Following Jesus

By Craig Etheredge: Jesus gave the same invitation to everyone. It was simple, direct, and called for a decision. It could be accepted or denied, but not ignored. The invitation was simply, “Follow me.” More than twenty-four times in the Gospels, Jesus invited people to follow Him. He invited the wealthy and powerful, the casual observer, the spiritual seekers, and even the religiously devoted. Jesus called everyone to follow Him.

One day while walking along the Sea of Galilee, Jesus passed by fishermen caring for their nets. They had known Jesus for a while, but now it was time for them to make a decision.

“And he said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men’”(Matthew 4.19 ESV).

For those men, following Jesus meant leaving behind their old life to go with Jesus. It meant being trained by Jesus, learning to obey Jesus, and coming under the authority and leadership of Jesus. Ultimately, it meant living a life that looked just like Jesus — reflecting His character, priorities, and practices. Jesus offers the same invitation today. He still calls men and women to follow Him.

While following Jesus doesn’t mean physically following Him around, it does mean turning from living your own life and choosing to live a new kind of life with Jesus in charge. Essentially, there are two ways to live. You can live with yourself in charge, going your way, and pursuing your own happiness. Or you can live with Jesus in charge, going His way, and pursuing what makes Him happy. You will discover that the first way to live always leads to a dead-end and separation from God, while the second way always leads to purpose, peace, and assurance.

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By Craig Etheredge. Used with permission.

The post The Great Adventure appeared first on Discipleship.org.

Source: The Great Adventure

The post The Great Adventure appeared first on Passion for Planting.

by Carey Nieuwhof: New York Times bestselling author, Max Lucado, talks about how he knew he didn’t have another ten years of senior leadership in him, why his passion has shifted, what causes happiness, and how to be happier.

Plus, Max shares some thoughts on the best and worst decisions he’s made over his decades in leadership.

Welcome to Episode 290 of the podcast. Listen and access the show notes below or search for the Carey Nieuwhof Leadership Podcast on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts and listen for free.

Guest Links

Max Lucado |  Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | How Happiness Happens

Episode Links

Need help with your church’s website and digital outreach? Check out Pro WebFire, and get a FREE custom website build for the plan you choose by using the discount code Carey2019. Act now before the offer expires at the end of this month.

Carey will be speaking at the Future Forward Conference this October 1st and 2nd. If you’re a church leader or member who is committed fully to engaging the next generation in a rapidly changing world, join us by signing up here today.

CNLP 221: Max Lucado On How He’s Written Over 120 Books, Why He Never Uses Ghostwriters, How to Stay Fresh in Leadership, And His Favorite Book

Vanderbloemen Resource Center

Ten Signs of a Leadership Crash by Stephen Mansfield

Research on the pursuit of happiness

Unshakable Hope by Max Lucado

3 Insights from Max

1.Your interests and callings might come only for a season

Many leaders hold onto their leadership positions for too long. Max and Carey both have come to the place where they needed to pass on their lead pastor role to the next generation of leaders. How did they know it was time to move on? Max described it as “when he dipped his ladle into his leadership bucket, all he heard was a scraping sound.” He just didn’t have anything left for it.

Max would also want to encourage you that just because you are called to something in one season, doesn’t mean you are called to that thing in all seasons of your life. How much of a tragedy would it be if you received all of your callings and giftings on the day of your conversion? It would make the rest of your life pretty boring. Your calling is for life but your assignment might change.

2. Advantages of staying in the same ministry for 31 years 

Max has been in a place of leadership at his church for 31 years, and he has been able to see a few advantages to staying in the same place for a long time. One of the biggest advantages is that preaching to the same people for so long has caused him to preach on many of the passages and topics that pastors never preach on. This has added value to him and his congregation.

Max also loves the fact that he has a very long-standing and well-respected legacy within his community that is not only paying off for him but is paying off for his wife and kids now, too. His church has invited two of his three daughters to speak, and the community of people in their church are quick to support him and his family.

3. Happiness happens in unexpected ways

The world seems to be getting less and less happy. While researching his next book, Max learned that only one in three people today report that they are happy. So where has our happiness gone? And more importantly, how do we get it back?

One thing Max realized while researching for his book was that we become happy, ourselves, when we are making other people happy. So, when we give away something that brings joy to someone else, we too are becoming more joyful. Another unexpected way that we can become more happy is by listening. If we look at the life of Jesus, we see that he was very intentional about listening to those who were hurting.

Quotes from Episode 290

I knew it was time to pass on my role when what used to energize me about our church started to drain me. @cnieuwhofClick To Tweet

It might actually be disobedient or wrong to hang on in a position to which you’re not called anymore. @cnieuwhofClick To Tweet

Happiness happens when we give it away. @MaxLucadoClick To Tweet

Everywhere I look, somebody’s trying to make me unhappy so that I’ll buy their product. @MaxLucadoClick To Tweet

Saying no to speaking or to travel is really a good yes to my wife. @MaxLucadoClick To Tweet

Read or Download the Transcript for Episode 290

Looking for a key quote? More of a reader?

Read or download a free PDF transcript of this episode here.

Watch Back Episodes of The Podcast on YouTube

Select episodes of this podcast are now on YouTube. Our new YouTube Channel gives you a chance to watch some episodes, not just listen. We’ll add select episodes to YouTube as time goes on.

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Next Episode: David Platt

There are so many deconversion stories away from Christianity these days. David Platt has seen some of the greatest suffering on earth and has again, recently, asked some of the toughest questions: In a universe governed by a good God, is hell really a place? Will so many people born into an earthly hell really end up in eternal hell? David shares how seeing profound suffering and asking those questions hasn’t led him away from faith but deeper into his faith. And, he shares what needs to change in Christianity is really going to impact the world.

Subscribe for free now and you won’t miss Episode 291.

The post CNLP 290: Max Lucado on What Causes Happiness, How to Be Happier, and How to Know When It’s Time to Leave Leadership appeared first on CareyNieuwhof.com.

Source: CNLP 290: Max Lucado on What Causes Happiness, How to Be Happier, and How to Know When It’s Time to Leave Leadership

The post CNLP 290: Max Lucado on What Causes Happiness, How to Be Happier, and How to Know When It’s Time to Leave Leadership appeared first on Passion for Planting.