Finding the perfect church (part 2)
The Bible doesn’t give us anything that looks remotely like a “Purpose Driven Church” model. Instead, we can look at Hebrews 10 and see that we shouldn’t...
Author: Seth Barnes
There really is a perfect church
Cynical Christians everywhere will tell you, “There is no perfect church.” They are like the person who wakes up after tossing and turning all night, looks in the mirror, and proclaims,...
Mike Yaconelli said this about Christian colleges
Mike Yaconelli said this about Christian colleges in the year before he died. I think he was on to something:
“What is the deal with Christian colleges, anyway? Shouldn’t they be...
Where do I find a spiritual coach?
A spiritual coach is more than a mentor, they are in your life to help you grow spiritually (a mentor who helps you grow in any of a number of ways). So, where do you find such a...
How to fish – seeing candidates with the eyes of faith
My Mom is the best discipler I’ve known. She would find candidates all over the neighborhood – women struggling, just trying to find their way in life. Her willingness...
Finding people to coach (recruiting disciples)
Many of us fail in the basic task of making disciples because we fail to identify candidates to begin with. Some of us lack opportunities, but many of us simply lack an understanding...
The secret of Easter: love beats death
“Anxiety and fear are what we know best in this fantastic century of ours. Wars and rumors of wars. From civilization itself to what seemed the most unalterable values of the...
Jesus went to Hell and so must we
We were in prayer in training camp this past January when God spoke to Ali Mitchell’s spirit and told her, “Go to the Sudan and take care of my refugee children there.”...
Resurrection may be fast, but we die in stages
On the eve of our celebration of the resurrection experience, here are some thoughts about the process of dying and coming back to life.
While Jesus did his dying relatively quickly...
God is still nailing people to crosses
17 years ago, living in West Palm Beach, I was still too full of vinegar and a sense of my own possibilities and the methodologies of a corporate manager. The Lord looked at me and...
6 foundational principles of spiritual coaching
If you follow pro football, you’ve seen an interesting story play out. Terrell Owens, arguably the best wide receiver, is viewed around the league as uncoachable. He criticizes his...
Jesus as a spiritual coach: the example of Peter
Jesus didn’t ask Peter to follow him sight unseen. His coaching began with trust-building. We see Jesus hanging out with Peter before he asks him to do anything else. After church,...
Toward a youth ministry that makes disciples (part 3)
Not all youth ministry activities are created equal. If our goal is to take a self-willed knucklehead and turn them into a disciple, it not only takes time (Jesus took approximately...
Disciples reporting in after a decade
If you’ve been discipling for ten years or more, where are those disciples now? Are they walking with God? Are they bearing fruit?
Paul said to Barnabas, “Let’s go back and...
God’s heart breaks and our hearts should too
Last week something happened that invaded my cozy world. Alli Mellon came into my office and told me about an orphanage outside Delhi India; where 360 orphans live on 7 cents a day.
“Who...
Meeting a disciple 12 years later
AIM has a ministry that sends teams of individual young people ministering around the world for a month. Since sending our first team to Costa Rica in 1994, hundreds
of young people...
How Jesus teaches for life change
How we teach can be as important as what we teach. We remember so little of what we’re taught because of the inefficient methods teachers use. Jesus was the consummate teacher –...
Toward a youth ministry that makes disciples (part 2)
The goal is to create a self-sustaining radical Christian. Today we’ll address the cost in terms of time and tomorrow what to do during that time. The cost (see yesterday’s blog)...
Our call to make disciples
“Go and make disciples of all nations” – Jesus
Perhaps you’re one of the lucky few who has had someone invest in them. Maybe you’ve taken that deposit of good coaching...
Towards a new model of youth ministry
Mike Yaconelli, who pioneered our current model of youth ministry, wrote an article “The Failure of Youth Ministry” in 2003, the year he died. Something he said in it...
The girls of Patpong Rd are looking for a hero
Patpong Rd. is Thailand’s worst flesh market. It’s a scary place, but God wants His people to invade the dark places of the world in order to shine his...
Secrets & healing – our Swazi experience
In 2004 I was caught up in the tragedy that is the nation of Swaziland. 42.6% of the adult population is HIV-positive. They are dying by the thousands and we had the opportunity...
Some ideas for youth pastors wanting to disciple
Since Mark Oestreicher called attention to my post entitled “A crisis in youth ministry,” I’ve been convicted that I need to not just yell at the darkness,...
Spring in Georgia – plowing & sowing
Yesterday Karen had me out in the garden. Springtime in Georgia is wonderful. First the tulip trees and Bradford pears bravely test the March air. They are quickly joined by a proliferation...