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Most Influential Books
Other than the Bible, what two or three books have influenced your approach to pastoring and leadership the most? Can you share a sentence or two about how each of these books influenced you? What is the key thought you received from each one? Read the responses.
Secrets
Tony Cooke
In recent years, we’ve seen vivid examples of secular leaders, high profile sports figures, and even ministers having their world implode because they were leading a secret life (or double life). Such disclosures not only provide fodder for tabloid news, but leave a legacy of shattered trust, and the people close to them reeling in shock, pain, and disillusionment. What is it that causes otherwise intelligent people to think that their toxic secrets will never have consequences or be exposed? Read this article by Tony Cooke.
Grace: The DNA of God is Now Available on Kindle
Grace is truly one of the most amazing and life-transforming topics in the Bible. Tony Cooke takes the reader on a journey of not only understanding but also experiencing the grace of God. The grace of God is multi-faceted, having application in every area of the believer's life.
He explores:
• Saving Grace
• Sanctifying Grace
• Strengthening Grace
• Sharing Grace
• Serving Grace
Grace is never a cop-out; rather, it is a catalyst that powerfully enables us to be and to do all that God has called us to become and accomplish.
Not only does this book explain what grace provides, but it also discusses what Grace produces. As you learn to partake freely and fully of God's grace, you will be able to say with the Apostle Paul, "By the grace of God I am what I am." (1 Corinthians 15:10). You can also purchase the paperback book in our bookstore.
Video Interview with Missionaries Walker and Haley Schurz (Lusaka, Zambia)
Travelogue from Tony and Lisa’s Trip to Lusaka
In May, Tony and Lisa joined Walker and Haley Schurz in Lusaka, Zambia for ministry at a pastors' conference, to Bible School students, and to the members of Miracle Life Church. Click here to enjoy their travelogue.
Guidelines for Meaningful Prayer in Counseling
Dr. James E. Johnson
Sharing from 40 years of counseling experience, with degrees in counseling and theology, Dr. James E. Johnson answers four important questions about the use of prayer in personal ministry:
• When should we pray?
• Who should we ask to pray?
• What is the role of prayer?
• How can we pray effectively?
Read this article by Dr. James E. Johnson.
Setting "Social" Expectations
Cullen Swanson
I understand many of the reasons why some individuals resist getting involved in social media (particularly Facebook), but with over 500 million users, Facebook is impossible to ignore, especially for business owners and ministry leaders. Promoting your organization on Facebook and social media is just as important (if not more so) than having a website.
The whole purpose of having a website for your organization is to maximize your influence online and engage your target audience. Even though the social media landscape is constantly changing, and is difficult to keep up with most of the time, it is counter–productive to ignore social media; your website just isn't enough anymore.
Read this article by Cullen Swanson.
Read all of our quotes by visiting our Quotes Page.
CONSECRATION
"The first thing a man must do if he desires to be used in the Lord's work, is to make an unconditional surrender of himself to God. He must consecrate and then concentrate. A man who does not put his whole life into one channel does not count for much, and the man who only goes into work with half a heart does not amount to much."
- D.L. Moody
GOD
"Because God is the living God, He can hear; because He is a loving God, He will hear; because He is our covenant God, He has bound Himself to hear."
- Charles H. Spurgeon
ACTION
"Do you want to know who you are? Don't ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you."
- Thomas Jefferson
HOLY SPIRIT
"Pentecost gave me the key to the Scriptures. It has kept my feet in all the slippery places of all sorts of criticism. The things that are stumbling blocks to so many are stepping stones to me. The inexplicable becomes plain when we recognize the presence and law of the Spirit. It balances scholarship, and gives discernment beyond all human learning.
- Samuel Chadwick
PREACHING
"I once heard a preacher who sorely tempted me to go to church no more."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson