All posts tagged Ed Young

Story :: Ed Young

Ed Young is the founding pastor of Fellowship Church, which has four campuses in the Greater Dallas area and on in Miami. Ed has written numerous books and provides resources for church leaders through Creative Pastors.com and the Creative Church Conference (C3). Ed Young Television can be seen on major networks throughout the US, Europe and the Far East. He and his wife Lisa have been married for 26 years and have four children.
  • A lot of believers are parked in the marina and not out in the deep water rescuing people who are drowning.
  • Too many of us have a marina mentality, we’re tied up, smiling and waving, and smacking each other on the but while people are drowning and sinking into a Christless eternity.
  • The guy who was drowning was just far enough away that they couldn’t see what was going on.
  • There are people just out of reach who are dying without Christ.
  • The Bible is a story of the Great Rescue.
  • The Old Testament is about the rescue… Moses, Abraham, David, Disciple.
  • In the Bible it says “the thing is the ring.”
  • If you stop and consider what happened…
  • Humanity was drowning, trying to use poor flotation devices [pleasure, possessions, etc] and God tossed “the ring” [Jesus] to us, giving us an opportunity to let go of what we are holding to and cling to Jesus.
  • The Bible from cover to cover is a story of the Divine Rescue.
  • The life ring symbolizes what Jesus did for us, Jesus came from the top to the bottom to bring us from the bottom to the top.
  • The radically rescued should be rescuing radically.
  • Are you in the rescuing business?
  • Yacht clubs originally started as rescue societies.
  • Some of the people in the rescue societies got tired and got more comfortable in the marina.
  • The Church is not a yacht club; the Church is a rescue society.
The “thing” is the ring.
  • The thing is Jesus.
  • If you want your life to soar, your church to hit on all cylinders, you’ve got to figure out the thing is the ring.
  • Everybody wants to reach people until you start reaching people.
  • Once you start introducing change, creativity and innovation, a lot of people get tired of it.
  • Is the ring the thing in your life?

The hope is the rope.

  • Can you imagine tossing a life ring without a rope?
  • God had the rope [ the Church, the House, the boat, fellowship ] tied to the ring  [ Jesus ].
  • When we’re rowing the boat together we don’t have time to sit and rock the boat.
  • If you have people complaining on your boat, remind them you are a rescue society.
  • Don’t be shy to release people.
  • It’s healthy for people to leave.
  • Don’t chase the leavers.
  • When you get serious about the rescue mission, all of heaven and hell will open up around you.
  • Church work is brutal-ful.
  • It’s hard, but seeing the beauty of God at work around you is like nothing else.
  • You’ve got to be called to it.

You better pull so the boat will be full.

  • What’s the main thing in Church? Souls, Rescue. The Ring.
  • Every single person in the church is part of the pull.
  • I would rather a church have volunteers as much as small groups.
  • You can have both, but I’d rather have volunteering.
  • To get people off of the their rears and up on the bow of the boat, tossing the rings, pulling, so the house will be full… there’s nothing like it.
  • We need everyone pulling so the house will be full.
  • It’s not about church style or programs, it’s about reaching people.

The question that always messes me up is, “Who are you reaching?”

  • We don’t like to address that question.
  • It’s not who’s coming, it’s who you are reaching.

The other question is, “What are you doing?”

  • In the Church world, chaos is your friend.
  • Chaos is good.
  • Some of the churches that boast great attendance, when asked who they are reaching, get very quiet.
  • How many people, for example, are actually baptizing adults? That’s the public confession of someone’s faith! How many people are you liquidating? J
  • We have to fight to keep the ring as the thing.
  • We want people to be forced to delegate and get people involved in the pull.
  • Usually staff members want to hire people to do their jobs.
  • What would happen if we depended on a volunteer basis?

Rescuses [excuses] People Have…

  • The Devil wants us to be members of the marina mentality yacht club.
  • We have to come up with a great rationale for disobedience.
  • Get your AS in gear! AS you go… make sure the thing is the ring,

1 – The “sheeple”

  • Are we reaching  new people or pulling other sheep from other churches?
  • If we’re not careful, Christian culture can create a faux faith.
  • They’ve never reached people from other churhces.

2 – The Safety Excuse

  • We just stay safe…
  • Change – Conflict – Growth
  • Most people resist change because of the resistance to change.

3 – The Depth Excuse

  • “I’m looking for something deeper…”
  • All rescues happen in the deep water, not in the shallows.
  • If you want to get deep, you begin to rescue.
  • Do you not understand the depth and complexity of the local church?
  • Be active in sharing YOUR faith.
  • Oftentimes when we think we’re being deep we’re really muddy.

4 – The “God in the box” Excuse

  • We think we’ve got God figured out
  • We think the “ring” will go and find people.
  • We use election as an excuse to not evangelize.
  • We don’t know where election begins and choice ends…
  • But we do know Jesus told us GO.
  • No matter where you are, TOSS THE RING.
  • The knowledge excuse keeps a lot of people in the acht club.
  • Encourage people to share their rescue story.
  • Get the radically rescued, radically rescuing.

5 – The “Past” Excuse

  • “You don’t know what I’ve been through….”

6 – The “Not Far Way from God Friends” Excuse

  • Oftentimes the more involved we get in church, the further away we get from people who aren’t Christians.
  • What’s your passion?
  • Do it with a  passion.
  • Leverage your passion with a purpose.

7 – The “We Need to Pray About It” Excuse

  • We pray some dumb prayers.
  • This isn’t something that’s optional, it’s something that’s commanded.
  • We need a crew that’s totally commit
  • Don’t ever forget the ring is the thing.