Leadership Coaching

The Mission of Pinnacle Balance is to “Build Christian Leaders, Who Build Christian Leaders.” Leadership Coaching – Many people want to be leaders, but few need to be leaders.  No one should be a leader in a church until he or she is a strong Christian (1Timothy 3:1-13). As a coach I will help you… [Continue Reading]

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Christian Life Coaching

Christian Life Coachingis a process of helping a person see the whole picture of his or her  life from an aerial snapshot, so that through Christ he or she can put the puzzle pieces together. When I begin the coaching  someone I want them to know that I am not telling them what to do.  This is a process… [Continue Reading]

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My Blogging And Money Story

September 8, 2011 By 2 Comments

I have blogged since 2007 and have never received a check or deposit from anyone.  As of today I have $15 in Commission junction, $75 in Share a Sale, $6 at Amazon, $33 at Squidoo and $73 in Adsense.  That is all in four years blogging.  No joke, I’m not making that up.  $202 dollars is all I have mustered to this point.  You would think that over four years I would have gotten somewhere, such is life.

Let’s face it, most people who write a blog want to make money of some kind.  I know I do.  My problem was that I also wanted to save the world, raise great kids, be a great husband, and about seventy other things at the same time.  I also thought that being a Christian meant that I couldn’t make money blogging because if I monetized my site people would be turned off and no one would win. (I wouldn’t make money, and the readers wouldn’t come back)

Today that changes.  I have been reading behind the scenes and am changing the way I do things.  I have studied for two months on how to get traffic and make money blogging so today my blogging life changes.  And I want to take you along for the ride.

I want to actually do what the gurus of online marketing say, and I want you to watch as I either get taken for a ride or start getting paid to play.  I am going to chronicle the good, the bad, and the ugly.  Right here in front of God and everybody.  I also want you to take part.  Leave comments and make suggestions as you see fit.  any help or encouragement is greatly appreciated.   I’m not charging for this so you can read whatever you want and use it to your advantage.  There will be affiliate links to the products I try, because I’m not going to do this without trying to make money in some way.

I will:

  • try ways to get traffic to my sites
  • give details of what is or is not working
  • provide and free stuff I can
  • show you how to use the tools I use
  • report to you each month on what I am making.
  • do anything else to help us all succeed.

Well that’s it.  Blogging and making money, we’ll see how this works.

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Do You Honor God?

September 6, 2011 By 9 Comments

We live in a time in America where we are lead to believe that we are a Christian nation.  People stand up for what they believe are Christian values.  A recent ABC News Poll shows that 83% of all Americans say they are Christian.  But are we really?

The book of Isiah says this about some people who said they knew God.

And so the Lord says, “These people say they are mine.  They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.  And their worship of me is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote.”

Have we just learned to honor God with our lips?  Have we just been told so long that we are Christians that we just accept that and say that is what we believe?

This is actually a hard concept to grasp because so many people believe that being a christian means so many different things.  Some think that we just believe and then Jesus just takes over.  They know we will still sin but that is because we can’t help it.  Others believe we are changed immediately and sin is a thing of the past.  Some believe that we should give everything away while others believe Jesus will help us acquire more if we just believe.

I personally think that if you are Christian you will be in church at least most Sundays of the year to learn from other believers. Others believe they are Christians (my father) and have not darkened the door to a church in decades except for funerals and weddings.

One thing I am sure of, we are all different and we are not going to force each other to change our beliefs by yelling and pointing out flaws.  I can never tell my father I think he is wrong, because he believes he is right. I also don’t think it is our job. we need to talk to and love people, and let the Holy Spirit do the rest.  God finishes the verse in Isiah with this,

Because of this, I will once again astound these hypocrites with amazing wonders.  The wisdom of the wise will pass away, and the intelligence of the intelligent will disappear.”

I’m not going to answer the question.  I know He can change hearts and minds better than we can.  So you and I just need to Honor God the way we think is best and continue to learn from Him in all we do.

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Americans Are Miserable…

August 30, 2011 By 4 Comments

…And That’s What’s Wrong With America!

Yeah I said it. I think the real reason America is doing so bad is because the majority of Americans are miserable. And, I think they are miserable because they are waiting around for someone to be their savior.  They hate their lives, they hate their jobs, they hate their spouses, they hate their government, they hate their places of worship, they hate foreigners, they hate their neighbors…etc.  People are just miserable and YOU need to get over it!

Why are people miserable.  I recently watched an episode of the Tavis Smiley show where he was in China.  He spoke to a pollster who said that 80% of the people in China had hope.  In the next breath he spoke of how few people in the United States have or exhibit any kind of hope.  I think people are miserable and think they are without hope because they are told on a daily basis how bad they have it.  They are told they wear the wrong clothes, have the wrong electronics, live in the wrong neighborhood, voted for the wrong candidate, chose the wrong stocks…etc.  When you are told how bad you have it, it’s hard to find the good in anything especially yourself.  So we become hopeless and miserable and try to find our worth in stuff we don’t need, to impress people we don’t know or like.

One of the keys to finding hope is to stop putting junk in your head.  When you eliminate the commercialism and your inner need to keep up with the Kardashians, you begin to realize most people can not afford an extravagant lifestyle.  Another way to find hope is to serve.  I understand we are told even in our churches that God himself wants you to be rich.  I am here to tell you that the richest man or woman is the servant to all.  When you go to a soup kitchen you will see people just like you who just want to feed their kids, not buy an iPad2.

I believe America is the greatest country on earth and Americans can have hope again.  But, I believe our greatest hope comes in Jesus Christ not from our president, our government, our stuff, money, or even the people who represent Christ on earth. We can not put our hope in any person or thing and expect him or her to fulfill us.  We also can’t say I tried Jesus and he didn’t work for me.  If you really want hope, you must put everything in Him and trust Him to work it out.  Is that easy? No, not all the time, but the more you trust the easier life seems and the less the things we have put our hope in, in the past seem to matter.

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Four Books For Bible Study

August 11, 2011 By Leave a Comment

These are the four tools I used and still use when I started doing personal bible study. These books are for all levels of understanding from beginner to college.  One of the things I like to focus on is the level of study most American Christians do.  I want to encourage people to really learn to study the bible and not just sit and listen to what someone else thinks.

How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth

This book is great for the beginner because it makes the point that we are all interpreters.  If we read the bible we need know how to interpret what we read.  We all bring prejudices whether good or bad.  How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth will help you put your guesses, assumptions and presumptions aside and really read the bible with fresh eyes and an ear to the original authors.

 

Grasping God’s Word

 

This book takes the best of both the scholarly and the popular worlds of bible study and combines them in one book.  Whether you are a new believer, a seasoned layperson, or a college seminary student you can use this book to learn how to study the bible.  While it is not dumbed down like many popular bible study books have been recently, it does not make the beginner feel overwhelmed by talking over their head.  This book also has a companion work book to guide your study and cheat sheet you can keep handy for reference.  

 

Across the Spectrum: Understanding Issues in Evangelical Theology

I chose this one to anger people who just read things that reinforce what they already believe. I first read this book when I was a student at Liberty University.  It was required for one of the courses.  I loved it because of the debate the students wanted to have because of it and I, being 34 when I was there, took all the wrong sides according to the Calvinists in the class.  You need to know both side to every story and Across the Spectrum will help you see both sides.  Contrary to popular belief, you will not go to hell if you are not a Calvinist. (I Threw that in just for the fun of it)

 

Life Application Study Bible

While this is not just a book, I chose it because it is my favorite bible to give to New Christians.  It is easy to read and it has relevant commentary for people who are new to the faith. I still use this as my personal bible and probably always will.

 

Just start where you are. If you can’t afford a fancy bible, or study tools and have limited online access start with what you got, or tell a pastor or church leader you don’t have a bible and they will probably give you one. When they do, Just Read it!

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Letting God Change Us – Romans 12:1-2

August 10, 2011 By 2 Comments

So Much of my Christian life has been based around Roman’s 12:1-2. I used it to show that if I could just get enough knowledge about God, Jesus, and the bible I would change or be changed.

I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (NIV)

I thought to renew my mind meant that the more I studied and learned about Christ, the closer I would grow to Him. I thought that the more I learned the more Godly I would become. To me becoming holy, or the living sacrifice mentioned in the verse meant I had to know everything there is about God.

What I was doing is called prooftexting, Prooftexting is when we read certain verses of the bible out of context deliberately, or adding our own meaning to the verse. I was prooftexting by adding my own meaning to the verse. It wasn’t until I actually started studying the verse and then reading another version of the text that I actually got what it was saying.

The Contemporary English Version says,

Dear friends, God is good. So I beg you to offer your bodies to him as a living sacrifice, pure and pleasing. That’s the most sensible way to serve God. Don’t be like the people of this world, but let God change the way you think. Then you will know how to do everything that is good and pleasing to him.  (CEV)

Did you catch that? It says, “Don’t be like the people of this world, but let God change the way you think.” I can’t do anything but put myself in front of Him on a regular basis. He is the only one who can change the way any of us really think.  I don’t know about you, but the biggest battlefield I have is my thinking. The way I think about myself, my family, and others.

Paul talks about this in Romans 7:14-25.  He talks about the battle between our earthly nature, or sin nature that wants to do what we want to do. But we have another part of us that is God-given called the Holy Spirit.  When we put ourselves in front of Him and open ourselves up to the leading of the Holy Spirit, He can change us into the men and women He is calling us to be.

Depending on what you have put in your mind, your mind decides, should I obey my lower earthly nature, or should I obey the spirit person? The problem is, we are losing the battle because our mind has been filled with so much junk and lies from the devil we make the bad decisions and fall to sin.  We watch stuff on TV and at movies or on the internet that is bad for us.  We justify our actions by saying that other people are doing it or at least we aren’t doing what some people are doing.  When all of what we are doing is wrong and dragging us farther away from Jesus Christ.

We have to let God transform us. We talk about the only thing standing in God’s way is me. Well as long as you’re there turn around, bow down and cry out to him to change you. To make you more like him. Find all the places in the New Testament wher it describes a disciple or what a disciple does or looks like then ask God to change you and make you more like the disciple you are supposed to be. Dietrich Bonhoeffer put it this way,

“costly grace confronts us as a gracious call to follow Jesus, it comes as a word of forgiveness to the broken spirit and the contrite heart. It is costly because it compels a man to submit to the yoke of Christ and follow him; it is grace because Jesus says: “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” “

What are you doing that you should stop?  What are you not doing that you should start?

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Christian Discipleship

August 8, 2011 By 11 Comments

A Christian Is A Disciple

I can only speak from my experience, and it has been that many people feel there is a difference between being a follower of Christ and being a disciple of Christ. From what I have read in the bible, and many others more scholarly than me, there is no difference. Jesus put it this way,

“If any of you want to be my followers, you must forget about yourself. You must take up your cross each day and follow me.24 If you want to save your life, you will destroy it. But if you give up your life for me, you will save it. 25 What will you gain, if you own the whole world but destroy yourself or waste your life”

If you are a follower of Jesus then you are a disciple of Jesus. We are all different and discipleship looks different to all of us. But we must be active in our life with Christ not just showing up on Sunday.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer put it this way,

“cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline. communion without confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ.”

Take those words to heart. Don’t just go to church, live like you believe what Christ said. Live differently because you have the Holy spirit dwelling in you. Live differently because Jesus died so you may live.

Bridging The Gap

For many Christians, the goal of holiness seems like as much of a gap as their distance from God before their faith in Christ.

They try and try to change their lives but they keep falling back into the same routine of discouragement. Many times they have no one to walk with them, no one who has been there before to come along side them and guide them along the way.

That is where discipleship comes in.

As Christians we are supposed to be on a road together. Growing together in Christ Jesus. Not just show up at church on Sunday and say, “Hi how ya’ doing today” kinda walk, but get down in the mud and pull each other up kinda walk.

Discipleship is walking along side someone who needs you, and helping them grow. In the process, you will grow as well in your walk with Christ, and be open to many more people who need you to speak into their lives.

Don’t Look Up First

You have read pages on discipleship before I am sure. If you are like me I always want to find someone to Disciple me. Someone to help me grow in my walk. Let me encourage you to not look for someone to be a Paul to you first. Look for someone you can be a Paul to.

As you begin to pray and look for people to disciple you will see people in a different light. When you start don’t try to get deeply theological. Just letting people know you care can make a world of difference in someones life.

Be Yourself

If there is one key to discipling it is being yourself. Be transparent with the person. Don’t try to act like you have all the answers if you don’t even have all the questions. People know when you’re being phony and that will turn more people off faster than you not knowing the answer to something.

Pace Yourself

Don’t try to meet everyones needs all at once. You will have a bigger impact if you focus on one or two people than you will if you focus on five or six or ten. If you build up two people for a year, then you each begin to build up two the next year and so on the numbers begin to multiply rapidly. Teaching others to teach others and watch them grow.

What Do You Think? Are you Giving Back or Looking For Someone To Disciple You?

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Free Online Bible Study Tools

August 6, 2011 By 3 Comments

Free Is Good

Many Christians want to study the bible, but do not have the money to shell out for expensive bible study books and computer programs. While free online bible studies  may be good, they can also be misleading. Anyone can put anything they believe on the internet, so you must be diligent in your search. This hub is meant to be a place where you can choose from the best sites that I have found. Take some time to visit each one and browse to find the one or many that are right for you.

My Study Bible.com

This is a fairly new one. Just started October 2010 My Study Bible.Com is from Lifeway Christian Resources who have over 150 Christian book stores all over the United States. It uses the Holman Christian Standard Bible which they publish and released simultaneously with the website. They are adding new translations, but I am not sure if they are adding other English translations or if the Holman is going to be the only one.

I like it because it gives you simultaneous commentary notes so if you are having trouble with a text you can see what the commentator says about it. It has an inline concordance. When you move your mouse over a word it gives you they pronunciation, the Greek or Hebrew spelling, and origin of that word.

So far this is the best site I have found to do deeper study. I don’t know where they are going with it, but it is really good right now.

YouVersion

YouVersion is where I start my day. I pull up my daily reading plan and everything I need is right in front of me. I can cross reference different translations, I can mark verses I want to revisit later, I can take notes on what I think the verse says or read what others have said about it. While YouVersion does not offer concordances or dictionaries it does offer an online community of believers to draw from.

I know people can have differing opinions on what a verse says, but being ale to share in community is a good tool for growth.

You version is hosted and maintained by LifeChuch.tv. LifeChurch.tv provide online church services for believers all over the world providing them with many new ways to become devoted followers of Christ.

Bible Gateway

Bible Gateway has been the online standard for looking up scripture since 1995. With over 100 translations in 54 languages Bible Gateway is reaching people around the world. Bible Gateway offer two commentaries, bible studies, and many daily reading plans you can have delivered to your email.

This site is affiliated with Gospel.com and Zondervan Christian book publishers.

Christian Courses.com

Christian Courses is a great place to advance your bible study and spiritual life.  With over 40 free courses you can study at your own pace and build on each step in your life.

While the courses start out as free you can also move up to advanced college level courses starting at just $60 each.  Christian Courses is one of my favorite sites to send believers from new to old.

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10 Things To Remember When Leading A Small Group

July 11, 2011 By 11 Comments

Leading a small group can be a big task for some people.  If you follow a few simple steps you can see your group flourish.

Start On Time – If you want to lose people fast then start late every meeting.  I know people arrive at different times, but adults need to be adults and we need to start when we say we will.

Don’t Answer Your Own Question – If you have a stronger knowledge of the bible than your participants this can become an out for participants.  Just be quiet and wait.  A little silence can go a long way in building a group.

Make Sure Everyone Feels Safe When Sharing - Nothing will destroy a group faster than some one telling another member they’re wrong.  You have to let every one know that not all of us are at the same faith or knowledge level so we need to be patient and help each other grow.

Ask Leading Questions – I learned this when I sold cars.  Never ask a yes or no question.  We were trained to ask, “Did you come in looking for a new or used car today?” or “Are you looking for a car or Truck today?”  Leading questions help people formulate their own ideas and build their faith.

Ask Follow-up Questions – If a question comes to your mind while someone is answering a question then ask it.  You may not be the only one who is thinking it.

Be Excited About the Group – If you’re not excited no one else will be.  You are going to set the mood for every meeting.  If you see people at church or around town then say something about how great the last time together was and build the group up.

Let The Questions Soak – This is another car sales tactic.  like I said earlier silence is okay.  When people are silent after a question it doesn’t mean they don’t have an answer, it means they are trying to formulate it in their heads.  While we are uncomfortable today with silence you have to not say anything and be willing to wait it out.

Make Sure Everyone Has a Chance to Answer - You may have one person who answers most of the questions either because of knowledge, lack of knowledge (they want to look smart), more comfortable answering, they hate silence, or many other reasons.  You have to encourage others to answer as well. Dissenting views are the hardest to get because they don’t want to look like they are trying to pick a fight or look wrong.  Getting multiple answers to a question may be the hardest task of all, but it gets easier with practice.

Have Fun – If this is looked at as a time of serious fun more people will take part.  Take time to just meet and share a light meal or coffee.  Go to a park or the beach together.  Build relationships while you build your faith.

Pray – If you are leading a small group, these people need you to be a spiritual leader for them.  You need to pray for each person under your leadership and pray for the meeting times as well.  You don’t have to be the one who prays at every group meeting, but you do need to be the one leading the prayer charge behind the scenes.

What Tips Do You Have For Leading Small Groups?  Do You Have  A Small Group Story You Can Share?

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Christians And The Environment

July 8, 2011 By 4 Comments

As Christians we are supposed to be stewards of what God has given us.  Isiah tells what happened when the Israelites forgot that.,

You are in for trouble! You take over house after house and field after field, until there is no room left for anyone else in all the land.

9 But the Lord All-Powerful has made this promise to me:
Those large and beautiful homes will be left empty, with no one to take care of them. 10 Ten acres of grapevines will produce only six gallons of juice, and five bushels of seed will produce merely a half-bushel of grain.

11  You are in for trouble! You get up early to start drinking, and you keep it up late into the night. 12 At your drinking parties you have the music of stringed instruments, tambourines, and flutes. But you never even think about all the Lord has done, 13 and so his people know nothing about him. That’s why many of you will be dragged off to foreign lands. Your leaders will starve to death, and everyone else will suffer from thirst. (Isiah 5:8-13 CEV)

Sometimes things just stick out when we read the bible.  This was very poignant today because it speaks to what the Israelites did to the land then, and what we are doing to the land today.  I’m not a guy who sits around worrying, wondering, or protesting about the environment.  I do like the alternative energy ideas because I want to go off the grid in a few years, but that is a whole different story.

I grew up in rural Arkansas so almost everyone I knew was involved in farming in some way.  I hunted and fished and my father taught me how we should act toward the environment if we want to be able to hunt and fish forever.   I have seen the bad side.  I’ve seen what happens when a family loses their farm and everything they own because they can’t compete with the big guys. I now live in a city where I watch urban sprawl take out once viable farmland and forests all in the name of progress and the American dream.

When I read this verse from Isiah it made me think of is and what we are doing to the land.  Shipping our waste to other countries, our dirty jobs to Mexico isn’t the answer.  Our leaders  We need to take responsibility for what we buy and what we throw away, because  one day We are going to pay for what we are doing today.

One video I watched got me started on my road to change.  The Story of Stuff made me think about what I buy and what I do with it when I’m done.  The video is 21 minutes long, but is worth the watch.

 Do you think we have a responsibility to take care of the environment?  Do you think Jesus will return before we use it up?  Do you have a better idea than this?

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Seven Lessons I Learned About Tithing

July 6, 2011 By 1 Comment

If you have been in church for any length of time you have heard two things said about money:

1. “God owns everything” or “It all Belongs to God”

and

2. “Every Christian should tithe” or some derivative of that.

If it all belongs to God then what are we really supposed to do with it?
I have heard bible scholars and pastors teach on tithing and expound on how they had never missed a tithe since they started tithing at 8 years old.  As Pharisaic as that sounds all of them seemed quite pleased at their accomplishments.  I can not give you that same speech.  I have missed many tithes and obviously have robbed God on each and every one of those occasions (Malachi 3).  I have however learned some very good things by not tithing many of which can never be learned from faithfully giving ten percent.
1. The Israelites were required to give more than 10%.  You heard it here first.  If we really want to follow the letter of the law we should give 20% at least.  Numbers 18:21 specifies a tithe to support the Levites who could own no land,

Ten percent of the Israelites’ crops and one out of every ten of their newborn animals belong to me. But I am giving all this to the Levites as their pay for the work they do at the sacred tent.

However, Deuteronomy 14:22ff says that they should set aside 10% more to bring to the harvest festival and eat that there.

People of Israel, every year you must set aside ten percent of your grain harvest. Also set aside ten percent of your wine and olive oil, and the first-born of every cow, sheep, and goat. Take these to the place where the Lord chooses to be worshiped, and eat them there. This will teach you to always respect the Lord your God.

I am saying this to over emphasize the point that we can get carried away trying to follow the rules and laws of do it or you’re not a good Christian.

2. Not giving becomes easy. I don’t have a biblical reference for this but I can tell you from my experience.  If you decide to budget giving out of your life it becomes very easy to stop completely.

3. Giving becomes easy.   Just like not giving can become easy, giving can become easy.  When we really understand that it’s not ours we can begin to seek God’s guidance about how he wants us to spend his money.  I think this is what Paul was talking about in 2 Corinthians 9:7-8.  He says they need to make up their minds what to give but God can give it back to them.  If you make up your mind to give 5% then give 5% regularly.  When you get a raise then up it and see what happens.

4. Listen to God.  I fully believe that we would see an increase in giving from Christians if they would really pray and ask god what they should do with their money.  When I finally shut up and started to listen I learned how much Jesus cared about what I was doing, and what I had.  Here is a Good series from Life Church about that.

5. Don’t blame the Church because you don’t have money.  The church did not ask you to go out and buy the car you drive or the house you live in.  God does not want you to have all of your earthly desires,, he wants you to have all of Him.  I missed this point very far and kept acquiring more stuff.  Well I now have about half that stuff and am trying not to acquire more.  Nothing on this earth can take the place of God in our lives.

6. Blame The Government.  You give a full third of your money to the government every year and then complain because the church is asking you to give 10%.  Really?  We are so worried about what the government should do we have missed the fact that the church should have been doing it first.  Church is the answer not the government.  I know people that give outrageous amounts of money to political candidates and then accuse the church of trying to con them out of a few dollars.

7. Don’t be bound by 10%.  Just like trusting God to get to the tithe, don’t just do it to be a tither.  Look around and let the Holy Spirit lead you to other giving options.  Shelters, charities, missions, children’s outreach.  Any any number of opportunities that are around all of us.

Let the Holy Spirit lead you.  Listen to where you are being led and give to your trust point.  Let Jesus pull you out of your comfort zone and see where he is working.

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