A great idea from John Ryan at an Acts 29 event. The challenge is to spend as much time planning a date as you would planning a sermon (20 hours or so). I’m gonna do it! I’ll post here how it goes.

Today, my first day home from Tacoma after Soma School “201,” I got to apply some of what I learned right off the bat.  Here’s the gist of the lesson we learned:

1. Who God is…
2. determines What God does…
3. which makes us Who we are…
4. which determines What we do.

For example (the example I got to use today):

1. God is lovingly wise…
2. So he gave my child parents over her to love and care for her…
3. Which makes her a child, loved by God…
4. Which frees her from her own self-rule to obey

So, you can also go the other way with this lesson:

4. What did you do [wrong]? “I made up a rule that Mommy didn’t say”
3. What does that say about who you think you are? “I’m the [wise] one who makes the rules for my life.”
2. What does that say about what you are believing about what God does? “I believe God does not care for me by giving me parents to care for me and love me well.”
1. What does that say about what you are believing about who God is? “God is foolish.”

Which allows for the teaching time out of that…

1. Is God foolish? “No, God is lovingly wise…”

I can’t wait to lead some people through this kind of ‘on-ramp into community’

A couple of weeks back, I printed up about 15 Bible verses that all contain the phrase “one another,” and taped the print-up on my bathroom wall. 

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Productive Silence (WriteRoom & App For the Milk)

This template is simply amazing and really really helpful.  My wife tells me I’m nicer and more attentive for days and weeks following each use of this template in an all-day session of Silence and Solitude with God (which I have planned for the first Monday of each month).

Dai is a church-planter/evangelist in South Wales.  He’s radical.  He’s passionate.  He raps.  And most of all, it’s clear he’s all about Jesus.

@edstetzer:

New blog post: How churches can plant churches that plant churches. Excerpted from FourSquare magazine. edstetzer.com/2010/07…

Great C-BTE (Church-Based Theological Education) we’re getting ready to start at Coquina Community Church.