Category Archives: Personal Growth

Hearing from God – Notes from Rick Atchley’s lessons at #pbl13

Of the classes I attended at the Pepperdine Bible Lectures this year, the ones most beneficial to my personal walk were those taught by Rick Atchley on Hearing from God. Here are my notes from those classes – there will be more to write about this topic later.

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Rick Atchley – Hearing from God pt. 1

  • Rick says it’s not his responsibility to hear God for us – he’d like to help us hear God for ourselves.

I. Central to God’s uniqueness is His spokenness (not simply His righteousness or holiness).

  • God is a REVEALING God. This is different from other deities in other religions.
  • Speechless idols” – the Bible highlights speech as a key difference between the real God and false gods.
  • God created us to speak and to hear – this tells us about the type of relationship He wants to have with us.
  • We have traditionally been taught that since the canon of scripture was complete God has given us the silent treatment.
  • We have grown up in a church culture that says if you are a pray-er you are heard, but if you hear you are a weirdo.

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2013 Tulsa Workshop was the Best Yet! (But Where were the Young People?)

I knew this year’s Tulsa Workshop was going to be a good one, but what transpired exceeded even my high expectations.

First, the anticipation for this year’s workshop was very high. Since the announcement of the speaker lineup last year, there was a buzz about 2013.

Second (and due to the buzz), the attendance was better this year than it has been in a long time. People literally traveled from all over to be there – in many cases decent-sized church groups traveled together.

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Before Thursday evening’s keynote, the crowd was already filling the Fairgrounds’s 10,000 seat pavilion to near-capacity.

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A Tremendously Blown Opportunity to Work with Francis Chan

Confession time: I serve in church leadership, and I want people to like me.

Do you?

Because that can actually be a dangerous combination.

No, I don’t mean that church leaders should aspire to be jerks (though some wouldn’t have to try very hard), nor do I mean that a desire to be liked is inherently sinful – wanting to be loved by your congregation is quite natural and one shouldn’t feel guilty about that.

I simply mean that a desire for the approval of men can easily turn into an idol if we’re not careful, because it can keep us from doing God’s will when it’s socially or relationally uncomfortable. Continue reading

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