Quote from "Christy" by Catherine Marshall

"David suspected that he did not yet know how to preach or what to preach so that people's hearts would be ignited and changed. I wonder how many preachers did know. And in that case, what could they do except fall back on building programs, creating more church organizations, appointing more committees, calling more meetings, plunging into (what as the new term?) social service work, - all of the busy busy church activities for which Alice had a delightful tag: "digging worms instead of fishing."

Things to Remember from Leadershift, by Don Cousins

Chapter 1:
pgs 17-18, 2 great stories about leading and following
pg 20:Leadership is not the most important or most needed gift
pg 21: What gift does the Apostle Paul call us to seek? Prophesy! (I Cor 14)
pg 33: Ephesians 4:11... this was a good explanation of the 5 'leadership effect' gifts. (What do I have? Teacher, pastor?)
pg 35: "A true leader is not someone who can do the work of ten people, but someone who can organize, [equip & motivate] ten people to do the work." Dale Galloway. (Good for COCUSA site directors) If you hold a leadership position but are not equipping the saints for the work of service than you are not a leader. Biblically, Leading = Equipping.
pg 37: The Holy Spirit has distributed gifts so that there are the exact number of Eph 4:11 people and Eph 4:12 people.
Pg 39: Those in leadership positions must focus their ministry on equipping others for the work of service. That is what God designed them to do.

Chapter 2:
pg 46: God allows circumstances that will press us to search him. Jeremiah 29:11-13.
pg 48: It's time to leave COCUSA when "there's a better job for me than what I'm doing and a better person for my job than me."
pg 52: Don't be afraid to pray: "If your yoke is easy, then what's this I'm yoked to? If your burden is light, whose burden am I carrying?"
pg 53-55: Sad, scary stats for pastors. How can I encourage those that I'm around?
pg 56: "Good news: God is in the business of healing broken people. Bad news: Participation in God's work i sproducing broken people. How Ironic. We can onlyi conclude that we're not doing God's work in God's way- "

Chapter 3: Success Heresy
pg 62: Do I just notice the numbers, or am I focused on them?
pg 63: A focus on numbers alone will never leave you satisfied
pg 66: Don't get lost while trying to reach the lost... What if Jesus focused on numbers?
pg 67: Are you building your 'little k' kindom or God's 'Big K' Kingdom?
pg 68: We know nothing of the numbers for most New Testament churches
Pg 70: We must know how GOD defines success. 4?s for every believer (not just someone in ministry or churches)
1) Are you being faithful? (parable of the talents- the success is based on faithfulness, not on numbers. pg 73: God has given: talents, material resources, education, spiritual gifts. Use what you've been given and that is success! If you're doing that, numbers don't matter!
pg 74: 2) Are you bearing fruit? Not #s, but who you are! Does your life ahve fruit? What is your percentage of Galatians 5:22-23? (And then the external fruit of lives being changed.. not just bodies in a building)
Einstein: "Not all that counts can be counted, and not all that can be counted counts."
3) Are you fulfilled? Joy! (Luke 10:17, John 15:11)
4) Are you making God famous? Less focus on me. Be anonymous. God's name.
In God's kingdom one person can be successful!

Chapter 4: Serving Heresy
The motive: WHY we serve in the kingdom is important.
Heresies: Reasons we do NOT serve: 1) God needs our help. 2) God wants a payback- we can't work long enough or hard enough to say 'thanks' 3) Serving is doing something for God. (correct- we serve one another)
Biblical Truth: 1) Our participation in the work of His kingdom brings his blessings to and through our lives. (God is STILL giving to us!)
2) God displays himself through his blessings to us, thereby bringing glory to his name (see success chapter

Chapter 5: Credit Heresy
pg 103: babysitter instructions (long) vs Jesus instructions (one line) in Acts 1
pg 104: waiting = praying in Acts 1. Everything was dependent on (waiting for) the Holy Spirit.
120 + Holy Spirit = 3000. (Bet on Bible Math!)
p 108-109: Jesus gets Holy Spirit at the start of his ministry (Luke 3:21-22) resists devil (Luke 4:1-2) helps teaching (v14-15)
pg 110: Paul and Zechariah speak of waiting for the Holy Spirit. "Wait, then cooperate"
Pg 112-117: A crash-course on how Willow Creek started... a must read for anyone who bashes them for being a Mega-Church.
pg 118: "By crediting human factors as the cause behind spiritual responsiveness, I'd be overlooking the one true key. While true, I'd actually be guilty of something far more significant: I would be robbing God of His deserved glory. To point to human factors as the explanation for what God accomplishes is heresy. To assign credit to man that rightfully belongs to God is a form of blasphemy."
-- but we hold up ministries that are 'cutting edge' and leaders that are gifted... forgetting it is God behind them.
pg 120: "Formulating strategy apart from the move of the Spirit is a waste of time. Copying other ministries' strategy because they saw fruit as they cooperated with the Spirit is an even bigger waste of time."

Chapter Six: The Organizational Heresy
2 organizational models presented:
pg 121- (the bad one): Institutional.. A)Board Led, B) Staff Run (p 126), C) Congregation Served (like a health club, p 127, members needs determine the staff, services, and programs), D) World Ignored p128.
If this stat is true it is mind boggling: 50% of American churches failed to add one person by conversion last year. WHOA!
p130: "In many communities the unsaved population doesn't even see the church as a relevant option for addressing the challenges they face in life."
p131 (the good model): Biblical- A)Board Protected (elders protect against false teaching and sin, in times of trial and work .. scripture reference in book for each..) Elders help represent God to the people, not people in a democracy.
p139 B) Staff Led- Not just paid staff. There are good ?s for the effectiveness of each group here.
C) Congregation Serving "The Biblical church is a serving army. D) World Served... the key to evangelism- "find a need and meet it." (What are needs in my social circles?)

Chapter 9: The Zone of God's anointing. How do we get into 'the zone'? It will lead to fruit!
p 217 Ask others so you are not WRONG about your gifts.
p 218 Put down your own EGO
p 221 "We don't shape people to fit jobs, we shape jobs to fit people."
Institutionalism defined: putting the organization ahead of other factors. (see Lighthouse video)

Chapter 10: (Worth re-reading and noting more extensively)
Every believer serving: is that the flagship of your church? How can you make it so?
#1) Every believer is a priest!
#2) Leaders must equip (good questions about this on pg 235)
#3) Believers must 'get' gifts- Story of people's passions, pg 238-240
#4) The opportunity to experience success. (Biblical success! See chapter 3) "Equipped saints will ultimately do the work of service to far greater degrees and with much more (Biblical) success than used saints ever will."
I can't NOT do this (pg 241)

Stuff to remember from 'Bringing up Boys' by James Dobson

Chapter 1: The Wonderful World of Boys
pg 2: boys are 'all afterburner and no rudder'
pg 3: Plato said; "of all animals, the boy is most unmanageable" (that was over 2300 years ago!)
Check out this entire chapter if you want SEVERAL good and funny stories of boys being boys.

Chapter 2: Vive La Difference
pg 10-12: Look here for Great lists from kids of why Girls are better than boys & boys are better than girls.
pg 15: "Of major concern to the feminists was what they considered to be the 'sexism' in children's toys. As with so many issues during that era, it was Germain Greer who said: "So where does the difference come from? If it's all bred into us by people like toy makers, who steer boys toward these trucks, girls to the dolls, and by teachers, parents, employers- all the wick influences of a sexist society..."
Great pressure was excerted on companies to 'fix' the problem. Retailers of toys were therafter put on nitce that segregation of merchandise by sex was not to be tolerated. They got the message. For more than two decades Toys R Us implemented a 'gender-neutral' approach to marketing... It was not succesful. Finally the company administered more than 10,000 customer surveys to learn more about the preferences of children. It turned out that boys and girls were interested in different things."
pg 17: Biblical teaching on sexes: Gen 1:27, Matthew 19:4-5. God created TWO sexes.

Chapter 3: So What Is the Difference?
Dobson's Dad, on having a perpetually different view & thoughts than his wife: "Any proposal that gets past both us us must be pretty good."
For Dobson's take on ADD check pages 28-31

Chapter 4: Wounded Spirits
pg 33: Too many sad facts about boys
It was at this point in my reading I realized that Dobson has yet to mention the important of Christ (though to be fair he didn't claim it was a spiritually focused book).
Pg 48: There are 14,000 sexual references a year on TV. $2 billion is spent on Alcohol ads.
Takeaway: Squish bullying immediately whenever you see it.
Pg 49: Marijuana's harmful effects

Chapter 5: The Essential Father
pg 53: "Stable Life long marriages provide the foundation for social order. Everything of value rests on those underpinnings. Historically, when the family begins to unravel in a given culture, everything from the effectiveness of government to the general welfare of the people is adversely impacted. This is precisely what is happening to us today." (and it continues)
Pg 54: "If I may be permitted to offer what will sounds like a hyperbole, I believe the future of Western civilization depends on how we handle this present crisis. Why? Because we as parents are raising the next generation of men who will either lead with honor and integrity or abandon every good thing they have inherited. They are bridges to the future. Nations that are populated largely by immature, immoral, weak-willed, cowardly, and self indulgent men cannot and will not endure. These types of men include those who sire and abandon their children; who cheat on their wives, who lie, steal, and covet; who hate their countrymen; and who serve no god but money. That is the direction culture is taking today's boys. We must make the necessary investment to counter these influences and to build within our boys lasting qualities of character, self-discipline, respect for authority, commitment to the truth, a belief in the work ethic, and an unshakable love for Jesus Christ. The pursuit of those objectives led me to undertake the writing of this book."
Fact: only 34% of American children will live through age 18 with both of their biological parents.
pg 55: "Toddlers are especially obvious in their assertions of fatherneed: they will seek out their father, ask for him when he's not present, be fascinated when he talks to them on the phone...
quoted from Fatherneed by Kyle Pruett: " Teenagers express fatherneed in yet more complex ways, competing with their father and confronting his values, beliefs, and, of course, limits."
I prayed this after reading this section: "Lord, I want to be there for my kids. I know my life is in your hands, but please perserve it until my children are solidly grounded."
pgs 56-57 have a heartbreaking story of a 58 year old man who still remembers his father being too busy for him.
"No man stands so tall as when he stoops to help a boy."
"Tie a boy to the right man and he almost never goes wrong."
pg 60: Sobering stats on prison population... Barbara Jackson quote: "It is far easier to build strong children than to repair broken men."
Bill Houghton, president of a large construction firm, has hired 1000s of people. When thinking of male interviewees he primarily considers the relationship between the man and his father. A great question to ask potential camp staff.
My thought: No matter how early God calls me home I am responsible to leave a memory & legacy that will lead my wife & kids."
Divorse effects kids for a lifetime!

Chapter 6: Fathers & Sons
General Douglas MacArthur- "Nothing has touched me more deeply than [this honor given to me] by the National Father's Day Committee. By profession, I am a soldier and take great pride in that fact. But I am prouder, infinitely prouder, to be a father. A soldier destroys in order to build. The father only builds, never destroys. The one has the potentialities of death, the other embodies creation and life. And while the hordes of death are mighty, the battalions of life are mightier still. It is my hope that my son, when I am gone, will remember me not from the battle, but in the home."
"I'd rather see a sermon than hear one."
Dobson's point (which I agree with): The best way to raise a son is to be the best possible person as a Father.
Dobson's Suggestions in instructing boys: If you speak disparagingly of females, or if you refer to them as sex objects, that will translate directly into their dating and marital relationships.
Prepare a boy to lead his family when he's grown. Make a concerted effort to teach sexual abstinence. "Of course you can do it! Young people are fully capable of understanding that irresponsible sex is not in their best interest and can lead to disease, pregnancy, rejection, etc." pg 76
For Dobson's take on masturbation see pages 78-80
A great set of verses on avoiding sexual immorality: pages 81-82

Chapter 7: Mothers & Sons
Mother's duties-resident psychologist, physician, theologian, educator, nurse, chef, taxi driver, fire marshal, and occasional police officer.
pg 86- results from a USA Today study on child care.
pg 88, 2nd full paragraph- This totally described Jackson at the time I originally read this book. (toddlerhood)
pgs 91-92: Story of Dobson's father sacrificing his career to keep James on the correct path.
Family relationships (via parental involvement and eating together) are VITAL for your kids- stats on pgs 91-92.
Comparing the breakdown of communication in Iraq for the first gulf war to breakdown in family communication- pg 96

Chapter 8: Chasing the Caterpillar
Story of French naturalist Jean Henri Fabre's experiment with processionary caterpillars. Am I keeping Brittany from falling over 'of starvation'? - pg 99
Stories & stats about needing a Sabbath. 2nd paragraph pg 102
Vince Foster, deputy counsel to President Clinton, reportedly committed suicide July 20, 1993. 8 weeks previous he gave these words to graduates of the University of Arkansas School of Law:
"A Word about family. You have amply demonstrated that you are achievers willing to work hard, long hours and set aside your personal lives. But it reminds me of that observation that no one was ever heard to say on a deathbed, I wish I had spent more time at the office. Balance wisely your professional life and your family life. If you are fortunate to have children, your parents will warn you that your children grow up and be gone before you know it. I can testify that it is true. God only allows us so many opportunities with our children to read a story, go fishing, play catch and say our prayers together. Try not to miss a one of them."

Chapter 9: The Origins of Homesexuality
Pg 116 - an obvious reason why homosexuality is not genetic. (2nd paragraph)
Joseph Nicolosi: "In 15 years I have spoken with hundreds of homosexual men. I have never met one who said he had a loving, respectful relationship with his father." pg 121
Scary quote from homosexual agenda: published in 'Gay Community News', read during a congressional debate, "We shall sodomize your sons, emblems of your feeble masculinity, of your shallow dreams and vulgar lies. We shall seduce them in your schools, in your dormitories, in your gymnasiums, in your locker rooms, in your sports arenas... " It continues.. scary! pgs 125-126
pg128: "Most men have inherited a lust for women. Their natural tendency is to have sex with as many beautiful girls as possible, both before marriage and after. Abstinence before marriage and monogamy afterward are accomplished by discipline and commitment. If men did what they are genetically programmed to do, most would be sexually promiscuous from about fourteen years of age onward. Would that make such behavior any less immoral? Of course not."

Chapter 10: Single Parents and Grandparents
pg 135: Novelist pat Conroy- "each divorce is the death of a small civilization"
pg 137: Scripture references for fatherless children- Deut 10:17-18, Deut 27:19, Psalm 68:5, Zechariah 7:10
COCUSA should be a place where single mothers can send kids for a positive male influence. How can we equip single moms?
An interesting networking website for those working in youth ministry: youthworkers.net
pg 146: An old African song: "when an old person dies, it's as if a library burns down."

Chapter 11: Let's Go for It!
pg 147- Bill Dolan story about competition: "I can remember the night at the dinner table when Tom wouldn't drink his milk and I made an issue out of it. I said, 'You're not leaving until you drink the milk.' He said, 'I don't want the milk.' I said, 'That's not the question. You're drinking the milk before you leave the table.' We were at a real Irish stalemate. So, finally it dawned on me that I know this kid, and I went and got a glass, and I filled the glass with milk. Then I said, 'I'll race you.' He said, 'Cool.' And we drank the milk, he put it down and said, 'Let's do two out of three.'
pg 148 Endurance want ad: Men wanted for hazardous duty. Small wages. Bitter cold. Long months of complete darkness, constant danger. Safe return doubtful. Hnor and recognition in case of success." More than 5000 men applied in 1914. only 27 were accepted.
pg 150 "Children are going to disappoint us" How will I react? Snap at them? Or be wise and respond with love and warmth.
pg158 A judgment of skill or power is not a judgment of my person worth- my personal worth rests in God

Chapter 12 Men R Fools
pg 164-165 Why do ads make fun of men? (great examples of this on these pages)
"Do we like being dpected as dumb, horny, fat, nerdy, and ugly? Apparently."
pgs 166-167 Men on Titanic: Reality (masculine; self sacrificing) vs Movie (selfish jerks)
pg 168 "If a man belittles a woman, it could become a lawsuit. But if a womn belittles a man, it's a Hallmark card."
pg 169 Women's strengths: networking, cooperating, facilitation, teaching, training, caring
Men's strengths: entreprenurial enterprise, independent thinking, building, risk taking, planning, leadership

Chapter 13: Boys in School

Chapter 14: Predators
pg 200- Description of a postmodern worldview: "We owe existence to randomn chance in a chaotic universe with no design and no designer. We are accountable to no one to live for a meaningless moment in a dying cosmos that will end in total darkness." Try to pull hope out of that!

Chapter 15: Staying Close
pg 219: "Former first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton told a story about her father who never affirmed her as a child. When she was in high school, she brought home a straight-A report card. She showed it to her dad, hoping for a word of commendation. Instead, he said, 'Well, you must be attending an easy school." Thirtyfive years later the remark still burns in Mrs. Clinton's mind."

Chapter 16: Discipling Boys
pg 241: illustration of materialism: "It is important to realize that this item was not purchased with your money; it was bought with your time, which you traded fo rmoney. In effect, you swapped a certain portion of your alloted days on earth for that piece of junk that now clutters your home."

Chapter 17: The Ultimate Priority
pg 253: Parental prayer: "Lord, give us wisdom to raise the precious children whom you have loaned to us, and above all else, help us bring them to the feet of Jesus. This is more important to us than our health or our work or our finances."
"A rookie playing for the Chicago Bulls in the NBA. One night, the incomparable Michael Jordan scored sixty-six points, and teh rookie was sent in for the last couple of minutes of the game. When the young man was interviewed by a reporter afterwards, he said, 'Yeah, it was a great night. Michael Jordan and I scored sixty-eight points.' That's the way I feel about parenting and prayer."
I realized as I was reading this that my time with Jackson and Adrian is already flying by! (as of Feb 2009, 10% of my time with Jackson and 5% with Adrian) I need a constant reminder of this!

Yoda in the Bible?

Yodas – “To Grow in Life a Mentor You Must Have”

Given at Pekin Grace UMC _ 11/19

Who has the best Yoda voice here? Say “tag line” (above)

Note cards & pens? Write some areas of your life that you want to do better in! Who feels comfortable sharing?

Anything spiritual?

Sweet used Peter/Paul as the Scriptural example of the need for a Mentor in your life (a Yoda)… and instead of trying to cover both characters… I’m going with Paul. You guys already learned about a guy named Timothy when you talked about the fact that ‘everyone needs a protégé’ What do you remember about Timothy? We’re only going to cover Paul as it relates to Timothy… because we could spend a whole year studying Paul (there is SO much about him!)

Paul was on a missionary journey, visiting towns and sharing the Gospel to the people when… Acts 16:1-5. He then called Timothy to be with him. And Timothy follows his newfound Yoda (Paul) v6-17:14 for a couple chapters of the Bible at least (we can’t really tell where they split again). Timothy watched Paul: (split up and read as 4 groups, report back) Convert Lydia (16:11-15), Get put in prison (16:16-24), Witness in Thessalonica & get run out of town (17:1-9), witness in Berea & get run out of town (7:10-15), teach a year & 6 months (18:11)

Paul let Timothy help him write letters to the church: II Corinthians 1:1, Philippians 1:1, Colossians 1:1, Philemon 1,

Instructions to Timothy: 2 Tim 2:2;
Same idea for a whole church: Philippians 4:9

Timothy goes on to be a pastor, and a good one… he had a Yoda to learn from.

There is nothing mysterious about this…. Find someone you want to be like, a (Hebrews 13:7) nd learn from them. I encourage you to break it down by areas…

For me:
Family (Mark)
Teaching (Bill)
Evangelism (??)

So look at your notecard… and the area you want to grow in life… the area you want to do better in… brainstorm a person who could help you do that.

How do you ask?
- Pray about it
-Explain what we’ve learned tonight. Tell them you look up to them in the area of ‘??’ and ask if they can help teach you what they know.
-If you can’t think of someone… ask around for good Yodas in a specific area.

Excerpts from Revolution in Generosity

Should fundraisers concern themselves with spiritual growth?
The pattern of conforming to the world around us is also characteristic of how Christian organizations ask for resources. Christian organizations, including churches, have increasingly adopted secular models of fundraising. For example, supporters are often encouraged to give for what they can get in return (tax deduction, gift, name on building, etc) and are not challenged to honor God and be generous as Christ is generous. The common practice of using transactional techniques that emphasize manipulation to motivate giving is often contrary to God's word.
Thankfully there is another path. It is possible to flip current notions on their head and place God first, focusing on transforming giver's hearts and lives towards God-focused stewardship. Once a Christian understands how God views money and generosity, it becomes clear that asking is about facilitating the heart transformation of believers to conform to the image of Christ. Once this happens among believers, the result will be a revolution in generosity and God's kingdom work on this earth will be fully funded. Section three of this book focuses on the unique role of askers in spiritual formation.
Will a transformational model raise money?
yes and the amount becomes less of the focus as transformation and character formation move to center stage. Sadly, two out of three senior pastors of Protestant churches believe that their churches are not living up to their giving potential. If members of historically Christian churches in the United States had raised their giving to just 10 percent of their income in 2000, an additional $139 billion a year would have become available for kingdom work. Our potential is mind-blowing: 80 percent of the world's evangelical wealth is in North America- and the total represents way more than enough to fund the fulfillment of the great Commission. What might the Lord accomplish through His church if she took the first step of faith on the journey of generosity?
Until believers acknowledge the simple truth that "where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" we will not see believers starting to conform to the image of Christ and become generous as Christ is generous. The revolution in generosity will flood forth when believers start to allow the Holy Spirit to work his truth out in their lives and realize that generosity is a spiritual issue of the heart.
Horace Bushnell writes "One more revival-only one more- is needed, the revival of Christian stewardship, the consecration of the money power to God. When the revival comes, the Kingdom of God will come in a day."

I have a couple disagreements with this.. mainly it comes across that money alone will accomplish God's purposes. I don't think this is what they are saying, but parts come across that way.

AW Tozer: quotes & thoughts

"If you cannot worship God in the midst of your responsibilities on Monday, it's not very likely you were worshiping on Sunday either."

Things to Remember from 'Knowledge of the Holy'
I could probably type the whole book into this blog. But I'll start with this:

'Self Sufficiency'
God has no need. He did not create to fill a need. (Wow... God doesn't need me... He never has and he never will...)
"He needs no one, but when faith in him is present he works through anyone."
"I fear that thousands of young persons enter Christian service from no higher motive than to help deliver God from the embarrassing situation that his love has gotten him into and His limited abilities seem unable to get out of. Add a degree of idealism and compassion and you have the drive for most Christian activity today."
(Am I serving God, or am I serving 'for' God. God does not need me to serve 'in his place.' I serve God because the love of Christ compels me. I do not serve 'for God', for he needs no help.)

'Transcendence'
"We must not think of God as highest in an ascending order of beings, starting with single cell and going up from fish to bird to animal to man to angel to God. This would grant God eminence, even pre-eminence. But not transcendence." God is infinitely above everything, regardless of how far apart finite things are from each other.

I'm Thankful

A kid's poem on thankfulness by Jack Prelutsky (from his book "New Kid on the Block")

Are you thankful no matter the circumstances?

I'm thankful for my baseball bat,
I cracked it yesterday,
I'm thankful for my checker set,
I haven't learned to pay,
I'm thankful for my mittens,
one is missing in the snow,
I'm thankful for my hamsters,
they escaped a month ago.

I'm thankful for my basketball,
it's sprung another leak,
I'm thankful for my parakeet,
it bit me twice last week,
I'm thankful for my bicycle,
I crashed into a tree,
I'm thankful for my roller skates,
I fell and scraped my knee.

I'm thankful for my model plan,
it's short a dozen parts,
I'm thankful for my target game,
I'm sure I'll find the darts,
I'm thankful for my bathing suit,
it came off in the river,
I'm thankful for so many things,
except of course, for LIVER!

Things to Remember from 'Just Walk Across the Room'

Just Walk Across the Room, a book by Bill Hybels about Pointing People to Faith.

Introduction:
pg 13: Hybels gives the story of his conversion. Very well written and inspiring to hear how someone can "get it" even if they have heard it many times before.
pg 16: "God's mysterious promptings - nudges that always lean toward finding what's been lost and freeing what's been enslaved."

Part I: The Single Greatest Gift
Chapter 1: The ultimate Walk Across a Room
Pgs 18-22: The story of a converted Muslim, whose entire salvation experience begain because someone chose to 'walk across the room' (both literally and spiritually) and reach out to him.
We should walk to others because Christ walked to us.
pg 27: Is the God I know and seek to tell others about "worth knowing?" Am I living and talking in a way that conveys his worthiness? (Worthship apart from MUSIC!)
pg 29: I must point people to Christ with every opportunity I have. I should pray that every interaction, immediately before and during it, will take someone one step closer to Christ.
pg 33: Consistent contact with nonbelievers is KEY to changing their lives!
Answers to Study Questions: SQ1: I am a 'Circle of Comfort' person, as I will often notice others but not interact. SQ5: Second Statement- I need to live so others know that I am purposefully living by the Bible. In general this means (for me) seasoning my conversation with a little more 'Christ' spice.
Chapter 2: The Way to Sustain Evangelism
pg 34: Stay tuned to the Holy Spirit
pg 37: Don't seek to 'get someone saved,' doing so puts the work on me instead of God, and turns my sanctification into a works-based religion. I should seek to follow the Holy Spirit in my interactions with people, praying and asking the question: What does this person need?"
pg 38: Realize that sometimes there won't be Holy Spirit promptings or openings. Forcing a witnessing opportunity can do more harm than good.
Answers to Study Questions: SQ1: Evangelistic Fads come and go. WWJD? & Larry Moyer's are two that I have seen. They both have merit, but can sometimes leave out the important aspect of really RELATING to a lost person.
Additional Thoughts: View my spiritual life and monitor it by looking at a scale of 1-10... an unsaved person's progress could be monitored from a -10 to a -1 (and then crossing the line to zero). I wrote this after reading this chapter: "I need to strategize specific people to building relationships with (and pray for them). As well as continually respond to the Lord's promptings each day."

Part II: Living in 3D
Chapter 3: First, Develop Friendships
pg 61/65: a good chart of most Christians interaction with unsaved/similar chart of how Christ calls us to live
pg 63: Do I 'horse-trade' my call to evangelize the lost for working on my own 'super-spiritual' development? I wrote later: "Yes! I am so guilty of that!"
pg 64: My Christian life should not feel safe or secure. Live on the edge!
pg 65: "God treasures PEOPLE first, and there is no close second."
pg 66: Take 4 seconds to smile, carve 2 minutes to ask someone's story, invest moments in order to discover more about a person
pg 72: Start with the people right in front of me! Go for broke! Envision the person as a believer. I also wrote: "I need to be on my guard, ready to turn off the road, as I drive down (and up) Broadway."
Answer to SQ7: I need to personally move and work on my Tenderness and Patience.

Chapter 4: Next, Discover Stories
pg 82: Bill Hybels does not use business cards. I would love to ask him why.
pg 83: Purposefully choose to be in places with unbelievers (stretch your comfort zone). Envelope unbelievers in friendship.
pg 84: I need to develop a deep enough friendship with unbelievers so that I have legitimate grounds to ask about their life stories (who they are, where they've come from, what they believe, etc.)
pg 85: Various personal styles God uses for his purposes: Confrontational (Apostle Peter), Intellectual (Paul), Interpersonal (Christ.. he probably encapsulates all), Invitational (Woman at the well), Serving (Mother Teresa), Testimonial- a dramatic personal conversion story (Lee Strobel). It might be tough to call out the strongest styles in my life, but here is a semblance of a ranking, from most my style to least, Interpersonal/Intellectual/Serving (not sure order), Invitational, Testimonial, Confrontational. I should remember my style.
pg 86: Start building commonalities in your relationships (look for ways to build bridges not walls).
pg 88: Be sensitive. My overarching goal is NOT to present the gospel, but rather to build a relationship.

Chapter 5: Finally, Discern Next Steps
How can I see myself as a resource provider? What can I do to help anyone I come in contact with? As I talk with everyone, think: 'what can I do to help them?' This is a distinct difference than the question: 'how can I most quickly share the gospel?'
Pg 101 "Do Life" with various social groups: Neighbors (4 blocks), Campers & Families, Staff, Chamber, Church. Be consistent with gas purchase, barber, no self check out, business after hours.
SQ1: "You don't have to be any more talented, any richer, any slimmer, any smarter, any more or less of anything to partner with God. All you have to be is willing to be used by him in everyday ways" This is difficult for Americans to swallow because we've bought into the 'hollywood hero' mentality. Someone needs to be super (or a pastor) to be used by God.
SQ2: Where are you on the scale of helping people? Very Willing, Somewhat willing, not so willing.

Part III: The Power of Story
Chapter 6: Your Own Before & After
Is my faith story (testimony) thought out and clear?
Avoid the 'spiritually freakish' things. Do not tell 'weird God stories' to win someone to Christ, (as cool as those stories may be to a believer.
Criticisms about people's testimony: #1) Droning on... (longwindedness) #2) No clarity...(fuzziness) #3) Christianese...(religionese) #4) Putting yourself on a pedestal.
Look at Pages 123-128 of faith stories that are clear and concise. (100 words or less)
Your testimony (that you would share with unbelievers) should be meet the following criteria:
Brevity (45-60 seconds) Clarity (Stick to one key plot line) Simplicity (Avoid religionese) Humility (Told without a pious or haughty attitude)

Chapter 7: God's Good News
pg 133-136: The Bridge Illustration
pg 137: Do/Done illustration
pg 137-138: Morality Ladder Illustration
All three are great gospel sharing tools that would be worth committing to memory
pg 140: Don't be an avoider. If you sense the Spirit moving you, have confidence that God will work.
pg 142-143: Don't be an erupter. Pgs 142-143 are a great explanation of that...

Chapter 8: Lessons from the Master
This chapter looks at Christ's evangelism in John 4.
Lesson #1: Don't be intimidated by differences. (Force myself into awkward situations). Work in Public.
Lesson #2: Ask a Question. ("complete book of questions" by Gary Poole).
Lesson #3: Patience
Lesson #4: Pray for discernment about rabbit trails
Lesson #5: Offer what they need. Living water. (Physical help AND spiritual truth).
Do I have confidence about my faith? Pg 163
How fast does the Samaritan woman convert? 4 verses! WOW!
If I am radically accepting of all people it will 'set me apart' from others.

Part IV: Grander Vision Living
Chapter 9: Big Fish Invitations
Pg 174: What size fish are you going after?
Pg 177: Grander vision~antenna up
pg 179: Can this be my attitude: "I love my job because I'm in the people business. Yeah, my pay stub is from XYZ Corporation, but my Mission is from Christ. Because of that, I try to show Christ's care for people by throwing open my arms to the lost and the found. To the black and the white. To the rich and the poor. To the young and the old, all the while asking the Holy Spirit what he wants me to say and what he wants me to do.
God loves people!! pg 180 All heaven rejoices at ONE conversion.
Pg 181: Take what you're good at, but shift the focus to the eternal. Use your abilities and qualities to land the 'big fish'
Pg 183: letter from a waitress
pg 184: My tip will serve as a direct reflection of how she thinks Christians behave.
Pg 185 "What's next God? What do you have for me to do? Whom can I radically accept today as I wait in joyful anticipation for all that's to come?"
Pg 186: Live with an eternal reality.
Pg 187: My life should be focused on people.. they are eternal. (eternal vs temporary stickers)

Chapter 10: Matthew's Deepest Desire
aka Matthew's Party - Luke 5:27-29
Bring new life and old life people together.
pg 197: a huge risk in doing so
pg 197: I need to be: "normal, mature, relationally intelligent, open-hearted, radically include" I need to understand "how high the stakes" are.
I'm curious if Hybels told the New Life party goers about the party's purpose.
Pg 200: One bad party isn't reason to stop.
SQ5: My Matthew Party: Football? Mix camp dads and church guys?

Chapter 11: Open Doors
Colossians 4: Devote yourself to prayer
pg 205 Prayer is inexplicably tied to evangelism...
Pg 206 - continual prayer described: "it's as if you have one ear tuned in to the conversation you're in, while the other ear is tuned into God. You may be in dialogue with someone... but you are constantly asking, God, is this an open door? Do you want me to probe that? Do you want me to encourage him? What do you need or want me to do? Guide me please.
Do I need more constant prayers or more closet prayers?
pg 208: God must open the Doors, so pray for it. (And pray that you can clearly give the message)
pg 208: a funny description of hitting the floor knees first
Three basic ingredients: God Loves You, Christ Chose to Pay for your sin and only his payment will suffice, the choice is now yours.
(I would add a fourth... You are a sinner)
Pg 215-216. Add some salt... make a non believer interested in more after your conversation
pg 217... When you get to heaven 'you'll meet a guy named Peter who will probably be wearing a "fish big or go home" t-shirt'
SQ1: pray for open doors