Perspectives

As you pour so much of who you are into worship, make sure you frequently pause and remember its purpose.

God, in everything, carries out the plan of His will. Can we trust Him as leaders?

There are 500 cities in the world with a population exceeding one million people. YWAM has a ministry presence in about 134 of them. We know that God is calling us to greatly expand our outreach with hundreds of thousands of workers throughout the world. But we have to ask ourselves how we can we go about doing that.

People of the earth seem to be so lonely and so full of angst about whether or not there is anyone else “out there.” Why did God create humans with this God-sized hole in our hearts?

Why I’m most grateful for the worst examples of leadership.

Wise leaders learn from their previous experiences in cross-cultural situations. In this anecdote, Bill was well-prepared to face the physical challenges and slight inconveniences associated with his environment. One of his assumptions, however, resulted in a productive lesson learned in humility and vulnerability.

Knowing the thoughts and trends of potential churchgoers is not bad in itself. Yet how much attention and how quickly churches are apt to change their approaches to living out the gospel in light of such knowledge is tragic.

The combination of youth and experience can take new ground for the Gospel, but first, “more experienced” leaders might want to check out 11 characteristics I have observed from my generation.

During a recent trip to Cuba, I was able to spend time with local leaders. All together, we served about 150 pastors that represented conservatively over 8,000 people in their churches. Here’s what I learned.

Frustration and fear feature strongly in change processes. Churches and Christian NGOs are no exception in my experience. Not surprising I suppose, given they are staffed by humans, not angels. But left undealt with, frustration and fear give rise to mistrust and effectively block efforts at change.

I’m an Evangelical, and as an Evangelical I have the right to join my Evangelical brothers in confessing a currently-devastating sin, in repenting from it, and in making amends. I fear that the majority of us Evangelicals have been covering up one of the most significant truths of our modern age: More people are coming to faith in Christ around the world than ever before in history, while our Evangelical denominations in the West are declining.

Saying “no,” even when you really want to do this, is going to require everything in you. Saying “no” may be the finest gift you could ever give your wife and family and your church. Saying “no” when your ego and ambition and “sense of self” are all clamoring to seize this invitation is going to say worlds about your self-discipline and focus. Here are four thoughts on the subject.