We’ve been using the blog to keep everyone up-to-date on the 7 Deadly Thoughts meditation guides; but I had to interrupt for some late breaking news!

I am officially a book reviewer for Thomas Nelson Publishers. My first review book is Notes from the Tilt-a-Whirl by N.D. Wilson. I’ve never heard of the book or the author, but I’m looking forward to being a part of the reviewer core for Nelson!

Let’s see – combine Erik with free books and blogging? Could life possibly get any better?!?

You can check out my reviews as they get published:

Definition

LUST – a love of your own gratification that renders love and devotion to God and others secondary. It is a self-indulgent extravagance, a worship of personal wants.

Read Galatians 5:16-26

How shall we respond to lust? We must defeat it before it begins. We respond to lust by walking in the Spirit, allowing his fruit [vv 22-23] to become manifest in us. We answer our selfish lusts with these virtues, believing that God has supernaturally instilled us with them.

I believe in your Spirit, Jesus. I believe that you have supernaturally planted the seed of the fruit of the Spirit in me. I ask you to make it grow and flower in my mind, pushing out the lusts and desires of my flesh. Help me to remember these fruit and make them my own.

There is a very common misconception in small churches that the few can handle the work required to sustain the church’s ministry. We select a pastor; we endow some volunteers with certain leadership roles; and the rest of us can more or less coast along and be served.

One of my deacons wrote in an email to me: “We’re too small for everyone not to know the impact their giving has.” He was speaking about financially, but this applies to all areas of our ministry as a small church. We’re too small for everyone not to know what kind of impact they can make.

I want to issue a challenge to the people of Heritage Baptist Church. My challenge is this – OWN YOUR IMPACT. Don’t be content to sit on the sidelines and BE SERVED. Let’s become the core of something greater! Nothing is going to happen unless we resolve to be inline with God’s vision for us – both mentally and resourcefully.

• Set aside a significant portion of time in your day to pray specifically for God’s Holy Spirit to open doors for everyone in our church to share their faith.
• Listen to what God is trying to say to you about ministry OUTSIDE of Sunday morning. What ministry does he have for YOU to do and invite others into.
• Reallocate your resources around God’s vision.
• Stop doing the minimum and figure out how to own what God has for you.

Just a quick entry to let the readers know that I’ve updated my posts from Innovate ‘09 with video from the speakers.

For the Good Stuff click.

A previous post has caused some hub-bub due to its phrasing and I think perhaps some clarification needs to be made. 

In the post, I made some comments about those who look bad in a suit and tie. I just want to clarify something about my experiences in churches where this was the dress code.

My father is a suit and tie kind of guy. When I was growing up, he taught me to wear them well. We were less than affluent (read DIRT POOR), so he did not always have the nicest clothes but he always wore them well. Same thing with my mom. She dressed nicely without be ostentatious. And my parents made sure that their children knew how to wear clothes well.

I do not want anyone reading this blog to think that I resent the way I was raised or the influence my parents have had on me as a person, father and leader. My father and I are very different people – that is true. But I don’t regret or resent anything about my upbringing.