Out of the Ordinary - Patrick McBane

God only has ordinary people. He uses us – ordinary people to do extraordinary things that cause us and those around us to grow in the grace and knowledge of the living God.

Think about this… where do we find the most difficulty and doubt when it comes to the things of God? My answer… around issues of Extraordinary faith. When faith is challenged what do we typically think about? - Ourselves. It’s in these moments that we need to think about God and His immeasurable greatness.
 

Do you receive and embrace God the same way in all His nature or just the parts you can understand?

What can we Expect of a New Year

I believe that as we cross over into the New Year, we can expect good things. We know that God’s mercies are new every morning, and that His faithfulness is great. We can expect hills and valleys – difficulties and trials. And, as the Israelites knew, so we know that there will be battles ahead – spiritual warfare, and attacks of the enemy. Yet I believe we can take to ourselves the assurance that our future is...

Lead Where You Are!

Most of our leadership styles are geared toward getting you from here to there. What if getting you from here to there took on a different perspective? Most of us are frustrated with the fact that we can’t get there from here. Or so it may seem.
Getting there may require that we learn how to cultivate here first. The best way to cultivate here is to BE present and to cultivate God’s presence. If you don’t like where you are and you’ve found yourself running to somewhere else just to avoid a present reality – that’s not getting you anywhere.

The Call to Influence!

All of us at some level have heard of or been talking about ‘Spheres of Cultural Influence’ or the‘7 Mountains of Cultural Influence’.  If you haven’t heard of these recent terms then I encourage you to do some research.  Here’s a video teaching link from Lance Wallnau that should help considerably.  http://youtu.be/qQbGnJd9poc

Even early on when I launched Marketplace Solutions almost 6 years ago we talked about spheres of influence and the marketplace being made up of a combination of business, government and education.  So, why am I talking about these now?  Primarily because they continue to be a significant part of our Christian landscape and dialogue; and secondly and more to the point – I believe most of us are not sure where to start engaging when it comes to our own sphere of influence.

Here’s the bottom line

 A Tire Shop waiting room turns into a Sanctuary

It all happened in the waiting room of a Tire Shop. It started by over hearing the owner on the phone with a customer. Their conversation was more than just about tires or an oil change. The owner clearly said, – “I’ll be praying for you.”

Were the words – “I’ll be praying for you” – just some subliminal messaging that created the atmosphere for the next two encounters or was this a demonstration of exercising authority and jurisdiction in a sphere of influence?

I argue that it was the latter. The way of the Kingdom is in large part the realm of permissions. In other words – what we allow and what we refuse or stop. Is there a precedent for this scripturally? Take a look –

A key part of transformational leadership is demonstrating and constantly communicating vision. Not vision as in foresight, but vision as in a clearly articulated picture of a desired future. 

What would happen if we - started to respond to God, before we react to men?  This is a simple process, but not easy.  Our ability to respond to God is in direct correlation to who we take our cues from.  Who do you identify with most?  God or man?