Nuggets #7

Sorry I missed yesterday. I had a huge sinus headache and took a big nap in the afternoon, which helped immensely.

An Unstoppable Force by Erwin McManus
Continuing on with Blinding Speed
In relationship to velocity, the catalyst's first focus is calling people out to the purpose of God. Movement will not happen if people do not move together in common mission. The catalyst takes seriously the description of the first century church being of one heart and mind.

The second focus is the need to accelerate the group's response to the Spirit of God. The spiritual catalyst experiences God as the wind of his spirit and recognizes that momentum remains fragile in the time between understanding and commitment. Momentum is both powerful and fragile at the same time: powerful in that, once it is obtained, its force can be unstoppable; fragile in that it can be easily lost.

The church that learns to celebrate the spontaneous movement of God's spirit and even the unexpected invitation to follow him increases the force of its movement. The catalyst not only calls God's people to move toward intentionality, but continually inspires and motivates God's people to accelerate their rate of spiritual response.

Seeing at Blinding Speed
I want to make clear that what focuses the speed of the church is not a plan but a purpose and a passion.

Spiritual leadership is not the ability to define everything the future holds. It is the willingness to move forward when all you know is God. The apostolic leader finds his direction from the compass of the purpose of God, is fueled by the passions of God, and, while he's moving to do what he knows, God clarifies and directs.

Spiritual Magnetism
If you're committed to velocity - to focused speed - but you're all alone and h ave no mass, you might wonder how you can be a part of creating movement. You may not be able to immediately affect volume, but you can affect density. The beginning point is always ourselves. We must submit our lives to Jesus Christ, let him change our hearts and character, become servants, and model a life of humility and sacrifice. Then our spiritual density will make us magnetic. The more Christ reigns in our lives, the more people will be drawn to the Jesus in us.

That's the end of Chapter Two. Blogging about this book motivates me to read faster. As you have probably figured out, my passion is church leadership. I love discipling people one on one, whether in a 1-2 hour meeting, in passing, or in casual conversation. I love to pour. I love helping leaders learn how to disciple their volunteers and leaders. Some of you may be called to teach others God's character and model his relationship to his creation. Some of you are called to serve, some of you are called to pray. some of you may not even know what your call is. One way to find out is to take a Spiritual Gifts Inventory. It's a great place to start in finding out how God is shaping you for service. Blessings to you this Sabbath.