Bring It.

"Soon afterward he (Jesus) went on through the cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God."  - Luke 8:1

Conviction:  I can't proclaim the good news if I'm not willing to bring the good news.   

What if Jesus only proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God? He would have still brought truth - it just wouldn't have been as effective or clarified the total picture of God's redemption plan.

We're working really hard right now to equip people to BRING the good news of the kingdom to their areas of influence.  One way that I'm personally getting involved is through The Mentoring Project which taps into the local church to find godly men to mentor fatherless boys.

We must look for open-door opportunities to love and serve our city.  Open-door means there are people and places that actually WANT you in their lives.  Neighborhood associations, volunteer groups, clubs and organizations would love you to be a part of them.  As you are welcomed - you have the opportunity to love, reach out and build friendships with people who are looking for faith, hope, and love.  It's time we didn't just proclaim the good news, but bring it as well.

May the love and compassion that Christ poured out for us, be poured out through us to those in our cities that need it most as we proclaim and bring the good news of the kingdom.

Guerrilla Lovers (not the animal kind)

As a pastor I'm not a big fan of preaching other people's messages.  In fact, I honestly can't think of the last time I used a book to directly influence a message series.  That all changed this week as we dived into Vince Antonucci's new book "Guerrilla Lovers: Changing the world with revolutionary compassion".  I think this book is a perfect fit for our students at truelife church, and I can't wait to see the impact it makes.  I bought 10 books today for my leaders, and I think you'd really enjoy Vince's humorous, yet compelling writing style as he challenges us to reach people with intentional love that exposes the gospel of Jesus.  You can get it on Amazon here.  Do it, and join the Guerrilla revolution.

HOLD, HOLD, HOLD...but not too long...

Agree or disagree:

The right people + The right vision + The right target + Bad timing = disaster.

In terms of timing, what would have happened if they had engaged 5 seconds earlier, or 5 seconds later?