Tag Archive for: LifeChurch.tv

Rethink Influence

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You are a leader. Regardless of your position, you can be an influence.
Everybody can influence. We can all influence someone somewhere about
something.

Position does not dictate whether or not we influence. Read more

Craig Groeschel – “Building God’s Kingdom”

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Craig Groeschel, pastor of LifeChurch.tv shares at Catalyst West 2009 on Building God’s Kingdom vs. Building Your Kingdom. Who’s church (kingdom) are you building? God’s or yours? I had the privilege of being in this session at Catalyst West last year. Enjoy this clip! You can now follow Craig on Twitter @CraigGroeschel

What’s the Leadership Culture at Hillsong Church?

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Craig Groeschel, pastor of LifeChurch.tv interviews Joel A’Bell, executive pastor at Hillsong Church in Sydney, Australia. Craig asks Joel about the leadership culture at Hillsong. Tremendous and thought provoking insights. For example, every church wants a Darlene Zschech, but everyone can’t develop or create one. Why is that? Well, it comes down to the leadership culture of your church. Are your leaders empowered and released or are they suppressed and controlled?

Hillsong Church Gives Advice to LifeChurch.tv

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Craig Groeschel, pastor of LifeChurch.tv sits down with Joel A’Bell, executive pastor at Hillsong Church in Sydney, Australia. In this interview, Craig asks Joel what advice would he give to LifeChurch.tv.

Christian Atheist: New Book by Craig Groeschel

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Craig Groeschel, pastor of LifeChurch.tv releases his new book today,  The Christian Atheist. It is available online or at a bookstore near you.

What is a Christian Atheist? It is someone who believes in God, but lives as though He doesn’t exist. This book is hard-hitting and passionate! Craig will challenge you to think deeply and honestly. It will push you and disturb you! I believe every church in America should purchase this book in bulk for small group studies to dive into. To win a free and signed copy of the book, visit Scott Williams blog, a campus pastor at LifeChurch.tv at www.BigIsTheNewSmall.com.

Can Ministry Have Two Worlds?

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It’s quite amazing to watch everyone get bit by the social media phenomena. I think about every pastor I know is on Facebook and Twitter; and if they’re not on it yet, I guarantee you they are talking with their staff about putting their profiles up very soon.Part of this online and social media phenomenon is that you don’t have to look very hard to find news or information; it finds you! It used to be if I wanted to know what was going on in my community, my church or in the world I would have to go out and seek information. But, now it finds me! It finds me on my Facebook, my Tweet Deck and on my phone. This new wave of interaction with people and information has quickly changed media and our culture. So, with that being said how will this effect how we do ministry?

Can you really reach and impact people in 140 characters or less? Can your Facebook profile and personal brand across different social media platforms be used to spread God’s Love and Hope to hurting people? Can ministry be divided into two worlds – Online & Offline?  Could it be possible to lead an online ministry that impacts thousands of people every day? The answer of course is YES!

I’ve been pleased to see so many ministry leaders embrace the online world and social media as a tool to bring awareness and connect with people; but I think it will get deeper than that. I think new ministry terminology will be created.

For example, LifeChurch.tv has coined a new word that we can add to this new terminology for Online Ministry:  Digital Missions. They have learned how to intersect pornographic viewers by placing ad’s on Google about LifeChurch.tv. These days, you can reach any audience you want. LifeChurch.tv wanted to reach individuals who are at home looking at porn. So, through Google ad’s they intersected porn viewers. So instead of seeing naked women, they would see and hear the Gospel message of hope and love right into their homes, computers or i-phones. Testimonies have flooded in on how men have been turning their hearts to Christ.

The online community is a dark world and it’s a mission field. What can your church do right now to reach people online in your community and around the world? What will be your digital mission? Or, what can be your digital ministry?

Your Thoughts?

To Reach People No One Else Is Reaching, We Must Do Things No One Else Is Doing

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About a year ago, I heard Craig Groeschel, pastor of LifeChurch.tv say to a group of church leaders, “To reach people no one else is reaching, we must do things no one else is doing!” This has become one of my favorite quotes that I look at almost everyday. This statement bothers me and challenges my thinking, as I hope it does yours. So many times in ministry we get so consumed with our daily leadership routine that we forget to step back and look at what the Holy Spirit wants to do differently through us — to reach people that no one else is reaching. But, to do that we must learn to adjust, refocus, and stop doing what everyone else is doing.

Watch this video clip below from Craig Groeshel. He expounds more on this principle at the 2009 Willow Creek Leadership Summit.

Your Thoughts?

Why Should I Utilize VideoTeaching.com?

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Just a couple of weeks ago, LifeChurch.tv launched their latest resource for churches all over the world called, VideoTeaching.com.

At first, I was a little skeptical, but after reviewing this resource over and over again, I am convinced this could be one of the greatest resources to churches worldwide.

So, what is VideoTeaching.com? Good Question.
VideoTeaching.com is an online library of video messages from gifted Christian communicators from all over the world…and it’s FREE! You can access video messages from ministry leaders like Frances Chan, Perry Noble, Steven Furtick, Craig Groeschel, Mark Driscoll, Dino Rizzo, Brian Houston, Paul Scanlon, Mark Batterson and many others.

So, why should I use VideoTeaching.com? That’s a better question.
VideoTeaching.com is not just about getting free video teaching messages. You need to look at the bigger picture of what LifeChurch.tv is providing here.
Today, you might be a pastor, student pastor, small group leader, or church volunteer that serves in a small, medium or mega-size church.  You are also a ministry leader that has felt the effects of this countries recession.

Let me ask two questions.
1.    Do you have the relational access to some or all the ministry leaders and communicators that are on VideoTeaching.com? For most of us that read this blog, probably not.
2.    In this recession when lots of churches are cutting back on guest ministry, do you have an abundance of financial resources to host some or all of these ministry leaders and communicators that are on VideoTeaching.com that includes air travel, lodging and honorarium expenses? Again, probably not right now.

So, you may not have the relational access to these ministry communicators and you might have limited financial resources. But, as a leader, I’m sure you still have a passion with a leadership responsibility to keep people (your church, small group and friends) exposed to additional perspectives, gifts and ministries in the Body of Christ.

A church or ministry can utilize VideoTeaching.com for different reasons. These reasons were listed on VideoTeaching.com.
1.    It can expand your teaching team – It can expose and introduce your church to additional perspectives by bringing in top teachers from around the world via video. Who would you like to speak at your church?
2.    Develop your ministry – You might be bi-vocational or maybe you’re planting a church. Either way, video teaching allows you to put more energy into reaching the community by freeing you up from weekly message preparation.
3.    Make a smooth transition – For churches who are without a pastor during a leadership transition, video messages can help with interim teaching. Line up your message calendar with ease so you focus on finding the right leader for your church.
4.    Take a break – Regular rest is essential for pastors who want to maintain a healthy ministry. Whether it’s a sabbatical or just a short vacation, video messages are an excellent way to bring quality teaching to your church during a pastor’s time off.

Your Thoughts?

Ministry Has Faces

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Ministry. When you think of this word, what is one of the first things that come to your mind. Something or someone involved in a Church, correct? Or how about someone that serves as a pastor, church staff leader or a missionary to a foreign country. All of these are great examples of individuals who are in “full-time ministry.”

However, I want to share a different perspective on the word — ministry. When I was at the Exponential Conference in Orlando a couple of weeks ago, Craig Groeschel, pastor of LifeChurch.tv made a statement that stuck with me. He said, “Don’t be conformed to the patterns of the Western-American Church, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

According to Western- American church standards, ministry is defined as a profession, thus this is where we get “full-time and part-time ministry.”  According to the Gospel, ministry is defined by action of service.

We have limited the use and terminology of ministry to only serve the local Church context. Which is ok, but it’s not good enough. In this day of an age, we must recognize that ministry should be a much broader term that embraces every context in life and career. I was just in the Hollywood and Beverly Hills area of California last week, and you will be surprised at how many people I met that are passionate about Jesus and who are willing to use their influence to help people discover what it means to be a Christ-follower. Now, if that’s not ministry, I don’t no what is. This is just a different face of ministry. These actors and social entrepreneurs I met in Hollywood love Jesus and are influencing people and leading them to Jesus. So, do they work at a church or a non-for-profit organization? No. Are they ordained ministers through a Church or denomination? No. Should they be considered full-time ministers. Yes. Why? Because they are doing ministry. They are doing it with a different look and face than you who might do while working at a church or para church organization. This is how ministry will be defined by next generation leaders.

Ministry is not defined by your profession or place of employment. It is defined by what you do!

You might be a businessman, doctor, restaurant owner, editor, pilot, government official, actor, model, journalist, banker, salesmen, musician, singer, songwriter, author, or you might even be a pastor or church leader. The point is ministry has faces. It can be expressed through service and influence in many different areas of context and career in today’s culture. When we limit the word ministry just to the church context, we begin to suppress people and limit their full potential in the ministry God has called them to do.

I’m reminded of a business leader I knew in Atlanta. His name is David Salyers. He is the Vice President of Marketing for Chick-fil-A. David is a great leader in Chick-fil-A. I’ll never forget what he told me one day, when I sat in his office there in Atlanta at the Chick-fil-A corporate office. He said, “working here at Chick-fil-A is not my job, it’s my ministry. Serving the people is my ministry and that is why I have been able to influence the people within this corporate context. I don’t need to be on a church staff to be in full-time ministry, all I need to do is renew my thinking, serve people, and let my life and influence be it’s own platform.”

Ministry in definition is being re-defined for the next generation of leaders. Ministry Has Faces. Which one are you?

Your Thoughts?

Servolution Goes Way Beyond Volunteering in a Church

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Today, many churches throughout the country have started their own teaching messages to encourage their parishioners on why it is spiritually healthy to serve their local church through volunteering. I couldn’t agree more! Serving is how you build relationships. It’s through the act of serving God can make you more usable to impact hurting people. God can’t use people who are not willing to serve and who are all focused on themselves. That’s why we must continually have a heart that chooses to give our lives away for His Glory!

However, with this message on serving, I want to caution some pastors and church leaders out there that might take it to an unhealthy and unbalanced extreme. The reason why I make this caution is because I know pastors. I grew up around many of them all my life and I know how they think and the temptation they might have with a message like this.

A true servolution is NOT only about you trying to recruit more ushers, greeters, nursery workers, small group leaders, or musicians for your worship team. Yes, we need people to serve and fill those areas, but by making people feel guilty from the pulpit for not volunteering to be on your worship team or pass the offering plate as an usher every week doesn’t mean that certain people don’t have a servant’s heart.

If your definition of serving is all about trying to get people to volunteer inside your church bubble…then you have missed the point all together. A true servolution is not just about recruiting people to volunteer in church world, but rather mobilizing people to serve their community and the world. It’s about serving someone or something that’s outside of your church.

I love what Craig Groeschel, pastor of LifeChurch.tv says, “If your church shut their doors today, would your community even notice? Would your community even care?” If you can answer that question truthfully, then you probably should stop worrying about the people who do or don’t usher in your church, but rather focus on the  culture and DNA of your leadership that should passionately move the people to serve outside the church’s four walls.

When you look at the scriptures, the Bible says that God’s heart is with the needy and the broken. When you weigh the costs of the need in your community  vs. church tasks, the mobilization of people should be set to meet and reach the needs of the community that are important to God’s heart. The tasks of your church should come secondary.

Your Thoughts?

To know more about the Servolution Movement – Enter in the Search Bar on the Upper Right Hand side “Servolution.” Go to our bookstore right now and get a copy of the book “Servolution“. Prices have just been marked down but the impact of this message by Dino Rizzo (pastor of Healing Place Church) is of great value.