Unleash

Notes from a conference that I read off of Tony's blog:

• Churches don't grow without Godly leadership.
• Moses simply listened and obeyed.
• Have you ever felt like God was leading you to do something?
• One of the most common phrases in the first chapters of the Bible is this: "The Lord said to Moses..."
• Time with God is the most important thing you do. Period. (Especially for senior pastors.)
• How can you get a vision for your church without time with God?
• In the Bible, God never gave the vision to a committee. "The personnel committee, they're of Satan."
• "God didn't ordain deacons to tell the pastor what to do."
• Hebrews 13:17 -- Your pastor is accountable to God.
• We fight over the dumbest things. And we handcuff the senior pastor. The pastor can't even hire and fire the people on the staff team.
• "If you've never been scared, you've never heard from God."
• If you're not the senior pastor, you have to trust that he's hearing from God.
• Moses did not compromise the vision.
• "Powerful people in your church will always try to alter your vision."
• "As a pastor, I can't please everyone." I'd rather offend the people in the church seats than God who gave us our vision.
• People will leave. And that's OK.
• Moses didn't try to do it all.
• "Pastors, one of our biggest problems is that we think we're needed."
• Numbers 11:14-17 -- The pastor can't carry everyone. "You will not have to carry it alone."
• "The pastor is not supposed to do everything."
• "You have to surround yourself with Godly people."
• "Pastors, you also need to learn how to rest."
• Moses was willing to attempt the impossible.
• "God has never called us to do anything that's safe."
• "It insults God when we dream small dreams."
• Stop using money as an excuse. "If it's God's will, it's God's bill." God isn't limited by money.
• Ask God for big things.
• "If you can sleep, it's not a vision. If you can do it, it's not a vision."

This is great stuff! It would have been fun to be there. Reading this list again and again just seems to hit so close to home. Wow! Church today just doesn't get it. When will it be more about God and less about our personal desires?