Student Ministries Books Every Student Pastor Should Read
In my last post I reviewed a great student ministry book called The Indispensable Youth Pastor. I posted a link to the review in a Facebook group called Youth Pastor’s Only. It created some great feedback and conversations about student ministries books we should read and check out. I have been wanting to create a working list of student ministries books I recommend so I figured I would start here in this post. These are student ministries books I have read that I would recommend to student pastors, student ministry volunteers, and those studying to go into student ministry.
Your First Two Years in Youth Ministry by Doug Fields
Purpose Driven Youth Ministry by Doug Fields-This is an older book that was at one time “the youth ministry” book. It’s worth reading and contains some valuable principles for your ministry.
Speaking to Teenagers by Duffy Robbins
The Seven Checkpoints for Youth Leaders by Andy Stanley
Youth Pastor: The Theology and Practice of Youth Ministry by Houston Heflin-This books contains one of the best definitions of youth ministry ever given. You can check that definition out in a post I wrote about it called “Youth Ministry Defined.”
Youth Ministry 3.0 by Mark Oestreicher-If you want to get a great summary of the history of youth ministry, this book is for you! It explains where youth ministry was, is, and where it is going. I don’t totally agree with where Oestreicher believes youth ministry should go, but overall it’s a great little book.
Youth Ministry by the Book by Roger Glidewell-This is a student ministry book most have not heard of, but I would highly recommend you grab a copy and read it. This is the most Biblical based student ministry book I have ever read.
Four Views of Youth Ministry and the Church by various authors-I had to read this book for a student ministry class in college. It is a little older than most of the books I have mentioned, but contains some great insights about the different ways we appraoch youth ministry and the overall local church.
The Ministry of Nurture by Duffy Robbins
Youth Culture 101 by Walt Mueller-If your looking for a book that will help you understand the culture of youth today, this is the book I want. Also, I recommend suggesting this book to parents so they can understand the culture of their teen.
Raising the Bar by Alvin Reid-One of the top student ministry books in my opinion. I recently wrote a review of it here on my blog. Click here to see that post.
The Indispensable Youth Pastor by Mark DeVries-This is a book for somewhere in any stage of student ministry: just starting, been at it for years, or about to be done. Click here to see my recent review of the first part of the book.
The Greenhouse Project by Mike Calhoun-This book is a gold mine for student pastors. Each chapter is on a different area of student ministry and the book as a whole gives you a great summary of what a healthy student ministry looks like.
These are just a few of the many student ministry books out there, but these are the ones I have read and would recommend. Leaders are readers. If we want to be effective leaders in our student ministries we must be readers. Feel free to leave your thoughts on some of these books as well as suggest other books I may have not read it.
The Indispensable Youth Pastor (Part 1)
As many of you know, I am still searching for my first full-time student pastor position. Awhile back I saw the book The Indispensable Youth Pastor and noticed the first part of the book was dedicated to helping you land a youth ministry job. Honestly, this was the first book I saw on this subject so I instantly wanted to grab a copy. My fiancée surprised me and gave it to me as a gift a few weeks ago and I just finished reading the first part. The last book I reviewed here on my blog was Alvin’s Reid book Raising the Bar so I figured it was time to post another book review. Since I only read the first part of the book about landing a youth ministry job, I am only going to review that part in this post. On down the road I hope to read the rest of the book and post a review on it.
In The Indispensable Youth Pastor, authors Mark DeVries and Jeff Dunn-Rankin attempt to do three things for the reader: land, love, and lock in your youth ministry dream job. The book is broken down into three parts based on that attempt and I believe the first part, landing a youth ministry job, provides some of the best advice I have ever heard when it comes to searching for a youth ministry job. The chapters are extremely short, only about two pages each, so it makes this book easy to read and apply the advice given.
The first chapter cuts right to the heart of the matter, before you can worry about landing that youth ministry job, you need to be the right person. If your going to be effective in that dream youth ministry job you better have a growing, vibrant faith that you can pour into students. Here are two great quotes from this chapter: “The only way to share a vibrant faith is to have a vibrant faith” and “We can’t share what we don’t have.” From there the book talks about engaging in youth ministry wherever you are now, and realizing youth ministry is more than hanging out with students. Then you come to a few chapters that deal with the way you go about your search. The authors suggest you make two helpful documents: a contact tracking chart and a personal search timeline. These two documents will allow you to gather a group of contacts as well as track your search so you know where you are at. Personally, I have not made these two documents, but have taken the principles from the idea and it is helping a lot! Then the book spends the next few chapters on your resume. It deals with having the right type of resume, knowing what your references will say, and how to handle interviews once your resume lands you a face to face interview. Then you get to the last two chapters in this part of the book: family matters and holy hesitation. These were probably the most helpful and encouraging chapters for me.
When it comes to searching for a youth ministry job, you must always keep your family first and keep them in the loop with the search process. The authors encourage you to think about things like: how often will your family see you if you take this position, will you have to move for this position, and does it pay the bills. They always encourage you to never stop talking with your family and allow them to be a part of the search process. Then the authors end this part of the book of right, reminding you it’s all about God’s leading and direction. Sometimes we experience a “holy hesitation” when God puts something in front of us. The authors remind you that sometimes that holy hesitation comes right before you step into that dream youth ministry job!
By far, this book provided the best advice I have yet to receive when it comes to my student pastor job search. If you are currently in a search, I would highly recommend you grab a copy of this book (Click here to get it on Amazon) and spend some time soaking in all the advice and helpful tips it provides. The rest of the book covers how to love and lock in that youth ministry job you have so if your currently a student pastor, I would recommend this book to you as well.
Click here for a great review of the whole book by Drew Peterson. Also, if you’re a pastor or person on a search committee that is on the other end of this topic, check out the authors other book Before You Hire a Youth Pastor.
What I Learned From a Week of Church Interviews
This past week I was able to have a couple of interviews with a few church in North Carolina. I have been looking for my first full-time student pastor position since finishing my undergrad degree in November. I’ll be honest, not much has been happening since November. I have sent my resume to over a hundred churches, but was not getting any feedback or calls from those churches. All that changed this past week. Out of nowhere three churches called me and wanted to meet with me! I enjoyed each interview and believe God taught me a lot about myself and my future ministry. Here are a few things I learned that I believe will help you if you’re looking for a full-time pastoral position in a local church:
1. Know your theology. One of the first questions two of the churches asked me was where I stood on certain theological issues. Good churches will want to know where you stand with your theology. They are looking to hire someone who lines up with their theology so it is vitally important you know where you stand. If your theology doesn’t match theirs, don’t waste your time or their time. Hopefully, you have studied theology in college and have a good understanding of where your stand, but make sure your ready to answer questions that are theological in nature. If the church is not concerned about your theology than it’s probably not a church worth talking to. Your theology will direct your ministry, so it is important that a church knows your theology. Before I go on let me explain something. Their are “closed handed” and “open-handed” issues. Usually, “open-handed” issues are things we can agree to disagree on and fellowship and worship together in humility. But when it comes to working on staff at a church, most churches will ask you to be on the same page with even the “open-handed” issuess. So when you step into an interview, make sure you know where you stand on the “closed-handed” issues as well as the “open-handed” issues.
2. Know the role your wife will play in the ministry. Every church I interviewed with asked me how my fiancee, soon to be wife, will fit into the ministry. They want to know how your wife will serve in the ministry. Some churches will expect your wife to play a vital role while other will not expect her to do too much. Determine before an interview that you are being hired for the position, not your wife. If she wants to play a big role in the ministry, great, but if she doesn’t, that is perfectly ok. In order to answer this question, spend some time talking to your wife about how she sees herself fitting in to your ministry. Allow her to serve where her strengths and passions lie. Then explain to the church how she will serve with you and what particular roles she will play. If your not married, realize most church will look to at candidates that are married first. Don’t get married just for ministry, but realize it’s an important asset to churches. One quick tip. Allow your wife to speak in the interview if she is present. Let her share her heart and passions for ministry. Churches not only want to hear you, but want to hear your other half.
3. Make sure your like the overall ministry of the church, not just the particular area your looking to serve in. I am looking for a student pastor position so I looked very closely at their students and how the church views student ministry. It is important to make sure you like where the church is going with the ministry area or applying for, but make sure you like the church overall. Don’t take the job if you are falling asleep during the Sunday morning worship servive. Don’t take the job if you don’t feel like you will get spiritually feed by the preaching. Don’t take the job if you feel like your wife and children don’t like the the ministries that are geared towards them. I look at it this way, find a job at a church you would attend if you didn’t get a job there. Would you enjoy the Sunday services if you wasn’t the student pastor? Would you send your children to the children’s ministry if you didn’t work for the church? Find a church that ministers to your personally.
These are just a few of the things I learned this past week. I hope they help you as you are looking for that position or will help you encourage someone who is currently looking. At the end of the day, God is sovereign and will lead you to the right place and position. Pray and ask God for guidance and discernment as you look for that perfect position.
3 Part Philosophy of Student Ministry
It is important to always have a philosophy of what you are doing in student ministry. If you want to have an effective, organized, and healthy student ministry, you need a clear-cut philosophy that you understand and is easy to explain to others. A philosophy of student ministry will help you stay on target and will help you explain to others exactly what your ministry is all about. I believe your philosophy needs to be simple, clear, and Biblical. Here is my simple 3 part philosophy of student ministry:
As you can see I break my philosophy down into three simple parts: Biblical teaching, training leaders, and equipping parents. Biblical teaching involves what you do with your students. As a student pastor, your prime responsibility is to teach students the Word of God. Your games, activities, music, and events will not transform students, only the Word of God will truly transform them. That is why Biblical teaching needs to be the center and focus of your student ministry. Training leaders involves what you do with your leadership team. If you want to have a student ministry that is growing and will outlast you, you must build a leadership team. You do this by training them, meeting with them on a regular basis, and equipping them to do ministry (click here to see a post about how leaders play an important role in small groups). Equipping parents involves what you do with the parents. A student pastor is not called to take the place of the parent, but to partner with them as they point their children to Christ. We must allow the parents to be the prime disciplers of their children. As student pastors, we help them do that. We must meet with them regularly, build relationships with them, and equip them with resources.
I believe if a student pastor incorporates these three things in his philosophy, they will have a very effective student ministry. These three things are what every student pastor must do! So how does this look in a typical month? How do we incorporate these three important things into a typical month in our student ministry. Here is how I would do this:
Weekly student gathering. Whether you meet o Sunday nights or Wednesday nights, always have a large group gathering with your students where you worship and teach God’s Word. This can also be the “front door” to your ministry. A night where the energy is high, the music is loud, and the teaching is relevant. This is a night were unchurched students can come and get plugged in to your church and ministry.
Monthly leaders meeting. After you build a leadership team, you need to meet with them regularly. Use this meeting for two things: planning and training. Go over the month ahead and allow the leaders to help you plan what will happen. Also, use this time to train them on how to be better leaders and better at working with students.
Monthly or bimonthly parent meeting. You have to keep your parents informed and involved. Meet with them every month or every few months to get them informed on what is going on in your ministry. Also, use this meeting to share with them resources that will help them disciple their children.
My philosophy is not the “perfect philosophy” but I believe it involves the three most important things every student pastor must be doing. I hope every student pastor nails down his own philosophy and if not this post helps you create one. This post is very familiar to the post I posted a few days ago called: 3 Things Every Student Pastor MUST Do. Take a few minutes to check it out and get more details on the 3 parts of my philosophy. You can also view a more detailed document on my “resume” page where I talk more about my philosophy of student ministry (Click here to view that document).
3 Things Every Student Pastor MUST Do
In the past five years I have had the privilege to see a lot of different student ministries and work along side of many different student pastors. In each ministry I have seen different approaches to student ministry, but in every student ministry I have seen three things that I believe are a must for every student pastor. Whatever your doing in student ministry, I believe you MUST be doing these three things:
1. Teach students the Bible. The most important thing student pastors must do is teach students the Bible. The Word of God is the only thing that can truly change their life and help them follow God for the rest of their life. I’m going to go out on a limb here and say this: I believe students need to hear good, solid expository preaching and teaching whenever they come to a youth group meeting. I’m all for small groups, which I believe are vital in student ministry (click here to see my thoughts on this), but student pastors need to teach the Bible in an expository manner to their students. Not only in large youth group gathers, students need to be taught the Bible within small groups that I believe should be a vital part of student ministry. Whatever way your ministry is set up, students have to be taught the Bible. I’m all for relationships and creative styles of discipleship, but I believe solid, Bible teaching is a must for all student pastors.
2. Train and build adult leaders. If you want a growing and healthy student ministry, you must have a team of well-trained adults to do ministry along side of you. Students pastors must spend much of their time recruiting adult leaders, training and equipping them, and giving them opportunities to serve students. In the book The Greenhouse Project, Ric Garland points out that one person can only disciple 5 to 6 students effectively. That means if your ministry has six or more students in it, you have to have adult leaders helping you. Student pastors need to spend the same amount of time building and training leaders as they do spending time with the students.
3. Minister to the parents. I believe a student pastor is not just called to serve the students, they are called to serve the parents as well. The parents are responsible for the spiritual growth of their own students so student pastors must never take that place. We must partner with the parents as we point their students to Christ. Many student pastors spend little time with parents outside just giving them information on events and activities. We as student pastors need to spend time building relationships with the parents, teaching the about the culture of their students, and equipping them with resources to train their students.
These are three things you must be doing as a student pastor. Other things are great and have their place, but we cannot allow these three things to be put on the back burner. Student pastor, teaching your students the Bible, build a healthy leadership team of adults, and always serve the parents.
How Leaders Can Prevent Moral Failure BEFORE It Happens
As leaders, I am specifically speaking to church leaders in this post, we are called to be good stewards of the integrity of our church and the Gospel. This is why moral failure, which happens too often today in our churches among leaders, is such a devastating thing. It not only hurts the leader who has failed, but causes damage to the church involved and the message of the Gospel. Recently, Crawford Lorritts, said this in the Elephant Room about leaders and moral failure: “What you do when a leader fails morally happens before the fall.” Too often we wait until a leader has fallen to deal with the issues. Unfortunately, leaders tend to wait until they fail morally to deal with the issue. I believe church leaders today need to take whatever steps necessary to prevent moral failure before it happens. Here are three practical things a leader can do to prevent moral failure before it happens:
1. Have a consistent time with the Lord each day. I cannot stress the importance of having a personal devotional time with the Lord each day! A leader who is not having a daily devotional time with God each day is asking to be taken down by a moral sin. The battle with our flesh and the Devil is too real to not spend time with God each day for the strength we need! Crawford Lorritts also said this: “I have never talked to someone who has failed morally that was not consistent in his time with the Lord.” Consistency with the Lord is they way we grow spiritually and a strong, growing spiritual walk with the Lord is the only thing that will prevent us from moral failure (read Greg Stier’s post called “Lust Will Pick the Lock”). The first thing a leader can do to prevent moral failure is having a consistent time with God each day.
2. Have a strong relationship with your spouse or significant other. Usually before a leader experiences moral failure, his marriage or relationship with his significant other will start to struggle first. Not only should leaders have a consistent time with God each day, they must also have a growing relationship with their spouse. Leaders, stop coming home after work and spending more time on the computer, or Twitter, or checking e-mails. Turn that stuff off and spend time with your spouse! You need it, they need it, your ministry will be more protected when you spend the right amount of time with your spouse! This is so simple, but leaders fail to do it too often. Have a date night each week and never let the love between you and your spouse go downhill.
3. Always have accountability in your life. Leaders, don’t wait until your mess up to get an accountability partner. Seek out accountability relationships even when things are going well. If your married, I believe your number one accountability should be your wife. Then you should have Godly men, or women if you’re a woman, to keep your accountable and ask you the “tough questions.” In a recent post called “3 Ways to Handle Personal Sin as a Leader” I said, “The leader who does not have accountability in their life are asking for the enemy and their flesh to destroy their leadership position.” Don’t be an open target for your flesh, have accountability in your life!
These are just a few ways to prevent moral failure in leadership before it happens. Pray and ask the Lord to help you protect yourself before it happens and costs your leadership position. A lot of what I said came from a conversation called “Help” that took place in the Elephant Room. Click here to see a recent post where I shared my favorite quotes from the Elephant Room event.
3 Reasons Your Student Ministry MUST Have Small Groups
I’m encouraged by the growth and popularity of small groups in student ministries among churches today. Apart from the teaching of God’s Word, small groups seem to me to be the catalyst for students growing in their faith. A student pastor can stand before a group of students week after week and teach them the Bible, but it’s not until the students get in a small group, led by a trained and impassioned leader, that they start to really own and live what they have been hearing from the student pastor.
Unfortunately, many student ministries still don’t do small groups. Now, there are many different factors that contribute to this. Some people are limited by group size and/or availability of adult volunteers. But for others, there doesn’t seem to be any real roadblocks to introducing a small group strategy. For these folks, I’d like to offer three reasons why your student ministry really needs to have a small group strategy.
1. Jesus did it! If you read through the Gospels you’ll find that Jesus spent most of His time with twelve men. (And even within the twelve, He had a group of three He was even more intentional with.) Jesus invested His time and energy into these guys, helping them own their faith and compelling them to ultimately change their world. Yes, Jesus spent some time among the sinners, the sick, and the outcast. He met people’s needs. But the majority of His time was spent teaching the Twelve. These small group of men would carry on His work when He left. Jesus knew the importance and effectiveness in investing time into a smaller group of people rather than ton of people.
2. It is the best way to see discipleship happen. In the book The Greenhouse Project, Ric Garland says that one person can only effectively disciple five to six people. Even if you added a few people to Ric’s number, this is still a problem as the majority of youth ministries have more than six or eight students. If you’re still trying to teach your group of 20 or 30 by yourself, you’re not discipling as effectively as you could be. Consider recruiting adult volunteers and giving each one five-to-six students, encouraging and empowering them to invest their time and energy into discipling those students.
3. It gets adult leaders involved. If you take the last point I said seriously than that means you will need to have a team of adult leaders that you disciple first (they become your small group), then they will in turn disciple a group of students which becomes their small group. An effective student ministry depends on the student pastor building a team of adult leaders who invest in the students. If we want to see each student in our ministry reached, and watch them grow in their faith, we must make sure to get adults involved and to give them the training they need to invest in students’ lives.
Our student ministries are filled with students who desperately need to be challenged how to live out their faith. If we don’t get them into small groups where they feel comfortable talking, sharing, and connecting with an adult, they may end up graduating our ministries in much the same way they came in. Putting the time and effort into making small groups a part of your student ministry is worth it!
I originally wrote this post for Youth Ministry 360′s blog. Click here to view this post on their blog.
Jeremiah on Trials
I am currently studying through the book of Jeremiah in my personal time with the Lord each day. Last night I read the first part of chapter 29. As I was reading through the verses, a few truths jumped out at me about trials. Before I share those with you, lets look at the context and see what is going on this the first part of chapter 29.
In 597 B.C. many of the Israelites (God’s chosen people) were carried away in exile to Babylon and this starts their 70 years of captivity there. This was part of God’s judgment on them for sin and disobedience. Sometime after this, Jeremiah wrote a letter to them to instruct them on what they should do during this time; chapter 29:1-23 is that letter. As I read this letter, I saw some important truths that we need to remember when we go through a trial. The people who were carried away to Babylon were in nothing short of a hardcore trial. You may not be carried away in exile to a foreign land, but you will go through trials. The things Jeremiah said to them can be applied to us and the trials we are going through. Let’s look at three truths Jeremiah shares about trials:
1. God send His people into trials. In verse 4, God says, “…to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile.” Did you get that? God sent His people into exile! The trial you are going through does not surprise God, He sent you into it! He planned that trial just for you. So when you are going through a trial, remember that God sent you into it for a reason. James 1:2, James tells us to “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials…” Why should we rejoice and count it all joy when we enter into trials? Read the next few verses in James and you will see that we should rejoice in trials because it makes us better Christians. We get stronger in our faith. The first thing Jeremiah tells us about trials is that God sends us into them.
2. Don’t try to fight your way out of a trial, stay in it until God brings you out of it. After God tells the exiles you sent them into the exile, he speaks through Jeremiah to tell them to settle in at Babylon because they will be there for a while. We know now that they will be there for 70 years! In verses 5-7, they are told to build houses, plant gardens, get married, seek the welfare of the city, and even pray for the city! God was telling them to stay put in this trial. The first thing many of us do when we enter into a trial is try to get out of it as fast as we can. We do everything within our power to try to fix it so we can get out of it. If we do that, we will not grow as Christians and that is the main point of God putting us through trials. It’s in the valley you really learn about trusting God and following Him. If you try to get out of the valley, your trial, and just reach the mountaintop than you may miss all God wants you to learn in the valley. The second things Jeremiah tells us about trials is we must stay in them until God is done doing what He wants to do.
3. Your trial will end and God has a future for you. In verse 10, God tells the exiles when the 70 years is complete, when their trial is over, He will visit them. The next verse could well be the most quotes verse in Jeremiah. Verse 11 says, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” One of the things we start to tell ourselves during a trial is that it will never end and that God cannot have a plan for us that involves this mess. See, your trial is all part of the plan God has for you! He tells us in this verse that we have a future and a hope! It may be hard to believe or see this in a trail, but we must remember God has a plan!
I recently heard a song by the band Newsong called “The Same God.” In this song, there is a line that says, “The same God that led you in will lead you out.” Don’t forget the same God that leads us into trials is the same God that will lead us out. I’m in a trial right now and I know many other are as well. Don’t lose hope, trust God, He has a plan!
3 Reasons Student Pastors Should Attend Students Sporting Events
One of my favorite things to do here on my blog is write about practical student ministry stuff. A lot of the stuff I may write is not new to student pastors, but I hope it is good practical advice and reminders on how to minister to students better. With that being said, I want to provide a few reasons why student pastors should try to attend their students sporting activities.
First, let me explain why I am writing this and why I see it as important. Today I went to watch two guys, that are in my small group on Wednesday nights, play basketball. They both had a game at the local rec center and I wanted to go to support them and build a better relationship with them. It was a great few hours and I believe my relationships with those two students got stronger. Now here is three reasons why I believe every student pastor needs to make an effort to attend their students sporting events.
1. Build a better relationship with the student. A huge part of student ministry is building relationships with students which allows you to influence them and speak truth into their life. What a better way to show them you care and want to have a relationship with them than taking time out of your day to watch them participate in a sport they love. Just the presence of you there supporting and watching them will give you a stronger relationship with that student.
2. Build a better relationship with their parents. This is probably the biggest reason. You spend a lot of time with the students and not enough time with the parents. Going to a students sporting activity will allow you to sit with the parents and build a better relationship with them. Student pastors need to understand and realize their ministry is not just to the students, it’s also to the parents. I would go as far as to say, it is primarily to the parents because they are the ones held responsible for their students spiritual growth. Today I was able to sit with the mom of the students, they were brothers, and got to get to know her better. I have a stronger relationship with that parent now and that is a big part of student ministry.
3. Connect and meet other students. If you go to a sporting event of one of your students you will always have a chance to meet and connect with other students. Honestly, I did not do this today, but wish I would had made an effort to do so. I hope next time I am in the situation I will. Student pastors, there are students who will NEVER step foot inside your church or youth room and unless you go to where they are and reach them no one ever will. That is why going to a sporting event of one of your students is a great place to reach other students.
As I said earlier, this is not anything new that student pastors may not already know, but I hope this is some practical advice that will help you minister to students better. As student pastors and student ministry workers, we need to connect and minister to our student outside of the normal youth group time, attend one of their sporting events to build a better relationship with them, build a better relationship with their parents, and reach other students while your there.
Favorite Quotes from The Elephant Room
Yesterday I was able to attend a live streaming of The Elephant Room at Christ Community Chapel in Hudson, OH. If you have never heard of The Elephant Room it is simply where a group of well-known pastors from different backgrounds and church styles come together to talk about the things most church leaders are debating behind closed doors. Elephant Room Round 1 took place last year and I was able to watch the DVD set when it came out. This year I was able to go watch The Elephant Room Round 2 live through a live stream. I cam away from the event yesterday encouraged, convicted, and challenged. It was simple a great event where men who love Jesus and the Gospel came together and put aside their differences to have the conversations we usually have behind closed doors. The amount of unity, love, and respect that was demonstrated by these men was amazing! I wanted to share a few of my favorite quotes and points these men made throughout the day. Before I share the quotes and points, here is a quick run down on the pastors that were a part of the event.
Jack Graham-Pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church. Has served two terms as president of the Southern Baptist Convention.
Mark Driscoll-Preaching pastor at Mars Hill Church in Seattle.
Steven Furtick-Pastor of Elevation Church in Charlotte, NC.
Crawford Lorritts-Senior Pastor of Fellowship Bible Church in Roswell, GA.
Wayne Cordeiro-Founding Pastor of New Hope Christian Fellowship in Honolulu, Hawaii.
James MacDonald-Pastor of Harvest Bible Chapel and started The Elephant Room.
T.D. Jakes-Senior Pastor of The Potter’s House.
Conversation #1: With a Little Help From My Friend
What is the future of denominations.
“Denominations that do not do missions should go away.” JG
“A denomination is a para church ministry, it should come along side local churches.” JG
“A lot of money is being given, but is work being done?” MD
“Are we going to be kingdom builders or empire builders?” WC
“Don’t take overseas what you are not doing locally.” JG
“We are not trying to be Calvinists, we are trying to be evangelists.” MD
Conversation #2: Can’t Buy Me Love
What essentials should be part of the Gospel presentation.
“Sharing the message creatively is not watering it down.” SF
“God has called me to preach the Gospel, not critique it.” SF
“Preaching is sharing truth through personality.” JM
“If people meet Jesus, is there a wrong way to do that?” MD
“It’s easier to be a critic than a preacher.” MD
Conversation #3: A Hards Day Night
How can a pastor handle the pressures of ministry and burnout.
“Everyone is susceptible to burnout.” WC
“What fuels you on the inside can destroy you on the outside.” WC
“Pastors dont forget their pastors, they forget they are human.” WC
“The Devil cannot steal your ministry so he steals the joy of your ministry.” WC
“The Devil cant push you off the ledge, but he will try to do something that will make you jump.” WC
“You cannot critique what you have not seen.” TJ
“I try and have relationships that complete me not compete with me.” TJ
“Your wife should be your number one accountability person.” JG
“Your identity is not your ministry.” MD
Conversation #4: Ticket to Ride
What are the “majors” of Christian doctrine that we must agree on.
“The nature of God is a mystery.” MD
“None of our books on the Godhead will be on sale in heaven.” TJ
“Stumbling to explain God is worship.” TJ
“If we dont do a better job at communicating we will not survive.” TJ
Conversation #5: Come Together
How do we pursue racial harmony in the church.
“The way to get the walls down is to tear off the roof” JG
“I believe some churches are dead, and should be dead, because they are full of hate.” JG
“When I know you, I can love you.” JG
“You can’t integrate your ministry until you integrate your life.” TJ
“The church is not doing as good as the world is doing with integration.” TJ
“We serve a God who challenges us to be uncomfortable.” TJ
“The lack of moral courage in the church is appalling.” CL
“If you are serious about being used by God, you must understand God is bigger than you.” TJ
Conversation #6: Help
What do we do when a pastor or church leader fails morally?
“I’m a steward of the integrity of the church and the message.” CL
“When we confront others over sin, there should be tears in our soul.” CL
“It’s not only confession that heals, but repentance.” WC
“A mans marriage will go silent before it goes south” JM
“You can tell a lot about a mans marriage from the countenance of his wife.” JM
“Restoration to fellowship is different than restoration to leadership.” JM
“I have never talked to someone who has failed morally that was not consistent in his time with the Lord.” CL
“Ministry is not a right, it is a privilege.” JM
“It’s not about the messenger, its about the message.” JM
Conversation #7: We Can Work on It
What responsibilities do we have to local pastors who exist outside our theological boundaries, but within the body of Christ?
“I’m still fired up about the doctrines, I’m just not angry about it.” JM
“People say they are defending the Gospel, but they really are just being crappy friends.” SF
