Great little book on Authority that you should read

Authority: the Leader’s Call to Serve, by Jamie Munson
©2013 Jamie Munson. 1st Ed. 32 pages.

The leader who wants to leave a legacy will serve the people who are under his/her authority. Likewise, those who are under authority are called to serve those in authority over them. These are the bold claims of Authority: the Leader’s Call to Serve, by Jamie Munson. Munson does a great job of drawing on his experience, other authors and a good understanding of the Trinity to make his points clear and practical.

As far as I can tell, Munson’s purpose in writing this book is to clarify in simplest terms why and how a leader is to be both in and under authority. Munson does a great job of nailing the key role of serving in this discussion. For the leader, Munson says that God “wants you to serve him by serving those he has placed under your care, even when it is difficult.” (p.5) And for those who find themselves under authority, God “wants you to serve him by serving those he has placed over you, even when it is difficult.” (p.5) To back this up, he draws on a clear understanding of the roles and relationships within the Trinity of the Godhead—how the Father, Son & Holy Spirit perfectly model for us the standard of an authority-submission structure.

When I received a complimentary copy of Authority: the Leader’s Call to Serve for review purposes from Jamie Munson, I was pretty excited. Having met Jamie personally (as a co-student during the inaugural year of ReTrain), I could connect his voice and pleasant demeanour to the words I was reading. Munson’s experience with one of the fastest growing churches in America have clearly given him a sharpness that helped him to detail very practically for us how we are to respond whether we are in or under authority.

Get your copy of the book for free this week (March 11-16, 2013).

If you’re reading this review & its long after that, click here to find it.

Visit Jamie Munson’s blog for more great insights on Leadership: http://www.jamiemunson.com

My mouth will speak the praise of the LORD

Psalm 145-14-21

The LORD upholds all who are falling
and raises up all who are bowed down.
The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food in due season.
You open your hand;
you satisfy the desire of every living thing.
The LORD is righteous in all his ways
and kind in all his works.
The LORD is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
He fulfills the desire of those who fear him;
he also hears their cry and saves them.
The LORD preserves all who love him,
but all the wicked he will destroy.
My mouth will speak the praise of the LORD,
and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.

~ King David

Best Christmas Song Ever (PS – Its about Jesus)

My favourite Christmas song of all time is O Holy Night. The biggest reason I think its among the best is because it declares much of who Jesus is and what he came to do…really, what Christmas is all about.

Tonight I’ll be giving a short message at our Christmas Eve gathering with the Converge Church family, friends and neighbours and I’ll be referring to many of the lines in this song because it speaks of hope, joy, worship, wonder, humility, grace, understanding, salvation, love, reconciliation, peace, justice, thanksgiving, power & glory. Behold your King!

O Holy Night

O holy night
The stars are brightly shining
It is the night
Of the dear Savior’s birth
Long lay the world
In sin and error pining
Till He appeared
And the soul felt its worth
A thrill of hope
The weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks
A new and glorious morn

Fall on your knees
Oh hear the angel voices
O night divine
O night when Christ was born
O night
O holy night O night divine

Led by the light
Of faith serenely beaming
With glowing hearts
By His cradle we stand
So led by light
Of a star sweetly gleaming
Here came the wise men
From Orient land
The King of kings
Lay thus in lowly manger
In all our trials
Born to be our Friend

He knows our need
To our weakness is no stranger
Behold your King
Before Him lowly bend
Behold your King
Before Him lowly bend

Truly He taught us
To love one another
His law is love
And His gospel is peace
Chains shall He break
For the slave is our brother
And in His name
All oppression shall cease
Sweet hymns of joy
In grateful chorus raise we
Let all within us
Praise His holy name

Christ is the Lord
Oh praise His name forever
His power and glory evermore proclaim
His power and glory evermore proclaim

 

Its all about Jesus.

 

What’s YOUR favourite Christmas Song? Why?

Leave a comment below!

 

Recent Reads – Dec 11, 2012

Recent Reads is a collection of blogs, articles and books I’ve been reading lately and thought well enough of them to share them with you. Click here for past Recent Reads.

Here are my recent reads for Tuesday December 11th, 2012.

Instead of giving you a bunch of links and summaries this week, I thought I would share the tweets I posted when I came across these gooders. Have a look.

 

RT @prayplantrepeat: A Walk Through the Pauline Church Planting Cycle: goplant.org/category/churc… // Been using this in Gospel Leader training.—
Mark Myles (@markmyles) December 07, 2012

If you’re interested in our Gospel Leader training we’re doing, click here for more information.\

 

RT @gcdiscipleship: Christmas morning shows us that God is willing to fulfill His promise. #ComeLordJesusCome wp.me/pX5fR-fH—
Mark Myles (@markmyles) December 07, 2012

 

Churches, embrace technology for the good of the gospel & the church. #churchplanting #gospel ht.ly/fSXzn—
Mark Myles (@markmyles) December 07, 2012

 

Puff or Pass? More thoughts & a new e-book from @pastormark via @theresurgence ht.ly/fSY0a #marijuana #christianity—
Mark Myles (@markmyles) December 07, 2012

 

When the Money Runs Out | Summary fr @samuelschoi a CCEF booklet helping reduce financial stress & getting out of debt ht.ly/fVc4W—
Mark Myles (@markmyles) December 07, 2012

 

Great poetic recitation of THE Story. 10 mins worth your Sat morning scroll. #gospel #campbellriver ht.ly/1Q4Xxi—
Mark Myles (@markmyles) December 08, 2012

This is a great 10 min video you should watch that is an artistic the Story of God from beginning to end.

 

Waiting for a Saviour. #Advent via @theResurgence ht.ly/1Q5HNc—
Mark Myles (@markmyles) December 09, 2012

 

Should I tithe? Good answer via @theResurgence ht.ly/1Q7NoA—
Mark Myles (@markmyles) December 10, 2012

 

Jesus came in the opposite way of "Go big or go home." via @theResurgence ht.ly/1Q9g1g—
Mark Myles (@markmyles) December 11, 2012

 

Recent Reads – Dec 4, 2012

Recent Reads is a collection of blogs, articles and books I’ve been reading lately and thought well enough of them to share them with you. Click here for past Recent Reads.

Here are my recent reads for Tuesday December 4th, 2012.

Can I Smoke Marijuana?

• With the recent legalization of marijuana use for recreational purposes in the states of Washington & Colorado, and with its growing popularity in BC, I thought I’d post this article from Pastor-friends in Texas, where, like BC, it is still illegal…more.

Brothers, Build a Gospel Culture

• “The church is full of hypocrites.” I’ve heard that a lot. On the other hand, though, I’ve also been humbled to hear people say great things about Converge, “But your church is different…” In this article, Ray Ortlund describes the need to engage the Gospel both doctrinally and culturally. Without one or the other, a church community will lose either her credibility or her strength…more.

A Father’s Fright of Twilight

• I’ve never seen any of the Twilight movies…just thought I’d put that out there. Regardless of what you think about the pasty-skinned long-toothed teenage vampire romance craze that many young women and girls are viewing as “harmless entertainment,” have a read of this post by Pastor Mark Driscoll…more.

Everything you always wanted to know about Satan, demons, and zombies but were afraid to ask

• On a similar note to vampires, I get asked questions (more often than you’d think) about Satan and demons. Here’s another Pastor Mark Driscoll post about something that may scare you…or not….more.

4 creative & thoughtful (not pop) Christmas albums for free or cheap

• On a lighter note…haha…here’s some great Christmas albums for you to get this season suggested by a friend of mine who’s planting a church in the lower mainland…more.

Advent Conspiracy Promo Video

If you’re reading this in an email, click through to see the video.

I don’t claim to have everything figured out about how to celebrate Christmas properly.

What I DO know is that its about Jesus.

Join us this Sunday (December 2, 2012), as Converge begins teaching through a NEW 4-part series on the greatest event this world has ever seen, the Advent of Jesus Christ, the son of God.

Recent Reads – Oct 23, 2012

Recent Reads is a collection of blogs, articles and books I’ve been reading lately and thought well enough of them to share them with you. Click here for past Recent Reads.

Here are my recent reads for Tuesday October 23, 2012.

Leading Joe Blow into Mission

• This article was a good challenge to me about leading our church into mission. My friend, Seth McBee illustrates for us that the Gospel frees us up from church programs and specialized positions in the church to be ambassadors of Jesus in our everyday lives. Have a read.

Preaching As Though We Had Enemies

• Stanley Hauerwas’ 1995 article is quite academic, but very well written. Pastor John Piper called it “one of the best essays on preaching I ever read.” In it, Hauerwas highlights problems created by Modernity that we now have to deal with. Here’s a great quote, “God has entrusted us, His Church, with the best story in the world. With great ingenuity we have managed, with the aid of much theory, to make that story boring as hell. Theories about meaning are what you get when you forget that the Church and Christians are embattled by subtle enemies who win easily by denying that any war exists.“

Millennial loneliness and the search for authenticity

• Just had a conversation with a brother this morning that touched on the truth that there are a lot of people our age looking for authenticity…including us. This article via theResurgence.com by Nick Bogardus explores this topic through consumerism, rebellion against consumerism and dealing with the pendulum effect between the two in a search for something in between.