VITAL CHURCHES INSTITUTE'S BLOG
December 20, 2011
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LOL
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2011
Do you know that LOL is now an official word?! It’s true: as of March of this year, LOL can be found in the Oxford English Dictionary. We use it all the time in our texts and emails and social media: we’re ‘laughing out loud.’ But of course, the person to whom we are writing it can’t hear us laughing or share our laughter with us, because we’re not actually together.
I’d like to propose another meaning for LOL, a way to describe the Defining Practice we call the With-Me Principle. LOL means Life on Life...read more.
A Vision for Music in Worship
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2011
1. Bringing glory to God
2. Assisting the Congregation to Encounter the Living Lord
3. Making music to the best of their ability...read more.
Recommendations for Church Transformation
MONDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2011
The 90 Days of Prayer adventure really works in a small church. We began in our 36 member church on January 30. 13 members participated from age 13-90. Instead of the prayer trios meeting by themselves each week, we met as a group during the Sunday School hour and the result was been heartwarming. Everyone participated-from age 13 to 90 all speaking and praying together. One 18 year old...read more.
Sunday Morning "Serving"
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2011
I recently spoke with some of our church leaders about how we might serve the family of God on Sunday mornings. In other words, we talked about how we can be an encouragement to others before, during and after worship each week. We came up with a lengthy list of ideas. Here’s a sampling...read more.
Drawing People to Your Church and Ministry
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2011
In his book, Sticky Church, Pastor Larry Osborne (Zondervan, 2008) says that the best way to “Velcro” people to your church is to “Velcro” them to the two things they need most to grow as disciples: the Bible and other Christians. We have found VCI’s Pray Daily devotional booklet to be a simple yet significant way to Velcro people to the Word of God and to each other...read more.
God's Vision: Seeing What He Is Doing in Our Midst
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2011I often return to the first shift concerning vision and expectation that Stan Ott talks about in the Acts 16:5 Initiative and in his book, Twelve Dynamic Shifts for Transforming Your Church. The reason I keep going back is because I need to be reminded to “see” what God is doing in our midst. In my personal experience...read more.
Care
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2011
"Nobody cares about me." It's not uncommon that when disgruntled members in a church leave it's because they claim no one cared. It's a sad trutth. However, it is also true that Small Groups can be the best antidotes to overcome this complaint...read more.
Charity Begins at Home????
MONDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2011
There is no question that God calls us to care for the need of our personal family, but he also calls us to care for the needs of the members of our local congregations. Theologically that is calle being "communal" or caring for the needs within the Body of Christ....read more.
MONDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2011
In the 21st century, leadership styles have changed. Not long ago, the leader was the captain of the ship, and the captain stood stoically on the bridge, a rock of courage, with unflinching determination and decisiveness. But times have changed...read more.
Managed Schedules
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2011I'm one who takes pride in managing my schedule. If you ask me, Microsoft Outlook is a wonderful tool of ministry! I like to have all my appointments, prep time, meetings, planning, study, Sabbath play, and family events laid out nice and neat on the compurter screen in front of me. But life and ministry isn't always so nice and neat, is it?...read more.