Reflections on the Unleash Morning Session

I want to share a few of my notes and thoughts from the Unleash Conference. It was my third year in a row in attendance and it was a great time of encouragement and teaching.  Perry Noble is a passionate preacher and he was extremely bold and direct in his first message.  But he said some things that needed to be said.  He is able to speak with boldness because of the trust and the moral authority he has built in his ministry and in his life.

3 Questions to Get back to the church that Jesus wants (from 2 Kings 7)

  • Question 1 –  Are we willing to embrace change?
  • Question 2 – Are we willing to work?
    • Investigate the obvious
    • Ignore the Jackass (the Greek translation is BLOGGER)
  • Question 3 –  Are we serious about reaching the world?

Perry also shared four terms that are overplayed in the church.  I agree completely.  We have become defined by our terminology, not by our love.  While there are good things about some of these terms, we can’t become so caught up in them that we forget our mission.

  • contemporary – our pastor wears a sweater-vest and we treat Jesus like our boyfriend instead of King
  • blended – no one in our church will proclaim where we stand – instead they reach no one in an effort to keep everyone happy
  • missional –  nobody is showing up, so we made a term to explain our dysfunction – not doing the Great Commission
  • emergent – we’re a bunch of spoiled former church kids who have a problem with authority – including the authority of God’s word

Memorable Quotes

  • there has been a communication breakdown in the church  – we’re trying to build our church, not God’s church
  • churches have stripped the Church (the bride of Christ) of her wedding dress and made her look like a slut – it is His church
  • every church in America is 1 or 2 changes away from doubling in size
  • you have to start changing things that you thought were a good idea – things that you created
  • if your church is manageable, God is not there – you can’t orchestrate or manage a move of God
  • a move of God is messy
  • most churches have more money in cemetery fund than in the youth ministry fund
  • number of Christians in this country is declining – if it was your money declining you would do something about it.
  • preach the word of God under the anointing of God
  • only churches that numbers aren’t important are the ones who aren’t reaching people
  • people that say I want to go deeper – You’re only as deep as the last person you served
  • most people are educated way beyond their level of obedience
  • we are not called to condemn the city, we are called to reach them
  • churches should stop competing with one another and start completing one another
  • you want more worship – you’ve got 6 other days
  • If you want change in your church you have to do more than pray about it – don’t use  prayer as an excuse for inactivity
  • we ask god for permission to do something in the church, instead of placing ourselves in submission to God
  • don’t ever let the money drive the decision – let the voice of God guide you – God’s will is God’s bill
  • there’s power under the hood, churches need to stomp it!!

Mike

I am a former design engineer who now pastors Cornerstone Community Church in Galax, Virginia. I'm passionate about following Jesus and I love technology. I've been married to Jennifer for 28 years, and we have three adult children.

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