Reading has many surprising benefits.
Those of us who are in leadership bear the weight of responsibility for recruiting and training the next generation of Christian leaders.
Often, the middle class approach to leadership training is, “Prove yourself and then we will see”, but a better way within scheme culture is, “Take responsibility until you prove you are unable.”
In our line of the church-planting world, a wife must roll her sleeves up with the rest of us, get her hands dirty, and partner with her man in the fight.
Apart from the fact that there is not a rush of people queuing up to move into the schemes to plant churches, it is also because we are by our very nature a called out and a sent-out people.
Work hard at maintaining your personal/communal spiritual disciplines of reading, meditation, and prayer. All is lost if these go out the window.
Deprivation in urban areas tends to be geographically concentrated in certain neighbourhoods. In contrast, in rural areas, deprivation often exists at the scale of streets rather than whole neighbourhoods.
Far too many churches are like sheep pens with gates wide open, allowing wolves to enter unnoticed in order to entrap and savage our weakest sheep.
Jesus has designed the church to be a place of healing, safety, hope, and light.
When you live near your church and other church members, the more training will happen by imitation.