those, only 23 have been “perfect.” If my calculations are correct, that is 0.0001 percent of the time. “Perfection” in baseball is rare. Perfection in life is rarer still. Of the billions of people who’ve lived on earth, only one has been perfect. The amazing thing is that the Perfect One — the Lord Jesus — sees all our errors and loves us still. He is willing to go to the record book and blot out our errors and credit his stats to us. Now that is something to … [Read more...]

By Steve Horn Summer means several things — no school, family trips, baseball, heat, and here in Louisiana, hurricanes. But, summer for churches means Vacation Bible School. Would you stop right now and pray for churches investing in children this summer through Vacation Bible School? Some estimate that 2/3 of Americans plan to send their children to a VBS this summer. This is an astounding number. What an opportunity! Why then is VBS so important? Their futures are at stake! The future of every child begins with a strong foundation. Their salvation is dependent upon hearing and responding to the Word of God. Paul declared, “So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the message about Christ.” (Romans 10:17) Their strength is developed by hearing and responding to the Word of God. The Psalmist summed up the power of the Word of God. How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping Your word. (Psalm 119:9) Their success in the God endeavors of life is dependent upon obeying the Word of God. Read Joshua 1:8. “This book of instruction must not depart from your mouth; you are to meditate on it day and night so that you may carefully observe everything written in it. For then you … [Read more...]