Last week was New Year’s and many of us resolved to watch less tv, read more books. Whether or not that’s the case for you, if you only have one book that you have time to read this year…well, of course, make it the Bible. But if you have time to read two books this year, I’d like to make a recommendation: How to Have That Difficult Conversation You’ve Been Avoiding by Drs. Cloud and Townsend.

Check out the video review by clicking the link below.

(For my e-mail subscribers who can’t see the video, click here.)

These are the authors of Boundaries and their work just keeps getting better. This book came out in 2005 and, frankly, I’ve been kicking everyone for not telling me about it sooner. And I promise you this, you’re hearing this post today, if you don’t get this book for a week, a month, a year, two years, five years and then you read it, you’ll be kicking yourself too. In fact, you may even give me a call and let me come kick you.

Let’s face it. We’ve all got those conversations we need to have. Whether it’s with a husband or wife, a brother or sister, a parent or a child, a church leader or a church member, a boss or an employee or a co-worker, a neighbor, a boyfriend or a girlfriend, and yet we’ve been avoiding them. Why? Well, maybe we’re just afraid of conflict. Or maybe we don’t know how to say what needs to be said. Or maybe we’re afraid of hurting someone’s feelings, or even worse that they may turn it around on us and hurt our feelings. But you only have to put that conversation off long enough to get this book and read it.

This book is jam-packed with powerful principles to help you make your conversations better. When you read this book you’ll learn things about clarifying the problem, making sure to keep “I” and “you” clear, balancing grace and truth, and other profound principles that help us know where conversations go wrong and how to keep from making those mistakes again.

But in addition to that, this book is filled to the brim with practical pointers. They don’t just talk about ethereal concepts and mystical ideas. They bring out real life conversations and real life situations and let us know this is how a conversation can be conducted and bring about good results.

Maybe you’ve had that conversation that you’ve been wanting to have with a wife or a husband, maybe with a boss, a co-worker, a church leader, even someone that you’re dating. There’s a chapter for that filled with profound illustrations that hit right at home where you’ve been, where I’ve been and help us know how to have those conversations. And help us know how to make those conversations draw us closer together instead of dividing us even further apart.

I just finished this book yesterday, and already it’s changing the way I communicate with my family. I have no doubt that if I continue to follow the principles that I’ve read about in this book, that I’m going to make my wife happier, which means my marriage will be happier. Not to mention, my family will be more productive. I won’t have to continue wasting time in those arguments about issues that don’t really matter. Instead, we’ll be able to spend time conversing and communicating with one another in a way that brings us closer together and helps our family have greater unity.

I want to thanks Drs. Cloud and Townsend for writing How to Have That Difficult Conversation You’ve Been Avoiding. I know it’s changing my life, and I know it will change yours. Pick up your copy today. Trust me. You won’t regret it.

—-

P.S. If I were a betting man, I would bet that you don’t need this legally obligated disclaimer to let you know that this post does in fact contain affiliate links. I’m not recommending the book just so I can get a kick back. I’m recommending it because it helped me and I know it will help you. But, while it’s helping you, why don’t you go ahead and help me. Use the affiliate links to get your copy ordered today. In fact, here are a few more.

As I’m sure you could see in the video, I read this book on the Kindle app on my iPad. Here’s the link for the kindle version.

Oh and maybe you need an iPad. Here you go.

Or perhaps you’d like to have the new Kindle Fire. I hear it’s smoking and so much cheaper than an iPad.

Perhaps you’d like to check out more books by Cloud and Townsend. Here you go.

You get the idea. Have a great week and some great conversations.

The moment you’ve been waiting for has finally arrived. “Plugged In: High Voltage Prayer” has finally hit the stands. Just in time for the New Year, you can now read the full story of Steve and Sarah, a Christian couple who woke up one Sunday morning in a spiritual rut.

Steve and Sarah didn’t really know what to do next. They just didn’t want to continue on in the rat-race of just going to church as usual. They thought maybe they just needed a change of scenery. Maybe a new church would do the trick. Providentially, one of their shepherds, brother Davis, checks in on them and challenges them to a “High Voltage Prayer Challenge”–thirteen weeks of prayer. You can read their story and face the “High Voltage Prayer Challenge” with them.

“Plugged In: High Voltage Prayer (The Classbook)” takes some of the major themes found in it’s predecessor Plugged In: High Voltage Prayer (plus a couple new lessons) and presents them in a format perfect for a small group study or a quarterly Bible class. Or go through the study with a friend, with your family, or on your own.

The great thing is this is a downloadable pdf. You don’t have to wait for shipping. Simply purchase the license option you want, download and print your copies. For more info, visit the product page, click the banner above or the box below.

Plugged In: High Voltage Prayer (The Classbook)

The story of Steve and Sarah, a Christian couple in a spiritual rut. Learn about the power of God through prayer as you read their story and work through the challenges and questions they face as they figure out the place prayer really has in their spiritual lives.

God’s Way Works is excited to announce the latest class book in our Bible Class Material department–Ezra: Rebuilding God’s House, Restoring God’s People.

Would you like to know more about the post-captivity period of God’s Old Testament nation Israel? I’ve often found that even good students of the Bible have not studied this part of Biblical history in depth. That is a travesty because Ezra gives some valuable insights into restoring God’s plan and pattern for His covenant people. In this material, you and/or your class can learn about the rebuilding of the temple following the Babylonian captivity, learn of the stellar example set by Ezra, and discover the  the restoration of God’s people after they had intermingled with the foreign nations.

What really sets this class apart from many others is the special effort made to bridge the gap between the mere history described in the Biblical text and the practical help we need to serve God today. This will not be simply a dry look at historical information. It will provide the seeds of lively discussion about what it means for our lives today.

This class book contains 12 lessons and 1 Review lesson. Many congregations have special events scheduled that eat up one week of classes in any given quarter. If that happens to you, then you can burn the review lesson. If not, then you have enough material to teach each week of the normal Bible class quarter.

Ezra: Rebuilding God's House, Restoring God's People

This is a 13 lesson adult Bible class book covering the Old Testament book of Ezra with a special emphasis on restoration.

Download a Sample

If you’d like to check out the Student Workbook before you purchase, feel free to download the free sample, which includes the Introduction, Table of Contents, and the first 3 lessons. Just click the link below to access the free sample.

Check out the first 3 lessons!

Downloadable PDF

“Ezra: Rebuilding God’s House, Restoring God’s People” is a downloadable pdf file that you will be able to download immediately upon payment. You will be able to print your own copies and use them personally, in your small group, in your Bible class, or with your entire congregation depending on the licensing option that you purchase.

Licensing Options

Make sure you checkout the different licensing levels below.

Buy your Personal License for $4.97. That allows you to print one copy of this material for your personal use. Of course, you can purchase multiple personal licenses. However, if you want to print more than 14 copies, you’ll want to consider one of our other licensing options.

The Small Group License is $69.97 and gives you the license to print up to 20 copies (that’s only $3.50/copy).

The Bible Class License allows you to print up to 40 copies and is only $99.97 (that’s only $2.50/copy).

The Congregational License gives you the license to teach this class as often as you want and print as many copies as you want from now until Jesus returns within one congregation (this license is not transferable to congregations other than the one for which you originally purchased it even if paid for by an individual). This amazing deal is only $199.97.

Ezra: Rebuilding God's House, Restoring God's People

This is a 13 lesson adult Bible class book covering the Old Testament book of Ezra with a special emphasis on restoration.

Check Out Our Other Material

In addition to Ezra, you can check out our other materials available to you here at God’s Way Works. For instance, you can check out our class book on Grace: God’s Power to Overcome Sin by simply clicking the picture to the left. Or click on My Store to check out the other materials we have available at this website.

The more I’ve worked with addicts and dealt with my own sins, the more I’ve realized that most churches are falling short in a very important area–freedom from sin. Oh, don’t get me wrong. Most churches teach freedom from sin. Most command freedom from sin. But very few are helping people become free from sin. Most of them simply tell people to quit sinning and then slap them on the wrist when they catch them sinning again or belittle and shame them for doing so. What can we do about this?

Basically, here is the problem as I see it. Most churches deal with only one aspect of salvation–forgiveness. They are doing a great job at teaching people where to go to receive forgiveness. As a Christian, I believe ultimate forgiveness can only be found through the blood of Jesus Christ (Matthew 26:28). Churches teach that. I certainly think there are a lot of churches out there that aren’t teaching accurately how to come in contact with the saving blood of Jesus. But many are. In either case, these churches are teaching how to be forgiven. But that is not the extent of salvation.

“Saved” is actually a medical term. In the New Testament, it translates the word “sozo.” It means to keep safe and sound, to rescue from danger. It has an emphasis on saving one who is suffering, especially one who is perishing from a disease. To be saved means to be made well, healed, restored to health. This is more than just dealing with what has happened in the past. This is fixing what is broken. This is the side that is often missed. Salvation is more than forgiving the sins of the past, it is healing the person spiritually so they overcome the sickness of sin. Salvation is not simply forgiveness, it is freedom. As John 8:32 teaches, Jesus wants us not just to be forgiven, but to be free.

Let’s see if we can see a picture here. Imagine a diabetic who, because of his disease, has had some toes amputated from one foot and the other foot and leg removed up to the knee. Forgiveness can be seen as simply removing the problems of the past. The toes and leg are reattached. On the surface it seems like everything is now fixed. But if the person still has diabetes, what can he expect in the future? He’s just going to lose those appendages again. That is a picture of receiving forgiveness without getting freedom. We don’t just want to reattach the appendages, we want to get rid of the diabetes. That is a full picture of salvation–forgiveness and freedom.

Regrettably, on a practical level, I don’t know many churches that are doing a very good job at this side, especially not with people who are dealing with obsessive sins, compulsions, and addictions. Sure, we can point to people who used to do some bad things and then stopped. We can find some people who even made some drastic changes in their lives when they were baptized into Christ. They become our poster children. But then we meet someone for whom just getting baptized doesn’t seem to do the trick. Instead of helping them, we often look down on them as they repeatedly fall into their sinful patterns. We accuse them of not really repenting. In some cases, that may well be true. In others, they have repented, they just need some really practical help on actually overcoming the sins they wanted salvation from.

By the way, this is the point at which I ask all Christians, “Are you perfect yet?” If not, then maybe you should back off on accusing everyone who struggles with a sin that you don’t of just not being penitent enough.

There are some organizations that I have seen that actually are doing a great job at showing people how to be free and overcome. They don’t purposefully turn people to Jesus to receive forgiveness, so I worry about that. However, I think there is a place for churches to learn something from 12-step groups. I’m talking about those groups that are based on Alcoholics Anonymous. Many who once thought they were hopeless have found hope. Regrettably, they didn’t find it in churches. They found it in groups of people with the same struggle coming together to share their experience, strength, and hope. They found it in working a program outlined in 12 steps and relying on others who also wanted to quit whatever struggle they were having.

I think churches can learn from this. Though I don’t personally like the phrase “God of my understanding” found in the 12 steps of most 12-step groups, I think the principles behind these steps are profound and biblical. They have helped me in having progressive victory over my own sins.

I’ve got way more to say about what churches can learn from these groups. That will come in later posts. In this one, let me simply share a modified version of the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. Then let’s talk about how biblical they are and how beneficial they can be in helping folks not only be forgiven but be set free.

Step #1: We admitted we were powerless over sin–that our lives had become unmanageable.

Step #2: Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

Step #3: Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God in Jesus Christ.

Step #4: Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

Step #5: Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.

Step #6: Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.

Step #7: Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.

Step #8: Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.

Step #9: Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.

Step #10: Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.

Step #11: Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God through Jesus Christ, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.

Step #12: Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to sinners, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

(Adapted from “Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions,” Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, New York, 2007, pp 5-8)

I’ve seen people working these steps gain a freedom that just being told to stop didn’t give them. I think churches need to learn something from these steps. Not that churches need to become mega-12-step groups, but that there are some truly practical lessons based in the Word of God that can help people who are really struggling. There is hope beyond saying, “Why don’t you just stop?” Let’s learn how to offer that hope and that direction in our churches.

Let’s talk about this. How biblical or not do you think these steps are? How beneficial do you think they can be? How can they be adapted scripturally in a congregational setting? Add your two-cents to this by commenting below.

What is the difference between a Bible class that zings and one that flops? Do you ever get to the end of a Bible class session or even an entire quarter and think, “Well, that was a waste of time, but at least its over”? Your classes don’t have to be like this. They can take a step up whether you are writing your own material or using someone else’s, whether you are teaching kids or adults, whether you are a beginning teacher or experienced. Let me show you how.

I’m teaching the high school class at the Brownsburg church right now. As every one who knows me at all knows, that is a challenge for me. When you mix together the fact that I’m a bit more task-oriented than people-oriented, the fact that I’m just not very cool, and my propensity to be absolutely boring to teenagers and you can see why I get a little insecure whenever I’m in that class. But, I like to get out of my comfort zone sometimes and I need to get to know these guys better, so I volunteered.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying I’ve become the best teacher in the world. I’m not saying my classes are always 100% the favorite of every person that walks in. But I am saying they don’t founder any more. They stay on task and they accomplish things. When I’m done with my class I can now say more than, “Whew, at least that’s over.”

The key is not in the decorations on the walls. The key is not the subject matter at hand. The key is not the class book. The key is the 5 questions I ask before every class (btw: I ask these same questions when writing sermons too). I certainly didn’t come up with these on my own. I think I heard them from folks like John Maxwell and Andy Stanley. But they have definitely changed my preparation to teach and they’ve made my classes better.

Here they are:

1. What do I want the class to know?
2. Why do I want them to know it?
3. What do I want the class to do?
4. Why do I want them to do it?
5. What is the win for this class?

There it is. No matter what you are teaching, asking these questions ahead of time can make the class zing.

The first two what questions help you determine the main focus of the class. Too may classes simply wade through a series of questions that someone wrote just to fill up time. This has a tendency to cover so much information that the students don’t remember any of it. The two why questions help you determine the relevancy. If you can’t figure out why your goals are relevant to the students and convey that to them, don’t expect them to hang on to what you teach them. The win question helps you figure out the measurable goal of the class.

Once you’ve figured this out, then you can determine how to use your material. Do you need to just focus on one section in the lesson and let the students do the rest on their own? Do you need to bring in supplementary material? Do you need a group activity? a YouTube video? role-playing? intense discussion?

Don’t make the mistake of just trying to jump to some “fun” activities without first determining what the class is to be about. If all you’re doing is trying to make it through the hour, it doesn’t matter how much fun your students had, the class was a flop. When you’ve figured out what the class is about and used all your time to accomplish that goal, then your class zings. And, I assure you, in the long run, most of your students will appreciate it more.

So, get to work and make your class zing.

Question: What other keys have helped you in making your Bible classes Zing? Leave a comment and let us know.

There’s a lot of nonsense parading about as Christianity these days. But when you speak out against it, some folks play the tolerance card claiming it does no harm and we need to just let people be. However, the following video, while being completely hilarious to me, demonstrates exactly how dangerous it can be to let some people prance about as representatives of Christianity in general.

These two Australian late night comedians place their laser sights on some of the ridiculousness posing as Christianity today. What really gets my blood boiling is the video is posted by a guy whose screen name is “muslimsince2003.” What does that mean? It means someone who is following Islam saw this as a great lampoon of modern Christianity. Sad.

I don’t know who “muslimsince2003″ is, but I want to assure you that these guys are not representative of real Christianity. They are folks who sadly are trying to profit from Christianity. Peter talks about them in 2 Peter 2:1-3.

This kind of nonsense makes all Christians look bad and provides ammunition for those who would deny Jesus. These kind of teachers need to be exposed and rebuked.

I hope you laugh while watching this video, but I also hope you recognize the danger this kind of nonsense poses. Because while some people are laughing, they are also discounting true Christianity along with this clearly fake version.

If you are not able to view this video in your e-mail, click here.

No doubt, most churches are doing their dead level best to make their guests feel at home. Perhaps sometimes we make mistakes while trying to do that. Tim Hawkins highlights a big mistake. Check it out and then let’s discuss the best way to make guests feel at home.

Alright. Now that you’ve had a good laugh, have you ever been a guest made to feel uncomfortable in a church? If so, what did it? Did you go back? Why or why not? What made you feel comfortable? Did you go back? Why or why not?

Want More Tim Hawkins?

If you laughed at what you saw above, you may want more. So, here’s an affiliate link. Please, click it. Buy something. Tim Hawkins will thanks you. I will thank you. My kids will thank you when they finally get to eat something this week.

If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got. At the same time, if you always do what everyone else does, you’ll always get what everyone else gets. But sometimes, just sometimes, when you step out of the mold, stare down the critics, and do things a little differently, you just might take home the gold.

In 1968, the high jump was forever changed. Until that time, people commonly used techniques like the Scissor Jump:

Or the Western Roll:

Or the most popular was the Straddle Technique:

Then, Dick Fosbury came on the scene. Here was a young man who basically stunk at the high jump. He just couldn’t seem to get the necessary coordination together to truly compete. But instead of giving up, he noticed that the rules didn’t say anything about how to go over the bar. They simply talked about how to take off. So Fosbury began to experiment with different techniques.

He decided to try something different. He curved up to the bar on the approach and then launched himself in the air, twisting so that his back was toward the bar, arched his back over the bar, then lifted his legs up so they cleared. Surely there was something wrong with this. But, no. It was perfectly legal. The critics laughed at him saying he looked like a flopping fish. But Fosbury kept at it.

In the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, folks laughed at first, but then were enthralled as Fosbury kept clearing his jumps on his first attempts. He jumped his way to the Gold Medal, a United States record, and an Olympic record. Today, almost everyone jumps the high jump using what has now become known as the Fosbury Flop.

Here’s the take away. As Christians and in churches, we want to make sure we always live by the guide God has given us. Just as Fosbury reviewed the rules and made sure his approach was sound, we need to do so with the Bible. However, we must not mistake what everyone has always done for Biblical doctrine. Further, we must not mistake what everyone else criticizes for error. Lots and lots of churches and Christians are sitting around bemoaning the terrible results they have from the way they are living their lives and running their congregations. Perhaps we need to quit worrying about the critics, quit worrying about what has always been done, and just try something different (so long as it is still scriptural).

As long as we’re following the guidelines God has established, in the end, we’ll take home the crown, no matter what anyone else says about it.

Have you ever had an interruption in a well-laid plan? Have you ever been going along great with some discipline and then your world gets turned upside-down? All that discipline and planning goes right out the window. Then at some point you are supposed to get back in the saddle. How on earth are you going to do that? Here’s the #1 key to getting back in the saddle.

Just Do It!

Yep. That’s it. You just gotta do it. And that’s what this post is for me.

About two months ago, my blog was nearly destroyed. It couldn’t have come at a more inopportune time. It was right at the beginning of my most hectic two months of travel for the whole year. That means I simply didn’t have the time to get it back up to snuff and fixed.

But now it is and let’s face it. I’ve gotten out of the habit and discipline of blogging. So, today, I just needed to get back into it.

I’m look forward to all that we can learn and discuss together. I’ve missed you all and I can’t wait to get reconnected in this cyberworld.

Have a great day. I’ll see you tomorrow.

Hello again, blog world!

After a nearly fatal power loss at the data center for my hosting service, I nearly lost my blog. Even now, it is crippled and I’m starting the slow process of internet therapy.

Even though I had a back up of the blog, it has still loaded in with some dreadful errors that I’m simply not sure how to deal with yet. So, please be patient with me as I try to figure out how to get “God’s Way Works” back up to the image and standard it had before this debacle.

Thank you so much for your patience with me and let me encourage you to keep coming back. Hopefully within the next week, I’ll be back up and running at full-steam.

Thanks,

Edwin

This is more of a reminder for me than for you.