Pastor Connect 2010

Fri, Jan 1, 2010

Articles In This Issue

Lifelong Repenters
Article
Thu, Dec 23, 2010
Bill Elliff
Pastor Connect 2010

Lifelong Repenters

The first word Jesus preached to us in His public ministry was "Repent" (Matthew 4:17). Repentance literally means a profound change of mind that produces a change in direction. In other words, I don't just think differently about something, but my mind does a 180-degree turn so that I gladly move to the opposite path. Paul says that "sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret" (2 Corinthians 7:10). That is, I am so convinced of an issue's sinfulness that I gladly turn; I see it as God sees it ...

View Full Article
Pursuing Our Joy
Article
Tue, Dec 7, 2010
Bill Elliff
Pastor Connect 2010

Pursuing Our Joy

"I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy" (Psalm 43:4). Every serious believer is often involved in things they later hate. The habitual issues that we battle with—those stronghold areas that are our greatest struggle—are our dilemma. After indulgence we ask ourselves, "Why in the world did I do that? I know better!" Or, "Why do I keep returning to that when I know it's not right?" It's because of joy. We are designed for it. God has hardwired us for pleasure. Placed deep within us is a drive for ...

View Full Article
The Determination That Produces Intimacy
Article
Tue, Nov 23, 2010
Bill Elliff
Pastor Connect 2010

The Determination That Produces Intimacy

"And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed" (Mark 1:35 ESV). There are some people who carry the sweet aroma of God about them. It is evident they have been with the Father, and when you are around them, it feels like they know things others do not know and see things others cannot see. Why is it that these people experience greater intimacy with their Father than others? There are reasons, and we see this clearly in a simple statement about ...

View Full Article
The Issue Is Always CONTROL
Article
Thu, Nov 11, 2010
Bill Elliff
Pastor Connect 2010

The Issue Is Always CONTROL

"By what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?" (Matthew 21:23). The Pharisees' interaction with Jesus gives us a crystal clear picture of all in human history who are religious and yet oppose Christ. The accounts recorded in Matthew 21—happening, not coincidentally, in the last week of Jesus' earthly life—wrap up the heart of the issue: It's all about authority. When you are confronted with a king, you have two options-kneel or stand. You can accept and submit to his authority or reject and resist. The Pharisees were proud, unsurrendered people ...

View Full Article
A Heavenly Wardrobe
Article
Wed, Oct 27, 2010
Bill Elliff
Pastor Connect 2010

A Heavenly Wardrobe

What is the church? A collection of religious snobs? A hospital for the sick? A Sunday morning service where we get a few scratches healed up? A building where we come to appease God and hope it will help us eternally? If that's your vision, it may explain why your experience is lacking in this divine community. The True Definition The church is God's earthly extension of heaven. When we are birthed into this mighty, eternal organism, we are automatically given dual citizenship. We no longer merely belong to this world. Paul tried to drill this into the ...

View Full Article
Preaching from Pain
Article
Tue, Oct 12, 2010
Bill Elliff
Pastor Connect 2010

Preaching from Pain

My best sermon was forged on the anvil of my worst nightmare. From that experience came truths I know. Wounds suffered from those days began a process of education about forgiveness and grace that has been life changing. Sharing from that pain has taught me my greatest lesson on real preaching. We run from pain. No one wants to be hurt. Our limited view can imagine no meaning or value from life's darkness. But such a presupposition illustrates our limited view of God. He is bigger than our pain and has arranged for suffering to give an undeniable authority ...

View Full Article
How to Handle Continual Attack
Article
Wed, Sep 29, 2010
Bill Elliff
Pastor Connect 2010

How to Handle Continual Attack

The church of our Lord Jesus Christ is the most important community in the world. It is a microcosmic picture of heaven to those around us. It is our—and their—only hope. It is the body Christ birthed and leads as the Head. It is the vital tool for the Father's work in this season, and He has ordained its centrality and purpose. So why should we expect no opposition? The enemies of the church, both inside and out, will never stop. They are varied in form. Often we feel the relentless attack of worldly ideas and philosophies ...

View Full Article
They Shoot Horses, Don't They?
Article
Thu, Sep 16, 2010
Bill Elliff
Pastor Connect 2010

They Shoot Horses, Don't They?

I never understood it. It seems like overkill to me, but you've seen it too. The horse gets a broken leg, AND THEY SHOOT IT! You've just gotta hope those vets aren't on duty when you go in for a physical ... "I'm sorry, Mrs. Jones; your husband had a high cholesterol problem, and we just had to PUT HIM DOWN!" Apparently, there are certain physical problems in a horse's life so damaging that the best and most merciful thing to do is to take its life. It's all about INTEGRITY. You see, integrity is ...

View Full Article
How I Treat Christ's Body
Article
Wed, Sep 1, 2010
Bill Elliff
Pastor Connect 2010

How I Treat Christ's Body

If it's all about me, I will pay little attention to what I am doing to Christ's body. "Wishing to satisfy the crowd, Pilate ... handed Him over to be crucified" (v. 15). A man-fearing, man-pleasing spirit, illustrated perfectly here by Pilate, is really nothing but a self-pleasing spirit. I want to be recognized and honored by others, and I am willing to sacrifice anything—even Christ—to hear my name applauded by the multitude. Each time we live for such a wicked, base goal, we unleash a cascade of wickedness that hurts Christ's body in more ...

View Full Article
Pulling Down Idols
Article
Tue, Aug 17, 2010
Bill Elliff
Pastor Connect 2010

Pulling Down Idols

Are you worshiping idols? Are the people in your church bowing down before false gods? Before you react emphatically, listen to Tim Keller's definition of idolatry in Counterfeit Gods: A counterfeit god is anything so central and essential to your life that, should you lose it, your life would feel hardly worth living. An idol has such a controlling position in your heart that you can spend most of your passion and energy, your emotional and financial resources, on it without a second thought. It can be family and children, or career and making money, or achievement and critical ...

View Full Article
Getting Ready for God
Article
Wed, Aug 4, 2010
Bill Elliff
Pastor Connect 2010

Getting Ready for God

"And Joshua said, 'Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you'" (Joshua 3:5). Every day, God manifests Himself; and most days, we miss it. Clouded by secular cataracts, distracted by the barrenness of a busy life, we move through our schedules and wonder why God never seems to speak to us, why we never see His miraculous work in our family, why we never hear His call to the extraordinary. Even the heavens declare God's wonder with daily regularity, but for us it's just a "nice night." Our overcrowded souls have no room for ...

View Full Article
Article
Thu, Jul 22, 2010
Bill Elliff
Pastor Connect 2010

Evaluating Great Preaching (John 7:14-18)

Every communicator of God's Word, if he desires to grow, must evaluate himself by Christ's earthly teaching, because it perfectly illustrates anointed preaching. A man who is merely interested in self-glory will never evaluate himself by such a standard. But every sincere preacher who desires God's hand on his life and ministry will gladly stand before this searchlight. As the Pharisees gave their pompous evaluations of Christ's teaching, Christ gave two thoughts to measure all preaching:

  • 1. Is my preaching God-initiated?
  • 2. Am I preaching to be known?
Diligent Study The Pharisees highly valued their ritualistic ...

View Full Article
Selecting the Right Person for the Right Spot
Article
Wed, Jul 7, 2010
Bill Elliff
Pastor Connect 2010

Selecting the Right Person for the Right Spot

Without question, getting the "right seats on the bus and the right person in the right seats" in ministry is a challenge (as Jim Collins says in Good to Great). Evaluating Candidates The second greatest piece of advice I ever heard regarding how to select a staff member or volunteer is a now often-repeated equation by Bill Hybels. When looking for good paid and unpaid workers in the church, he said you must look for three things: character, competence, and chemistry. A lack of character always manifests itself. When you sense some character issue in an interview, you had better ...

View Full Article
Prayer with No Intermission
Article
Thu, Jun 24, 2010
Bill Elliff
Pastor Connect 2010

Prayer with No Intermission

It seems impossible. Right in the middle of Paul's admonitions to the Thessalonians, he gives a simple, three-word command: "Pray without ceasing" (1 Thess. 5:17). Most think this is unattainable, but these words form life's most important door. Pray. We talk about prayer, we know we should pray, we encourage others to pray ... but we don't pray. Prayer is being with God. It implies humility, for real prayer is turning to a Source beyond yourself. It is the publican beating his chest and groaning for God. It is a solemn recognition that you need Someone ... for ...

View Full Article
You Feed Them
Article
Wed, Jun 9, 2010
Bill Elliff
Pastor Connect 2010

You Feed Them

"They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat!" (Matthew 14:16). People are hungry—starving, really, but most of them don't even know it. Their relentless search for something, anything, to fill their emptiness illustrates their famished condition. Any true believer recognizes this. We talk about the world's "lostness" and people's need for the only thing that will satisfy—Christ Himself. We even plead with Christ to meet their desperate needs. But Jesus simply replies, "You feed them." In Matthew 14:13-21, often called the "Feeding of the Five Thousand," Jesus gives ...

View Full Article
Starting a Movement
Article
Fri, May 21, 2010
Bill Elliff
Pastor Connect 2010

Starting a Movement

God has designed this world's DNA so that just one man can start a great movement; and this truth is not confined to righteous causes. Look at Hitler, Lenin, Hussein, and Bin Laden. In American life, radical feminism, humanistic education, and the homosexual "rights" movements all began by small groups with loud voices. For some reason, most Christians cower before today's prevailing forces. But occasionally, a Martin Luther stands up and changes the world. What does it take to start a movement? The Apostle Paul knew. Whether he understood in advance the broad influence his life would carry ...

View Full Article
The Shamelessness of Personal Ambition
Article
Thu, Apr 29, 2010
Bill Elliff
Pastor Connect 2010

The Shamelessness of Personal Ambition

"Absalom stole away the hearts of the men of Israel" (2 Samuel 15:6). Some call it good, aggressive leadership. Books laud its quality, and conferences feature those who have risen to the top in their field through its use. But God has a different opinion about personal ambition. He forever reveals its gaudiness by contrasting Absalom, whose ambition was merely for himself, with his father, David, whose sole ambition was for God. GAINING VISIBILITY TO USURP CONTROL Absalom wanted to be king. He was naturally gifted and in line for the job. But he couldn't wait. Discontent to ...

View Full Article
Article
Wed, Apr 14, 2010
Bill Elliff
Pastor Connect 2010

The Value of LARGE Groups

Small groups abound, and I'm glad. One of the most significant trends in the American church has been the growing value placed on small groups. There is NO substitute for the house-to-house, life-to-life environment of 10-20 people where "everybody knows your name." This is the primary (but not the only) place where authentic community occurs in the life of the church. The special kind of honest communication, life application, and accountability that takes place in small groups is hard to replicate in any other setting.

But now we hear the rumblings of an over-correction. It always seems to happen ...

View Full Article
Article
Tue, Mar 30, 2010
Bill Elliff
Pastor Connect 2010

The Divine Conjunction

God's grace intersects our lives to bring change which would be impossible without Him. "I am what I am," Paul admitted, "by the grace of God" (1 Cor. 15:10). God's initiating intervention gives us something we could not have, makes us something we would not be, and uses us to bless others in ways we could never dream. But God The Bible describes grace often with two simple words: "But God." Simple men and women are made heroes in God's story, not by their mighty works but because of this divine conjunction. Noah, as he was ...

View Full Article
How to Lead Family Worship
Article
Wed, Mar 17, 2010
Brian G. Hedges
Pastor Connect 2010

How to Lead Family Worship

We recently started doing family devotions ... again. Mark Twain once quipped that to give up smoking was the easiest thing in the world—he knew because he had done it thousands of times. We all know that bad habits are hard to break and good habits are hard to make. At least for my family, sustaining a regular family worship time has been something I've begun repeatedly, only to lose steam, settle into apathy, and repent and start over again weeks or months later. So I'm not writing this from a platform of perfection, but rather out of ...

View Full Article
Sacred Anointing
Article
Tue, Mar 2, 2010
Bill Elliff
Pastor Connect 2010

Sacred Anointing

In His sovereignty God has ordained preaching as a primary means of transforming lives. He has graciously given us creation, His Word, and most dramatically Himself, in the person of His Son, so that we might know Him. By these three means God sufficiently reveals Himself. On the human side, He calls out certain men to come to know Him through these means and to communicate His truth to a broader audience—to preach. Why He did it this way, particularly in light of our human frailty, only He can say. But those of us who have been called to ...

View Full Article
Article
Wed, Feb 17, 2010
Bill Elliff
Pastor Connect 2010

The Responsibility of a Leader's Faith

When they had gone a long time without food, then Paul stood up in their midst and said, "Men, you ought to have followed my advice and not to have set sail from Crete and incurred this damage and loss. Yet now I urge you to keep up your courage, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. For this very night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood before me, saying, 'Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar; and behold, God has ...

View Full Article
Article
Wed, Feb 3, 2010
Bill Elliff
Pastor Connect 2010

The Suffocating Control of Good Pharisees

"When He entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to Him while He was teaching, and said, 'By what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?'" (Matthew 21:23 NASB). The church in America today is filled with good Pharisees. Just as in Jesus' day, they choke the life out of the church. I've encountered them all my life. Genuine Pharisees are not true believers, although they are often camouflaged by Christian wording and activity. They are the Enemy's "tares sown among the wheat" to wreak havoc ...

View Full Article
The Mystical Difference in Transformational Preaching
Article
Thu, Jan 14, 2010
Bill Elliff
Pastor Connect 2010

The Mystical Difference in Transformational Preaching

Preachers come in all sizes, styles, personalities, languages, voices, backgrounds, and hairstyles. In infinite wisdom, God makes no two of us alike, and He loves the variety. But while this uniqueness is part of God's deliberate plan to reach various people, every preacher should have some non-negotiable, foundational elements of anointed preaching. The Foundational Elements First, we must preach God's Word. Paul's clear command to "preach the word ... in season and out of season" (2 Tim. 4:2 NASB) is not a suggestion but a calling. We must diligently study to cut it straight, not imposing our ...

View Full Article
The One Constant of Authentic Heroes
Article
Fri, Jan 8, 2010
Bill Elliff
Pastor Connect 2010

The One Constant of Authentic Heroes

We love heroes—and we should. They are the men and women who willingly give themselves for a higher cause—firemen who save lives, policemen who protect us, and military heroes who pay the ultimate sacrifice. You don't have to wear a uniform to be a hero, though. Mothers who give every waking breath for their children, and fathers who nobly lead their homes are also heroes. There is something in every hero, even if it's only a temporary surge, that makes them recognizable: courage. In every heroic act, someone boldly puts his or her life on the ...

View Full Article
Print