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NOTHING CAN REPLACE THE LOCAL CHURCH

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A pastor friend of mine and I were talking about the season the LOCAL CHURCH finds herself in right now. After our conversation he put this little slide together which is so true. Just remember this isnt burning on other GREAT MINISTRIES and PASTORS but those ministries need to be more like a 5 hour energy drink and not your main meal. Everyone needs THE LOCAL CHURCH and YOUR LOCAL CHURCH needs you. And more importantly THE LOCAL CHURCH is GODS PLAN for every Christians life. STAY CONNECTED...

THE POWER OF CAPTURING MOMENTS IN MINISTRY

Last night in a CP meeting we discussed THE POWER OF STORIES - as I was reading this morning I was also reminded how important “pictures” that create conversation is to THE LORD.  Check these verse out… Joshua 4:6-7, “ 6  We will use these stones to build a memorial. In the future your children will ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’  7  Then you can tell them, ‘They remind us that the Jordan River stopped flowing when the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant went across.’ These stones will stand as a memorial among the people of Israel forever.”  NLT A few things about capturing picture and videos on weekends…  They capture the moment They create conversation They intrigue the next generation They EXHALT GOD They remind us of GODS POWER They remind us of GODS FAITHFULNESS They encourage us in FUTURE OBEDIENCE They remind us that GOD always keeps HIS PROMISES They give us a reference to LOOK BACK on for FUTURE FAITH They encourage us to STAY FAITHFUL even in confusing times. QUESTIONS TO CONS

COMMUNICATION IS MINISTRY

COM·MU·NI·CA·TION   - 1. the imparting or exchanging of information or news.   synonyms:       transmission, conveyance, divulgence, disclosure; More   2. means of connection between people or places, in particular.  (dictionary.com) Sounds simple and yet it's one of the major reasons why RELATIONSHIPS BREAK DOWN - whether those relationships are personal or professional.  But the opposite is also true when there is a commitment to COMMUNICATION the results can be OUTSTANDING!  Dictionary.com says COMMUNICATION is the MEANS OF CONNECTION BETWEEN PEOPLE.   What does that have to do with MINISTRY?  Answer...EVERYTHING!  There is NO, let me repeat, NO real, meaningful or lasting ministry without COMMUNICATION.  By the way COMMUNICATION is not PREACHING AT PEOPLE its CONNECTING WITH PEOPLE.   Remember the old saying, People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care, how do people know we care?  Through COMMUNICATION that include both ACTIONS

MINISTRY LONGEVITY

Had a great talk today with a young pastor who asked how after 33 years of ministry have I stayed so positive and engaged. GREAT QUESTION! He wondered if I have dealt with the stuff on the picture listed in a previous post and for the most part I HAVE NOT. That doesn't mean Christy and I don't tired or a tad bit stressed at times (just ask the GU TEAM, lol) but what it does mean we have built things into our lives that keep us focused and moving forward. So he asked what  are some of those things? I'll list a couple for your reading pleasure, lol! 1. A CLEAR CALL FROM GOD - Nothing trumps GODS CALLING in our lives. 2. CELEBRATING THE WINS - Even though there are tough things about ministry T HE WINS/LIFE CHANGE always rules our passion. 3. MY WIFE/KIDS - Seeing our kids grow up to serve GOD and then to serve THE LORD together is one of our dreams come true! 4. OUR CHURCH - I ENJOY OUR CHURCH ! Church is not a chore or something I "have to do"

HEY GRANITE - SPEAKING OF PRAYER...

We just finished a weekend teaching our church about the importance of PRAYER.  A couple of the take aways were... Your prayer life unlocks your POTENTIAL LIFE ASK and it will be given unto you, SEEK and you shall find, KNOCK and the door shall be OPENED unto you - Matt 7:7 Your prayer life reveals the PRIORITIES in your life In order to be prepared we need to be PRAY-PARED Our CAMPUS PASTORS did such an amazing job speaking this past weekend they spoke with conviction and compassion as they usually do.  Now that the church family has been taught the importance of PRAYER my take away is WHAT DO WE NOW DO AS AN ORGANIZATION to elevate PRAYERS PRIORITY on our campuses? Well here's a few tings I want to challenge our CAMPUS PASTORS, SERVICE COORDINATORS and MINISTRY TEAMS with... Since PRAYER MATTERS lets be sure to attend the next GRANITE ALL CAMPUS PRAYER MEETING Since PRAYER MATTERS lets have healthy PRAYER TEAMS ready to engage following each service.  Wom

NEGATRON EASTER INVITE

DEAR NEGATRON - NO you will not steal our JOY and NO you will not take up SPACE IN OUR BRAIN and NO you will not distract us from our mission. See we know that birds of a feather flock together to wallow in CHURCH GOSSIP and NEGATIVITY and that HURT PEOPLE HURT PEOPLE. We get it! By we want you to know that TEAM GRANITE is committed to staying faithful in leading your family and friends to JESUS. While you've been gone, or been to distracted to notice here's something you should know that after this weekend, which will be the 15th week of 2017, we will have seen close to 150 ADULT PROFESSIONS OF FAITH and 50 plus BAPTISMS!  Take time to re-read that last sentence. REMEMBER when you were part of the STORY, remember the JOY that radiated from your smile, remember the SATISFACTION you had knowing your life was being used to MAKE A DIFFERENCE. Remember how you couldn't wait to SERVE, to WORSHIP, to watch NEW LIFE happen before your eyes!   Well you still have ti

FOUR BIG QUESTIONS

At GRANITE moving the ball down the court means we are moving people into BIBLICAL DISCIPLESHIP.  And since we know PROGRAMS DON'T MORE PEOPLE but that PEOPLE MOVE PEOPLE we have FOUR BIG QUESTIONS we constantly ask in regards to those who are either NEW TO GRANITE or CALL GRANITE HOME.  What are those questions?  Well I'm glad you asked! Who are they? Where are they? What's their next step? Who's leading them? The bigger question is what do each of these questions men?  Well I'm not going to tell you that right now!  HA!  Sorry not sorry.  I'll post about each question separately in the next few days!   Until then...