The Purpose Driven Life Book Review

This book was really good. I loved it because one of the first things it talked about was love never fail. One of my favorite quotes it says is "If you minister out of love you can never be considered a failure." This is one of the main things i look at in ministry that is the key important thing to focus on. If you can't go into ministry without love then there isn't a point to be in ministry at all. Loving others and ministering in love in every way you can is the most important thing about ministry and being a christian in general.

Another quote that i loved was "God always uses imperfect people in imperfect situations to accomplish his will." When he said this he started to tell a part of his story about how his church started and where God placed him. When he first moved the first realitors came and within 2 hours they had a condo and the man who helped him ended up being the first person in his church. Then he went on to explain how each week and month God provided so much for him and his family. They had someone come and pay for 2 months of their rent then they went out to get something for their baby on day spending 37.50 and they got home and a random woman had sent them a check for the exact amount. These people struggled just as much as anyone else, but God has provided for them every step of the way. I know I've personally seen God's hand work like this, but it's cool to see how other people have God encounters too. (: Like it says in this book, "Wherever God guides, he provides."

"God has not called us to be original at everything. He has called us to be effective." God didn't call us to this earth to have us blend in and be like everyone else, he called us to make a difference and change somethings of our lives and this world. Why would we want to just go with the flow of everyone else. Let's go through the world and show we have something to be proud about and show that we can be effective and show God's love everywhere we go.(:

I really enjoyed this book it was good to look at someones view on church planting and how things worked for him. I enjoyed reading the stories of all God's provision in his life and his families and churches. I want to go through and read the whole thing once I'm done with this semester.

I have read   30% of this book

Lee Rogers Class Response

I loved having Lee in class he was so inspirational. I love his passion for youth and for wanting to see youth make a difference in their schools. He was so great to hear his views on kids and how he looks at them at their schools.

One of the verses he talked about was, 2 Corinthians 5:20 We're Christ's representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God's work of making things right between them. We're speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he's already a friend with you. I loved this verse because of how much truth it has in it. If they would go into schools saying this that all God wanted to do was be your friend i believe is such an impact on kids lives.

I loved their plan of the G5 which was Pray, live, tell, serve and give. He had such a great way of showing that these are five things that kids can see themselves doing to help be better campus missionaries and grow closer to God. To show kids that these 5 things are things that could help them to live a better life.

One of the last things that really hit me was when he said, "You can get anyone to say, I don’t want to go to hell but it takes a real relationship to ask someone if they want to have a life of sacrifice." You have to be willing to have a relationship with the people you are reaching and the lives you are trying to touch. You can't just expect people to want to follow you just because you look like a nice person on the outside you have to build person relationship with each person you want to impact in your life.

Service Learning Component Post

a. Who did we serve? (Our target population)
         We were aiming towards children in the hospitals.


b. How did we serve them? 
(Was there a style of service or specific act of service that most effectively ministered to our target population?)
     We made them all a bunch of Christmas cards and we are going to deliver them to the kids who are in hospitals. We were also planning on getting some kind of candy to hand out with them as well.  


c. Where did you serve them? Was there a location or a specific event where our target population gathers that is more effective for us in serving them there than any other location?
          We haven't been able to serve them to the children yet. We are aiming for kids in the hospitals so we are planning on going out and doing it next week and dropping them off.
d. When did you serve them? Was there a particular day and/or time that was better than others?
        We made the cards this week together and we are planning on taking them out next week to hand them out. We couldn't get an answer from the hospitals in town so we are looking for a good place to serve them. 

500-700 word report on the outreach as well as a critique of our planning and execution that will include 3 things that were planned or executed well and three things that could be improved.

My Report:
         It was a lot of fun to make all the different cards and get everything together. I was really excited because i thought we would be handing them out, but it doesn't look like we will be able to. Either way I'm excited that these kids will have a little something to put a smile on their faces come Christmas time. I wish we could have gotten them to the hospital, hopefully it all works out that we can next week. I was very happy to see how they all turned out and everyone's different creativity in our own ways. Either way i think the kids will still be blessed with the cards and candy. :)

 
         Three things that were executed well:
             1, At first we had a hard time deciding what to do and then Bonnie offered to do the kids cards i think that's what we were all excited about, because we all love kids and love crafts. So i think this was one thing that worked out really well. 
             2. The cards all turned out so well. They were so much fun to make and so fun to hang out with the girls and blend all our different ways to make each card we made in our own personalities. 
             3. The time we spent being together while making these cards. It was good to just sit down and hang out the four of us and get these things done. It was really good to be with all of them for awhile.

         Three Things that could be improved:
             1. Timing. We pushed a lot of this back way to far and we could have worked things out a lot differently. So next time i think we need to have a set time to do things and have it set up and not change it.
             2. Organization. We need to be able to divide jobs to each person before the day before and we need to keep things in a timely manner and keep everything on the right track. Make sure each of us has something we know we are in charge of.  
             3. Prepare ahead of time for what you're going to be doing. Prepare what it is we'll be doing and get the people who we need to talk to contacted ahead of time and everything and then i think it will all come together better.

Peter Almqvist Class Response

I loved Peter's passion about what he does. You could tell he was on fire for what God has called him into. He had incredible insight on what it is that God has put on his heart.

Something i loved that he said "being a unreached people group missionary is the best job anyone could ever have." That to me was so great, because it showed he was very passionate about what he was saying. I would agree with that, because i think that being called to reach unreached people is a huge calling and is amazing. It's a calling I believe God has selected great people for.

Something I found to be funny, but what i expected out of this class was how a large amount of the people who have spoken to us have all said that they struggle most with balancing ministry and family. They all see the importance to have a very steady balance in that, but they have a problem trying to figure it out. I love how Peter says to spend time with his family he will sometimes take his son on trips with him. It's amazing to bring a child with you into your calling and see the passion they have. He said that his kids love to sit close to the stage and listen to the healings and such during the service. I thought that was amazing to hear for them being so young. God is already working through them so young. Peter has a very blessed family and ministry and it was cool to hear how he works through both of them.

Jason Fitch Class Response

I really enjoyed talking with Jason and Josh in class. It was really cool to see them in their new building with the church. Something i love about Jason is that he had a passion to start that church out and Tulsa and he believed in his dream and went after it. He began to follow after his dream and tell people about it and he began telling people about it and they told him that they wanted to move out and help him. I believe that was God's blessing to him. If you go after what God wants you to do in life, God always provides what it is you need for your ministry to work the right way. When we went out there last fall it was so cool to see how the team of people there just worked together so well and you could see God working in some big ways in the people.

One of my favorite things that was said in that class I think was probably what Molly said, "If you aren't keeping your family first then you might as well forget everything, because your family IS your ministry." I am someone who puts family before everything else, so i agree with this completely. I think that your ministry can't function right if you aren't spending time with your family and keeping them as the main priority in your life. I believe that your first ministry has to be with your family not the church. You were placed with your family to love each other and serve one another and obviously I am not married yet, but my husband and future children are already something that is and always will be my first priority in my life. I cannot wait until i am married and can work beside my husband in the ministry and help him in anyway i can. I believe God is going to do some big things involving my family and i in the ministry. But, they will always come first to me.

The family thing is something that is very important to me so I think that was the most important thing that i got out of talking to them. They were all such great people to talk to and to hear all the different perspectives on ministry and how they run the church there. It was so nice to talk to them just because we already knew them and saw how they used to run in the movie theater. I'm glad God has blessed them so much while being out there and i pray he continues to. (:

Unchurched Friend Interview #2

Sex: Female 
Age: 20


1. What's the reason why you don't attend church regularly?

I used to attend church and ccd (sort of like sunday school) regularly as a kid but as we grew up we all got busier and after each of of got confirmed attending church just got lower and lower on our priority list. 

2. Have you ever been involved in any church or beliefs in the past? 
Yes, I am roman catholic. Although I don't go to church on a regular basis I'm still a part of my church and attend on holidays (which I know is not a great example of a catholic)

3. Do you notice anything different about Christians who go to church today? 


Why or why not?

I don't notice anything different about christians who go to church today as opposed to any other time in my life. 

4. Do you actually see going to church as something of value to you or other 


people? 

I see going to church as something of value for myself. I always feel closer to god afterwards as well as closer to my family. My grandpa especially who would love to see my family go to church on a regular basis

5. Why do you think so many people don't go to church?

I think so many people don't go to church now because as we get busier we get lazier. And church doesn't always feel like something you have to do so its the first thing you'll skip. 

6. Did you ever feel unwelcomed or like you didn't fit in when you walked into a


church? 

I've never felt unwelcomed walking into a church but when I've been to churches that aren't my own I do feel slightly uncomfortable, through no fault of the people there though.

7. If the church could do one thing for you, what would it be?

I don't think there's anything I'd like the church to do for me. I've never looked at it as a place I go to get things from so much as a place I go to give to. 

8.Would you ever consider trying to go to a different church than you were 


used to in the past? Why or why not?

I don't think I would ever go to a church that wasn't my own. I feel comfortable in my own church and its beliefs and I don't feel a need to go explore other options

9. If there was something you could change about a church today, what would 


it be?

If I could change one thing about a church today it would probably the strictness of some religions because sometimes feel like some people aren't welcomed because they don't agree with every single aspect of the religion.

10. If you could describe in your own words in a short sentence how would you 


describe God to me?

God is a loving, forgiving, non-judgemental care giver who will always be there in your darkest times even if you believe in him or not.

This girl is one of my closest friends and she is so special to me. I've known her for a few years now and when i was talking to her the other day about doing this interview she was so cool about it and was like of course i'll help you out. I've worked with her at the same job for over two years. She has never really questioned me about my faith in general, but has showed interest in some of the comments I've made about God when being at work. I knew when i first met her that she would be one of my close friends right away, well we have had a few talks at work at times talking about God and what he has for our lives and stuff. It's led to cool times, but at the same time as she has her Catholic background, obviously we have different views on things. When i was going through and reading her responses to these questions i was very impressed and honestly didn't expect a lot out of her. She is probably one of the sweetest people I've ever met. I have seen her on the verge of trying to search deeper for a connection with God, but in all honesty when reading her answer about how she feels closer to God when going to church was really cool to me because I just didn't see that as something she would say. Kind of like i never knew she knew what that felt like. I know everyone can feel God in different ways and i think it was cool to look at this interview with a different perspective and to see what it is her views of church is and God. I was very impressed with her answer for God. Like i said, we've talked a few times about church, but never really about God. She is such a sweet person and would never shoot anyone down who came to her and spoke to her about anything and i know God has placed her in my life for me to reach out to, because it's so easy because we are so close and she's right in front of me. I know God's given me a deeper passion just to continue to reach out to her and pray for her. I think she would go to another church if she was willing to try something out. She's someone who does like her comfort zone and doesn't like to step out of it. But, if someone came along and said just try this once and broke that comfort zone then she'd be fine. Who knows maybe God will have me be that person in her life someday. (: 

Cullen Allen Class Response

I really enjoyed listening to Cullen because he had such a great personality. For someone who runs so much in ministry and who seems like he should have five heads instead of one, he is so incredibly calm and relaxed. I was so interested with how he was running his ministry and how he was running everything within the church.

Something that I loved that he said was “When you get the point where you think you are at a good place don’t stay there, look for the  way you can make what you’re doing so much better.” I think that is something that is so great to try to grasp. If you get into a place where you believe your ministry is in the best place it’s ever been and it couldn’t get any better keep searching for ways that could make it better and better. I loved his passion on this and how he talked about it so strongly.

Another thing that I liked that he said that he talked about is that when you confront someone always look for the good in the person and always say positive things as you are in the process of helping them with the things they are dealing with. I loved that and I loved the fact that he said this, because it’s so good to say something so nice to people and speak positive influence into someone’s life.

I loved his success stories that he spoke about like the girl who used to be in prostitution and then how they went on the mission’s trip and she prayed for a little girl and she was healed. That was such a powerful story to hear because that girl went through a tough lifestyle and I was incredibly inspired, because she came out of some tough stuff and I love how that healing for that little girl strengthened her so much more.

I really enjoyed his class and one day I would love to visit his ministry and see how it’s run up close and personal. He seemed like a very good leader to be working with. His personality was something that would draw you into his ministry which is something that I think is very important when working with people. I want that when I am working in ministry one day, a personality that draws people to want to be around me. A personality that shines Christ’s love everywhere I go. I want to be someone who shows I have a passion for my ministry inside and out. You could see that in him which was so cool to watch. He was such a great influence and I really am glad I got to hear the way he runs his ministry it will be very helpful in the future. 

Chuck Lenhart Class Response

All I really have to say about yesterday’s class is wow! Chuck did so well at explaining what he thought discipleship and evangelism are about. I seriously was blown away with everything he was saying and I took pages and pages of notes.

One thing that jumped out to me during him speaking was when he quoted Habakkuk 2:2-3 2 Then the LORD replied: “Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay. I remember when Lance first talked to us about this verse at the beginning of this year, but instead of using the word revelation we used the word vision. That word to me changed the whole outlook on what it was I was trying to write down for my future. & a few weeks ago in prayer when Lance had us write down what we thought our 5-10 year vision for our lives God really began speaking to me about what exactly he’s called me into for my future. As I began to focus more strongly on my calling and what the type of people God has called me to it made me thinking about a lot of stuff in my life that I needed to change to get to that place.

Something that he said yesterday that helped me to remember why God has called me into what I’m supposed to do is “we aren’t called to our ministry for us; it’s for the people who we will be reaching.” That was something I honestly hadn’t thought about. I know that God has a unique calling on my life that a lot of other people don’t have, but I never thought about the type of people I’d be reaching.

Something that I thought about too while he was talking was how he said if you want an overabundance of blessing in your life and for your ministry you have to be willing to give abundantly to your ministry. I’m not talking about money only, I’m talking about love and time and patience. Sometimes things don’t work out in the timing we expect them too, but we have to be willing to be patient for God to work it out in His timing not ours. I’ve learned that it’s the most important thing to be willing to sacrifice your life to be dedicated to your calling and if you do it makes your work so much easier and so much more of a blessing to God.

God has such an amazing purpose for my life and has very unique and special people he wants me to reach. I know that the callings God has on my life to start a hair salon ministry and to be a part of a church plant, is because I can relate with a lot of people who are in that category. God has called me to help people who just want to feel beautiful and feel good about them. I can’t wait to see what God has in store for both those things J

Ack Ackerman Response

I really enjoyed listening to Ack talk in this video. I think partially because I have a passion for men and also women who are dealing with the junk that he is helping them get out of. In the past I thought God was calling me to reach out to them, but i think it’s more that God has given me a humble heart for them. Maybe one day in the future he might have me do something, but I know now isn’t the time.

I love how he runs his program and how he’s very straight with the guys. He tells them that if they aren’t there to get help then they are wasting space for someone who could be there. It’s harsh, but it’s what they need to hear sometimes for them to get knocked over the head a few times. He has a system that works for him and it’s not everyone’s type of system, but what I notice is he gives them grace and God’s love and if they aren’t willing to accept it, he says then why are you even here.

You can tell his passion is in this just by listening to his testimony. I think that’s a huge reason why God called him to the mission to start the men’s home. He saw firsthand what these guys are seeing and doing and he’s an example of what God can do as long as you let him in to change all the junk you’re involved with. I love how you can see how God has changed him just by listening to him talk about his passion for the group he’s working with. God has allowed him to be such a leader through all the crap he’s been through.

I think something that is really important that was probably my favorite thing he said was the only help he needs is from the Holy Spirit. That is probably the most important thing that you need to have a successful ministry.  I believe that the Holy Spirit is the only thing we need to guide us and help us along the way. We only need the guidance from him to be able to walk in a life that is something of honor and glory.

God has such a purpose for our lives and I think that’s the point Ack is trying to get across to the men he is leading. I think that is a key thing in ministry that when we are leading people we need to be able to remind them that God has a plan for our lives and has such a purpose that all we have to do is listen to the Holy Spirit and have him guide us along the way.

I really enjoyed listening to him and learning more about how ministry worked in a program like the one he is running. I found it all very interesting and I love the way he leads the people around him. He’s such a great leader and you can really tell he is someone who follows after the Holy Spirit’s leading in his life and I really like getting to see that first hand. 

Mark Chester Response

Something I learned in class yesterday is that we are all talented people in some way. The way Mark described it is there are 10 talent people in the world along with 5 talents and some with just one. We all have some type of talent and some more than others. But, one of the most important thing that he talked about was how he only had the 10 talents in the area of his life that mattered the most, his family.

I believe keeping your family first in ministry is the hardest, but most important thing in your life. You need that balance in your life where you can just go off and be with them and lead them in the ways they are expecting you to lead.

I know me personally, obviously I’m not married nor do I have children, but that doesn’t mean I can’t see these things now and start preparing for them in my future. God’s been speaking to me a lot about my future family and honestly I’m so excited about it. To be a wife and a mom, this might sound silly, but it’s honestly one of my passions in life and it is already the most important thing in the world to me. God has recently been speaking to me about how involved I need to be within my ministry and my family, but I also know my family will be a big part of my ministry. (:

One thing I think is so important about ministry is that you take a day off to just rest and forget about work. Have a full Sabbath day where you do nothing, but relax and hang out with your family. The time you get to just be you for a day and not worry about work is probably the most important time to a leader within ministry. I know personally I love that we have off every Friday for school; it’s so great to just be able to relax and not worry about anything. I try not to allow myself to do any type of school work. But, I know sometimes just like everyone else I get distracted and I get caught up in a million different little things during my Sabbath that I get stressed out and by the next day I feel like I didn’t even get a chance to relax and rest. But, I know in my future ministry the Sabbath day is something I’ll be longing for and be in need of.

I enjoyed his class, and I really liked his talk about the talents. I learned through this to keep family first and honor your Sabbath day. Two very important things in life if we want to be successful in ministry I believe. (:

Ps- little side note I love the way they call the small groups throughout the church, mini churches and each leader of them they call the mini church pastor. That adds such a special touch to each person leading. It makes it seem more personal I think.. I just thought it was cute. Whoever came up with that was smart. (: 

Discipleship book review

“Discipleship ranks as God’s top priority.” God looks at this as something so important that he wants us to be willing to follow in his sons footsteps, because Jesus practices discipleship just like we have to. If we don’t have discipline in our lives to want to follow after God and be a disciple of Christ then our lives don’t really amount to us and aren’t very structured at all. I really liked when the author talked about how “there is no biblical evidence for a separation of Christian from disciple” they work together. If we are followers of Christ we are called to be disciples. God has called us to be disciples and to go out and preach his word to the unbelievers.

Something that the book said that caught my eye was “You might never feel at home in structure, but when you make peace with it, you’ll learn to embrace its value.” When I thought about this for a minute I started to think about Master’s Commission. This is talking about having structure and discipline in our lives and how it’s what we need to have to be a better Christian, and sometimes that can be frustrating and challenging to follow after God with trying to follow a structured plan. In Master’s we have rules and boundaries that we aren’t allowed to cross, sometimes I don’t understand them, but at the end of the day I realize that they are there to help guide me into a better person and more importantly a better Christian. I might be going crazy over some small thing that I have to follow in GMC, but it could be something that down the road God shows me that it was the most important thing for me, because of what he’s going to call me into one day.

Without discipleship in our lives we would be lost as Christians and we wouldn’t be fully following after God if we aren’t willing to go out and do the hard things and be the disciple God called us to be. Being a disciple is a big step in our lives, but once we walk into that pattern in life we can see the greater change in our lives. You can’t have Christianity without discipleship it’s like taking Christ out of Christianity, like it says in the book. One of the verses it used in the book that I really liked to help describe this better was, Luke 6:46-49…which says.. ”Why  do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice. He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it as well built. But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.” I love how this verse talks about taking what God says into practice and actually going after it and striving for it and if we do that we will be firm in God’s truth and his power.

It talks about in how we’ve started to make disciple-making optional within the church. Which to me is sad, it talked about how every week we go to church and do the same thing as everyone else and sit in the same row and talk to the same people. We aren’t people who are out taking chances to reach the people who really need reached within the church. I think honestly that we as Christians have just become lazy when it comes to reaching out to God’s people sometimes. We’re called to go out and make disciples of all men…I think sometimes we forget or avoid that that’s part of our job description.

“When God calls us, he invites us to die. And ironically, we’ll never be more alive.” It says in the bible that when we are going after God and following him, we are supposed to die to ourselves and strive for more of God in our lives by taking up our cross and following after his calling on our lives. He has a will and a way for us we just have to be able to say yes to following after it and trusting in God. We just have to be able to surrender whole heartedly to him. When we live for him and not things of this world or even ourselves we will see how we’ve never felt more alive in our lives. It’s about sacrifice.

This book taught me a lot about discipleship and it’s probably a book I could go back and read a few more times over because I feel like there is more things that I can find in it that I missed reading the first time. This put me into a new perspective of what discipleship is really. I’m very happy that I saw it in a different view point than what I had thought for so long. (:


I read 85% of the book

Andy Landers Response

Just for the record so everyone knows I completely went blank at the end of class trying to remember Andy’s name and for some reason and I put it in my documents as “Jim’s notes”….I obviously wasn’t thinking yesterday when I wrote it out.(:

Anyways......

I really enjoyed the thing he talked about the I + A = T. That really spoke to me about a lot when he was talking about how often we go into a really good service and can feel God and know God is speaking to us about a lot and we take a ton of notes, but when it comes to the end of the night we still leave the same. Because we are taking it in, but we aren’t applying it to our lives and allowing the Holy Spirit to transform us in anyway. I have done this so often in so many ways, but it’s something that you don’t ever really hear teaching on and you don’t think about it too often because you think oh well I’m sure I’m doing everything right when in all honesty…you’re missing the whole big picture.  I think this is something that as a future ministry leader is very important to allow your life to be open to what God is trying to speak into my life and also allow him to change me with what I’m hearing.

I loved when he said that discipleship is more effective in a one on one setting. I have thought this so many times, people are more willing to open up when they are one on one with you more than they are in a big group. It’s about a connection with someone that you build. You build someone’s trust and their respect when you are willing to ask them tough questions and be their accountability in situations in life. I really liked this especially since we are starting our one on one groups with the GMC girls for our AC times. I’m so excited to see what God allows to happen in those times alone with the girls, because I really felt like God was talking to me a lot about what those are going to look like with whoever I get to meet with. (:

One of the other things that really got to me was how in ministry sometimes we have to do the hard things and we have to actually talk to fellow Christians who are struggling with things and we see them falling in sin and as fellow brothers and sisters in Christ we have to go to them and confront them about their sins. It’s not a bad thing that we confront them because it’s helping them get out of their sins and back to God and focus them more on what their calling is and not so much the things they are dealing with.

I really enjoyed this class and learned a lot about discipleship looks in different ways. I’m very thankful for this class and for what God has been speaking to me through all the people who have come in. (:

Unchurched Friend #1

Female, age- between 40-50

1. What's the reason why you don't attend church regularly?
    -Because they ask for money all the time, which I don't have.

2. Have you ever been involved in any church or beliefs in the past?
    -Yes..

3. Do you notice anything different about Christians who go to church today? Why or why not?
    -No, because I believe that Christians do worse things than people who don't go to church.

4. Do you actually see going to church as something of value to you or other people?
   - Yes.

5. Why do you think so many people don't go to church?
   -Because people don't like to have things preached at them.

6. Did you ever feel unwelcome or like you didn't fit in when you walked into a church?
   -Yes.

7. If the church could do one thing for you, what would it be?
   -Help me to become more out going in some way.

8.Would you ever consider trying to go to a different church than you were used to in the past? Why or why not?
   - Yes. Maybe at a different church the preacher could preach the message differently so that i can understand it.

9. If there was something you could change about a church today, what would it be?
   -I would change the way the Preacher preaches straight from the Bible. I'd want it to be more practical to me and I want it to be taught to me in a way that I can understand it. Reading it straight from the Bible doesn't help me to understand.

10. If you could describe in your own words in a short sentence how would you describe God to me?
   -I believe he's there, but i don't like to have him preached down my throat all the time and have him forced on me.

When I was doing my unchurched friend interview, I honestly didn’t know what to expect from the lady I interviewed. She’s a sweet lady, but she is also very bitter and has a lot of problems with people and herself. She was willing to do the interview right away and I asked her the questions and she was all set and ready to go with answers for every question. Some of the answers she gave kind of shocked me in a way and I wasn’t expecting some of those answers at all. For instance the one about “Do you think Christians are different from ordinary people?” & her response automatically was to literally laugh in my face and say “Absolutely not, I believe Christians do worse things than people who don’t go to church.” I was almost crushed by that statement in a way, because I know from her viewpoint that’s all she saw, but in all reality I saw a glimpse of what she was saying was right in some Christians today. My first thought to cross my mind after she said that was what is it that I can do as a Christian to prove they aren’t all like that. Then when we got down to my last question for her she was getting pretty intense in a way, because I said in the beginning that it was going to be easy and not hard. So, when we got to the last question about describing God in your own words she just looked at me and laughed and said I thought you said this was easy. I think she would have gone deeper on it, but didn’t know how to word it. All her answers were good, and I was impressed with all of them. I really did learn a lot about her and people who don’t go to church after doing this interview because some of the stuff she said I would have never guessed that anyone would have thought about the church. One of the things that I did absolutely love about it though was she was very willing to say I wish in some way the church could show me how to be more outgoing with other people. That made me think well if she wants to get that from a church and nowhere else I think we’re doing something right. But, overall I was very happy with this interview and it taught me a lot.

Chad Furlong Response

Wow, is all I can say after sitting through class yesterday!  I felt like I connected with Chad in so many different ways while he was talking, I was so excited to hear about the things he was doing and how he was running his ministries and what was working for him. I really enjoyed listening to him and learning new things about my future ministry. Chad did such an amazing job at showing me and I'm sure the rest of us what it is we specifically need to value when it comes to discipleship. Everything he was saying was incredible and was something that inspired me so many different levels.

One of the things I loved that he talked about was how much we need to value love & intimacy with God & with others. I loved when Chad said “the greatest compliment anyone could ever give me is you always love people.” That was so amazing to me because that is probably the best compliment I could ever get as well, but I had never thought about anyone ever saying it. But, I think love is one of the key things in ministry that is sometimes overlooked on so many different levels. The reason I say that is because I think as Christians I think sometimes we think love is just common to us all because we are so used to God loving us. Which in most cases is true, but in other cases we have to dig down deep sometimes to really show love to someone. For instance someone who might have hurt us or done something to us in the past. If we can't show love to people then technically we can't show love to God because we are not able to willing sacrifice the love God has given us from him to pour out onto his people no matter what they've done to us. It's hard to show love to those people at times even as Christians, but if we keep love God and ask him to pour more of his love in us for other people, even loving those people who hurt us will become easier and will help you to make your ministry into one big loving family as long as it's all centered around loving God and what he's longing to do with your ministry.

The next thing that I really loved that he said was, make your ministry sexy! When you’re building your ministry up to start in years to come make it something that applies to the people around you, and make it look good. Make it look sharp not only on the outside, but on the inside, with the people who are working with you and the things that are being set up around the rooms. Make sure you are making your ministry connect to the crowd you are trying to connect with. But, another thing he said that really got to me was people aren’t interested in how your sign looks on the outside or how big the building is, they are only interested if they can find healing in it. Which is why I think your ministry can’t just be sharp on the inside and outside of the building, but also inside the hearts of the ministry team. I think that there has got to be a lot of prayer and love poured into each and every person who is on that team and they have to be prepared for each person who walks through the doors of their ministry that day.

God showed me so much during class yesterday and I’m still trying to process it all. I could go on and on with the notes I took, but I think I should probably quit while I’m ahead. This meant so much to me to learn so much about discipleship and all the key value points Chad taught us. I’m incredibly thankful for that class yesterday. I’m getting very excited for the future ministry God has in store for me whatever that may be, the wheels in my head have been turning since class ended yesterday. (:

10 Questions to Unchurched Friends

1. What's the reason why you don't attend church regularly?

2. Have you ever been involved in any church or beliefs in the past?

3. Do you notice anything different about Christians who go to church today? Why or why not?

4. Do you actually see going to church as something of value to you or other people?

5. Why do you think so many people don't go to church?

6. Did you ever feel unwelcomed or like you didn't fit in when you walked into a church?

7. If the church could do one thing for you, what would it be?

8.Would you ever consider trying to go to a different church than you were used to in the past? Why or why not?

9. If there was something you could change about a church today, what would it be?

10. If you could describe in your own words in a short sentence how would you describe God to me?

Jan Workman Response

"Yes kids can quote scripture, but they are pretty much clueless on how to apply those scriptures to their own life. The problem is, most adults are the same way "

When she said that something clicked in me that I didn't realize before, as leaders in a church in any type of ministry you have influence wherever you go and you will lead people down a path. Whether they are little kids or an elderly bible study you will have an influence as long as you have a process that works. Jan had a process that worked with her kids ministry and years later she even gets to see the fruits of her labor and the kids she once taught hours each week getting God's word in she now sees them doing what God's called them to do. I think it's amazing how she had such an influence on those kids and she was able to help them get it and let it stick with them all these years later. Another thing I liked about her was how amazing of a leader she seems to be, she knows what she wants and who she is she's very much straight forward, but in a good way. I love how God has given her this gift to reach out to people and know how to read people to help push them to help get them involved in some way.

"When you're doing something effective people are going to open their doors" When she said this I smiled because I’ve witnessed it in so many ways where when something good happens so many good people will open their doors and be willing help lend a hand. God has a plan even when you don't expect it. :)

 I think something that I could take out of what she was saying is that when I have a job in ministry I need to come up with a creative plan that works and that's different that helps stick into people's minds. Get to know the people I'm working with in deeper ways on a daily basis. Get them connected in areas that they work the best in and are most comfortable with. I think she did an amazing job and I could have taken a book of notes and I will most likely go back and watch the video over again that's how much I really did love everything she was saying. Really great stuff! :)