Being Chinese and Reformed (Reforming) » » questions

Question: What would you be like in 100 years?

reformed — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 13:57:54 +0000

This was the question posed in a recent sermon. In normal goal setting, we look 5-10 years down the road, maybe even 30 years. But what God desires is not that we be better in 5-10 years, but he desires for his people to be made perfect… made into the image of his son, Jesus Christ. This not only places eternity in our hearts, but reveals to us that what we seek, our profession, our daily lives, our goals must be placed in a perspective in light of eternity.

In work, we look not only to make money, but how God is transforming/reforming our character. In family, we not just raise a family, but in light of eternity how God can transform our character and the characters of our family members. When looking at friendships and other reliationships, we see how God is using them to perfect us in Christ. During times of crisis, depression, disappointment… our response should not just to overcome, not just to satisfy ourselves or fulfill ourselves, but during those times of trial we should ask… how is God using those situations to transform us, calling us to faith in Jesus Christ. This is how God is changing us and molding us into the image of his Son.

This is what we would want to be in 100 years. Not just financially secure, not just secure in friendships and relationships, not secure in a good name, but secure that our life is in the Lord Jesus Christ and that we are being changed from the inside out. This is what we NEED to live for. This is WHY we are here.

Life is preparation for death. Life is preparation for us to be made perfect. In Christ we have both justification and sanctification. We have both regeneration and glorification.

May God transform and renew you in Jesus Christ by the power of his Holy Spirit.

40 Leadership Questions

reformed — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 19:49:48 +0000

Accountability questions from Acts 29 Network.

Leadership Accountability Questions
A Self Leadership

1 How are you unique? (calling, gifts, passions, personality, experiences, sin patterns)
2 How do you stay inspired? How often do you practice this?
3 How do you preach the gospel to yourself? (What’s the message in your mind?)
4 What are the rhythms of grace in your life? (scripture practices, worship, community, Sabbath)
5 What idols are calling for your worship?
6 How do you forsake each idol?
7 What are the lies that you believe in your head?
8 How is the gospel applied to those lies?

B Interpersonal Leadership

1 Who gets you and why? Who are your guys? (2 Timothy 2:2)
2 Who do you pray for? What are you praying for them?
3 Who are you considering to become one of your guys and what is your plan?
4 Are you telling the “truth in love” to your guys, consistently? When do you tend to “spin” something?
5 Are you “on time” and following through with promises?
6 Do you say “yes” and “no” with clarity? Who are the people you tend to “please” and why?
7 How are you discipling each of your children and your spouse?
8 Who KNOWS you?

C Organizational Leadership

1 What mission and vision has God entrusted to you?
2 Are you aligned to this mission and vision?
3 To what extent is your identity wrapped up in your position or your mission?
4 Where is there “sideways energy” in your life (schedule)?
5 Do people in your organization know with clarity what you expect of them?
6 What do you expect of others in your organization?
7 How do assure that each person under your charge connects expectations to mission?
8 In what ways do you personify vision and values?
9 What opportunities did you decline for the sake of mission, vision or values?
10 What are the stories that define the culture of your organization? How do you capture these stories? How are the stories being shared?

D Team Leadership

1 Who is your team? (Roles, Styles)
2 Who is going to replace you?
3 How do you demonstrate your love for each team member?
4 What dysfunctions on your team are you addressing?
5 With whom do you sense the most synergy? How can you maximize that?
6 With whom do you sense the least synergy? Why? How are you minimizing that?
7 Who do you struggle to trust? Why? Do you address issues of trust with them? Why or why not?
8 What inspires each team member? (Ask each one, “What aspect of your work brings you the most joy? What stories do you tend to tell most often?)
9 Do team members feel empowered to exercise their greatest gifts and talents on the team?

E Pastoral Leadership

1 What does faithfulness in your calling look like for you?
2 In what new areas are you learning to apply the gospel?
3 Describe your system for managing your availability and “interruptability.”
4 How do you develop men by involving them in ministry and making decisions?
5 What opportunities have you had / taken to herald the gospel in serving others?

Happy New Year 2010

reformed — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 13:00:49 +0000

Here are ten questions you should ask the new year… got these questions off the 9Marks blog.

One thing I like about the New Year is how reflective everyone is. This should be a constant thing, something that goes year round. I’m glad though, because I know how unreflective I can be at times and end up in some kind of slump. God is gracious by placing mirrors along the way so I can see…

1. What’s one thing you could do this year to increase your enjoyment of God?

2. What’s the most humanly impossible thing you will ask God to do this year?

3. What’s the single most important thing you could do to improve the quality of your family life this year?

4. In which spiritual discipline do you most want to make progress this year, and what will you do about it?

5. What is the single biggest time-waster in your life, and what will you do about it this year?

6. What is the most helpful new way you could strengthen your church?

7. For whose salvation will you pray most fervently this year?

8. What’s the most important way you will, by God’s grace, try to make this year different from last year?

9. What one thing could you do to improve your prayer life this year?

10. What single thing that you plan to do this year will matter most in ten years? In eternity?

goals for 2007

who runs your church?

reformed — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 19:09:50 +0000

The Devil wants to run your church

Quoting EM Bounds:

Bounds begins by asking this question: What is the truest measure of a church’s strength? His answer is, “True strength lies in the vital godliness of the people. The aggregate personal holiness of the members of each church is the only true measure of strength. Any other test offends God, dishonors Christ, grieves the Holy Spirit, and degrades religion.” To put it another way, the strength of any church is the work of the Spirit in conforming its members to the life of Christ. However, Satan’s strategy is to lure us into thinking that our strength lies elsewhere—not in the inward things of the Spirit, but in things that are external and superficial. “One of the schemes of Satan,” Bounds writes, “is to establish a wrong estimate of church strength.” A church is considered strong, he goes on to say, “when its membership is large, when it has social position, financial resources; when ability, learning, and eloquence fill the pulpit, and when the pews are filled by fashion, intelligence, money and influence.”

individual and corporate needs

reformed — Thu, 28 Dec 2006 17:47:12 +0000

what do we need individually? what are our corporate needs?

oh Lord, i’m incomplete. i need you. i need fellowship. i need purpose. i need direction. we need Jesus. we need grace. we need love. we need the indwelling Holy Spirit. we need brothers and sisters. we need God. oh how desperate our life is apart from You. oh how we desire You…

God move us. God move me.

church growth

reformed — Fri, 22 Dec 2006 09:55:01 +0000

been thinking recently about growth in general. how do we as a church grow? how do we as christians grow?

the common answer is that God does the growing. so what do we as christians do? plant the seeds, water the seeds, prune the leaves, cut off dead branches… how do we mature? how do we change from immature to mature? how do we grow from young adults to elders?
God. 1 corinthians 3

stepping out in faith; taking on of more responsibilities is a step; open to being stretched, challenged, and used; serving; being mentored, pruned…

how does the church grow? when the body is united with christ… we cut off those that aren’t growing… we prune those areas that are growing. we remain in Him… john 15

agent or victim?

reformed — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 13:08:09 +0000

Are you the maker of your destiny or just a pawn? When I look through the scriptures, I see an all powerful God empowering man to be His agent to change, love, transform the world. We are not victims who are acted upon, we are agents that act.

Love is active. To forgive is to act. To protect and defend is to act. To speak out is to act. We are agents in Christ.