Author: Seth Barnes

Here’s something that helps a lot of marriages

Written by Seth Barnes on April 2, 2006. Posted in Better Living. No Comments on Here’s something that helps a lot of marriages

Jannie and Dodie Botha are marriage counselors from South Africa. They have a simple tool they give couples that works wonders – it cuts through a lot of the junk that can...

Stop comparing yourself

Written by Seth Barnes on April 2, 2006. Posted in Identity issues. 1 Comment on Stop comparing yourself

I’ve watched women in the South particularly victimized by this. We all have it to some degree, but then, some of us really struggle and it keeps us from becoming the person...

The result of too many sermons

Written by Seth Barnes on April 1, 2006. Posted in Discipling. 1 Comment on The result of too many sermons

One more thought about yesterday’s blog: The result of pastors who have misunderstood their role and the place of a sermon as a part of that role is that congregation members are...

A pastor’s job is not to preach

Written by Seth Barnes on March 31, 2006. Posted in Church. 26 Comments on A pastor’s job is not to preach

Let me share a controversial conviction I have: A pastor’s job is not to preach. Preaching is a tool in his tool bag in service to his main job. A pastor’s job is not to visit and...

We all need a spiritual coach

Written by Seth Barnes on March 30, 2006. Posted in Spiritual Coaching. 2 Comments on We all need a spiritual coach

“Preach the Word…correct, rebuke, and encourage.” II Timothy 4:2. As Paul gets on in years, he passes his best coaching stuff on to the one guy he coached the most...

Spiritual sores: parable of Caspar the beluga whale

Written by Seth Barnes on March 29, 2006. Posted in Reaching Your Destiny. 3 Comments on Spiritual sores: parable of Caspar the beluga whale

A highlight of our weekend visit to the new Atlanta aquarium was the Beluga whale tank. Beluga whales are like giant dolphins with bulbous foreheads. A Mona Lisa smile is fixed permanently...

One-to-one discipleship is a dying art form

Written by Seth Barnes on March 28, 2006. Posted in Discipling. 8 Comments on One-to-one discipleship is a dying art form

Ask any group of Christians how many of them have been discipled and you won’t see many hands raised. Ask the same group how many are discipling someone and you’ll likely get the...

Discipleship is imitation

Written by Seth Barnes on March 27, 2006. Posted in Discipling. 1 Comment on Discipleship is imitation

We think of an imitation as a fake, a fraud. But in the world of disciple making, its meaning is exactly the opposite. Paul encourages us to be copies of the original, to bear the...

What it means to be in covenant

Written by Seth Barnes on March 26, 2006. Posted in Community and Covenant. 2 Comments on What it means to be in covenant

“God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.” Phil. 1:8 I’ll begin with a confession. A year and a half ago, my own hypocrisy...

Jesus’ Discipleship pillar #4: Body Life

Written by Seth Barnes on March 25, 2006. Posted in Discipling. 2 Comments on Jesus’ Discipleship pillar #4: Body Life

The American Church model of body life is about as far from Jesus’ model as it is from here to Jerusalem. All my life I’ve hungered for more than the Sunday morning/Wednesday evening...

Jesus’ Discipleship pillar #3: Dependence

Written by Seth Barnes on March 24, 2006. Posted in Discipling. 4 Comments on Jesus’ Discipleship pillar #3: Dependence

The importance of risk – it creates dependence on God. God wants to partner with us, and He doesn’t want us to have any doubts about His key role in the partnership....

Chinese chicken and learning to abandon

Written by Seth Barnes on March 23, 2006. Posted in Discipling. 6 Comments on Chinese chicken and learning to abandon

If you click on http://www.theworldrace.com/, you see a group of people who have left everything behind. Even their sense of normal food as they are being asked to eat things like...

Jesus’ Discipleship pillar #2: Journey

Written by Seth Barnes on March 23, 2006. Posted in Discipling. No Comments on Jesus’ Discipleship pillar #2: Journey

The importance of application through journey – it creates learning. I woke up at 6:23 this morning and, within minutes (after making coffee of course), I was seated on the...

Jesus’ Model of Discipleship

Written by Seth Barnes on March 22, 2006. Posted in Discipling. 3 Comments on Jesus’ Model of Discipleship

Jesus didn’t operate a formal school, but his disciples took quite a course. He discipled them over a three year period, not only establishing the course subject matter, but...

A crisis in youth ministry

Written by Seth Barnes on March 21, 2006. Posted in Youth Ministry. 21 Comments on A crisis in youth ministry

What I say in this blog is controversial, so I put it to one of the top experts in the field and said, “what do you think?” His response came this morning: He agrees...

Exotic China

Written by Seth Barnes on March 20, 2006. Posted in Radical Living. No Comments on Exotic China

I’ve got to confess a bad habit. In the morning, before spending time with the Lord, I log on the World Race site and read the updates that came in overnight. The stories are...

This morning: update on persecution in India

Written by Seth Barnes on March 19, 2006. Posted in Missions. 1 Comment on This morning: update on persecution in India

Dr. Samuel Thomas’ wife, Shelley, wrote me this morning: ”I spoke with Samuel after his arraignment and he was okay at the time and he was in good spirits. He is supposed to be under...

Church goers are happier

Written by Seth Barnes on March 18, 2006. Posted in Culture and Faith. No Comments on Church goers are happier

Interesting study by the Pew Foundation finds that church goers are happier than nonchurch goers, by a wide margin (43% said they were “very happy” vs. 26% for the pagans). Contrary...

The Church Lady says: Be unoffendable

Written by Seth Barnes on March 17, 2006. Posted in Living Free. 1 Comment on The Church Lady says: Be unoffendable

One of the things that made the Church Lady so funny was her “Superior Dance.” She put her hands on her hips, pursed her lips, and scooted like Little Richard across...

My 18 year-old is struggling

Written by Seth Barnes on March 16, 2006. Posted in Parenting. No Comments on My 18 year-old is struggling

Question: “My 18 year-old is expressing her independence and is doing things I think are wrong – she’s really struggling, what do I do?” Answer: I wish there was an easy way out. Most...

Sending Christian leaders to jail & getting away with it

Written by Seth Barnes on March 16, 2006. Posted in Missions. 3 Comments on Sending Christian leaders to jail & getting away with it

We interrupt your regularly scheduled activities to report on events in India. As we in America struggle with debt loads and building projects, we hear this from our brothers today: (March...

A secret weapon of massive destruction

Written by Seth Barnes on March 15, 2006. Posted in Better Living. 2 Comments on A secret weapon of massive destruction

Mike Shaul just emailed me. He said this in a completely earnest, yet off-handed way about his wife, Kristen. I consider her to be, in all seriousness, a secret weapon of massive...

Selecting Disciples: the FAST way

Written by Seth Barnes on March 15, 2006. Posted in How to Disciple. 2 Comments on Selecting Disciples: the FAST way

Some new disciples grow at a faster rate than others. Those that grow fastest possess the following biblical FAST characteristics. The first is that they will be Faithful. That is,...

How do I choose someone to disciple?

Written by Seth Barnes on March 14, 2006. Posted in How to Disciple. 4 Comments on How do I choose someone to disciple?

Some new disciples grow at a faster rate than others. Those that grow fastest possess the following four biblical FAST characteristics. The first is that they will be Faithful. That...