Last week I had the privilege of conducting two breakout sessions at Acts 29 Network’s Southeastern Conference.  It was an incredible experience.  The event’s focus was on courageous leadership.

The first plenary session was conducted by the incredible lead pastor of Philadelphia’s Epiphany Fellowship, Dr. Eric Mason.  If you are not familiar with the man known as Pastor E, you should be.

After over two decades of gospel ministry, Dr. Mason has become known for his unquenchable passion to see the glory of Jesus Christ robustly and relevantly engaged in broken cities with the comprehensive gospel.  Urban ministry is the heartbeat of his ministry and calling.  He is the founder and President of Thriving, an urban resource organization committed to developing leaders for ministry in the urban context.

The following are 4 Things That Drive Courageous, Holistic Ministry he taught those in attendance:

  1. Courageous, Holistic Ministry must be driven by clarity of calling.
    • If you’re not clear on your calling, you’re not called to courageous ministry.
    • You are designated to carry out an assigned task.
    • Is the calling about the stage, or is not doing what God has called you to do feels like disobedience.
    • Every single sector of ministry is hard.
    • If you don’t have calling in you, church folk will drive you into the desert.
    • You and your wife both have to feel called.
    • You know you are called when you feel like you don’t have another option.
    • Some people are sent and some people just went.
    • All the children of Israel were led by the Spirit.
    • Individually calling is a special assignment in a Spirit-filled community. The Spirit went before Israel and now the Spirit lives in the people of God.
    • The called leader is in a battle to help the people of God know their calling

2.  Courageous, Holistic Ministry involves preaching.

    • One of the worst statements in all of Christian history is “Preach the Bible at all times and use words if necessary.” That’s not in the Bible.  To build a relationship with someone for three years and not tell them about Jesus is not courageous.
    • Jesus talks about two types of poor people – economic and spiritually.
    • Jesus went to people who knew how broken they were.
    • Sometimes the way you use your God-given intellect in irresponsible to God.
    • Your soul is not a reflection of your biceps.
    • We’ve got the Gospel. They are certain things in your life you can’t buy.
  1. Courageous, Holistic Ministry involves dealing with hard issues. 
    • What are the wounds of your context?
    • Servant ministry in your city is to bind up wounds.
    • You are restitiching things back to God’s orderly design.
    • The church must do works and acts of healing in filling in the gaps of brokenness in our city.
    • The church is a wound in our culture.
    • You can’t talk about anyone else’s holiness until we deal with ours.
    • We have to apologize and refrain the face of our church in our city.
    • It’s the racial injustice wound.
    • There is a reason people say. “Christianity is a white man’s religion.”
    • Unchecked patriarchy – we have promoted manliness as central to humanity.
    • You have to be able to preach a clear Gospel and have clear practices. We often love to preach the Gospel but not have to deal with the brokenness in our communities.
    • One of our issues of my community is dignity issues.
    • We’re not trying to exalt any ethnicity. We’re trying to promote a global faith.
    • We need to learn about other communities.
  1. Courageous, Holistic Ministry involves helping people experience deliverance.
    • Preaching lays out the DNA for everything else.
    • Proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners.
    • Just because someone is positionally free does not mean they are walking in their freedom.
    • One of the greatest ways for a person to be free is freedom of their mind.
    • You need information to further your transformation.
    • Jesus is the greatest, most courageous one on the planet and He’s going to return.
    • Your Lord is courageous so you be courageous.

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