Comments for Chasing Jesus

Comment on Great Post on Fighting the Feeling to Quit by Michael Hyatt by Senaida Cicione

Senaida Cicione — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 06:25:48 +0000

Great post but I was wanting to know if you could write a litte more on this subject? I’d be very thankful if you could elaborate a little bit more. Bless you!

Comment on I Think Jesus Laughed At Farts by Beans

Beans — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 05:05:29 +0000

*like* I was doing a search on re establishing an elementary school aged kids ministry in the void of our missional movement when I came across your blog. Your entry on Re thinking Missional Kids ministry reconfirmed what God had shown me in relation to my own church. I attend a small church also but we have a building! I sense that all members of your church were involved in the discernment of the direction of your church. I have been trying to pick up what was left behind by the leaders. Thankyou for your words of inspiration, they are encouraging me to fill the void and rock what I've got! PS Farts happen! ;P

Comment on Re-Thinking Missional Children’s Ministry by Nate

Nate — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 20:29:06 +0000

Thank you so much for starting this conversation! I think the children's ministry tide is beginning to turn, but I'm not convinced the changes are complete. Some organizations are making small changes but not addressing a paradigm shift. Others, like the Orange Group, have made massive changes, only to miss some crucial pieces.

I'm of the school of thought that perhaps the emphasis of children's ministry should be on partnership with the parent, and Orange does this well, but I also believe that something is missing from their equation.

I've made the decision to make some changes to the core truths of one of their curriculums, but I wonder if even that's enough in a church setting like mine.

Fundamentally, I think the emphasis needs to be placed on the small group environment. This is where the potential for discipleship grows. I want to explore this more.

I want to keep this conversation open. Since I'm fairly new to the children's ministry "game," I'm still learning and exploring, and I feel like I'm still unsure of how this all should look.

Comment on A Few Photos by colin

colin — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 06:42:58 +0000

Hmmmm…. picture no. 20
Jesus said, 'mumble, mumble, mumble, swords into ploughshares, mumble, mumble, mumble.."

Comment on I’m Not Dead Yet! by kyteman4

kyteman4 — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 20:38:43 +0000

"I don't like none of those funeral marches, I ain't dead yet" – Larry Norman

Comment on Re-Thinking How We Do Church: The Next Leg Of Our Journey by Tom

Tom — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 18:44:45 +0000

Nathan,

I love your heart and direction of your church. I think what your describing is being called "marketplace ministry". I know becuase we have almost 200 such churches meeting in movie theatres in the U.S. It's a wonderful "expression" of the missional church.

Good luck
Tom

P.s. If you want more info on churches in movie theatres, (get ideas, share idea's, etc, etc) you can find us on the web at http://www.fathomtheatrechurch.com

Comment on Learning to Live Like Little Children by doug

doug — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 17:41:22 +0000

You could be the minister of silly walks:)

Comment on When God Seems Distant by Heidi W

Heidi W — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 00:47:52 +0000

I am finding myself right in the center of the Lord's relentless attempts to get me to understand this concept. I don't know how we get so entrenched in the way of living where we think we need to hide everything and pull it together– who are we trying to fool? I am finding that the more I take the lids off of my voids, the more He comes to fill me. Maybe it is a matter of realizing that God is on our side and he isn't waiting for us to get all the answers on the test right before we can be his kids– he simply wants us to realize that we are nothing so that he can begin to show us how he is everything. Thanks for writing, Nathan!

Comment on Getting Cynical About Being Cynical by ndbarnes

ndbarnes — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 22:06:47 +0000

Thanks for the thoughts. Unfortunately, as a preacher, I only have 30 minutes to try to get my point across, and that often means I can't hit every angle of an issue. Obviously, I do believe I have a responsibility as a pastor to teach, challenge and inspire those I am asked to speak to. I am sure there are some churches where those responsible for the speaking are not really achieving this, and that is unfortunate, but I don't think that this is the complete reason that so many are leaving the church today. I think the issue is much more complex than that, and has a lot more to do with people not being properly challenged, motivated and given ownership of the task of reconciling the world to God that we have been given.

Your comments about the shepherd are good as well, but I got thinking: the shepherd is not actually the one who feeds his flock, rather he leads them to the pastures where they can feed.

I think that this issue, like many issues, requires more of a "both/and" approach to it. I think that anyone given the responsibility and privilege of communicating God's word needs to take it as seriously as possible and do the best they possibly can every time they speak, and I think that we as followers of Christ need to take greater responsibility for our own spiritual growth as well.

Comment on Great Friends Keep Their Mouth Shut by ndbarnes

ndbarnes — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 21:57:15 +0000

Some great thoughts, Brian. Maybe I should see if I can find a woman willing to take on your questions. Maybe a guest blogger writing on how women relate to Jesus compared to men? What do you think?

Comment on When God Seems Distant by ndbarnes

ndbarnes — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 21:55:39 +0000

Thanks for being honest and sharing with us, Diane. I have felt the same way myself these past two years. There's really no point in trying to pretend that we have everything together, or that we've got it all figured out, especially since everybody else knows it's not true anyways.

Comment on Book Review: “Resonate” by Nancy Duarte by ndbarnes

ndbarnes — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 21:53:46 +0000

Sweet! The author commented on my review of her book; I feel so important.

Comment on When God Seems Distant by Diane Reid

Diane Reid — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 14:16:34 +0000

Wonderful post Nathan. I have done both, many years ago I buried my doubts and anger with God and pretended to be the "good" christian all the while drifting farther away and getting into things I never thought possible. When God turned my life upside down this year I rested in His sovereignty even though I didn't understand but I also ran to Him saying " I can't do this" and He graciously and lovingly held me close let me cry and rant and oh what relief that honesty brought, while I don't have all the answers to my doubts I know I can safely express them and maybe encourage others in the process

Comment on Book Review: “Resonate” by Nancy Duarte by Nancy Duarte

Nancy Duarte — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 02:27:20 +0000

Thank you for the great review, Nathan. God bless!

Comment on Great Friends Keep Their Mouth Shut by Brian Jones

Brian Jones — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 23:35:46 +0000

Hey Nathan,

I think your thoughts apply to men more than it would to women. I hear that if two women are driving in a car together and there's dead silence that means one woman wants to kill the other–or something along those lines. I could be wrong; I'm not a woman.

But if men and woman are different in this way, then what you said about Jesus becomes interesting. Does it mean that when women relate to Jesus, they think He's going to kill them because He's so quiet? I'm assuming this is not the case. Perhaps what Jesus does instead when he's quiet is that He shows empathy, and that's how He relates well to woman.

Or maybe gender doesn't matter? (hmm… it must some how… questions )

Brian.