christianity
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Fluent in Feelings, Silent in the Spirit?
We have grown fluent in the language of feelings and gone quiet about the Spirit. Caution has crept into hesitation, and hesitation has led to a kind of spiritual muteness, so that almost nobody in our…
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Extra Ordinary Prayer
Praying with groups across Austin these last weeks, I have found embers of the Spirit’s presence but not yet a fire. Extraordinary prayer is just extra ordinary, so whatever is ordinary for you, add something extra.…
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Forerunning, Not Competing
Ministry conversation slides too easily into who is growing fastest and reaching widest, and I do not want to play that game. A forerunner goes down the course first, not to compete but to test the…
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Lost and Led: Learning to Trust Jesus in the Unknown
Even the best human guide will eventually fail us, or give good counsel at the wrong time. I learned that standing lost in the lobby of my daughter’s dance competition, the only dude in a sea…
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New Ebook from Ben Reed
Recently my friend Ben Reed released a short book on small groups called “The Ultimate Small Group Blueprint”. Ben is the small groups pastor at Long Hollow, a multi-site church in the Nashville, TN area. He’s…
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Churches Planting Churches
This Sunday, The Austin Stone joined with many other Acts 29 Network churches to preach to our congregations about church planting and support the mission to make disciples and plant healthy churches. I continue to be…
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Called | JD Greear
I loved JD Greear‘s thoughts on calling as they are seeking to plant 1000 churches in 40 years. Below is the excerpt: First, calling is not: * Necessarily a Burning Bush/Damascus Road/Warm Fuzzy experience. We all…
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Discipleship and Ministry
I’ve been spending some time lately reflecting on my ministry and the coming season. As my role has continued to change and our church has continued to grow, the pressures have changed and my time is…
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Rubik’s Cube and Vacation
Last summer I learned to solve the Rubik’s Cube. This summer, I am aiming to learn how to solve it in under a minute and a half, as well as solving it in as few moves…
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Leadership | Being Led
Hebrews 13 has some excellent things to say about how we ought to respond to our leaders: 7 Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way…
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Francis Collins to Lead National Institute of Health
I’m definitely not a journalist, but this is one particular piece of news that I am particularly excited about, so I’ll pass it on. For those of you who do not follow the intersection of science…
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Preaching | Gentrified
My good friend Logan Gentry has some excellent thoughts on preaching, and asks some great questions. Below is a quote from the synthesis of his thoughts on what the point of preaching is: It seems to…