Leading People Toward Repentance

Conrad Hilario

Matthew 26:14-27:3

Repentance is an important aspect of the growing Christian life and having intimacy with God. All throughout the Old and New Testaments, biblical characters demonstrate what it truly looks like to have godly repentance and what it looks like to have worldly sorrow. While both of these may be preceded by feelings of sorrow or guilt, godly repentance brings us closer to God and includes us agreeing with God without minimizing our sin. As we examine other key differences, we can discern true godly repentance in ourselves and other believers.

Raising Up Leaders Using Discipleship

Dennis McCallum

Ephesians 4:11-13

While many churches avoid discipleship because of its difficult behind-the-scenes labor and its tendency to require much investment before producing tangible fruit, we see the example of discipleship littered across the New Testament. Through properly defined and committed discipleship, we can effectively raise up leaders throughout the church, instead of just replacing leaders at the front of the church. This allows for multiplication, a powerful result of this biblically prescribed tool.

Passing the Baton - Lessons on Leadership Succession from Exodus & Joshua

Scott Risley

Ephesians 4:11-13

There are many leadership lessons from Moses and Joshua's life. Passing the baton to the next person is key in leadership success. There are two ways to evaluate the ministries of Moses and Joshua: how their lives ended and what happened after they died. Though Moses ended poorly he left many to continue following God where Joshua left no one after he died. It's important to think ahead and to prepare people for the future.\r\n

Grow Your Marriage - Group Leader Training (Part 1)

Doug Franck

1 Corinthians 9:22

Grow Your Marriage is a product of Search Ministries, Inc. and is designed as a workshop to help ease couples into a setting where they can learn about biblical principles that can help their marriage. This class describes the overall outline of the class, including the target audience, topics discussed, guideline for invitations, group assignments, goals, and follow up. This is presented in the hopes that other people will use the material to start their own workshops in their neighborhoods and communities.

Obstacles to Missional Replication - What Holds Us Back?

Ed Stetzer

Psalms 47:2

In Paul's call to be ambassadors for Christ we find the mission of the church. In order to understand how we can live out the mission and multiply we need to understand the obstacles. There are four obstacles to keep in mind: 1) putting the world's values above God's; 2) recruiting people, rather than reconciling people; 3) not being on a kingdom mission; and 4) failing to appreciate the cross.

Working Small in a Growing Ministry

Ben Stuart

2 Timothy 4:9-18

In Paul's second letter to Timothy we get a glimpse into his intimate inner circle of friends and fellow co-workers for the Lord. It is there that we learn one cannot grow an enduring ministry without working in close relationships. To have advancement in ministry it is important to find people who display a desire to love God and have their character transformed. Once God has revealed these people to us, we can model and lead through friendship.

Serving Love and the Body of Christ (Part 1)

Dennis McCallum

Mark 10:42-45

Paul commands the Thessalonian believers to respect their leaders and to live peaceably with everyone. But what is biblical leadership? The Bible is clear that God calls and appoints leaders, and these leaders are then recognized by others for their proven service to God and His people. These leaders must be relatively more mature than others in the church, exhibit godly character, and have a solid foundation in God's truth. Those who have not been called into leadership yet should cultivate a healthy appreciation for their leaders and work towards becoming spiritual leaders themselves.

Six Essentials of Christian Leadership

Gary DeLashmutt

2 Timothy 4:12-16

The pastoral epistles are a rich quarry of key elements of Christian leadership. Six of these are compressed in a letter from Paul to Timothy. 1. Be continually strengthened by the grace that is in Christ; 2. develop other leaders; 3. embrace the rigors of Christian leadership; 4. keep your teaching focused on Biblical priorities; 5. pursue godly character in your own life; and 6. deal with errant members in a firm and redemptive way. There is a bonus element found in another chapter: keep making progress that your flock can see.

Parenting Teens, The Relational Approach

Joe Botti

Ephesians 6:4

Parents are ordained by God to play a part in their children's lives, and certainly in their teenage years, kids need help transitioning. Parents have a huge spiritual influence over their kids, and because of this, Christian parents need to tackle some key issues when parenting teens. First, a relational approach is needed in order to maintain positive influence. Second, parents should set some key goals that are centered around the Lord. Parents also should set a plan for how to transition their child from disciplined control to responsible independence. This includes avoiding unnecessary conflicts and choosing to focus on the most important issues.