Mark 2:14–28

Mark 2:1–12

Mark 1:21–45

Mark 1:16–20

Resurrection Celebration
Jonah 2:1–10

Luke 10:25–37

The Good Samaritan took a detour that…

1. To a Risk
2. Took Personal Involvement
3. Took Time
4. Took Money

Mark 1:12–13
Genesis 3:1–6
Matthew 4:1–10

As a pastor, I subscribe to “The Andy Stanley’s Leadership Podcast,” in which Andy (Pastor of North Point Church in Atlanta) shares some leadership principles to church leaders.  I can already hear what some [...]]]> Here is an old Andy Stanley’s Podcast that’s no longer listed in his ANDY STANLEY’S LEADERSHIP PODCAST.  (See Bottom of Post)

As a pastor, I subscribe to “The Andy Stanley’s Leadership Podcast,” in which Andy (Pastor of North Point Church in Atlanta) shares some leadership principles to church leaders.  I can already hear what some of you might be thinking, “I’m no leader.”  The fact is all of us are leaders.  John Maxwell describes leadership as “INFLUENCE,” and in that sense ALL OF US ARE LEADERS because all of us have some influence.

The title of one particular podcast was, “Becoming a Student,” in which Andy talks about the need for all of us to become a student before we become a critic.  That is, before we criticize a new idea we need to try at least try to understand it.

I know a lot of you think of me as a somewhat young pastor, but according to Andy Stanley the next great innovative way to reach people will not come from my generation.  The next great thing that’s going to capture the attention and imagination of the next generation is going to come from the next generation.   I’m not going to be able to figure out the next great way to reach the next generation. That’s the next generations’ job.  My job is to get behind them and support them.

Now don’t misunderstand, the message (gospel) NEVER CHANGES, but the medium (how that message is conveyed) often does.  When Peter made his incredible pronouncement to Jesus, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God,” Jesus commended him and said upon this rock He would build His church and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it.”  (Matthew 16:18)  The message always needs to be centered upon Christ.

The fact is that this next generation’s twenty something year olds are not going to be content to be quiet and be talked to until they “earn” the right to speak.  They are the one’s who often have the most passion and energy and the best thing I can do is to get behind them and to fuel their energy and to fund their new ideas understanding that some of them might fail.

Andy Stanley said that it’s possible for a church to be so careful that it’s behind in the game and that the church can be so cautious that it become irrelevant.   Now I don’t think that describes Medina United Methodist Church.  I believe in a lot of ways YOU are on the cutting edge.  You have embraced a lot of change over the last ten years that I’ve been your pastor and it’s one of the reasons I LOVE being your pastor.  You’re not afraid to try new things.   I just want to make sure that we never lose that attitude.

Think about it, what’s happening in today’s student and college ministries is what is going to be happening in the church tomorrow.   I remember when I was a student at the Texas Tech Wesley Foundation.  That campus ministry flashed announcements and songs on a overhead projector.  I specifically remember thinking how cool it would be to have that in church.   Fast forward twenty years… now most growing churches today have multimedia in their services.

I have no idea what the church is going to be like twenty years from now, but I want to be a part of it!  I want to get behind this younger generation and watch them soar with their new ideas and even though I might not completely understand a lot of them, be behind them.

May we continue to be forward thinking believers who are willing to risk failure for the sake of reaching the next generation for Jesus Christ.