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The Newsletter of the Praxis Center for Church Development |
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Greetings, Welcome to another month of the Uprising - bringing you the latest News of the Revolution. Please take a moment to read our articles and blog a response. And as always, join the revolution!  Tom Johnston & Mike Perkinson
by Tom Johnston 285 Billion That’s what the American Church spends on ministry each year, on average (Dr. David Barrett). That’s right – $285 BILLION, not thousand, or even million. Based on this, if the church in the America was a single corporation, it would be the THIRD LARGEST in the world, right behind ExxonMobil and General Electric and just ahead of Microsoft. And yet, Christians as a percentage of U.S. population continue to decline.
by Mike Perkinson Saving One’s Life Out of Fear – or – Losing One’s Life for Others The Gospel of Mark paints a rather clear picture of two contrasting ways of life. Jesus sternly rebukes Peter at one point in the narrative for not thinking on the things of God but the things of men (8:33). Here we see the contrasting values set in opposition, two orientations of life: what God wills for people and what people want for themselves. I realize this is a rather blunt statement, but is no less the picture Mark paints. At the beginning of the journey to Jerusalem (8:22- 10:52), Jesus teaches these standards to His disciples. The disciples resist the teachings at every point, but eventually come to submit to them. The journey can then be pictured as a clash of values between Jesus who teaches what God wills for people and the disciples who exemplify what people want for themselves.
New Tool Now Available! For all members of the Church! - ForeSight is a new tool to help individual christians develop focus for life and ministry. It helps participants discover their own personal vision, values and mission so that they can partner with God's intended will for their life. The developmental tool can be used either in a one day seminar or broken down into several training sessions. We have a few recent additions to the Trilogy Resources, and some changes with their "looks". Based on the first book published by Mike & Tom, A New Testament Trilogy, ten tools have been developed for usage to shape leaders in your congregation. The resources include text, presentation and multi-media files.
Coming to NH, March 21 and AZ, April 28 - It's not too late to register! InFusion is meant to help church leaders acquire a biblical world-view through teaching and dialog around core New Testament concepts. Through this eight-session development process leaders can gain new insight into:
Offered in TWO locations! Please follow the link below to register or for more information. Requested donation is $25 per person, $40 per couple.
A new book from the Praxis guys! Called The Kingdom Quest: Preparing to Church Plant in the Post-Christian West, this book is all about preparing to plant a church, focusing on both the personal preperation of the planter and Jesus' principles for starting a new chruch. Due out April 1 from our Publisher, we will send more information once its available!
Beyond Church Planting is a church planting resource for use by those who want to start a new church and do it organically. Authentic Kingdom ministry flows out of who God is ... who we are ... how we relate to each other ... and how we fulfill God’s purpose for His people.
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