KyleGoen.com

I found a really good article (blog post) on mentoring men at a blog I read periodically, The Art of Manliness. Some of you might enjoy reading the blog. Here is an excerpt…

Be a Man Mentor

Just as you need man mentors, so too do other men. No one needs guidance in the art of manliness more than boys and young men, who are trying to figure how to become worthy men. Every man should make mentoring a part of his life. Here are just a few ways to do that:

• Become a Scout leader. Boy Scout troops always need volunteers who are eager to make a difference in boys’ lives.

• Become a Big Brother. A lot of young men out there are growing up without a positive father figure in their lives. Be the man these boys can turn to and emulate as they grow up.

• Volunteer with your church’s youth group. Lucky is the young man can find a man who is both an older friend and a spiritual mentor.

• Get to know your kids’ friends. I guess some kids try to hide from adults, but I always liked chatting it up with my friends’ parents. Some of my friend’s dads became my friend in their own right. Obviously, you don’t want to be the dorky dad who’s always hanging around, and you should know when to let your son and his friends alone. But if they’re game, it’s okay to hang out with them from time to time. Take you son and his friends fishing or hunting.

Written by Brett & Kate McKay

Here is the outline for week 1 of my talk. Hopefully the podcast will be loaded later today. www.lifepointchurch.org

Go…ology (Outline#1)

Emil Brunner (Theologian) –“The church exists by mission, just as fire exists by burning. Where there is no mission, there is no church; and where there is no church nor mission, there is no faith.”

Any study of missions must start with a study of mission theology.

Missiology = the study of missions.

Every great missionary movement was preceded by a movement of spiritual awakening.

John Piper – 3 types of people 1. Those who go 2. Those who send 3. Those who are disobedient

Not all can go, but all can send

Define Missio Dei–Mission of God

Mission = God’s activity

Missions = Man’s activity to

Mission always precedes missions

God was the founder of mission. Jesus was the model of mission. God sent His son, Jesus, on mission to the earth to seek out and to save a people for God. Luke 19:10

Jesus taught the disciples they were to take on the mission of God in the commissions of the N.T. (Matt 28:19-20; Mark 16:15-16; Luke 24:47-48; John 20:21-23; and Acts 1:8).

Commission #1 Matthew 28:18-20

Primary verb is “make disciples”

Participles are going, baptizing, and teaching as you are making disciples

We are to develop followers, not learners.

Connection between authority and going–“therefore”

Commission #2 Mark 16:15-16

Main verb in the passage is proclaim/preach

“Go” is part of both verses, not central

This reiterated what the biblical message has stated from the very beginning. God’s redemptive mission is for everyone, not just one group of people.

Commission #3 Luke 24:46-48

Central theme of verses is message of repentance and forgiveness of sins

Commission #4 John 20:21-23

Culmination of the Book of John

The one who has been Sent, now becomes the Sender

Jesus tells His followers that as He has been sent, so He is now sending them (John 20:21).

Commission #5 Acts 1:8

The Book of Acts follows the outline of verse 8. Chapters 1-6–Start of the church in Jerusalem Chapters 7-12–Scattering of the church into Judea and Samaria Chapters 13-28–Sent out to uttermost

In Acts, Jesus tells the disciples they will be witnesses to the things they have seen.

The Holy Spirit directed and empowered the disciples to accomplish the task of reaching people, which is still the mandate of the church.

He came…He sought…He sent,

We go… We seek… We send…

a portion of the article…

Not all the news about Southern Baptists is negative. The convention has begun to focus on planting churches among ethnic minorities and is seeing some promising results. And some older congregations who have adopted innovative practices are thriving.

That’s the case at Life Point Church in Smyrna — which recently changed its name from First Baptist Church. On Wednesday night several hundred teenagers packed an auditorium at the church, singing along as a rock band sang “Everlasting God,” their hands raised in prayer.

Down the hallway, a group of adults hung out, sipping coffee in the church’s World Cup Cafe, while others filled a nearby classroom for a budgeting class. On Sundays, more than 2,500 people will pack worship service. The church is already making plans to expand to a second satellite location.

In jeans and a khaki pullover, the Rev. Pat Hood doesn’t look like a typical Baptist pastor. But he remains conservative in his theology, and loyal to the convention.

“We are not ashamed of being Baptist,” he said. “But at the same time, our goal is not to make people Baptist. Our goal is to make people followers of Christ.”

Longtime church member Joel Sturdivant said the rock music and casual atmosphere help attract newcomers. But he believes a change in the attitude of members was more important.

When Sturdivant, now 70, first came to the church in 1977, it was a fairly insular community, he said.

“It was a typical First Baptist Church,” he said, “more about what we and us and my friends are doing than about what Scripture says we should be doing.”

That changed when a former missionary became pastor, and urged the congregation to be more community focused.

“It’s not just about me and my friends,” Sturdivant said. The church grew, he said, by loving its neighbors with actions, not words.

To read the entire article click here.

God choosing me

my Amy, Jordan, Peyton, Evan

my mom

Tracey, Greg, Abby, Ellie, Lucy Grace, Zoe

the Word of God

the church I serve

my calling

the team of leaders I serve

the school my children attend and my wife serves

so many others I can’t name them all…

but I will update as God reminds me.

Time to list yours.

We are a church of small groups. We have small groups that meet on Sunday morning and during the week in the homes of church members. Eddie tells me that we have around 100 adult small groups counting on campus and off campus groups. 

We also have student small groups for sixth graders through college students. There are close to 100 small groups for our students. I am a proponent of small groups. My family is part of an adult small group so we have first hand knowledge of what an active small group can do for your spiritual growth.

I want to link you to a story from Chris Hollomon, our Student Pastor about a small group story that you are going to love.

A good interview with Billy Graham leading to his 90th birthday. Well worth the reading. [HT-Taylor]

God, I ask you to give our new president wisdom to lead our country in a way that will satisfy you. I recognize the person you wanted to lead the USA won the election. Please remind me to pray for his family and their protection from danger. Please surround him with a leader(s) that follow you and may his heart be bent toward his/her/their counsel.

Lord, let his wife model Proverbs 31 to the world.

Please protect his daughters and mold their hearts to follow you each day.

God, Please remind me that I belong to a kingdom that is not of this world and that I am called to follow you each day. You placed my family in this country, under this administration, for a specific task. Thank you for being in control and for knowing the outcome from the very beginning. We rely on you. Amen.

[personal note] I do not agree with his public positions on many issues and did not vote for Barak Obama. It is still a historic day for our country to have elected a black (bi-racial) man to the highest office in the USA and to be possibly the most powerful leader on earth. I am glad to have a person of color in the office of president. Dr. MLK would be proud.

In early 2009 (Feb.) I will begin teaching on Wednesday evenings at FBCSmyrna about living missional as a follower of Christ.

What are some subjects/topics that are related to this subject you think should be included in the teaching? Maybe they are a full session or maybe a short topic or statement included in session about something else. I would love to hear your thoughts.

People who are talking, thinking, and writing in this direction:

Ed Stetzer

Alan Hirsch

Subtext

Al Hsu

[note to skeptics/critics - these guys challenge my thinking to live intentional in my culture so Christ can be known, we may or may not agree on everything, but they are leading the way in thinking missional]

A few years ago I was introduced to an artist named Andrew Peterson. There is nothing in his presentation or his appearance that would necessarily win him popular appeal. But, his thought provoking writing and Americana musical style is really good. He writes from a  biblical perspective and has a great ability to turn a phrase in such a way that causes you to really think about what was just sung.

My favorite Andrew Peterson CD project is called Behold the Lamb of God. It is a wonderful look at the “coming of the Messiah.” He starts in the Old Testament and works his way to the Gospels with Jesus being prophesied about and to his birth, very biblical. I would highly recommend you download the project.

For the last few years my family has made his Christmas concert at the Ryman a part of our seasonal celebration. Great artist along with many special guest appearances, wonderful music, and incredible worship during a time of the year that has become overly commercial.

You might want to check out the CD and the concert.

Well….I’m back on after a five month hiatus. It has been very restful and I think I accomplished what I wanted to accomplish by backing away for a while.

I am going to get things started back with a video from my recent trip to China. Enjoy!

Chinese Worship
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftvvpc63Bv8]