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The Orality Movement has brought serious change for evangelism, discipleship, and leader training. Even church planting and missions has changed, creating new roles, and ministries — like mine! Churches connect with me all the time asking how to bring change without (a) getting them fired and (b) to make disciple-makers. The last TruthSticks Training was … Continue reading
Church members need to be discipled in church planting. Jesus trained His disciples by sending out the Twelve and then the 70 in pairs (Matthew 9, Luke 10). When He gave the Great Commission, they were ready (Matthew 28:18-20). Why not make disciples who can be used of God in church planting? Now, when I … Continue reading
Standing around with pastors during a break at an associational pastor’s conference, one pastor lamented that his church had stopped growing. When I asked why, he said that his building could only hold so many people. When I asked him why a little thing like drywall would prohibit growth, it was like scales fell off … Continue reading
My mother’s favorite story is about a little girl who needed new shoes, but foolishly spent her money on a beautiful purple jar. One day she opened the jar and dropped it on the floor. All the purple water spilled out and she was left not only with a useless jar, but shoes that hurt … Continue reading
Priorities help you rifle into the heart of the evilness called clutter. Busyness is the noise of life. And trust me that noise can be deafening. There’s a phrase that I’ve learned in a Bible study: Look for where God is at work and join Him. Maybe you know it, too. Some manage to raise … Continue reading
Missionaries working in Turkey once took me to the place where they believe Paul received his “Macedonian Call,” which Luke recorded in Acts 16. The hill looked out over straits that separated us in Asia from a gray sliver of land over in Europe. Most of us with a European heritage appreciate the Westward advance … Continue reading
It is possible for churches to grasp the vision of movements and not bring systemic changes to keep it going. This is a call for taking an objective look in the stained glass windows of our churches. What is really going on? And how reproducible is it in the real world? Denominational loyalists are in … Continue reading
Your testimony is a powerful story. But it is so often neglected. In evangelism training that I lead, I often hear well-intentioned men and women give their testimony. But if you put on what you know about orality, there are vivid clues on how to improve how a follower of Jesus communicates their personal conversion experience. We live … Continue reading
Maj. James Howard called St. Louis home and became a Flying Tiger ace in China. He went on to become a P-51B fighter pilot in World War II. During one mission, he was separated from his squadron, but found the lead B-17 Flying Fortress bomber group. Each bomber had 30 men on board and there … Continue reading
Half of all Americans struggle with reading skills. Yet, our churches remain geared to the highest literacy levels. No wonder unchurched Americans tune out approaches from Christians! We relate information in the ways we prefer to deliver it, rather than in the ways those who need it most want to receive it. Yet there are … Continue reading
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