One Heart

"The whole congregation of believers was united as one—one heart, one mind!" Acts 4:32

[c3oneheart]

The first few minutes of this interview with Carl Lentz and Kevin Durant hold some nuggets of wisdom that are crucial to reaching people and our cities. Some of my favorite quotes...

God handles the fruitfulness of things but faithfulness is my job.

In Virginia Beach I was sitting court side at high school basketball games and when we moved to Manhattan MSG was the closest court.

People will say to me, "I want to be the chaplain of a NBA basketball team." And I ask them, "Well, do you run a connect group in your church? Do you know your neighbor?"

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(via 5 Things Great Leaders Do (That Most People Don’t) | RELEVANT Magazine)

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Our second book on the list for this year is Rumors of God by Darren Whitehead and Jon Tyson.  As you’ll read in a moment, it’s been an important source for much of what Pastor Brandon and Mere have been communicating to C3 this year.  It’s critical to get this message into your heart – ASAP – so that our team can get on this same page. We would like to have this book completed by August 1st.

Here is what Pastor Brandon had to say about Rumors...

“Very few books have impacted me, challenged me, and encouraged me the way this book did. Really! You may not know it, but so much of my preaching, meeting, and vision-casting this past year has been inspired in some small way by this book.

It reminded me of the depth of God's love and power in us. It challenged me in how we, as the church and as people, could radically change the world in which we live each and every day. I'm praying your faith is stirred, your vision expanded, and your soul is renewed as you read this. It will prepare us for the next step of growth at C3!”

It’s encouraging to be part of a team that’s prioritizing personal and team growth and longing for more in our pursuit and honoring of Jesus!

Our increased capacity and skill set as leaders will allow God to set us up for success in new areas that we could not have previously been effective in.  God has placed us exactly where we are with reason, purpose and a call to love our city. Let’s keep striving toward making Him famous!!!

[c3oneheart]

Book Review: How To Win Friends and Influence People

Having a skill in an area by definition means that you’re effective in that area and therefore, you probably like that area – because who doesn’t like being good at what they’re doing? Only exception I can think of is Liam Neeson in Taken – “I have a very particular set of skills…”.  Hopefully he didn’t take pleasure in those skills.  I digress.

This was a primary reason for including How To Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie on this year’s book list.  As our communication and interaction skills increase, so will our effectiveness and, hopefully, our enjoyment of it.

On to the book…it’s quite the classic because it was an early (written in 1936) and popular (15 million sold) source to outline effective etiquette for interacting with others.  Although at times we may have felt Carnegie’s message was too basic or perhaps common knowledge, we all would be surprised how often these foundational tips get ignored in the average conversation – especially when we’re running around before a church service or getting ready to host a group or lead a meeting!  This book reminds us that when you break it down, a conversation needs things like:

Smiling

Interest in the other person

Appreciation

And to REMEMBER THEIR NAME!

It takes discipline to pray in the message of the book and begin using it in the everyday grind.  As we use this truth in this book in our regular method of communicating with others we’ll see change quickly.

As a refresher, here is an illustration video that’s very effective in summarizing the primary focus of the book: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9X6z0PDLePE

BECOME A FRIENDLIER PERSON

Don't criticize, condemn or complain.

Give honest, sincere appreciation.

Become genuinely interested in other people.

Smile!

Remember that a person's name is to that person the most important sound in any language.

Encourage others to talk about themselves and then LISTEN well.

Make the other person feel important - and do so sincerely.

The only way to get the best of an argument is to avoid it.

WIN PEOPLE TO YOUR WAY OF THINKING

Show respect for the other person's opinions. Never say, "You're wrong."

If you are wrong, admit it quickly and emphatically.

Get the other person saying, "Yes, yes" immediately.

Let the other person do a great deal of the talking.

Let the other person feel that the idea is his or hers.

Try honestly to see things from the other person's point of view.

Be sympathetic with the other person's ideas and desires.

Dramatize your ideas.

BE A LEADER

Throw down a challenge.

Begin with praise and honest appreciation.

Call attention to people's mistakes indirectly.

Talk about your own mistakes before criticizing the other person.

Ask questions instead of giving direct orders.

Let the other person save face.

Praise the slightest and every improvement. Be "lavish in your praise."

Give the other person a fine reputation to live up to.

Use encouragement. Make the fault seem easy to correct.

Make the other person happy about doing the thing you suggest.

[c3oneheart]

Such a great interview. The link has both audio and text version. You NEED to listen to this!

We now have a large percentage of people who have no muscle memory of regularly going to church or being part of a Christian community.

Mosaics/Millennials are often more willing to be challenged than we are willing to challenge them; young Christians are waiting for a hard ask.

When there is no recognizable contrast between the church and the world, millennials ask what you’re calling people into other than a more committed relationship with Jesus?

Equipping Christians for vocational discipleship is increasingly important. Instead of only bringing people into the church to do ministry, help them see that their vocation and work outside the church is also ministry.

[c3oneheart]

6 Characteristics of the Best Church Leaders

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The Secret Source of Great Leadership

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"Everything is better on the front row.” From his years of experience raising up great leaders, Pastor Rob Ketterling teaches in this video about the value of being close to the action, focused, and engaged in what God is doing.

[c3oneheart]

Don't Be That Person: 5 Ways to Stop Being High Maintenance

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Ready to take the fall.

Willing to have to sacrifice.

Always informed enough to make the tough decisions.

Constantly learning.

In touch with reality.

Able to plan for the future while leading in the present and honoring the past.

Quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger. (Yikes!)

Humble and Hungry.

Never satisfied, but always content.

A great follower who understands how to be led.

Wise and discerning.

100% trustworthy.

Willing to risk when it's needed, and not afraid to create change.

Constantly encouraging. (Yikes#2!)

Casting vision on a regular basis and creating a picture of the end goal.

Responsible. Your yes is yes and your no is no.

Anticipates what needs to get done.

Always hustling.

Among many, many other things...

[c3oneheart]

Work It!

1 Corinthians 3:6 says, "I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow." Work it! This phrase, no matter when or how it's used, is saying one simple thing…take what you've been given and use it!

"I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow." – 1 Corinthians 3:6 Work it! This phrase, no matter when or how it's used, is saying one simple thing…take what you've been given and use it! We, and I do mean WE, have been given something special, miraculous, powerful, and of the upmost importance. The Church. The Bride of Christ. The Body. In fact, it hasn't been given to us as much as it has become us. WE ARE THE CHURCH! Not only are we the church, we are C3 Church. We are unique. We are part of the larger body of Christ, and we have a role to play. Over the past several months and years we've gotten word after word from friends, pastors, and special guests about the future of C3 Church DFW. How it will impact a city and how it's coming soon! But let me say this, the word will not be accomplished without the work. We must work the word for the word to work. To be clear, I'm not speaking of the Gospel, because that works all the time. I am speaking of the word given to us as C3 Church in the Dallas/Ft Worth metroplex. A word to plant churches, to disciple people, to be fresh, real, and powerful, and to live our best life. To be a local expression of a global movement! It's time to WORK IT! We must do the best we can with what we have. Our creativity, our courage, our connecting, our celebrating…it's special. It is time to include more and more people, more and more ideas, more and more blood, sweat, and tears. We plant, we water, and through our faithfulness, perserverance, and trust God makes it grow. We depend on him to make the work of our hands have a heartfelt impact. Let's work it!

[c3oneheart]

An incredibly challenging and helpful article on our 'depression' and how we find ourselves in a place of frustration, apathy, discouragement, etc.