Thursday, October 30, 2008 @ 11:54 am by Josh Burcham

It’s not spiritual warfare if you brought the problems upon yourself. Too many Christians complain of being in the mist of spiritual warfare when all the things being thrown at them are the outcome of their past actions. Lets not give satan too much credit and examine our actions. Jesus didn’t promise us, “you won’t feel pain and you won’t have to live with the consequences to your bad decisions.” Lets man up believers and make our past right. Sorry for the rant, but I read 5 blog posts and talked with three people that last two days and that’s all I’ve heard.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008 @ 10:59 am by Josh Burcham

My brother made a comment on his blog about my lack of posting this week. Up until then I forgot I had a blog and that I’ve been neglecting him for 6 days. If it was a child he would be dead. I am and ready then ever. That’s not true. I’m back today and we’ll see about the rest of the week. I figure, if I under promise and over deliver my blog will come out on top (I wouldn’t suggest you using that for a life strategy). Anyways, here is what I’ve been up to:

Tuesday, October 28, 2008 @ 10:38 am by Josh Burcham

One of my biggest fears and greatest prayers is that I do something, I believe is right, when it’s wrong. I look at it this way: too many people in history destroy and harm with a mindset they are doing the right thing and come to find out they were wrong.

I pray constantly for my heart and for people around me that love Jesus and love me (in that order) to speak into my life. I’ll be the first to admit when I was wrong, my problem is I don’t always know I was wrong until later. So I pray and ask God to speak clear and with wisdom (key … with wisdom) through people to my heart. Asking God to guide my steps and my actions.

There are things in my life that I pray and talk with God about constantly, because I haven’t gone through them before. Decisions are always taken back to scripture. My mom gives me a hard time, because a lot of things to me, because of scripture, are black and white. Not a lot of gray. To check your heart you must go back to scripture. Examine your actions and your thoughts to how God describes how they should be.

God spoke to my heart this weekend and I need to make amends with some people. I don’t know how it will turn out, but I do know I need to open up conversation and love people. Whether I think they should be loved or not. Thank you God for your words of truth and healing.

Now, go check your heart!

Monday, October 20, 2008 @ 11:02 am by Josh Burcham

Jeff posted about some of his takeaways from his coaching network that Perry Noble hosts on the east coast. Which I would pay big money to be able to attend, if I only had big money. In their last coaching network these 7 questions were shared in response to making decision in ministry:

Does this decision compromise the Gospel?

Does this negatively impact the vision?

Is this something that we can genuinely be excited about?

Is this a temporary solution?

Is this adding more to the plate or making things more simple?

Is this excellence or extravagance?

Am I looking out for what is good for the church or for what is good for my area?

For me, number six hit home. I have a hard time figuring out the difference between excellence and extravagance. I love for thing to look good. I work hard for them too, but at times it hurts in the long run, because something else got forgotten.

Sunday, October 19, 2008 @ 9:56 am by Josh Burcham

I don’t read this blog that often, but I this was a great post about vision and importance of not just for the health of the ministry, but your ability to reach new believers. Ministry Marketing Coach.com post the follow post and knocked it out of the park:

Work out a written Vision and Mission plan the staff (or lay ministry team) can all get behind. You may already have mission and vision documents. It needs to be determined if the church is actually functioning according to them. Also, many times the vision and mission are too general to inspire action. What are the real ministry dreams of your church? Where is God leading you? Find out together!

Brainstorm with the staff (or lay ministry team) on ways to fill in the GAP between the vision and the present situation. If you don’t know where you are going, any road will do. But if you have a target you are aiming at, you can develop a clear plan anyone can follow.

Write out the next steps for at least the next 6-18 months. What are the “low hanging fruit” you can harvest right now? What actions can you work on now that moves you toward the vision?

Think more about what your strengths and weaknesses are. (Consider a church health survey ChurchCentral.com). Know your strengths and work from them. Some of your weaknesses will never become strengths, be who you are! David couldn’t fight using Saul’s armor—why should you try to be someone you are not? On the other hand, if you have weaknesses that are due to a broken process or lack of training–they can be improved, why not understand your problems and tackle them?

Determine your ministry’s best focus considering your strengths (in light of your vision and mission). Every ministry is unique by God’s design. There are people only you can reach!

Consider your opportunities and threats. Study community issues that could impact your ministry for good or bad. Work out a list of them and how the church plans to respond to them.

I’m a huge fan of the importance of vision in the church. It makes ministry easy. Anyone in the body can make a decision based on the vision. “I want to start such and such ministry.” “Does it fit this and this aspect of our vision.” Yeah, it forces you to have a hard conversations with people, but it makes the ministry simple.

Friday, October 17, 2008 @ 7:10 pm by Josh Burcham

I’m excited for what is next, but after much prayer and evaluation I have decided to not plant Ridgepoint Church.

This year has been a time of growth for me. God has changed my heart and has taught me to be crazy in love with Him and teaching me to be crazy in love with others. I thank God for this journey He has had me on over the last year. He has molded and shaped me for His church, just not start a church from the ground. I don’t know what God has in store for me over the next couple of months. I have my ideas, just waiting on His plan.

Thank you for your prayers and support over the last twelve months. Know that God heard them blessed accordingly.

Thank you God for loving and having a plan for me.

Thursday, October 16, 2008 @ 1:55 pm by Josh Burcham

When something sounds to good to be true…it is to good to be true! I’m sitting in Starbucks and across from me is a sales rep for ACN pitching a guy on a pyramid scheme. Has all the right words, but isn’t backing anything up. If you tell me that ACN is the only company the Donald Trump as endorsed. I would want proof. You can’t just feed me lines and not give me meat.

Are you going to get rich? Yeah, if you can sell this crap phone to people and get people to buy into selling it with you. You can’t go through life looking for the easy money. You’ll never find it and be able to sleep with yourself. Or maybe I’m wrong and you can.

I’m going to wait and see if it cost this dude any money to join.

Thursday, October 16, 2008 @ 11:59 am by Josh Burcham

Steven talked on his blog, Steven Furtick.com today about being under the influence of paranoia, momentum and doubt in a place of leadership and the lack of sound decision you as a leader has when you allow these three to take over your thoughts:

Sometimes as a leader, I find myself making decisions so dumb that it’s almost like I’m drunk on something.
There are obvious elements that can intoxicate leaders: pride, jealousy, sin, lust…
But lately I’ve been thinking of some less obvious leadership intoxicants that often seem to impair my judgment. Here are just a few:

1. Paranoia.
Occasionally I hear of one or two families who have left the church, and I find myself playing out 45 scenarios as to why they left, what I said that made them mad, and who might leave next. Overdosing on paranoia causes a pastor to reduce his congregation to the lowest common denominator, and operate out of suspicion, needlessly punishing good, loyal people.

2. Momentum.
Sometimes success and momentum can make a leader cocky. You ever seen a drunk redneck start talking trash, looking for a fight, and get himself hurt because he didn’t even bother to size up his opponent? Kind of like that. I think this happened to Joshua after he defeated Jericho, and strutted into Ai without his best men. At times, I have presumed that God will keep doing tomorrow what he did yesterday, no additional faith or effort required. And this always ends badly.

3. Doubt
You’ve got to be careful. Someone might slip something strong into the punch bowl while you’re not looking. Proverbs 4:23 warns you to guard your heart above all else, because the issues of life flow from it. When you let people who don’t have your best interests at heart speak into your life with open access, they can contaminate your pure faith with drops of discouragement and doubt. And next thing you know, you find yourself inebriated by insecurity.

Leaders, we’ve got to sober up. We’re carrying precious cargo.

Doubt hit me hard. When I first read the title, I assumed something else and then it spoke what I needed to hear. Perry Noble says he only listens to those that love Jesus and love him and in that order. And that he prays constantly for God to speak through those people. There is some sound wisdom for you.

He is my problem: I want to believe people. I have to be VERY careful in what I believe when people talk. It’s my weakness, I recognize it. One level of protection, take what they say and HOW they say it (just as important) back to scripture. If it contradicts God’s word. Throw it out and don’t give it any more thought.

P.S. For someone that doesn’t believe in the Bible I sure do put a lot of trust in it.