Gospel Saturation Insight 137
Insight 137: “If we’re not making disciples then, more than likely the problem lies in our system. We’re getting what our system is designed to produce. If our system is designed to produce religious consumers, then you’ll likely find them in abundance. It we are getting nominal church attendees, then we should look no further […]
The Bullard Journal for June 8, 2019
Saturday, June 8, 2019: “An Answered Prayer”: Celebrating a Future Story of Ministry. In January 2019 almost 400 members of the First Baptist Church of Statesboro, GA began 100 days of discernment by gathering in triplets for prayer about three scenarios for the future of the congregation. Each triple was asked to meet 10 times […]
Prayers For Pastors and Congregations–The Second Sunday of June 2019
A Prayer for Pastors: O Lord, in many Christian traditions this Sunday is committed to the celebration of Pentecost. I realize it is not necessarily the day that matters, but the impact of the presence of Your Holy Spirit that makes the overwhelming difference in the ministry of our congregation. I pray that as just […]
Gospel Saturation Insight 136
Insight 136: “Dallas Willard asked it this way: What is your plan for making disciples? Does your plan work? It’s our mission to make disciples, so someone shouldn’t have to work hard to find a few disciples who call your place home. They should be everywhere. All the staff, greeting teams, facilities, and budgets in […]
The Bullard Journal for June 7, 2019
Friday, June 7, 2019: “A Call to Action”: The Rule of 21 Leaders. In an urban area in the southern part of the United States – particularly among Baptists – there exists an important and undeniable rule about the presence of leaders in congregations more than about three years old. I call it The Rule […]
Gospel Saturation Insight 135
Insight 135: “The Scriptures give us the mandate to assess the nature of discipleship in our lives and in the lives of those we lead. Jesus repeatedly points out that His disciples will be known by their fruit (Matt 7:16). Fruit is visible—that’s the point. You may not know whether a tree is healthy or […]
The Bullard Journal for June 6, 2019
Thursday, June 6, 2019: “A Call to Action”: Conducting a Congregational Assessment and Learning Experience (CALE). Today is the first time in my 23 months as Executive Director of the Columbia Metro Baptist Association when I suggested to a pastor in the CMBA that the next step in their attempts at revitalization would be a […]
Gospel Saturation Insight 134
Insight 134: “You may have noticed that if you preach a sermon on the Great Commission you likely get a wide assortment of grunts, head nods, or perhaps a smattering of ‘amens.’ It’s not likely that someone will come up to you after one such sermon to say, “You know pastor, I’m not buying that […]
The Bullard Journal for June 5, 2019
Wednesday, June 5, 2019: “A Family Story”: A Young Adult Leaders Forum. In an earlier post the spiritual strategic journey process at Spring Valley Baptist Church that started with a gathering called God’s Empowering Vision for Spring Valley Baptist Church: A Foundation was introduced. A key goal for Spring Valley was to deepen their engagement […]