The key to ministry in any and every context, both now and for the last two thousand years, is missionary flexibility.
God, make me a man with thick skin and a soft heart. Make me a man who is tough and tender. Make me tough so I can handle life. Make me tender so I can love people. God, make me a man.
Worry is worthless. It can’t change the past or control the future. It only spoils the moment.
If your friends never make you uncomfortable. You don’t have friends. You have fans.
We should never intentionally offend, but if you follow Jesus, you will offend religious people.
Most people think that Christianity is spelled DO: they look at the Bible or the life of Christ, and they simply try hard to live like Jesus. Christianity is really spelled DONE: it is what Christ has done that enables us to live a life of obedience.30.
Would your city weep if your church did not exist?
Is Jesus a Saviour who saves you, or is he an assistant who helps you save yourself?
Discipline is rarely enjoyable, but almost always profitable.
Humility is not just declaring that you are not God. It is deciding daily to not be God.
You don’t measure your maturity by comparing yourself with others. You judge maturity by comparing yourself to Jesus.
God doesn’t want your crises-mode promises.
When we think of pride we tend to think about arrogance – the guy who talks about himself all the time. But we don’t often recognize it in the guy who spends his days worrying about his own success even if he never says a word about it. They are both consumed with themselves, but their pride takes different forms. Pride is ultimately an inordinate focus on the self.
Faith, not cowardice, takes the step into unknown territory for the sake of Jesus Christ and His church. Love, not self-preserving protectiveness, sacrifices its own life that others might live. Hope of new life, not resignation to inevitable decline, yields itself up in the quest for a better future.
Authentic friendship is not one-sided. It is an equal commitment from both parties. True friends both give and receive. True friends know you and want to be known by you – celebrate you and are willing to be celebrated by you. They challenge you and seek to be challenged by you. And they serve you and are willing to be served by you.
Cultivate relationships with others before we need them. The best way to grow before our circumstances force us to is to cultivate relationships with others. There is no coachability apart from the risk and accountability that comes with being in relationships with others.