This Week on Trans·formed (3/17)

Featured Articles on Trans·formed This Week

Rooted Leadership: Relationships(Chad Hall): The answer to the “Who am I?” question is not simple or simple to get.  However, I have worked with hundreds of leaders who gain much clarity on this question by taking notice of four life/leadership roots: relationships, values, passions and heroes.  Let’s take time to look at each of these, allowing each investigation to get you clearer about who you are. Let’s start with relationships.

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Why Don’t You Give Up Your Gun? (Bev Hislop): Most of us have a gun—some way of protecting ourselves and making ourselves feel safe, hidden under the robe of our leadership/shepherding persona. It is fairly easy to keep our gun hidden most of the time, but we know that it is there and that it is incongruent with the person God is calling us to be. We also know that if it were to “go off” unexpectedly, it would do great damage. We are uncomfortable living with it, but we are afraid to live without it.

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Good News and Bad News (Bill Mounce): When you do take the next step, you start to see the fruits of the Spirit in your own life. But there are other times when you will not act like you were changed at the gate. Instead of responding in love, you will stumble and respond in anger, which might develop into bitterness. Instead of responding with peace, you will stumble and are consumed with anxiety and turmoil. Sometimes it is just a stubbed toe; other times it is a stumble that sends us headlong down the side of the mountain.

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Rescuing Our Churches from Consumerism (John Johnson): Consumers find freedom in devices that deliver what they value, becoming dependent upon those devices and embracing a “device paradigm” that shapes their view of life. Over time, consumers lose all sense of the value of process. They think technologically, expecting their needs to be addressed through devices, even when those needs cannot be commoditized. I contend that American evangelicals have learned to think of spiritual maturity and community as commodities.

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Other Articles on Trans·formed This Week

• Matt Mikalatos finished his series on “translating” gospel stories with The Parable of the Lost Son. (Here are the links for parts one, two, and three.)

• We’re giving away two books! Make sure you enter your name to win copies of An Introduction to the Old Testament and An Introduction to the New Testament from Zondervan.

Other Posts of Interest from around the Web

• Some Preach from Envy and Rivalry: My concern is this: are we staking ourselves and our reputations on truth, or are we drawing lines based on a wildly profitable animosity? Find the difference between shilling your opinion and proclaiming a truth.

• Marc Cortez is giving away free copies of For Calvinism by Michael Horton and Against Calvinism by Roger Olson.

• Banks Foreclosing on Churches in Record Numbers: Banks are foreclosing on America’s churches in record numbers as lenders increasingly lose patience with religious facilities that have defaulted on their mortgages, according to new data.

• The rise of evangelicalism is shaking up the Church of England: As the number of people who are actively committed to the Church of England falls, the proportion of churchgoers who are serious about their faith—and its implications for private and public life—is growing.

• 5 Things a Pastor Should Never Say: We pastors say a lot. From the stage, to the phone, in an email, and in passing conversations, we are communicating with people most of our days. And while much of what we share is (hopefully) helpful, there are certain things that should never be said.

• Church Planting: Exegeting Your Community: Put simply, exegeting your community is how you go about understanding the needs and expectations that the people living in your community have.  It is from developing this understanding that you are able to know how to best impact your neighborhoods.

• People Migration to Larger Churches: One of the most significant trends in American churches the past 25 years has been the migration of people from smaller churches to larger churches. We will be providing more information in the future about this movement. The implications are significant and should not be ignored.