And the winner is…

Thanks to everyone who emailed me about the give away of Mark Batterson’s book, Wild Goose Chase. There were a number of compelling stories, but there’s one couple who’s story has been awesome to watch unfold over the last number of months… God has apprehended them and now they’re pursuing God’s purpose with everything you’ve got. So congratulations and Jason & Natasha!

Wild Goose Chase

Just got two copies of the Wild Goose Chase… just a couple of chapters in and it’s an incredibly challenging and inspiring read.

A quick summary: Most of us have no idea where we’re going most of the time. Perfect.

“Celtic Christians had a name for the Holy Spirit–An Geadh-Glas, or ‘the Wild Goose.’ The name hints at mystery. Much like a wild goose, the Spirit of God cannot be tracked or tamed. An element of danger, an air of unpredictability surround Him. And while the name may sound a little sacrilegious, I cannot think of a better description of what it’s like to follow the Spirit through life. I think the Celtic Christians were on to something….

Most of us will have no idea where we are going most of the time. And I know that is unsettling. But circumstantial uncertainty also goes by another name: Adventure.” –from the introduction.

For more information and to download Mark’s 10 Steps to Setting Life Goals visit www.chasethegoose.com It’s great material for personal or group study.You can pick up your copy here.

But as a special for readers of this little blog, I have one copy of the Wild Goose Chase to give away. Simply email me at gareth@garethgilpin.com with the Wild Goose Chase you’re on right now and we’ll have a little drawing to see who wins a copy.

Mark Batterson & Northway

Enjoy the picture of my son showing off his guns (sorry pea shooters) with Mark Batterson.

Got to hang with my family and Josh Brower’s family over at Northway tonight. Buddy Cremeans and team are doing such a fantastic job. It’s so awesome to see the incredible things that God’s doing in the capital region. And I’ve appreciated getting to know some of these guys over the past couple of months.

Mark Batterson happened to be over at Northway this weekend and it was an incredible honor to meet him. What an incredible guy! I was deeply challenged by his talk on the Holy Spirit and the names that the Celtic people gave him, the Wild Goose (being Irish myself that was pretty cool). Some notable quotes from tonight’s talk:

“Your assets become liabilities when you don’t use them for God… The very thing that provided security for the rich young ruler became a cage that kept him from living the adventure that God had in store.”

“We focus on what the rich young ruler was giving up, and miss what Jesus is putting on the table. An opportunity to follow the Son of God. Drink the water that was turned into wine, see the miracles first hand… The disciples chose to follow… They had box seats for everything that Jesus did.”

“If you say no you will never know…. Our biggest regrets will be our inactive regrets… The what if’s over things we never stepped out to do?”

Mark’s book, In the Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day, was one of the tools that God used with both Jennie and I as we considered stepping out to move away from everything we knew to pursue the unknown, and I can tell you, while there are challenges, the rewards have been incredible. If you haven’t read it (and I know I’ve recommended it to many of you) pick up a copy and be prepared to be challenged. There’s also some great small group materials available. After hearing Mark’s talk tonight I can’t wait to get my hands on his latest

book, Wild Goose Chase. Highly recommend you order you copy. It’s been an incredible honor over the past year to meet the likes of Ed Young jr, Craig Groeschel, Steven Furtick and Mark Batterson. Incredible folks, with humble hearts and a singular passion to see people cross the line of faith and grow in their relationship with him. More than ever, to borrow a line from Craig Groeschel, we want to do anything (and everything) short of sin to see people find Christ.

It

So I got 12 copies of the “It” by Craig Groeschel yesterday afternoon. Having read just the first chapter in a pdf he was offering online I knew this was something for our leaders and influencers here at Cornerstone. I got home around 8pm last night and read about half the book. Absolutely incredible and I’m highly recommending that you get a copy… I would describe it as a candid leadership conversation with Craig. While it’s a book (and a well written one) it engages you as a conversation. It’s the difference between the large general session at a conference and a smaller leadership session where the speaker shares nuggets of truth from their experience that totally blow open your perspective and challenge you to make some changes immediately. It’s that kind of book. Engaging, insightful, funny, truthful and challenging.

I’ll leave you with this quote and then expect you to run out and buy multiple copies for your team!

“So.” You may ask, “what is it“

The best explanation I can give you is this: it is what God does through a rare combination of these qualities found in his people:

• Passion for his presence
• A deep craving to reach the lost
• Sincere integrity
• Spirit-filled faith
• Down-to-earth humility
• Brokenness

I serve under this guy – and I see pursuit of these qualities in his life and leadership.

So excited!

Just ordered Pop Goes the Church… hurry up mr mailman and get me my book!

People who have shaped me (part 5)

Okay so is it possible that someone who you’ve never met (though hope to someday) can be used by God to shape who you are… let me present exhibit A in the case for yes. ME. Andy Stanley is obviously the well known son of Charles Stanley, pastor of a thriving church in Atlanta. He’s an author, leader and communicating with incredible humility, wisdom and clarity. Master of the one point sermon.

If you’ve never read any of Andy’s stuff… what’s wrong with you? Communicating for a Change, Making Vision Stick, Seven Practices of Effective Ministry and Creating Community have probably shaped me more that anything else I’ve ever read. Okay so if I can be honest right now it feels a little weird to be writing about a guy I’ve never met and acknowledging how much he’s shaped who I am (probably because I’ve spent the last couple of days taking about people I’ve had a relationship with) – almost sounds a little man-crushy… (which it isn’t for the record). Andy Stanley has taught me how to communicate… he has influenced my philosophy of ministry more than anyone else I can name, he helped me understand the importance of context and environments. Andy Stanley taught me about focus. Andy Stanley shaped who I am.

The Bra nd G ap – part two

More good stuff from the Brand Gap. I’ve blogged on more than one occasion about the what and how of ministry. I’m amazed at how many churches (people, organizations and businesses for that matter) build based on the how. They see some other church that’s growing or successful, look at the programs or systems that are making that church run and then work to implement those same programs or processes in their church. Then a number of months down the road it doesn’t seem to be working, or something even cooler comes along – so they make some changes to programs and try something new. I’m not saying that programs, systems and processes are not important, nor that we can’t learn from others, nor that there are times when we may need to make adjustments. I’m talking about the foundation that we’re building on. The what! What are we called to accomplish? What kind of church are we being called to build? What’s our unique purpose? Building on the what, once we’ve figured that out or at least as we’re figuring that out, then begin to implement how’s that complement the what. Okay you’ve heard me on that point before… now for Marty Neumeier’s comments. He asked some great questions that he says we should demand unambiguous answers to:

1. Who are you?
2. What do you do?
3. Why does it matter?

He further states, “Unless you have compelling answers to all three questions, meaning that customers find them irresistible, you haven’t got a brand… Together, these questions provide a litmus test for what makes you different, what give your company its reason d’etre.”

So why is being different important? To quote Marty, “Differentiation works because of the way the human cognitive systems works. Our brain acts as a filter to protect us from the vast amount or irrelevant information that surrounds us every day.” We’re drawn to things that aesthetically pleasing and “Our brains are hardwired to notice what is different.” So when it comes to communicating our message (the most important message) do those we’re trying to reach hear Charlie Brown’s teacher, “waaaa, waaaa, waa, wa, waaaa” or do they see a purple cow – something memorable and remark-able.