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Quote: Robert Murray McCheyne. He was a pastor in Dundee, Scotland. He knew Hebrew well enough to speak it with European Jews. He had an appetite for Greek classics. He kept his diary in Latin. He could have left his church several times for a bigger, more notable pulpit. But he didn\'t. Why? Because no church could offer him more time for prayer than Dundee.

Webpage: http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByScripture/2/697_O_Lord_Open_a_Door_for_the_Word/

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Author: Hawking

Quote: This argument about whether or not the universe had a beginning, persisted into the 19th and 20th centuries. It was conducted mainly on the basis of theology and philosophy, with little consideration of observational evidence. This may have been reasonable, given the notoriously unreliable character of cosmological observations, until fairly recently. The cosmologist, Sir Arthur Eddington, once said, \'Don\'t worry if your theory doesn\'t agree with the observations, because they are probably wrong.\' But if your theory disagrees with the Second Law of Thermodynamics, it is in bad trouble. In fact, the theory that the universe has existed forever is in serious difficulty with the Second Law of Thermodynamics. The Second Law, states that disorder always increases with time. Like the argument about human progress, it indicates that there must have been a beginning. Otherwise, the universe would be in a state of complete disorder by now, and everything would be at the same temperature.

Webpage: www.hawking.org.uk/pdf/bot.pdf

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Author: John Piper

Quote: Many unbelievers have great abilities in teaching and in administration, for example. And these abilities are God-given, whether the people recognize this or not. But these would not be called "spiritual gifts" of teaching or administration because they are not expressions of faith and they are not aiming to strengthen faith. Our faith in the promises of God is the channel through which the Spirit flows on his way to strengthening the faith of others (Galatians 3:5). Therefore, no matter what abilities we have, if we are not relying on God and not aiming to help others rely on him, then our ability is not a "spiritual gift." It is not "spiritual" because the Holy Spirit is not flowing through it from faith to faith. This has tremendous implications for how we choose church staff and church officers and board members. It means that we will never simply ask, "Who has the skill to be efficient?" We will always go beyond that and ask, "Do they use their skill in such a way that you can tell it is an expression of their hearty reliance on the Lord? And do they exercise their skill with a view to strengthening the faith and joy of others?" A church where the Holy Spirit is alive and powerful will be a church very sensitive to the difference between natural abilities and spiritual gifts.

Webpage: http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByTopic/87/288_Spiritual_Gifts/

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Book: "a book you will actually read on Church leadership" Buy from www.amazon.co.uk or www.amazon.com

Author: Mark Driscoll

Quote: A complementarian Church must focus intently on raising up men, particularly young men, to be responsible, loving leaders in their families and churches like Jesus and unlike Adam. Simply on of the kindest things we can do for women and children is to raise up men who are good Christians, husbands, fathers and Christian brothers.

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Book: "Confessions of a Reformission Rev" Buy from www.amazon.co.uk or www.amazon.com

Author: Mark Driscoll

Quote: Observers were happy to do nothing and give nothing but just come to watch the show each week, not unlike the people who hit the brakes when driving past a nasty car wreak to gaze and grin. Consumers likewise gave and did ncthing but were always wantins more and making denands for more goods and services from me. Participants were the handfull ofpeople who had bought ioto the idea of the church being a missionary to our city. They came to church seeking a way to serve a greater mission and were enormously encouraging

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Book: "When heaven invades earth" Buy from www.amazon.co.uk or www.amazon.com

Author: Bill Johnson

Quote: Billy Graham "Ninety five percent of today's church activities would continue if the Holy Spirit were removed from us. In the early Church, ninety-five percent of all her activities would have stopped if the Holy Spirit were removed."

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Quote: A freshman at Eagle Rock Junior High won first prize at the greater Idaho Falls Science Fair, April 26, 1997. He was attempting to show how conditioned we have become to alarmist practicing junk science and spreading fear of everything in our environment. In his project he urged people to sign a petition demanding strict control or total elimination of the chemical "dihydrogen monoxide." And for plenty of good reasons, since it: Can cause excessive sweating and vomiting. It is a major component in acid rain. It can cause severe burns in its gaseous state. Accidental inhalation can kill you. It decreases effectiveness of automobile brakes. It has been found in tumors of terminal cancer patients. He asked 50 people if they supported a ban of the chemical. Forty-three said yes, six were undecided, and only one knew that the chemical was H20 (water). The title of his prize winning project was, "How Gullible Are We?" He feels the conclusion is obvious.

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Book: "A book you will actually read on Church Leadership" Buy from www.amazon.co.uk or www.amazon.com

Author: Mark Driscoll

Quote: One pastor has quipped that many young men raised on the apron strings of their Mother the Church aspire to vocational ministry because it is an indoor job that does not require any heavy lifting. But Paul tells a young pastor named Timothy that to be a pastor means you can pull the load of an ox, fight like a warrior, live a life of dicipline to compete with the skill of an athlete, and work tirelessly like a farmer who is up before the sun doing his job every day.

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Book: "Confessions of a Reformission Rev" Buy from www.amazon.co.uk or www.amazon.com

Author: Mark Driscoll

Quote: As a church grows, it also changes. And as a Church changes, so does the accessibility of the pasor and his family. As a pastor gets busier with new people and responsibilities, some people are displaced and not as close to the pastor as they had been. Displaced people are prone to expect the pastor to ensure that their access to him and his family will never change. If the pastor agrees to these demands, he will keep the disgruntled people but not reach any new people because the mission will shift from reaching new people to pleasing old people.

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Author: Mark Driscoll

Quote: Best piece of advice you have received as a church planter? From John Piper – he is a greater man off the stage than on the stage. He said to me, "be a sanctified version of you". What he meant by this, is take all your strengths and weaknesses and be sanctified in all those areas. The worst thing you can do is try to be like someone else. Be yourself, but we a sanctified version of you. I regret being a loud-mouth, crass-talking person in months and years past. I am ashamed of this and now I want to be a sanctified version of me.

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