Who Are You Chasing? New pedals?
Bethel’s vibe? Happiness? A bigger worship team?

We’re hosting a work team of young missionaries of the Mennonite flavor.

As you make your way down our lane, several wooden signs are hanging from the tall cypress trees, each with a phrase from Psalm 23.

My college friend Shad recently posted a video on Facebook to rally the troops.

Yesterday, when I needed it most, I found a scriptural encouragement on old Mission Challenge letterhead while cleaning out a storage room on the farm where we live.

I never know what messages you are hearing from others, from yourself, from the voice of the deceiver.

I love words! They unlock meaning if you study them out. A word recently blew up in my face.

I was pushing a wheelbarrow across the discipleship training school base next door on my way to pick up some dirt for our garden.

Long trials require exceptional resilience, a healthy perspective, and an ability to stick with it. But we never thought we were in a sprint, did we?

What am I taking to heart?

I was leading Sunday morning worship at this church. I greeted the assembled worshipers and… got back a very wimpy response. I felt like I was looking at a room of corpses.

So I had this experience where I realized that I had been lulled to sleep. Maybe you can relate to this, because I had forgotten that God is actually steadfast. He’s actually good. He’s actually all-powerful. He’s actually able to do what He said He would do.

Doesn’t this just have a great ring to it? Campfire. Eating together. Relaxed worship. Late-night talks. Teaching tailored to your team. Friendships deepened. A break from your routine. God speaking...

As we approach the end of the year, I encourage you to take a moment between sips of 'nog (stay tuned for a killer recipe) to reflect on the state of your team's relationships.

My pastor was a college professor who had just finished the semester.

What’s your worship team like? And by “worship team,” I mean the musicians and techs together.

Are you like a Worship Family? A Worship Indie Band? A Worship Elevator? Let me describe each one.

Every leader disciple needs to learn how to work with people.

It took me quite a while to figure that out.

Today, I’m giving you an outline rather than paragraphs. That’s obvious.

But what’s not obvious is how much what you do impacts congregational engagement. I want to challenge us, as leaders, to grow in BEING:

I got together with some friends and had seven gifts I wanted to give them. These gifts would provide a backdrop for testifying about what God had been doing. It was a real encouragement for us, and I wanted to bless you with those things.