Tag Archives: It’s Personal
Big eBook sale on Ministry and Leadership books!
Merry Christmas! There’s a big eBook sale going on from now through January 7th. All of the ministry and leadership ebooks listed below are on sale. There are also fiction, kids, and Christian living titles on sale too. You can see the whole list of titles here.
This eBook sale is good across all eBook formats – Nook, Kindle, iPad – everything. So if you’re looking for some good reading to do over Christmas break, or if you’re anticipating having a new eBook reader after Christmas, don’t forget about this sale.
-Andrew
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Deep & Wide by Andy Stanley was $12.99, now $5.99
Barefoot Church by Brandon Hatmaker was $8.99, now $3.99
It’s Personal by Brian & Amy Bloye was $6.99, now $3.99
Adventures in Churchland by Dan Kimball was $6.99, now $3.99
Humilitas by John Dickson was $10.99, now $3.99
King Jesus Gospel by Scot McKnight was $10.99, now $3.99
Gospel Coach by Scott Thomas & Tom Wood was $6.99, now $3.99
Sifted by Wayne Cordeiro, Francis Chan & Larry Osborne was $8.99, now $3.99
Links worth Clicking: Tim Keller, Saddleback’s small groups, and What it’s like to serve the homeless
Here are a few interesting links to start your week…
Small Groups: Mark Howell blogs on “The Unexpected Twist in Saddleback’s Exponential Growth Formula.” It was interesting for me to read about how far they’ve come in terms of small group participation.
Easter, Prison Tattoos, Men in Pantyhose: This post from Brandon Hatmaker shares some of the stories of what it’s like to do ministry for the homeless in Austin, TX. Honestly, stories like this stop me in my tracks. What if every church had systems in place to serve the homeless in their community? This quote from the post is the one that really got me:
Need is everywhere. If we can’t possibly find it, we are either looking in the wrong places, or we’re not really looking. And the goal can never be just the EVENT of serving the poor. The goal is the people we meet along the way. In that place we will find Jesus. He was clear that he’d be there among those on the margins.
Unofficial study guide for Keller’s marriage book: A professor and theologian local to Grand Rapids, David Murray, has prepared an unofficial study guide for Tim Keller’s book The Meaning of Marriage. If you’ve not heard of David before I highly recommend checking out the videos he’s developed at Head, Heart, Hand.
Book Review: Are you on the book review website, Goodreads.com? I am and last week I found this great review of It’s Personal by Brian and Amy Bloye. Here are a few lines from the review that I absolutely love:
To me, the most compelling element of this book is the fact that it is completely absent of strategy, process, and formula. Of course, there is advice on how to handle certain situations, but this book is more about the heart of the church planter and the church than it is about how to start a church that will explode. This makes the book timeless, because methods change almost daily, while principles are unchanging.
In a culture that is obsessed with quick fixes, sexy sermon series, and all-star bloggers, Brian and Amy bring us back to the refreshing and humbling reality of what Christ really intended when He established His church, and how we must go about our lives and our vocations if we are to truly be a part of that vision.
Video Interviews on Church Planting with Brian and Amy Bloye
Leadership Network recently posted some new video interviews with Brian and Amy Bloye, the authors of It’s Personal: Surviving and Thriving on the Journey of Church Planting. I’ve posted some of Brian’s advice before, and also an excerpt from the book, but if you’re still unfamiliar with what It’s Personal is all about these videos will give you a clear idea.
More videos from this interview with Brian and Amy can be found on the “It’s Personal” video playlist.
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How long has your ministry been established? Is it only five years old, or less?
Best! – AR
Avoid the Rock Star Trap by Brian and Amy Bloye @BrianBloye @amybloye
“Avoid the Rock Star Trap” is an excerpt from It’s Personal: Surviving and Thriving on the Journey of Church Planting by Brian and Amy Bloye. Brian and Amy planted West Ridge Church in Dallas, GA, where Brian serves as pastor. Here they write specifically to church planters and those thinking of starting a new ministry.
A special danger for the church planter is the tempattion of pride. We live in an age of branding, where people are encouraged to think of themselves as products to be marketed. There are some excellent advantages in intelligently promoting a church or a ministry, but we can’t get personally caught up in it on an ego level.
I see planters becoming engrossed in social media, for example. This is fine, up to a point. I use Twitter; our church uses Facebook. These services are neither good nor evil, just modern media for specialized communication. But what happens when those of us in ministry begin to find our significance in how many people are following us through Twitter or retweeting attention-getting compliments? I’m seeing this happen. Planters are engrossed in the ideas of creating Internet identities. After a while, they’re so engaged in vast Twitter conversations over this or that, that they don’t realize they’re doing a lot less flesh-and-blood ministry.
Having followers on Twitter or getting your like button clicked on Facebook becomes one more path of validation. It’s the rock star syndrome, the seduction of image polishing. At the same time, denominations and planting networks are spotlighting people who have experienced some success, and this just makes the ego trap that much more dangerous. It’s just another hook that can be used to separate us from the real purpose of what we’re called to do: make disciples.
It’s Personal is part of the Exponential Series. Now through April 30 every eBook in the Exponential Series is only $2.99 wherever eBooks are sold!
