The Caffeinated Christian

Early last year a small group of people in our congregation came together to work through Nelson Searcy's book Fusion .  I think everyone at Liberty had the right heart.  We want to see new people explore what God is doing in our congregation and we want them to stay and become a part of what God is doing here.  Passion has never been our problem, but execution was a real issue.  We had guests each and every week, but we noticed very few of them were returning.  We needed a plan.  Enter Fusion .  One of the first principles Searcy points to is the ratio of first time guests to regular attenders.  The first week we met, someone on our team turned to me, the leader, pastor, shepherd of the church who sets the tone for everything else and said, "How many guests do we average each week?"  Every other person on the team turned to me expecting an answer.  Embarrassed I had to admit, "I don't know." Before I share with you what I have learned, allow me to sh

photo courtesy: AdamRozanas/Flickr.com Below are some questions that may help you evaluate your prayer life and make some necessary changes. Does my prayer life move the Acts 1:8 mission forward? Does my prayer life reflect dependence on God or do I pray for things it would take little effort or resources to accomplish on my own (Phil. 4:19)?   If God answered my prayers, would it bring more glory to Him or more attention to me ( James 4:3)?  How does my prayer life reflect the time I spend in Scripture (Psalm 119)? Do I ask for specific things (James 4:2)?   Does my prayer life consist of praise and thanksgiving to God, intercession for others, confession of sin, as well as personal requests (Luke 11:1-4, 1 Tim. 2:1)?  Is it  measurable ?  If it was answered, would I know it?  Am I actively looking for how God answers? How  long  do I generally pray about things (Luke 11:9-10)? If God answered my prayers: What would be the impact of the advancement of the gos

When I was a child I can remember my parents and the adults of the church referring to the church building as “God’s house.”  There is some degree with which that messes with your mind as a child thinking that God actually lived there, but there were other things that came along with the verbage that were perfectly clear.  You didn’t run in God’s house for fear of being shot through with a holy laser beam from the heavens.  You dressed up when you were in God’s house.  There is no way you would ever think of bringing food or drink into God’s house.  You respected and reverenced the church building because it was “God’s house.” Over the years we have forsaken this mentality, and to some degree we did so for good cause.   It was a reaction to the idolatry of buildings the American church seemed to fall into as it became increasingly driven by building structures for God and less about having a relationship with God.   It helped us reframe a healthy theology of what the church is,