MOVING FROM BITTER TO BETTER

Leaders in any organization, but especially in the church, spend so much time in bitterness management. Life Church pastor Craig Groeschel once said the thing he deals with more than anything else as he tries to grow a great church is lawsuits and negative people. Thankfully, he finds ways not to focus on such problems, because what you focus on is what you fall on.

I’ve decided not to make negatives my focus. I want to concentrate on making people better, not bitter.

And I’ve come to realize that the first way to do this is to work on making myself better instead of bitter. Most of the bitterness in the people I encounter began inside of them. Their own view of themselves and their personal circumstances created the bitterness that then spills out into the situations they enter. I want to be better than that. Concentrating on better always leads me upward. Slipping into bitter leads to a never-ending downward slide. Me being bitter doesn’t make me better, and it surely does nothing for those around me.

Church, Leadership, LifeTrevor DeVageFebruary 10, 2021better, bitter, leader, leadership, church, relationships, love, love one another, life, bitter to betterComment

WHAT IF YOUR SCARS COULD BRING HEALING?

A local radio DJ recovering from brain surgery spoke this week about a man he met in a store where he and his wife were shopping. “Look,” she said. “That guy has a head scar just like yours. Go talk to him.” The DJ discovered this stranger had undergone the same surgery as he had—by the same doctor in the same hospital. They had an immediate bond, and it started with their scars.

This is an extreme example, but it isn’t all that unusual. Get a group of men together, and they’re often showing off their scars. Each one is proof of their bravery or bravado: a cut hand, a bruised forehead, a gash on the leg. Sometimes the guys will just admit a clumsy fall or a foolish risk. The group gets a good laugh, and the bond between them grows stronger. Women, too, will compare the scars from their Caesarean sections or other surgeries, even if they don’t show them off. Describing their common scars brings them closer to each other.

Church, Leadership, LifeTrevor DeVageNovember 11, 2020scars, hidden, hide, perfection, church, help, depression, anxiety, perfect, life, live, healingComment

HOW TO LIFT THE FOG ON AN EVIL WORLD

Praying as I walk around the whole outside of our church building has become my new way to start most days. Monday it was a special experience. The circle takes about ten minutes, and when I started this practice several weeks ago, I would pray for only two or three of those minutes. But this day my prayers continued, out loud, till I got clear around the building. I was still praying when I finished, and I said, “OK, now it’s time to go inside and listen.”

I want to tell you what I decided as I opened Titus 2 for my study that morning. I can’t stop thinking about Paul’s challenge near the end of the chapter.

Church, Leadership, LifeTrevor DeVageJuly 1, 2020fog, evil, world, life, wisdom, devotion, racism, pandemic, covid, churchComment

A PANDEMIC THAT NEEDS PRAYER

Confronted by uncertainty and pressing needs all around us, I decided to lead a Facebook Live prayer session yesterday. Inspired by Craig Groeschel’s Dangerous Prayers, I quoted several biblical prayers he lists at the back of his book. While the world has hit “Pause,” we paused for prayer. As I shared the Scriptures, dozens among the 320 who joined us wrote their prayer requests in the Comments section so all of us could pray about their needs.

Church, Leadership, LifeTrevor DeVageMarch 18, 2020corona, virus, prayer, dangerous prayers, craig groeschel, guidance, unity, healing, hope, unbearable, life, protection, confession, pandemic, panicComment

REFINING IS DEFINING

I was wrecked within the first 10 pages.

I’d received a prepublication copy of Craig Groeschel’s latest book, Dangerous Prayers: Because Following Jesus Was Never Meant to Be Safe. As founder and leader of the revolutionary multisite Life.Church and presider over the international presence of Life.Church Online, he deserves a hearing. So I expected to appreciate his book.

But I didn’t expect to be undone by it. I didn’t expect it to lead me to deep repentance about the wrong ways I’ve led in every sphere of influence: with my family, with our staff, and yes, with our church. I didn’t expect to learn why I must be more intentional about the types of things I pray for. I didn’t expect to realize that my inadequate prayers have gotten in the way of people coming to know Jesus.

Anything I’d write here wouldn’t do the book justice. You must read it for yourself. And, besides, my purpose isn’t to post a book review. Instead, I want to tell you about the three prayers Groeschel challenges us to pray. And I want to explain how those prayers are changing me.

Church, Leadership, LifeTrevor DeVageMarch 11, 2020dangerous prayers, life, church, prayer, break, use, send, craig groeschelComment

Trevor DeVage

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