A Leader Killer

  • 09
  • May, 2012
  • 1

As they danced, they sang: “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.” Saul was very angry; this refrain galled him. “They have credited David with tens of thousands,” he thought, “but me with only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom?”                                   1 Samuel 18:7, 8 NIV84

This was the turning point for King Saul. It was at this moment that the seed was planted in his heart that took him down a very destructive path.

What may seem like a minor issue – a moment of jealousy – went unchecked, and led King Saul to make a decision he never dreamed he would make.

King Saul was unable to allow someone (David) that was below him in rank and authority to be celebrated before him.

It may not seem like a big deal, right? We all have moments of jealousy, moments of wanting to get that pat on the back. However, this moment went unchecked in King Saul’s life and it led to his obsession with David.

It eventually led to King Saul attempting to kill David!

All because King Saul felt threatened by David, all because of his personal insecurity. David hadn’t changed – King Saul had changed.

And from that moment on King Saul looked at David differently – his perspective was skewed. He could no longer receive David because he had an incorrect perception of David.

All because he wouldn’t humble himself – and allow someone below him to be celebrated before him.

The core issue for King Saul was pride – and if we are honest – many times, it’s the core issue for us as well.

Pride will cause us to make damaging decisions – it will cause us to obsess over the most ridiculous things. It will cause God to resist us!

However, when we practice humility, we position ourselves in the flow of the grace of God.

So choose humility before humility is chosen for you.

The scripture says, “Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God and He will exalt you in due season”.

So choose humility. Choose to not think less of yourself – but to think of yourself less!

It’s then that God will equip you, and in His timing exalt you to greater things!

May 9, 2012  |  1 Comments  |  by admin  |  Leadership, Spiritual Growth

5 Things I want every Lifepointer to know

  • 08
  • May, 2012
  • 0

Hello Lifepoint Church  – Here are a few things I want you to know:

#1.  There have been some amazing stories of life change coming in over the past few weeks.  The series we just concluded, Sexual Revolution, is accomplishing what we wanted it to accomplish, which is to start a revolution in our relationships.

#2.  This coming Sunday is MOTHERS DAY!!!!  First, don’t forget to love on your mom. Second, bring her to church with you this Sunday!

#3.  We are kicking off a brand new series entitled FAITH WORKS this Sunday.  For four weeks we are going to look at the book of James and how to find success in the Christian life. Begin inviting now – it’s going to be life changing!!

#4.  In case you missed last Sunday – I shared that our Courtland Campus was 5 weeks old last week and has been averaging over 700 in attendance each weekend, which is AMAZING!! Can’t wait to see what God does through that location.  Thank you to those who make Courtland your Lifepoint campus through serving, leading a group, or giving. You’re making an eternal difference in the lives of so many.

#5. Jesus is alive, the church is advancing and the best is yet to come!!

 

May 8, 2012  |  No Comments  |  by admin  |  Lifepoint Church

Refuel Conference

  • 02
  • May, 2012
  • 0

Two weeks from today I have the privilege of leading a coaching session at the Refuel Conference on the topic of “Planting and Leading a Healthy Church.”  I plan to share some of the insights we have learned from planting Lifepoint just over six years ago.

How do you recruit and retain volunteers? How do you keep a team unified? What if vision is not enough? How do you avoid the heartbreak of failure or the sting of minimal success? I believe there are some principles that you can apply, whether you are a Church Planter or an established Church Pastor, that will answer these questions and have exponential impact on your church’s ability to advance the Gospel. These are the types of issues we will address in “Planting and Leading a Healthy Church.”

If you haven’t yet registered for Refuel, you should NOW!  It’s FREE, it’s laid out to fit within your schedule, and it’s a great opportunity to learn from men like  Pastor Jonathan Falwell, Dr. James McDonald, Ed Stetzer,  and Pastor Lance Witt.

I hope to see you there!

 

May 2, 2012  |  No Comments  |  by admin  |  Church Planting, Leadership

Love Your Wife; Lead Your Home

  • 01
  • May, 2012
  • 1

This past Sunday I preached a message entitled “Just like Jesus.”  We looked at the passage in Ephesians 5 in which Paul instructs men to love our wives as Christ loved the church.

We intuitively know in every other area of our lives that there is no such thing as overnight success.  Bubba Watson didn’t pick up a pair of clubs a few months ago and suddenly win the Masters.  It took practice — years of practice – hours of intentionally investing in the game.

However when it comes to our marriage we often take an “it will work itself out” mentality — and it will work itself out, but most likely it will work itself out of control.

So, if we are to have a successful marriage it requires practice – it requires that we continually rehearse some things over and over.

The two things I shared with the men in our church on Sunday were:

Love your wife; lead your home

Jesus laid His life down for the church – the greatest act of selflessness ever performed – and that’s our example for loving our wives.

Jesus also leads the church, so we are to lead our homes.  Leaders go first, leaders activate things, leaders initiate things – that is our role.

We should lead financially, in communication, in romance, and spiritually.

At the end of the message I challenged the men of our church to affirm or maybe reaffirm their commitment to be that type of man.

It was powerful to watch as hundreds of men stood to their feet and made this declaration:

 With God’s help – I will be God’s man!

I will own my responsibilities.

I will step up to the plate.

I will embrace my calling.

I will keep Jesus at the center of my life.

I will honor my marriage vows.

I will live with integrity.

I will love my wife like Christ loved the church.

And I will lead my family – Just like Jesus!!

 If you would like to see the message from Sunday – check it out below.

May 1, 2012  |  1 Comments  |  by admin  |  Family, Leadership, Spiritual Growth

4 Critical Components to Launching a Healthy Church

  • 25
  • Apr, 2012
  • 0

#1. YOU BE YOU

  • Be authentic to yourself.
  • The Kingdom of God is meant to be a mosaic and not a photocopy of someone else’s ministry.
  • The Kingdom doesn’t need a Frankenstein Church Planter – it needs you — with all your experiences, passions, strengths, weaknesses, convictions, skills and ideas.

#2. WELCOME ALL, ELEVATE A FEW

  • Elevate those with competency.  Competency = Capability (skill level and ability) + Capacity  (the rate, level, and intensity with which you can do a job.)
  • Elevate those you like.  Fairness is not the goal.  If you don’t enjoy being with that person, the odds are you won’t enjoy doing ministry with that person.
  • Elevate those who have your heart.  When they talk about the vision and the calling, it should sound like you are listening to yourself.

#3. ADVANCE THE VISION, PROMOTE THE CULTURE

  • Culture shapes the morale, and effects how change is received; it sets the standard of the organization.
  • Your Culture is made up of the adjectives that describe your staff and volunteers when people interact with them.
  • Allow scripture to shape your values.  When scripture shapes your values, your values will transform your heart and will transform your people’s hearts.  When other churches, good books, or business principles shape your values, you create a Frankenstein.
  • Choose values that flow from the heart of your team.  A forced value is not a value at all because you can’t lead people to value what you are not living out in your own life.
  • Fewer, clearly defined values are embraced with greater accuracy. Your values shouldn’t attempt to be a treatise on your theology of the church.  They should be clearly defined and short enough that they can be memorized, repeated, and easily communicated.
  • Values must be communicated, every time and all the time. Values are not a series you do but a tone that is woven through every message you preach, every meeting you have, and every appointment you schedule. Values must continually be communicated by both words and actions.

#4. LOVE YOUR CITY – God did not send you there for your city to build your church, but for your church to build your city.

April 25, 2012  |  No Comments  |  by admin  |  Church Planting, Culture, Leadership
    • Pastor Daniel Floyd
    • Pastor Daniel Floyd
    • Pastor Daniel Floyd
    • Pastor Daniel Floyd
Pastor Daniel is the Senior Pastor of Lifepoint Church located in Fredericksburg, Va. He and his wife Tammie have two beautiful children: Owen, age 4, and Faith, age 2. Since planting the church in 2005 with a group of 50 people, Lifepoint has grown to two locations and seen over 1700 people place their faith in Jesus Christ.