All the InterVarsity Greek Staff
I like going to conferences and being around people, especially when they are helpful. But lets be honest, we have all been to bad meetings, conferences and retreats.
A couple of weeks ago I went to Greek Staff Conference (where all the InterVarsity staff that work with fraternity & sorority students gather) and it reminded me how much I love these meetings.
So it made me think, as an apostolic evangelist, why do I love them so much?
Will you willingly give God your best bull this year?
I want you to think about getting into some trouble this week and more importantly this year!
What if we actively put ourselves into trouble for God, fully aware of our need for Him to rescue us?
What if we did that instead of calculating how much we could really handle and would we really be able to get ourselves out if in fact we did wind up in trouble?
This last week at our Greek Staff Conference with Intervarsity, we had some excellent training by Rich Lamb. One of the things he encouraged us with is the idea of “Leader as Patient”. Not patient as in waiting, but patient as in a sick person needing healing.
Mike Breen’s new book Leading Kingdom Movements comes out tomorrow! I want to buy it and you should too. Here is a taste and follow my link to see more from this book and even download a few chapters if you like!
There seem to be seasons where the world doesn’t just need change, but is actually begging for it. It’s aching for it, desperate for it. That’s how the world was in Jesus’ time. And I believe we find ourselves in that world today. This book is about learning to lead Kingdom movements that just might be able to produce that kind of change.
A new book has come out by an awesome pastor Judah Smith. He leads the City Church in Seattle and that church was a big part of my college experience when I was home on breaks. I think it could be a great book for evangelism and I am going to check it out.
It is also forwarded by Bubba Watson, The 2012 Masters Champion.
There are special offers if you purchase the book this week!
Here is a great post by Steve Addision, the author of a great new book “What Jesus Started”. Check out his blog, It is awesome!
Finding “persons of peace” is an important element in most disciple making movements. This practice is grounded in Jesus’ instructions to his disciples when he sent them out on mission. Jesus also led by example as this comparison table shows.
Here is a great post from Doug Bursch on visionary leadership and how the prophetic fits in. I think it is a great read to at least stir the juices a bit!
There have been many words written about vision. From vision casting, to vision statements, to visionaries, the world is full of vision. On many different occasions I’ve been asked to describe my vision or the vision for the church I pastor. My first response is usually an issue of clarification. “What do you mean by vision?”
From a Biblical perspective the word “vision” is usually used with the idea of prophetic insight and utterance. In other words, the Bible uses “vision” to describe an actual vision that has come from God or is ascribed to God. In an Old Testament context, prophets were set apart to see God’s vision and to communicate God’s visions to the people.
It is important to distinguish this prophetic vision from the modern corporate culture use of vision. Vision is not a nice idea, a good plan, or a strategic next step. It’s not long term goals or objectives. Rather vision in the Bible is synonymous with vision from God. God shows the prophet a vision of what is or what will be. The prophet writes down the vision and proclaims the vision to the people.
By Beau Crosetto
Consider the potato.
It is fully formed and grown underground and unless you dig it up, you would never know that it was ripe and ready for harvest. You literally could walk right over it 100 times and never know.
I think there are harvest opportunities like this as well. There are communities ripe with potential and just waiting to be harvested. Cities that are ready for revival, campuses eager for the gospel message, neighborhoods longing for community and Jesus.
We just don’t know and we just don’t see it.
It is an interesting thought to think that there are communities of faith that are ready to form with little effort needed. It is very different than the usual thought of starting something new.
Here is the first free book giveaway for 2013!
This week we are giving away
“Making All Things New: God’s Dream for Global Justice” by York Moore
This book really helps us think about “God’s Dream” for the world and how He is on mission to make all things new. York helps us take a deeper look at brokenness, injustice and God’s redemption all in light of the end time reality that Jesus will come back and reign as King.
I know York personally and he has a a huge heart for both justice and seeing things made right, but also evangelism and seeing people come to know Jesus Christ and start personal relationships with Him. He is really onto something here with his writing and his book as he brings the two together so we can better see and understand the full story of God!
Greeks at USC studying scripture for the groups they will lead!
[This post is part of the Start Something New series. Read the other posts here!]
By Beau Crosetto
Over the last few months, since the start of this blog, I have had a couple of people reach out to me with these specific questions,
“How do I gather apostolic people on campus?
“Beau, how do you get your core team to actually start new things? I have gathered people, but what do you do to get them moving?
In some ways these are two different questions, as one asks how I gather, while the other asks how I take a gathered group and move them to action. But I think at the root they are similar in that these people want to know how do you get an apostolic, or action based core team that actually takes risks and steps out to start new things?
Here are a couple of things that I practically do with core teams or keep in mind when I am starting a new ministry and gathering a team for the first time.
[If you would like to receive my go to material for new core teams, join the APE newsletter!]
“Dad when I get bigger and bigger I am going to drink coffee too.”
One the funniest things about being a dad is the way that my kids try to copy me, repeat what I say, and really aspire to be like me.
It is fun, makes me feel loved, and also gives me a huge dose of humility as I realize what I show them is really important.
Everything I do, especially the things I do every day, are showing my son what it means to be a man.
He wants to drink coffee because his dad drinks coffee…every day.
This hilarious and sobering fact makes me immediately think about two things:
I have never told my son that he should drink coffee when he gets bigger. He just sees me doing it and infers that when you are a “big guy” you drink coffee.