“You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others.” 2 Timothy 2:2 NLT Multiplying Leaders The most effective way to multiply leaders is to identify reliable people and bring them closer to you to: engage, train, and encourage them, and give …
Leadership That Belongs
“And I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good for them. I will put a desire in their hearts to worship me, and they will never leave me.” Jeremiah 32:40 NLT It’s settled, we belong! Out of this God-given security, we can make contributions in our work place or church with confidence. We can focus our desires on doing …
Serve the Lord with Gladness
One of my life scriptures is Psalm 100:2. It says, “Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before His presence with singing.” One of the greatest things you can do at Church is turn up happy. It doesn’t say serve the Lord with “sadness” or “madness,” but it says to turn up with, “gladness.” I’ve learned you can become cheerful very fast. It may have been …
6 Steps To Becoming A Great Teacher
We have many wonderful Connect Group leaders in our Church. If you want to be a better Connect Group leader, then you need to become a better teacher. Teaching is a great skill that will help you grow in leadership – whether at Church or in business. Here are 6 quick steps to becoming a great teacher: 1. Get Excited You need to be excited …
Love the Soil
I love living in Tokyo. It’s an amazing city and has even more amazing people in it! In the last 14 years, I’ve seen an increasing number of buildings, both large and small, make use of the limited space in this city of 40 million people, a city renowned for being the largest on earth. Occasionally, one might come upon an unusual sight. Between the …
Building God’s Kingdom With Faith and Finance
Recently I spoke at a monthly event we do through our Church called Kingdom Builders. Kingdom Builders is a ministry for people who are passionate about building God’s kingdom through finances. We gather to give to different areas of need across the church and missions. This last year across Lifehouse we have given over 12 million yen (~$120,000) to the needy! I love Kingdom Builders …
Some Great Churches and Pastor Friends in Japan
You may have heard Japan has the lowest percentage of Christians in the world at about 0.5%. That is true, and this is why we are here! In the 13 years since we started Lifehouse in Tokyo we have planted 20 churches, 14 of these are in Japan, and combined we reach almost 4000 people on a weekly basis. But to reach Japan we know …
Praise, Prayer, Praise
I always looked forward to returning home from a ministry trip. My little boys would leap at me with joy the moment I opened the front door. They would yell excitedly “Daddy, daddy, daddy!”, accompanied with hugs and kisses. Then they would ask me, “Did you get a present for us?” I would rummage around in my suitcase, as my boys waited impatiently. The moment …
How To Walk into a New Gate
When I was a young Christian, I received this life changing revelation from Psalm 100. It talks about how we can confidently walk into new circumstance in our lives. Psalm 100:1-4 NIV [1] Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. [2] Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. [3] Know that the Lord is God. It is he who …
Empowering and Releasing Leaders
We all want and need more leaders at our Churches. But how do we teach and encourage more people to lead? As we look at the different areas in Church through the lens of “are we empowering leaders” and “are we making it easy for people to lead” we can see areas of improvement. There are 4 areas we tend towards when leading, let’s have …