virtue – Changing the Face of Christianity

“Prayer Works” and 2 Other Things Christians Should STOP Saying Now

May 7, 2014 By Guest Admin Leave a Comment

This article originally appeared here on the Church Leaders~ Pastors Blog. By Carey Nieuwhof

One reason people stay away from Christianity is not because they don’t know any Christians.

It’s often because they do.

Our actions and our words as followers of Jesus have the power to attract or repel people from Christianity.

The number of people who never go to church or follow Jesus keeps growing. And their thinking keeps changing too (I’ve outlined 15 characteristics of unchurched people here).

So what can we do about it?

Well, in addition to modeling humility, grace, truth, love and so many other things that describe the earliest Christ followers, we Christians can watch our words… Click here to read the rest of the story on the Church Leaders ~ Pastors Blog site.

In addition to serving as Lead Pastor at Connexus Community Church north of Toronto Canada, Carey Nieuwhof speaks at conferences and churches throughout North America on leadership, family, parenting and personal renewal. More from Carey Nieuwhof or visit Carey at careynieuwhof.com

Where Mentoring Goes Wrong

April 16, 2014 By Brad Leave a Comment

This article originally appeared here on the Christianity Today blog.

Why do good discipling relationships derail?

Through the mentor’s eyes

Sharon scooted between cars, hurrying through the stifling parking lot to make the meeting on time. Although only August, she already felt the pressure of a busy fall schedule. She was unsure how becoming a mentor would fit, but involvement in the life of a younger woman interested her. At least she was willing to attend the training meeting and see what it was all about.

Refreshed by the cool air in the room, Sharon found a chair. Looking around at other women, a wave of nervousness rushed over her. Was she even qualified to mentor? During the next hour, she learned the requirements of the mentoring program, looked over the recommended mentoring resources, filled out a personal profile, and signed up to bring a dessert for the kick-off event. Still the question nagged: Did she really have enough wisdom to do this? Probably not, she thought, but her love for God and young women encouraged her to press on.

Two weeks later at the kick-off event, an eager greeter handed Sharon a bright green crayon and instructed her to find the young woman with the same color crayon as hers—”‘Caribbean Green.’ Isn’t it peppy?” Sharon returned the beaming smile, grateful for a game to help her find her mentee. The energy-filled room lifted her spirits. This was fun! She leisurely worked the room, smiling and displaying her crayon as she went…

~ By: Sue Edwards and Barbara Neumann

Click here to read the rest of the story on the Christianity Today Leadership Journal Blog.

Why do Christians sometimes (or often) act like such jerks?

April 2, 2014 By Brad 1 Comment

This article originally appeared here on the Missio Alliance blog.

Ok so maybe that’s quite a blunt way of asking ‘Why, while believing in what is good and right, do I choose to think in a way and engage in behaviour that accords with a “lesser version” of myself?’

I’ve asked this question for some time but I think it comes to the surface even more at the beginning of a new year when we are reminded from pulpits everywhere that we are a new creation in Christ and also by our broader world that this is a perfect time to set some New Year’s resolutions so that we can improve and be better people this year.

We enthusiastically respond by nodding to the truth that in Christ we are a new creation and we agree that it is good to set some goals for the New Year, so we faithfully set out to practice these truths. But inevitably we sooner or later hit a wall when we experience that our ideals quite often fail to measure up to reality. Everyone has experienced this dissonance no matter how long we have been followers of Jesus.

A godly and mature Christian friend when we were talking about this recently, said that he holds close to his heart values like generosity, care for the poor and compassion however as he walked past a homeless person once, he thought and felt the exact opposite of those values regarding that person. I can say that I’ve experienced a similar thing! I would guess that we all struggle daily as we sit in the uncomfortable gap between what ought to be and what in reality is. There’s no need to beat ourselves up about this gap but perhaps we need to think about what does in fact bring about deep transformation in our lives so that our behaviour more matches our status as new creations in Christ…~ By: Karina Kreminski

Click here to read the rest of the story on the Missio Alliance blog.

This article originally appeared here on the Church Leaders~ Pastors Blog. By Carey Nieuwhof

This article originally appeared here on the Christianity Today blog.

Why do good discipling relationships derail?

Through the mentor’s eyes

Ok so maybe that’s quite a blunt way of asking ‘Why, while believing in what is good and right, do I choose to think in a way and engage in behaviour that accords with a “lesser version” of myself?’

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