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Showing posts from July, 2014

Decaf coffee is an oxymoron...

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Finally, someone had the guts to say it! You, Me, and Coffee Monday...   Let me encourage you and make you think ONE time a week (usually Monday morning) with a virtual  Cup O' Joe with Bill  in your email inbox.  Two  Simple Steps... 1.  Go here and submit your email . 2.  Check  your email to confirm . You can unsubscribe at any time.

Rethinking Great Leadership

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In the book, The Forgotten Ways , Alan Hirsch writes: "In Australia we have an amazingly large spreading tree called the Morton Bay fig. It is a beautiful, very imposing tree. The problem is that nothing grows underneath it, because it casts such a wide shadow. A top-down, more autocratic leadership style can be likened to the Morton Bay fig. It can be magnificent, but it casts such a shadow that no other leadership develops in its shade." Here are four wake-up-and-smell-the-coffee questions for you to wrestle... 1. How can someone's leadership be so "magnificent" than nothing else can grow under it? Explain. 2. What do you see under your leadership tree? Be specific. 3. What do you see under Jesus' leadership tree? Be specific. 4. How are your answers to question #2 and #3 different? Similar? Bottom line: If you're such a great leader that everyone around you is afraid to lead—or can't lead because of your intimidating shadow, t

The first and most important person to laugh at is yourself

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When your picture is on the church bulletin, anything can happen—especially if you have seven kids. If you saw my kids writing furiously during my Sunday morning sermon, you might think they were taking notes. Guess again. Actually, I kind of like the handlebar mustache. And I’ll save the eye patch for “Talk-Like-a-Pirate Day" on September 19th. If you learn laugh at yourself, you will never cease to be amused. Get  Cup O' Joe with Bill  in your Email Inbox! Let me encourage you and make you think 2-3x a week with a virtual  Cup O' Joe with Bill  in your email inbox.  Go here and submit your email . Then check your email inbox and click the Feedburner confirmation link. Note: You can unsubscribe anytime simply by clicking the "unsubscribe" link at the bottom of any email that comes from  Cup O' Joe with Bill .

What God Did at Challenge 2014

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We, as your disciplemaking missionaries with Cadre Ministries , want to thank you for praying for us ! We just got back from four days of disciplemaking training in Kansas City, MO. Enjoy the pictures below and celebrate the goodness of God with us! (Click any image below to enlarge for viewing.) And did I mention our gratitude for your prayers ? Challenge is the national student ministries conference of the Evangelical Free Church of America . This year, over 5,300 students and youth leaders attended (about 1 youth leader for every 4-5 students). Above: Our theme for all of Cadre's training sessions at Challenge this year was the unique nature of disciplemaking friendships . One youth leader told us, "Thank you! The Friendship 101 training experience was the highlight of the week for me and our students." Every afternoon at 1 PM and 3 PM, Dave Garda and I did disciplemaking friendship training with students and youth leaders from all over the USA. Go here

Secure in my masculinity...

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I don't always eat cereal for breakfast, but when I do, I use a Dora bowl.  "Yum, yum, yum, yum, yum. Delicioso!" Get  Cup O' Joe with Bill  in your Email Inbox! Let me encourage you and make you think about 1x a week with a virtual  Cup O' Joe with Bill  in your email inbox.  Go here and submit your email . Then check your email inbox and click the Feedburner confirmation link. Note: You can unsubscribe anytime simply by clicking the "unsubscribe" link at the bottom of any email that comes from  Cup O' Joe with Bill .

Don't underestimate God and the unlikely ones

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“I have seen few persons whose minds were spiritually darker when he came into my Sunday school class, or one who seemed more unlikely ever to become a Christian of clear decided views, still less to fill any sphere of extended public usefulness.” That's what a Sunday school teacher said about D.L. Moody. (Moody pictured above.) History has clearly proven that his first impression of Moody was wrong... way wrong. Therein lies a very important lesson. When it comes to spotting people you should invest your life in, first impressions are often wrong. It's an ironic fact proven throughout history: God often uses the most unlikely people from some of the most ordinary places to make a most extraordinary difference for him. So, when considering an "unlikely one," don't let the exterior fool you. Don't be afraid to go after those who have promise but need much work. Don't despise or overlook an acorn. Instead, dare to se

Cadre @ Challenge 2014, Kansas City, MO

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To see what God did at Challenge 2014, go here ! Your  Cadre missionaries ,  Bill Allison  and  Dave Garda , will be doing  disciplemaking training  every afternoon at 1 PM and 3 PM for some of the 5,300 students and youth leaders at  Challenge 2014 , the Evangelical Free Church of America's National Student Ministries Conference.  We'd love to connect with YOU.  Come to one of our training labs and we'll try to get time together afterwards over the  best coffee  we can find in Kansas City, MO ! Here's what God did two years ago at Challenge 2012. Please stop and pray RIGHT NOW for God to use us to encourage and equip students and youth leaders to follow Jesus—AND help them to help their friends to follow Jesus. How God Answers Your Prayers for Us! *  Here's how God is currently using your prayers! THANK YOU! *  What God did in  Colorado  because of your prayers! THANK YOU! *  What God did in  Texas  because of your prayers! THANK YOU! *  What God

Going to church and missing the point?

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Christianity isn't just a subject to be mastered. It's a contagious way of living that is experienced together and shared with others. Like this . Get  Cup O' Joe with Bill  in your Email Inbox! Let me encourage you and make you think 2-3x a week with a virtual  Cup O' Joe with Bill  in your email inbox. 1.  Go here and submit your email . 2. Check your email and click the Feedburner confirmation link. Note: You can unsubscribe anytime simply by clicking the "unsubscribe" link at the bottom of any email that comes from  Cup O' Joe with Bill .