I'm Still Here!!

Sorry for the light posts. I have posts in my head, but I have not had the time to focus on writing them out. I am finding that sermons are more inspired lately than blog posts. I will attempt to post last Sunday's sermon which discusses:
- The 20th Century Two-Step. In this sermon, preached last weekend, I discuss the relationship between our own spiritual program (what seminaries are calling spiritual formation) and our ability to offer help to the world. This sermon is from Matt 4:23-Matt 5:3. "Jesus seeing the multitudes, (filled with compassion for He saw them as harrassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd-Matt9:35ff) turned to his discipels and began to teach them saying , 'Blessed...'"

I am working on a few observations about the need to have a leadership model based on "attraction" and not position. Coupled with this idea is what does the church attender really expect from his or her church. If leadership is based on attraction, the attractiveness of our life, then the expectation will likewise be to obtain a new life from the church. Instead, it is often that the congregant expects religious instruction or information about religion from the church. Our leadership development model and our system is not really founded on being discipled into a spiritual formation program that brings a level of "righteousness, peace and joy" that is transferable when pursued. Instead, the church raises up leaders through a system based on the communication of information. In reality, the ability to communicate information has very little to do with one's effectiveness in making disciples and the attractiveness of one's quality of life. Effective discipleship is so much more whether one has spiritual experience through the implementation of certain practices. These experiences and the ability to teach certain workable practices is the foundation of effective ministry. Only a person with such a spiritual life can possess a truly attractive life in God.

Well, I am working on just such a post...

I am taking a few vacation days next week. I hope to write some during these vacation days.

God Bless,
brad