I’m so excited about Eric Bryant’s new book Not Like Me. Or, maybe I should say his newly titled book (it’s first name was Peppermint-Filled Pinatas).

Bryant, a pastor at Mosaic Church in Los Angeles, shares his insights and experiences reaching out to people of different races, cultures, and religions. He also includes  ”field notes” with more ideas on engaging people who aren’t like you from leaders including Ed Stetzer, Margaret Feinberg, and Kevin Harney.

Here are a few of Eric’s thoughts from the book:

• The most effective and attractive way to share the Gospel is through love.
• Begin to view your neighborhood as a mission field, and make friends with non-Christians.
• Common goals (like cheering on the high school football team, or training for a marathon) unite people despite different beliefs and backgrounds.
• Political views should always be secondary to living daily in Christ’s will.

Not Like Me challenges us to pursue relationships with people who are different than us. Bryant writes candidly, communicating biblical truths with humor and honesty. I’d encourage church leaders who want to see more diversity on a Sunday morning to pick up a copy. And, if you’re looking for opportunities to minister to the people right around you, Not Like Me includes great strategies and examples of relational ministry.

Here’s my Amazon link for Not Like Me, if you’d like to check out Eric’s book.

I should have known better. Nothing good comes out of anonymous letters. I felt great about my talk until I read their letter the first time. Now on my fourth reading it was starting to consume me. It didn’’t matter that I had received a lot of positive feedback about my talk. It didn’’t matter that I had preached my heart out. It didn’’t even matter that this person was borderline insane with many of their accusations. All that mattered was that they were tearing me and my talk apart. This anonymous letter took my focus off of what God led me to say, and even worse, it took my focus off God.

As I read the letter for a fourth time, I heard a still small voice say,” “even if you preached a perfect sermon someone would crucify it”.”

I can’t tell you how thankful I am for that still small voice. I’’ve gone on to apply that phrase to many areas of my life. Even if I cast the perfect vision someone will crucify it. Even if I write the perfect blog post someone will crucify it. I can attempt to be the perfect people-pleaser and someone will crucify my efforts. I’’m not perfect even on my best day, but as a pastor some people will even crucify my honesty about my imperfections. Unlike me, Jesus lived a perfect life and yet people still crucified the things He said and did. I shouldn’t expect any less. The truth is I’m addicted to people-pleasing, and it’s that desire that needs to be crucified.

Here are some things that I do to help crucify my people-pleasing desires…:

• Ignore anonymous letters. If they don’’t put a name on it, I don’’t need to read it.
• Spend more time seeking God then I do looking for approval. A good test for me is to measure how much time I spend looking for positive comments on Facebook/Twitter compared with how much time I spend seeking God. It’’s nice to receive positive compliments. In fact it’’s addicting. If I spend more time looking for compliments than I have spent seeking what God wants me to say, I know I have a problem.
• Present my talk or idea to a small audience before I give it to a large audience. I think that feedback is valuable if it’’s from the right source. I have some trusted people that I run things by. It allows me to have constructive criticism by people I trust. This helps me not get too caught up in criticism or praise of a large audience. The people I talk to aren’’t afraid to speak truth into my life. I accept it because I know they have my best interests in mind. •
• Spend time thanking God. Whether it’’s a talk or a ministry event, I try to spend time thanking God for how it went afterward. Whether it’’s well received or crucified, I want to thank God for the words that He gave me.

At the end of the day, I know I can’t please all people all the time. What I can do is aim to please Jesus who loves me even though I’’m not perfect

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This post was contributed by Rob Shepherd, the Director of Community Groups and Students at Water’s Edge Church in Yorktown, Virginia.

I had a church ask recently if I had anything related to the role of pastors in the church. He found this to be helpful, so I thought I’d share it with you. Here’s a document I pulled together a number of years ago to help determine if someone was qualified to be a pastor or elder.

Recently, I shared the dream of Joe Sangl for all of the people in our churches to become debt free. Check out the post.

I asked him to share some stories of churches where he has taught the “Financial Learning Experience (FLE)”, an interactive part of his ministry, I Was Broke, Now I’m Not. Here’s a small sample of the impact of Joe’s programs at a few churches.

NewSpring Church – Anderson, SC (Pastor Perry Noble)

• Over 7,300 have participated in the FLE, 1-on-1 financial counseling, or I Was Broke Now I’m Not group study.
• Giving has increased substantially and literally hundreds have become debt-free.

The Cove Church – Mooresville, NC (Pastor Mike Madding)

• 1,083 adults participated in the FLE.
• Taught an additional 239 high school students.
• Pastor Mike Madding called it a “financial revival” and said,  “What an amazing thing God did. Thank you for following God and pursuing His plan for your life. You are making a very real difference in people’s lives. God has used you to give our people hope and a path out of the financial chaos of their lives.”

Element Church – Cheyenne, WY (Pastor Jeff Maness)

• Taught the FLE twice.
• Giving increased immediately by 18% in 2009 and 20% in 2010 and many are achieving debt freedom.

Joe often says, “When people become financially free, they are much more likely to go do exactly what they have been put on Earth to do!”  That is what I Was Broke Now I’m Not is all about. For more stories of financial freedom experienced by churches and families, visit Joe’s blog.

To learn more about partnering with Joe, fill out the contact form and a member of their team will be in touch with you to start the conversation.

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This is a sponsored post from I Was Broke. Now I’m Not., one of my ministry partners on TonyMorganLive.com. I used to serve with Joe at NewSpring Church. I believe in what he’s doing.

Several weeks ago I was thinking about how little we talk about the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives as Christ-followers. I began to consider how I live out my life, and, I was convicted…which, by the way, is one indication that the Holy Spirit is active in our lives. I thought it might be good to consider the conversation here especially as it relates to leaders in the Church. Based on that, here are…

10 Signs that We Don’t Believe in the Power of the Holy Spirit

1. We are experiencing anxiety and bitterness in our lives rather than joy and kindness. (Galatians 5:22-23)
2. We can’t remember the last time we prayed for the people we lead. (Romans 8:26)
3. The churches we lead aren’t growing and reaching more people. (Acts 9:31)
4. The churches we lead aren’t outreach focused. (Acts 1:8)
5. We think it’s our responsibility to convict people of sin. (John 16:8)
6. We are stuck in sinful patterns rather than pursuing the things of God. (Galations 5:16:17)
7. We think we have the power to change people. (2 Corinthians 3:17-18)
8. We are more concerned about the rules than we are our freedom in Christ. (Galations 3:2-3)
9. We think we can explain the mysteries of God. (1 Corinthians 2:10-12)
10. We are creating division and aren’t promoting unity within the Church. (1 Corinthians 12:12-13)

It might be good to begin the week and this next season of ministry by studying and praying through this list. My prayer is that your life and your ministry would continue to experience its fullest potential in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Here are some thoughts from various sites over the last week that grabbed my attention:

1. Ben Arment shared: “When we use other churches as the benchmark for creativity, we produce “churchy” ideas. There are higher forms of creativity we need to be looking at.”
2. Forbes article by Edward Hess: “All growth creates risks that need to be managed.”
3. Paul Allen on MinistryStrategies.com: “Having a vision statement doesn’t mean you have vision.”
4. Wired article: “Amazon sells more E-books than hardcovers.”
5. From TechCrunch: “Netflix is smart to realize that the future is streaming.”
6. Mashable article: “Amazon customers are now ordering more than $1 billion worth of products per year via mobile devices.”
7. The SoChurch blog is providing insights on communications strategy for churches.
8. Google Chrome developers are changing their release strategy: “We will be looking to release a new stable version about once every six weeks, roughly twice as often as we do today.”
9. Forbes article highlights coming hiring trend: “More than half, 54%, of the U.S. respondents representing companies whose staffs had been cut in the previous 12 months told us they would be rebuilding their workforce to pre-recession levels within the next two years.”

I’m not going to lie, the first time somebody told me I was the “best” pastor or that our church was the “best” church, I was pretty happy. Yes! Fist pump! In your face, Rick Warren! Take that, North Point! How ya’ like me now, Furtick?! Did you hear that? We’re the best!

You see, I grew up with a strong competitive streak. Everything was a competition. I’m not just talking about sports or Atari games (80′s shout-out), I’m talking about everything. My school was better than yours, my team was better than yours, my girlfriend was better than yours, my family was better than yours, and my church was better than yours. That’s right, I said, “my church was better than yours.” Whether it was true or not, that’s what I believed. We’re awesome; you’re not. We’re the best.

But God has been dealing with my competitive streak lately. In 2 Corinthians 10:17 Paul said, “Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.” Did you catch that? He didn’t say, “boast in your church,” he said, “boast in the Lord.”  Since when did churches start to boast, “we’re the best”? Since when did our churches begin to compete? It’s not Scriptural. It’s not even smart. Instead, it’s a common, man-made, dumb assertion.

As a matter of fact, believing that my church is the “best” is beyond dumb, it’s dangerous.

My church is not better than your church. My church is not trying to beat your church. That’s not what the Kingdom of God is about. Our churches aren’t competitors. We are partners. We are fellow soldiers. We are teammates. I want your church to succeed. I need your church to succeed. Because when you win, we win. When you make a difference, we make a difference.

So I’m learning to refocus my competitive nature. Don’t get me wrong, I still love to compete. I still hate Duke with every fiber of my being; I still take pleasure out of beating kids half my age in basketball; I still  refuse to battle my son in Pokemon because he destroys me; I still race strangers to the check-out line in Wal-Mart, but I’m just learning to keep competition in those places where it belongs. And one place competition never belongs is in our churches. [Tony's note: Please disregard Bryan's comment about Duke.]

My church is great. It really is. The people are wonderful. The music is passionate. The growth is exciting. The vision is contagious. It’s a hot place to be each weekend. But it’s not better than your church. It can’t be. I won’t let it be. Your church is great, too. And it’s when we are together – and only when we are together - that we are all truly at our best.

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This is a guest post from Bryan Roberts, Lead Pastor of Church Relevant in Bern, North Carolina. Here are the details if you’d like to contribute an article as well.

An article in USA Today’s “Faith and Reason” section caught my attention recently. The article is entitled “Believers Reluctant to Evangelize Family or Friends.” Writer Cathy Lynn Grossman makes two powerful observations:

• Churches are not creating new believers, they are just attracting more Christians.
• Becoming a parent does not change attitudes towards spirituality–which reverses the assumption that once couples become parents they are more likely to go to church.

Grossman concludes that the “bait and switch” evangelism technique is ineffective, and Christians need to find a new, or better, way to share their faith with friends and family (quick clarification: “bait and switch” tactics are things like inviting your neighbor to a social gathering–without telling him you’re going to pitch the Gospel). A “recovering evangelical” Jim Henderson, discusses an alternative. Are you ready for this?

“…get to know people, become their friends and let the spiritual chips fall where they may.”

Call me crazy, but I don’t think there’s anything new about this kind of evangelism. In fact, it would be more accurate to call it the Old Evangelism. As I look through the Gospels, I see Jesus getting to know people like Zaccheus, the Samaritan Woman, Martha, Mary and Lazarus, not to mention his disciples, and meeting their relational and spiritual needs. On the other side of the coin, Jesus, Peter and Paul preached evangelical messages to large crowds. So, I don’t think there’s one correct way to evangelize. I just don’t want to let friendship become an excuse for not telling someone about Jesus. Likewise, I don’t want any kind of “come-to Jesus” strategies to sabotage a relationship.

What do you think? Do we need a new or old evangelism? Do we just live our beliefs and hope people get it? Or do we lay out the Romans Road for our friends and family? What has experience taught you?

I thought you might be interested in seeing where I’m currently investing my time at West Ridge. We have a lot happening. And, fortunately, I have great team that I get to work with to pull this all off. Here’s my current focus:

Reaching People Outside the Faith

• One Story Campaign – This is a one-year outreach campaign that will start on August 8. The initiative includes student ministry, multi-site, church planting, missions and community.
• West Paulding Campus – The new campus begins on Sunday, September 12. We already have over 150 people committed to serving at the West Paulding location and are planning for over 400 people to attend.
• The Launch Network – Mac Lake, the Chief Launch Officer, started this week. West Ridge is partnering with other churches to plant 1,000 churches in 10 years. Want to join us?
• Campus Connectors – With the One Story Campaign, we are planning on hiring ten campus connectors to work with administrators, teachers and students in ten area schools.
• Series Planning – I’m engaging conversations with Brian and our lead team as we talk about series that will reach more people and offer next steps for spiritual growth.

Helping Christ-Followers Grow in Their Faith

• Discipleship Focus in Kid’s Ministry - We’re hiring a new person to help us focus our spiritual growth strategy primarily through rethinking how we do small groups with kids and provide online tools for parents. We’re also expanding kid’s ministry within our facility to accommodate recent growth.
• Student Ministry Strategy – Our student ministry has grown by 60% to over 500 students in the last 12 months. That’s forcing us to rethink discipleship strategies and wrestle with space constraints. We’re sharing all the details on August 4 with parents and students.
• Spiritual Formation for Adults – I’m really excited about the next steps we’re going to begin to offer this fall for adults. We’ll have some new Bible classes available, but we’re pouring a lot of energy and focus into providing online tools for folks to take their next steps based on where they are in their spiritual journey.
• Community Makeover – West Ridge is partnering with over 80 Atlanta-area churches to serve our communities. Yes, this is about outreach, but it’s also about creating an easy first step for our folks to practice serving people outside the church.

This is a huge vision for these next 12 months, and I’m really excited to be a part of it. The best part, of course, is being a part of a great team of staff and volunteer leaders that is engaged in making it all happen. They make this both rewarding and a lot of fun.

I’ll share more details about some of these initiatives in the coming months. Until then, I hope you’ll pray with us as we engage each of these initiatives.

Last week’s conversation about declining churches was a good reminder of having clarity when it comes to vision. Just having a vision statement hanging on a wall doesn’t count. The statement itself is just a small portion of vision. Real vision involves clearly defining the unique contribution that your church intends to make and then intentionally aligning everything you do behind that vision.

My friend, Paul Allen, shared this in a blog post over on MinistryStrategies.com today:

“If you’re like many churches, you and your leadership team have developed a vision statement that defines who you are—or who you want to be—as a church community. And perhaps, like many churches, it’s displayed on your website, written on your printed materials, and even routinely shared within your congregation.

“However, is your vision evident in every aspect of your ministry? Do your policies, procedures and budget reflect your vision? On occasion, I’ve asked pastors to not send me their vision statement but allow me to look at their job descriptions, policies, budget and staff handbook to see if their vision rises from the pages. Sometimes the differences are astounding.”

Check out the full article for more of Paul’s thoughts on what it looks like for a church to live out its vision.