One factor that always comes into play when the light of the church grows brighter is that those living in darkness become more threatened by it because they love the darkness more than the light. For this reason, they will attack those who walk in the light. Therefore, Christians must always be prepared for persecution, and those who are not prepared for it are not prepared for the times. How do we prepare for this?

First, we should never be surprised by any kind of attack, but rather embrace it as an indication that God considers us worthy of...

The church will begin to take on more of a military mentality in the coming times. We are called to be an army, and in many ways we will start to reflect this in a much more serious and focused demeanor in the leadership and the people. There is something about conflict that does focus our senses. We have been in a war against darkness of the most desperate kind for the whole history of the church, but not all seem to understand this or live as they would if they did understand it. This, too, will be changing as...

Previously, we discussed how there is an anointing for mobilizing on different levels or for different size groups, and how some things are accomplished best in large groups and some things are accomplished better in small groups. Vision casting is usually done better in a large group, but some of it needs to be sown into virtually every teaching to a small group, too. People who are motivated with vision will accomplish more.

Also, when casting a vision we need to provide some practical wisdom about how we will accomplish the vision. Wellington Boone once shared in a board meeting...

Last week we began to discuss how making the path clear is important for motivating those who have been mobilized. In Proverbs 4:18-19 we are told, “But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, that shines brighter and brighter until the full day. The way of the wicked is like darkness; they do not know over what they stumble.” So, if we are on the path of the righteous or the right path, the path itself should be getting increasingly clear. If this is not true in our lives, then somewhere we have missed...

Churches, ministries, or organizations that only minister to large groups will tend to be more shallow in their messages and the equipping of their people. However, churches that only minister to small groups can be deeper, but they, too, can become imbalanced and prideful if they are not joined in some way to a larger group to gather with at times. The healthiest churches tend to be those that have a large gathering for all, yet have a vital small group ministry as well.

As we discuss levels of maturity and levels of ministry, it is a delicate matter....