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Dieses “Podcast” kommt von ein Worship Workshop das ich in Duesseldorf, Deutschland gelehrt habe. Obwohl es sich hauptsächlich auf den Lobpreisleiter fokussiert, sind die Prinzipien die gelehrt werden für jeden der in der Leiterschaft ist, sei es im Dienst oder in der Gemeinde, von Vorteil. (Die erste Teil dieses Podcast fehlt, aber haben wir mit Johannes 4, 23-24 angefangen)
http://www.perrinministries.org/upload/Dues_Worship_Workshop1.mp3
I have been thinking about how people are treated in churches. This one thing can really make or break a church. One of the things I see in the life of Jesus is that He was willing to be interrupted. If anyone ever had an important mission, it was Him. And He was laser-focused on this mission. But He didn’t let that stop Him from noticing the people and the needs around Him.
So often we get so concerned with the goal that we lose sight of the people around us. It’s like the bookstore owner that never opened his shop because he didn’t want the floors to get dirty. He completely forgot the purpose of the bookstore.
I’ve heard it said that our “mantras” will determine our church culture. One of the mantras I want our coming church plant to have is, “It’s all about the journey!” We can’t get so bogged down in the details and so focused on our goals that we miss the core value of connecting with people.
Remember what Jesus said…
For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? – Mk. 8:36
My paraphrase of this verse goes like this: “What does it profit us if we get everything on our ‘To Do List’ accomplished, but fail to connect with and minister to the precious people God sends us?” We must remember that in our push to reach our goals, we have to hold to our core values. And if Jesus put people high up on His list of core values, so should we.
The journey (who we are becoming) is much more important than destination (what we do for God)!
The InSight 2010 Youth Leader’s Conference was amazing! There were three days of incredibly practical training and encouragement. We received some incredible testimonies. And dozens of youth and leaders made fresh commitments to follow God’s plan for their lives.
Since our goal from the outset was to not just have a one-time event, we are putting both the mp3s and other free information on the website. The updated http://insight2010.eu website is not yet finished, but it should be shortly. Be sure to check it out!
We are now only one week away from the InSight Youth Leader Conference. I am so pumped about this! It will be a time to speak into the lives of European youth leaders. Many of these youth leaders feel alone and underprepared.
The European Spiritual Estimate states that less than 1% of European teens have a genuine relationship with Christ. This is our chance to impact this lost generation by empowering leaders. We would appreciate your prayers for this conference from Mar. 18-20.
After the conference, we will be making many of the sessions available for download on mp3 (along with other free materials), so be sure to check the website regularly: http://insight2010.eu.
The year is 1815. A man by the name of Jean Valjean is released from prison after 19 yrs. He comes to a new town where he’s forced to show his prison release papers… but then is shunned by both the mayor and the townspeople.
The only person who will feed him is Bishop Myriel, who also invites him to spend the night. Not realizing that Myriel is a bishop, he steals the silverware and leaves in the middle of the night.
Valjean is caught by the police and brought back to face Myriel. When the bishop sees him, he claims to have given Valjean the silverware and adds, “You forgot to take these two silver candlesticks I gave you as well.”
After the police let him go, the bishop offers him forgiveness. He tells him to go live an honest life. The rest of the story is about his attempt to do so.
Of course many of you recognize this story… it is from the famous musical, Les Miserables. Robin and I were fortunate enough to see this in London 8 years ago when we first visited Europe. I absolutely love the redemptive ending. I think we all do…
I believe there is something in each of us that cries out for a redemptive ending to the story of our broken lives. Thankfully, this is exactly the Gospel message. God is willing and able to take our messed up lives and broken dreams and craft something beautiful out of them. It all starts with inviting Him into our lives as our forgiver, our friend and the leader of our lives.
If you want more information on how to find a redemptive ending for your story, email us.
PS. Here are just a few “redemptive stories” in the Bible…
Men Wanted for Hazardous Journey
Small Wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful. Honor and Recognition in case of Success.
-Ernest Shackelton’s recruiting poster for his legendary Antarctic expedition
This is sort of what we feel like we’re asking people to sign up for in helping us plant a church in Freiburg, Germany in October. On the one hand, we want them to know the incredible opportunity that lies before us. To quote Jesus, “Open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.” (John 4:35) Freiburg (and Europe in general) is spiritually ripe… all they need are people willing to cooperate with God to fulfill His desire here. There are a quarter of a million unreached people in Freiburg that are counting on us!
On the other hand, this group must be willing to get out of their comfort zone and be willing to (for at least a season) walk away from their safe lives. This is why Abraham was called the Father of Faith… it says of him,
By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. – Hebrew 11:8
It’s a risky proposition, but the higher the risk, the higher the return. No price, no prize!
If you’re interested in helping us launch our church, please email us. You can follow our progress on Facebook and Twitter. If nothing else, please pray for us and our team:
FfO Youth Leader Seminar – Q & A (Jon Perrin) - This podcast is from a Youth Leader's Seminar I taught in Frankfurt (Oder), Germany recently. Although it primarily applies to youth leaders, the principles taught will benefit anyone in church or ministry leadership. The title of the series is "Questions we must answer". This is the question and answer session at the end of the seminar.
