My week typically includes an Uber ride to the airport, jumping on a United flight to some part of the country, checking into a hotel, and then racing to a conference center or church to get a sound check in. I then wait a day or so to get on a stage and communicate the power of Logos Bible Software and attempt to encourage people to dig deeper into the scriptures and study their Bible.

One of the skills that I am constantly working on and trying to develop is public speaking and communication. My ability to be successful in my job goes hand in hand with my ability to communicate, and hopefully doing it with excellence. The truth is, we all need to be concerned with our ability to communicate. This isn’t just for teachers or public speakers but for everyone! The next time you go in to a team meeting you will be, communicating. The next time you make a pitch for a salary increase, promotion, or job change you will be – communicating. So, how can we strive towards excellence in our communication? The following are three things I go back to consistently for my preparation.

Know your Stuff:

Nothing is worse than listening to someone who fumbles through their information or even worse, gives the wrong information! The best thing that you can do for yourself is to take time to really know the content you will be communicating. I had a seminary professor once tell me that for every minute I teach or preach I should have had at least an hour of research in. That means, if I get on a stage for 30-45 minutes I should have spent 30-45 hours in preparation and research! This may be unrealistic in some ways but the principle here is incredibly valuable – know your stuff!

The benefit of being informed and taking time to really understand the content you will be communicating is tremendous. While you may not use all the information you learned or studied, you will have it as ammo for questions and if you decide to go a different direction based on the response of the audience

Pro-Tip – You know a great communicator when they have the ability to adapt based on the response of the audience.

Practice to the Point of Exhaustion:

Many of us fall into two categories. First, we think to much of ourselves and our abilities. Second, we don’t have confidence in ourselves at all. We think less of ourselves which causes us to miss opportunities and positions ourselves for defeat. We need to be somewhere in the middle and in humility we should subject ourselves to practice. Really practicing, to the point of exhaustion!

When I first started at Logos my mentor, Scott; commented that I should be so good at my presentation that I could jump into it and deliver it in the car driving. I should be able to hit every joke, timing, and emotional focus point, while driving! No notes, computer screen for visual representation, just me and my voice. What did I do? I logged countless hours of practice time in rental cars on the way to the hotel, airport, and conference center. Guess what, it worked! This obsessive quality is what separates the “good” from the “great”, and take you from “average” to “excellent”. In fact, if you dig into biographies of influential and accomplished individuals you will find something similar that ties them all together. Practice is key.

Pro-Tip – Evaluate your schedule and redeem wasted time for practice. For me it was car rides and commutes. Take a look at wasted time in your schedule and be intentional about filling it to practice!

Always Have a Back Up Plan:

Knowing your stuff and practicing are both pre-requisites for this next step. After my sound check at conference centers or churches regardless of it being a 10,000 person arena or a 150 seat church I alway recognize that something can go wrong. In fact, I prepare for the worst happening and make sure that I have a back up plan. One of my greatest presentation aids is Logos Bible Software on my Mac. I always plug it onto stage and display it on the big screen to give people a visual of exactly what they can expect. The result is usually audible gasps and aaawwws, pretty cool to think about that in the context of Bible Software and a technology demo! I can’t tell you how many times I get on stage, plug in, and it doesn’t work! All the tests were great. It worked perfect less than an hour ago! However, now I’m on stage with hundreds of eyes staring at me waiting. This is where having a back up plan is so important!

I have a presentation that I developed for this situation. I have another one if Logos crashes or stops working half way through. I took the time to create a back up plan and then practice that back up plan to the point of exhaustion so nothing can take me by surprise to the point where I’m helpless. On a practical note, this includes having all my adapters and extra adapters and technology gadgets that I travel with just in case.

For some of you this involves thinking about the numbers and business data. Considering organizational shifts and management or organizational structures. Be prepared and have a back up plan in your arsenal as a ready response for any variable you may encounter.

Pro-Tip – Take a moment and jot down everything that could go wrong. Now, create a back up plan or response for that. Practice it and be prepared for it!

Bonus: Be You and Execute

The worst thing you can do is try to be someone else. Don’t fall into that trap. It’s filled with misery, inadequacy, and constantly questioning yourself. Feel free to take principles from people you admire and then do the hard work of contextualizing it into your voice! Be you, be genuine, and execute!

In the words of the famous Nike slogan – Just Do It!

P.S

Recommended Reading – If you want some resources to check out, the following books have been incredibly helpful for me.

Everyone Communicates, Few Connect: What the Most Effective People Do Differently

Talk Like TED: The 9 Public-Speaking Secrets of the World’s Top Minds

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“I just wish I could be like everyone else”

“Why do people stare at me when I walk into a store? I wish I could just fit in..”

“I hate my hair…it’s so different…why can’t it look like other kids?”

These are just a few comments I’ve heard from ethnic children growing up. In all honesty, I’ve asked these questions to myself, my parents, and to God many times growing up. My ethnicity for a long time was something that made me different from other people. It wasn’t until college that I realized that my perspective on my ethnicity was hurting me, not helping me. The reality was, my ethnicity was what made me unique. My ethnic story intertwined within an American cultural context made me so incredibly unique and provided an ability to develop a certain skill set that others may never have. Sadly, one of the realities of our society is that there are children today that are asking these questions and not seeing the immense blessing that their ethnicity is. Our perspective change in this particular matter is incredibly important. Not just for ourselves, but also for how we will parent our children. Especially, if you have biracial children like I have. My three handsome half Indian half caucasian boys typically comment on their skin color. The other night my oldest son Liam said, “Daddy, I’m brown like you AND White like mommy!”. I sat there amazed and so proud of my son. I love that he doesn’t despise his ethnicity but takes pride in it and sees how it is a reflection of his parents.

Despising Your Ethnicity Causes Problem

Putting it very simply, wishing you were something or someone else than who God created you to be will only cause problems, hurt, and heart break. The same energy that you put into creating doubt and insecurity in your life could be spent identifying and growing in the skill’s that God has given you. The problems that are associated with despising your ethnicity are not only vast, but can cause serious life altering problem.

• It can create a low self-esteem

• It can warp what your reality is

• It will steal time and effort that can be better utilized in developing the skills God has given you

• It will distract you from who you are in Christ

Your Ethnicity is A Gift

While we live in a world that is filled with racial tension, it is more important today to see the gift that our ethnicity is. Our ethnicity allows us to reflect Christ as an ambassador of the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:11-21). Christ, who was fully divine humbled himself to become human and live alongside us to bring us rescue. I love that Hebrews describes him as our great high priest who can empathize and relate to us because he walked, lived, loved, and died on this very same earth only to conquer sin and death to return to His rightful place next to the Father. In the same way that Christ can relate, our ethnicity provides us a unique opportunity to relate and minister to people around us. Growing up my group of friends were hispanic, asian, african american, and caucasian. We learned very quickly the similarities of our families which served as a bridge for me to relate to their lives. This bridge is a gift that God have us to engage our community with the goodness of the Gospel!

Learn Your Ethnic History

Our ethnic story serves as a means of motivation. As I learned about the British missionaries that came to India to share the gospel with my grandparents I was filled with a mix of emotions. If it wasn’t for this missionary couple, the Slaters, who came to villages surrounding Hyderabad, India to share Jesus to children, I wouldn’t be who I am today. I am amazed that such a huge part of my ethnic story involves a Caucasian missionary couple who not only lived in India but retired and died in the same village that they served the Lord for decades. Our ethnic story is important. For some of us it gives us a clearer picture of our own trajectory and journey. For others, it points to the saving grace of God. Who steps in, intervenes, and rescues us from a path of destruction and places us on a journey to His Kingdom (Col 1:13). Learn your ethnic story, and rejoice in the God who saves.

The post Why You Should Never Despise Your Ethnicity appeared first on Joel's Travels.

Possibly one of the greatest overlooked skill sets for all leaders is the ability to communicate. For some, speaking, teaching, and communicating in public comes as naturally as taking a sip of water. For others, the simple thought of standing up in front of anyone is terrifying. Regardless, the ability to communicate effectively and with efficiency is a key aspect of leadership development. This is true for not just for the corporate world (CEO’S, managers, supervisors, team leads, etc) but also for various aspects of home and personal life (mom, dad, leading church Bible study).

For work I have to get up and communicate how awesome Logos Bible Software is in small group settings with pastors/academics to large conference center venues with up to 5,000 people. Regardless of the size of the crowd I’ve found that there are really a foundational 3 B’s of public of speaking that will set anyone up for success.

Be Brief

This may seem counter productive. Actually, one of the biggest myths in public speaking is that you have to communicate for an extended period of time. The truth is, brevity is your friend as a communicator. Now, don’t be so short that you never actually unpack the content you are communicating, but don’t draw it out so long that people start shifting in their seats and wonder if you actually know what you are talking about. Sometimes it’s hard to find the sweet spot on how long you should communicate. The way I figure this out is pretty simple. My core goal in communication is to clearly unpack the point that I am trying to make. Any more or any less will be more harmful than helpful. The other benefit of brevity is that you are able to sharpen your delivery and really consider what is essential and non essential. The human brain is processing so much information, so you want the people listening to you to grasp the essentials.

Be Brilliant

This is actually much easier than it sounds. The goal of every time I get on a stage is to have people listening to me go through an “Aha” moment. The moment when they realize something they never knew was possible. The moment they realize their dream of effectively studying the Bible could be a reality! The moment that a dream that lay dorment for some time came to life through a simple scripture, quote, or phrase that I used. As you communicate, consider the “aha” moment. Often your “brilliant” moment will be a simple phrase that you spent hours crafting. Other times, it is something that you said on the fly that later people comment on how profound that was!

Pro Tip: Write down each of those moments! In the past I’ve had people comment after my presentations about how great it was and they would share something specific that touched them. In the past I would just nod and say thanks. Then I realized, I am missing a huge opportunity to add some great content to my presentation! Sometimes this is a joke or an illustration, but if it worked one time on the fly I know it can work multiple times in various audiences!

Take every opportunity to give valuable content to your audience. Also remember, that something you think is not that great, may be of great value for your audience. Keep a pulse on this and remember that communicating may be one of the most selfless things you do. Really, you are there to communicate valuable content for your audience, not for yourself!

Be Seated

After your done take a seat. If you get a round of applause great. If its quiet in the room, great! I’ve made the mistake before thinking that I absolutely ruined a presentation because I stopped getting the “ooh’s” and “aahs”. What I found out was that people had reached their receptive capability point and they were just waiting to jump to the Logos booth so they could get a base package for themselves! Another danger is going longer than you intended. I’ve felt the need to expound on a topic if I felt that it was not received well, only to break my first rule of being brief. So, when your done simply sit down.

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Make sure to sign up to my newsletter! Not only will you get my free 7 day devotional through the Psalms which launches soon, but you will also be able to get my next e-book on communicating with excellence!

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Each year I set out with a task to create and compile a reading list. While the term may be cliche, I really do believe that the best leaders are readers. Prior to seminary, my list was somewhat expansive. However, since starting seminary over a year ago, my reading requirements for school have taken a toll on my reading list. However, I have still been able to get around to some great books and would recommend the following.

Books That Should Make Your 2016 Reading List!

The Rise Of Theodore Roosevelt – Edmund Morris

I was out to dinner with the CEO of my company, Faithlife, and during our conversation he recommended The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt. Bob expressed how much he appreciated Teddy Roosevelt. A practice I’ve always had is to jump on any books recommended to me from my bosses, so I got this book on my Kindle and jumped into the life of Teddy Roosevelt. What I found was incredible. A child who was prone to sickness and suffered life threatening bought’s with sickness multiple times rises to become a historical pillar of the U.S in both political and military categories.

Doing Theology: Reformed Theology – Dr. Michael Allen

While I typically refrain from including Seminary books in my list, I had to include Dr. Michael Allen’s book on Reformed Theology. Dr. Allen masterfully takes Reformed theology and breaks it down into its most core and important aspects. Further, it is written in a way that will appeal to both the serious theology scholar and the brand new Christian. While I would align myself with the reformed tradition, I believe this would be a great book for anyone who wants to learn more about the reformed tradition even if they may not fall in that camp.

Everyone Communicates, Few Connect: What the Most Effective People Do Differently

A core function of my job is communication. Whether it is communicating in a small room teaching a workshop or in front of 5,000 people sharing how awesome and life changing Logos Bible Software is, I am communicating a specific message to a particular group of people. This book was recommended to me from my supervisor, and needless to say it has been a game changer. John Maxwell masterfully teaches us the basics and fundamental’s of not just communicating, but connecting. So, if you are a business or ministry leader, or have a desire to become one, this book is a must read.

The High-Definition Leader: Building Multiethnic Churches in a Multiethnic World – Derwin L. Gray

If you are a ministry leader, pastor, church planter, or someone who is dreaming about being a church planter, this book needs to jump to the beginning of your reading list. Derwin unpacks the biblical mandate to plant Multiethnic churches by taking us to the scriptures and showing us that this concept is not new. Rather, this multiethnic fusion has been the heart beat of God from the beginning and the Apostle Paul reflects this by planting multiethnic churches! In the midst of our current cultural climate with racial tension daily increasing, this book is incredibly timely and provides us with a framework of how to begin the process of racial reconciliation.

Evil and the Justice of God: N.T Wright

The thought of unpacking N.T Wright for my own personal reading apart from seminary initially was unthinkable. However, I realized that I needed to continue to unpack Wright’s literary works and this particular book was incredibly timely considering the long list of tragedies that have been taking place in our world. As a Christian I believe in the sovereignty of God and also know that after Genesis 3 sin destroyed our relationship with God and infected us with a desire to destroy and pursue our own selfish desires. Needless to say, the impact of sin on our society and the public has caused many to question the faithfulness of God and also how a good God can allow evil to take place in our world. Wright lays out a theological foundation that will help us to engage with this topic and starts by helping us understand the character and nature of God which includes His Justice and how it interacts with evil.

I hope some of these books make your 2016 reading list. I’ll be posting my 2016 reading list over the next week. What books are on your list? Let me know in the comments section on this post, twitter, or Facebook!

And don’t forget, the best leaders are readers!

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*(All opinions are my own. I make a commission off of the affiliate links, however I do not endorse products that I do not use myself or believe in)

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In a recent post I exposed the dark area of my life that showed how ridiculously obsessed I am about winning, and the fact that I hate losing or failing at anything.  Something that goes in tandem with this is how often I feel my perspective or opinion is right and the other persons is wrong. I usually see this play out most often in my marriage as my wife and I “passionately dialogue” about our perspective on various matters

Disclaimer:

There are certain arguments or discussions that can be categorized as simply unhelpful, silly, and even dumb. In these instances, the issue is not “How do your respond” but rather, don’t even engage the conversation. Titus 3:9 gives us clear instruction in regards to this and it would be wise for us to follow those instructions.

Disagreement:

Then there are serious topics that need to be discussed. So how do we engage in conversation and respond in these instances? Further, the issue of disagreement and more importantly how we respond in light of disagreement is one that impacts almost every area of our life. As a spouse, employee, or employer. How do we respond when we stare at the person across from the table and just don’t agree with them?

3 Ways To Respond To Disagreement:

Stay Humble:

First, its important to recognize that we may actually be wrong, which will result in a more humble attitude and approach in our conversations. A posture of humility in conversation allows both parties to engage honestly and receive what the other person is actually saying. When we find ourselves in that stalemate situation it may no longer be an issue of who will “win” but rather a long term approach to sharing a particular perspective.

Walk Away While Maintaining The Relationship:

It’s ok to disagree and to make a definitive stance on something that we believe in. However, it’s an error to walk away from this type of conversation and lose a relationship over it. It’s absolutely ok to walk away saying you disagree with each other but you still respect each others opinion and perspective. Don’t lose a friendship over a disagreement, in almost every situation its not worth it.

Study and Learn The Other Perspective:

I’ve made my opinion and perspective on planned parenthood pretty public. You can read about it here. In the process I was faced with conversations with people who I love, respect, and value, but we found ourselves fiercely disagreeing. I decided to approach this situation by considering, researching, and studying the other position. Throughout the process I found that I was in fact misinformed in some areas, but at the end I was more convinced about my position. The result was also an ability relate to and show the other individuals that I seriously cared about them and their position and was willing to do the work to be informed.

Disagreement in life is a guarantee. The way we respond in light of disagreement can make a significant difference in our personal, professional, and even spiritual growth and maturity.

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I grew up in a traditional Indian family. 90 percent of our meals were Indian food, curry, naan, white rice, and for some special occasions my mom would make her famous lamb Hyderbadi Biryani. Needless to say, Indian culture was deeply rooted and emphasized in my life. However, I always felt a tension between the culture that I went home to and the culture that I found myself living in outside of my home. While the culture in my school and community emphasized a specific way of living it seemed my home life in some areas simply had a difference of opinion and in other areas out right contradicted each other.

It wasn’t long before I experienced this exact tension in the four corners of the church. I found myself going to an “Indian” church that usually met on Saturdays or Sunday afternoons, while also going to “American” church on Sunday mornings. I found the same tension exists between these two churches. Further, I found myself smack in between. Recently, I’ve had the opportunity to be apart of some great conferences that are tackling the ethnicity and race issue within the church. It has been incredibly encouraging and helpful to sit under, listen to, and read pastors and theologians like Crawford and Bryan Lorrits, Derwin L. Gray, Albert Tate, and Matt Chandler deal with the race and ethnicity issue from a biblical framework. As I’ve listened to these incredible men of God discuss, dialogue, and inform this topic I began to consider my own context and dilemma.

The Dilemma – My parents prefer an Indian Church and I prefer an american church. How do we deal with the segregation of churches based on racial/ethnic identification.

So, there we have it. Some would argue that this is an issue that is isolated to immigrants and will not be an issue for those born in the U.S regardless of ethnicity. I would disagree. What we forget is how this issue impacts the children of those that immigrated to the U.S. Speaking as one of those children, the impact is significant. I believe I began to compartmentalize the Gospel based on ethnicity and culture, rather then seeing the holistic beauty of the body of Christ.

As I consider the reasons for a segregation of church based on ethnicity I believe it comes down to some form of comfort. The comfort of language, understanding jokes and having a common framework to build friendship upon, the similarity of being of the same ethnicity and understanding the challenges of coming to a new place. I can empathize with these reasons. However, I believe the healthiest thing for the church is not a “segregation” but an “inclusion” of all people types. Ultimately, my friend Derwin Gray unpacks the core root of the issue as he states, “The reason the church is segregated is that we don’t believe deeply enough in the power of the cross.”.

Colossians 3:11 answers how we should proceed the best. Simply put, there is not race or ethnicity but Christ is all.

Therefore, our gatherings should be reflective of the community that we live in. We should celebrate and invite ethnicity into our church building while leaving a sense of “superiority aside.

We should celebrate and invite ethnicity into our church building while leaving a sense of…
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Dr. John Piper describes it this way:

“Where people have died with Christ and been created as a new self in the image of God, this canyon (race/ethnicity)* will not stop love and fellowship.”  – John Piper

Dr. Piper is making an observation that after we have been crucified with Christ and have become new in Christ, there is no distinction, separation, or barrier. This extends into love and fellowship amongst believer.

The issue of comfort can be solved with a church leadership team that is intentionally looking for ways to provide venues to meet such needs. This may be done in the form of a community or small group. Even more important, children see the beauty of ethnicity and culture in how God designed us. Our children grow up with a holistic view of God that includes every ethnicity and culture.

This requires sacrifice. Its a sacrifice to lay what is comfortable aside to do what is best in light of the Word of God and our families, churches, and communities.

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I’ve called it numerous things in the past. A pursuit of excellence, paying attention to detail, just wanting everything to be the best it can be, but finally I realized that the best definition for my behavior was simply; being critical. The funny thing is, I hate it when people are critical of me.

My critical nature robs me of joy, every time. Other peoples criticism of me leaves me deflated.

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The pleasure of criticizing robs us of the better pleasure of unconscious delight
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Spurgeon helps us see that there is value even in friends who are critical.

So how do we respond to criticism? Should we respond to criticism? Yes, we should respond to criticism. However, its more complex than that. Sometimes we need to address those that are being critical and at other times we need to address the criticism privately with ourselves. The latter sounds crazy, but its the most helpful approach to criticism that I have found.

1. Respond:

If you are responding to the person who is being critical and addressing the issue, do so both prayerfully and with an extra measure of grace. Again, sounds crazy but most biblical responses are crazy. The individual being critical with you is doing so out of a lack of grace. The reasons could be numerous, but more often than not, its simply because they have never been shown grace. Take this opportunity to show grace to the person. Let them know how their approach made you feel. First, start with anything they said that may have been accurate and true. This introspection will help them see that your response is not knee jerk but a thoughtful response that takes into consideration what they said, regardless of how they said it.

2. Respond Personally:

Don’t respond directly to the individual. Sometimes its not helpful. The result could be more damaging that restorative and relationship building. In these instances still address the criticism but do so personally. Consider what the individual said and their background or perspective. Now ask if there was any truth in what they said. Do your best to remove the emotion and the delivery method. Surprisingly, there may be something that is incredibly helpful. Our ability to pull apart the truth regardless of how the message was delivered is essential in our personal development and applies to al areas of our life.

3. Forgive, Release, Act:

Act on what was true in the message and forgive and release the person that delivered the message in a hurtful manner. Part of our maturity both spiritually and emotionally affects our ability to forgive. Often, our pre-requisite to forgiveness is the other person being willing to forgive us or acknowledge their own faults. The best thing you could do for yourself personally, is truly forgive others regardless of how they respond or what they do. Finally, put in place a plan to change whatever the other person points out. Regardless of how you received the information, it’s yours now. So be wise and accountable to that and put in place the action steps to change what you need to.

Bonus: Don’t let criticism get under your skin. The poet Tasso says is well as he responds to his enemies speaking ill and criticizing his works:

“I am not disturbed. How much better it is that he speak ill of me to all the world than that all the world should speak ill of me to him”.

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Some of you may have opened up this post simply because you doubt we can learn anything from Charles Darwin. In most cases I would agree with you, however, I recently came across a fragment of a letter he wrote to his children. I’ve been re-reading John Pipers, Desiring God. Piper unpacks Darwin’s comments to his children as they relate to church leaders. Darwin writes,

“Up to the age of 30 or beyond it, poetry of many kinds…gave me great pleasure, and even as a schoolboy I took intense delight in Shakespeare… Formerly pictures gave me considerable, and music very great, delight. But now for many years I cannot endure to read a line of poetry: I have tried to read Shakespeare, and found it so intolerably dull that it nauseated me. I have also almost lost any taste for fine scenery, but it does not cause me the exquisite delight which it formerly did… My mind seems to have become a kind of machine for grinding general laws out of large collections of facts, but why this should have caused the atrophy of that part of the brain alone, on which the higher tastes depend, I cannot conceive… The loss of these tastes is a loss of happiness, and may possibly be injurious to the intellect, and more probably to the moral character, by enfeedbling the emotional part of our nature.” – Charles Darwin

First, let me make an assertion that Darwin’s loss of awe and wonder of poetry, nature, and music are directly tied to his position on a creator and a life long pursuit to deny the existence of God. If we hold to a position that there is not a creator who masterfully crafted and spoke all things into existence, it is not difficult to gradually lose your amazement. Life begins to become apathetic and ultimately you begin to lose hope all together.

Dr. Piper correlates what Darwin experiences with what is occurring in churches around the world. It seems that somewhere along the way, we are in danger of losing our sense of wonder and awe as we become routine in our approach to church services and tradition. Piper says,

“For many, Christianity has become the grinding out of general doctrinal laws from collections of biblical facts. But childlike wonder and awe have died.” – John Piper

Dr. Piper is absolutely correct and his observation is something that pastors and church leaders should consider as they diligently prepare for their church services. The danger that Dr. Piper points out is the loss of childlike wonder and awe as we continue in the rhetoric of church and tradition without a sense of joy and exhilaration that comes from the daily pursuit of the Gospel. The question then remains, how can church leaders curb the tendency to fall into this routine that results in a numbness of sensation? As I’ve traveled and had the opportunity to meet with a variety of churches that span various traditions, here are two practices that seem to be helpful.

1. Create a framework that allows for creative expression

The challenge for some ministry leaders is the “tradition” that is created from doing the same thing over and over. Sometimes our processes become static which creates an environment where creative expression can be challenging. Creating a framework that allows breathing room for creative expression allows for various opportunities that can help to facilitate and reinforce that sense of wonder and awe when we are exposed to the beauty of the Gospel.

2. Have a creative team

Not everyone is creative. The great thing about the body of Christ is that everyone has a skill set. There are inevitably people within your church that have insane creative genius. Tap into that! As you prepare for a new sermon series bring that team into the creative process and consider ways to bring the Bible to life through various mediums. Last year, the best creative conference that I attended (in my opinion) was SALT Nashville. I happen to know the guy and team behind the conference and was able to be apart of the conference. It was incredible to see pastors and church leaders leaving the conference feeling equipped. Part of the equipping was stepping into a story that was unpacked in each session. Sometimes, we have to have an experience which in turn opens up an array of opportunities that could work within our own context.

If you are looking for some further ideas or resources here are some recommendations:

• SALT Nashville – This conference is quickly becoming the premiere conference in the creative space
• Stephen Brewsters Blog – Stephen is a creative genius who leads the creative team at Cross Point Church in Nashville. What I love more than his work is his desire to equip and help the church to pursue excellence in the area of the arts.
• Linger Conference – This conference is hosted by Shane and Shane. Shane and Shane have become some great friends and I love their passion for the church. This year at Linger they are creating a “Creative Day” before the Linger Conference. I would highly recommend this. Also, I’ll be there teaching a workshop on Logos Bible Software and how theology is the catalyst that empowers the creative. Make sure you come and say hi!
• Desiring God – Dr. John Pipers book is much more than a book for creatives. Through the course of its pages you will find yourself encouraged in your daily Christian walk. Possibly, the most encouraging thing about this book is the emphasis it places on making much of God which goes hand in hand with enjoying Him.

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Visual Copy :

Factbook:

Cultural Concepts:

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The most important aspect of this situation is the reality that the church should be in sincere prayer for Pastor Mark, his family, and Mars Hill.

Because the scriptures tell us to:

Because pastor Mark is human, flawed, and in need of grace:

Because there is more at stake than just Mars Hill Church:

“What the Church needs today is not more machinery or better, not new organizations or more and novel methods, but men whom the Holy Ghost can use—men of prayer, men mighty in prayer. The Holy Ghost does not flow through methods, but through men. He does not come on machinery, but on men. He does not anoint plans, but men—men of prayer.”

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