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Friday Discussion: The Christian’s Role in Politics

By Change, Christians, Culture

Thanks for being a part of Friday discussion. You can now check out the past Friday discussions in a newly created category HERE. Continue to add your thoughts on those subjects.

For today, let’s discuss politics. You aren’t afraid of that, are you?

So let me jump in quick: I grew up in a church environment where to be a “good Christian” you had to belong to the “right” party. It was an easy decision who to vote for, because most everyone around me, or at least the vocal crowd, were Republicans. And, you weren’t just any Republican, you were a very conservative, James Dobson Republican. I’m not trying to be offensive, but that was the environment in which I lived.

In my church today, and among many of the younger generation with whom I minister, that seems to have changed. They seem far less concerned about parties (much as they are far less concerned about denominations), than they are about causes and issues.

Do you see a change? Let’s discuss politics today. Consider these specific questions.

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October 29, 2010
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What if We Did Church Like This?

By Change, Church Planting, Culture

I love the partnership I have been able to have with Catalyst Conferences. I enjoyed blogging from there earlier this month. (You can read my posts HERE.) One of the things I love most about Catalyst is that I’ve met many of the people behind the scenes. They are authentic, transparent, and passionate about Christ and helping the church better reach a lost world. Jesse Phillips is one of those guys. I’ve had several opportunities to hang out with him and I absolutely love his heart. He has some passionate ideas about the church today. I think one of the thing my generation needs to do a better job with is listening to his generation. So, recently I asked him to guest post some of his current thoughts on the church here on my blog.

HERE is a guest post from Jesse Phillips of Catalyst:

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October 24, 2010
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Take Time for Excellence

By Business, Change, Innovation, Leadership

Often it’s one revision…a second look…one additional opinion…that takes an idea or a project from “Okay” to noteworthy.

It happens for me when writing a sermon. If I take the time to finish, then sit on it 24 hours, then go back for one more critical look the message is always better than it was before.

Don’t rush excellence. There’s a balance between stalling too long and rushing through a decision.

Which do you lean towards…rushing through a project or stalling too long?

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October 16, 2010
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Church Growth: When Size Matters

By Business, Change, Church, Church Planting, Leadership

Prior to entering ministry, my wife and I owned a small business. It was small in the sense of how economists measure businesses, but it was a big business to us. Whenever you have to make payroll for almost 40 people (including yourself)…that seems big. This was my second venture as an entrepreneur. The first was extremely successful, but this one was not. An opportunity came to sell and we quickly accepted. We learned tons of principles from that negative experience that still help us today, but it was a very challenging time for us personally.

Looking back on that experience, I realize one of the major problems we had being successful. There were hundreds of issues, including some of our own mistakes, but one aspect of our company and where we were in the market worked against us most. I discovered that….

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October 14, 2010
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Organizational Tip: Give Permission to Be Spontaneous

By Business, Change, Innovation, Leadership, Organizational Leadership, Team Leadership

Recently I attended the Story Conference in Chicago. It was a two day conference for the creative-minded packed full of the best ideas available to communicate our story to the world. It was a well-planned and scripted time and Ben Arment, the conference founder, is to be commended for the event.

The greatest moment for me, however, happened…

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October 12, 2010
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Top 10 Questions about Multi-Site Announcement

By Change, Church, Church Planting, Missions

Yesterday we announced that Grace Community Church is going multi-site. We will be one church that meetings in two locations, adding our second location at Kenwood High School. (I wrote more about it HERE.)

As expected, we couldn’t answer all the questions in the time we had yesterday. This post addresses some of the most common questions I or members of the staff have received since yesterday’s announcement.

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October 4, 2010
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What Does the Term Expert Mean?

By Business, Change, Culture

Someone used the term “expert” in regards to a person and social media recently. It sounded good at first, but then I started thinking. Is anyone really an “expert” in a field that is barely five years old and changes literally every day?

One definition of the term expert reads: a person who has a comprehensive and authoritative knowledge of or skill in a particular area. I guess someone could qualify under that definition, but it also seems to me that as soon as one gains authoritative knowledge about the field of social media that everything changes. Everyone involved with social media must be in a constant learning mode.

It does seem, however, that we are living in a day where the term expert is coined much faster than in days past.

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August 12, 2010
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Doodling Turns Into Masterpiece: Turning Random into Success

By Business, Change, Church Planting, Innovation, Leadership

This is a silly post with an important principle…

The other day I was on a Skype call with missionaries from Costa Rica. I serve on their ministry board and this was a board meeting. As with most meetings, I get bored easily, so I began to doodle on a piece of paper in front of me. What started literally as doodling with no intended purpose turned into a masterpiece…as you can see from this picture.

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August 12, 2010
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