Tag: interview

Pursuing God’s Love

My friend, Margaret Feinberg (on Twitter HERE or Facebook HERE), just launched a new 6-week DVD Bible study series called “Pursuing God” with Zondervan. The first two titles are Pursuing God’s Beauty: Stories from the Gospel of John and Pursuing God’s Love: Stories from the Book of Genesis. Instead of me giving my thoughts on the study, I thought you might like to hear directly from Margaret.

Ben: Where did you come up with the idea for this series?

Margaret: I reached a place in my own spiritual life where I felt disconnected from God. I decided to return to the foundations of my faith by reading through the Book of Genesis. Something sparked as I studied, and so I continued reading and rereading for more than 18 months.

During that time, I kept hearing a reverberation in conversations with people around the country who were looking for a Bible study that wasn’t topical but rather based on a book of the Bible—allowing them to really dive deeper into the Scripture. But they admitted that either they or some of the members of their small groups don’t have time to tackle an hour of homework a night. So I began to develop a study that created an equal playing field for the veteran believer who had time to do 30-minutes of homework a night and the young mom who barely has time to take shower. Both can engage in this study—whether or not they’ve done the homework that week—and explore the Scripture together. The study encourages participants to not only grow deeper in relationship with God but with each other as they discuss and share life together.

Ben: What are some of the unique features that make these resources different from every other resource available for small groups?

Margaret: Pursuing God’s Beauty: Stories from the Gospel of John and Pursuing God’s Love: Stories from the Book of Genesis are six-session DVD Bible studies with each session averaging 18 minutes in length—leaving plenty of time for discussion and digging deeper into the Scripture and topics covered. Pursuing God’s Beauty is filmed in an artist’s loft with an artist painting in the background—the picture complete with the final session. Pursuing God’s Beauty is filmed outdoors in Colorado with rock climbers in the background. Each lesson features icebreaker questions as well as experiential activities, and five after-hours studies each week are provided in the participant’s guide for those who want to dive deeper into the Scripture at home.

Ben: What is it that you hope people would get out of these studies?

Margaret: Studying the Bible is more than something for ‘religious’ people and is more than something done in isolation. Through these studies, we’re reminded the Bible was meant to be discussed in community, and its stories are powerful enough to speak to each one of us—wherever we are and whatever our circumstances might be.

Ben: Why did you select Genesis as one of the book of the Bible to dive into?

Margaret: It’s amazing to think that everything we see and encounter in our world today—whether in a place like this with breathtaking views or in a more urban context all began in Genesis.

I love this book of the Bible, because Genesis is the story of our beginnings. In fact, the first word of the Bible in Hebrew is beresheet meaning “in the beginning”. This is the story of our origins, where we began, the formation of our cosmos and humanity. It is also the story of alienation from God, from each other, and from the creation. It’s is also the story of his loving initiative to redeem the world back to himself.

The Genesis story matters because in order to understand where we are today, we must go back to the beginning. The past helps us understand our present and illuminates our future.

Ben: In studying the Gospel of John, you invite readers to explore the beauty of God. Unpack that a little for us.

Margaret: Ultimately, you and I were designed to be captivated by God’s beauty. And when we pursue His beauty—we can’t help but find ourselves on a journey… to know more about God, His character, attributes, ways and work, in our world. And the miracle of this journey is that along the way we find breathtaking portraits of salvation, redemption, and restoration.

Perhaps no book of the Bible paints a clearer picture of this then the Gospel of John. Throughout the Gospel of John, the beauty of God radiates in the person of Jesus Christ—the one in whom God displayed his whole heart for the world to see. It’s within the person of Jesus that we find the invisible attributes of God being made visible, on display like the fine pieces of artwork in this gallery—to be enjoyed, celebrated, and reflected upon.

For more info, check out PursuingGodBibleStudy.com.

I’ll be giving away one copy of each of these studies. To be eligible to win, leave a comment, ReTweet, or share on Facebook. Make sure you tag me so I can add you to the drawing! Drawing will be held on Friday, September 23rd, at 9:00 pm.

 

 

 

Randall Neighbour Interview, part 1

I’ve read through Randall Neighbour’s The Naked Truth of Small Group Ministry: When it Won’t Work and What to Do About It.  I was challenged, but had some follow-up questions for Randall.

I thought that my interview would take 3-5 minutes.  30 minutes later, we were still talking.  So I’ve decided to break it up into 5 sections.

Please bear with the audio and video quality. I’m doing the best I can!

If you’d like to get a free copy of Randall’s book, I’m extending the contest giveaway until tomorrow at noon!  Click HERE to enter.

1st question:

What are some of the major problems you see in most small groups systems right now?

 

Meet Alan Danielson

Is your church looking to hire a lead pastor?

Do you know of a church looking to hire one?

I’m doing some legwork for you (or them).  Here is an interview with a friend of mine, Alan Danielson.

Ever felt like God called you and equipped you to do something…yet the opportunity to express those gifts didn’t quickly come to fruition?  Friends of my blog: meet Alan.  Alan, meet the friends of my blog.

I “met” Alan about a year ago through his blog.  I thoroughly enjoyed his updates that got my mind stirred about ministry.  Then, I had the privilege of being in a small group with Alan via Tokbox.  I loved hearing his heart, and seeing him offer sound, biblical wisdom to those in the group who were hurting and needed pastoring.  Unfortunately, because of scheduling conflicts, I had to pull out of the group, but Alan and I have maintained contact.

Here’s my official, unsolicited endorsement of Alan: Alan is a leader.  A pioneer.  He thrives on shepherding a team of folks to accomplish the mission and vision of a congregation.  Alan is creative.  He would bring great enthusiasm and wisdom (a rare combination) to any team he were a part of.  He has expertise in preaching/teaching, small groups, online ministry, and writing.  He’s spoken (and been on staff at) mega-churches, small churches, conferences, and home-based small groups.  But maybe the thing that has impressed me the most about Alan is hearing him pray.  The way that a person prays says a lot about their spiritual maturity.  Alan prays as one whose heart beats after God.

In order to give you a snapshot of Alan, and not just my words about him, I put together some questions that a typical “search committee” (or whatever form of a team a church body would assemble in order to find the person God has especially called to lead that local congregation)

I asked Alan to keep his responses brief, so to see his resume, preaching/teaching videos, recommendations, family pictures, blog, and more, you can find him at http://www.alandanielson.tv.

When it comes to ministry, what thing(s)/areas of ministry are you most passionate about?

I’m most passionate about mission and evangelism that results in discipling relationships.

Besides ministry, what things are important to you?

My relationship with God, my family, and Star Wars!

What do you do for fun?

I collect Star Wars memorabilia and create hand-made lightsaber replicas.

How has the Lord gifted you for full-time vocational ministry?

I’m a relational leader and an effective communicator.

How do you know you’re called to ministry?

I’ve been in vocational ministry since I graduated high school in 1990 and led literally thousands of people.  God has chosen to use me and that constantly affirms my call.

What is it about doing full-time ministry that gets you going in the morning?

Personally connecting with people and helping them discover the ways they can grow to become like Jesus!

What strengths do you bring to the table?

Relational ability, communication, activating people to action, developing/implementing strategy, and faith.

What are your weaknesses?

Organization, spreading myself too thin, balancing work and health, and cheese burgers.

What kinds of things do you look for in a church where you would serve?

Cultural relevance, unapologetic evangelism, great family ministry, and good theology.

What makes a healthy church?

Unity, clear vision, passionate leadership, articulate leadership, and simple strategy.

What is the purpose of church?

Joining with others to fulfill Christ’s Mission through which we experience radical spiritual Formation and unbreakable relational Connection

How important is “teamwork” to you?  Does it matter to you who you serve with?

Prime importance!  Chemistry is the biggest factor in determining a team’s success, so yes, it definitely matters who I serve with.  If the right chemistry isn’t there, disappointment will surely follow.

What is your Myers-Briggs score?

ENFP, so I’m in need of professional help!

Orange carpet or brown?

Orange, because my wife is an Oklahoma State University fan.  Hey, if momma ain’t happy, nobody’s happy.

To read more, and connect with, Alan, you can find him HERE.

 

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