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Influence Isn’t Grace

Grace is completely free.
There’s nothing you and I can do to earn it.
It’s readily available because it’s provided free of charge by an Awesome God.

Influence MUST be earned.

I don’t have the right to speak to certain issue in certain people’s lives.
I don’t know them well enough.
I haven’t earned the respect and credibility with them.

Other people I can speak to those same issues in their lives.
I know them.
I have the respect from them.

Some people have the right to call me out when they find me doing certain things.
I won’t take offense.
I’ll listen.

Some people don’t have that right.
They don’t know what I’ve been through… they don’t have a close relationship with me.

You and I have to be careful not to speak into someone something that we haven’t earned the right to speak.
I also have to be careful that I speak life and truth into people who I’ve earned the right to speak with.

It’s a careful balance.

The more I balance it correctly, the more right I earn to speak into lives.

Influence…. It’s important, but it isn’t free.

27
Apr 2011
POSTED BY Jonathan Pearson
POSTED IN

Blog, Leadership

DISCUSSION 3 Comments
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How to Make Your Life Count… Beyond Your SS#

I talk a lot about “turning the world UPSIDE down.”

It’s something that I believe in.

It’s something that I truly believe God has called us to do.

It’s something that seems so irrational and bold,
but really only requires us living out the life God’s called us to.

It requires God living through us.

I thought I’d give you a few simple ways God has shown me to turn the world UPSIDE down since I began seeing it as a passion and calling on my life.

In order to turn the world UPSIDE down…

  • We must GO against the norm.
  • We must LOVE at all times.
  • We must STAND for what we know is right.
  • We must GUARD our integrity in the face of it being tested.
  • We must BUILD relationships and grow them with purpose.
  • We must be BOLD.
  • We must be UNIFIED around the essential.
  • We must be IMPATIENT. – our time is EXTREMELY limited.
  • We must be PATIENT. – God works beyond time.
  • We must DESIRE MORE. – we are never done!

How do you turn the world UPSIDE down?

19
Apr 2011
POSTED BY Jonathan Pearson
POSTED IN

Blog, Church Ministry, Encouragement

DISCUSSION 8 Comments
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Green Thumbed Baby

Sometimes, it’s not about spending a lot of money or doing anything that seems exciting.

Sometimes, it’s just about spending time together.

So, a trip to Dollar Tree for some seeds, a planter, and some soil made last Saturday a little more special.

It’s the little things.

What’s your favorite cheap date?

24
Mar 2011
POSTED BY Jonathan Pearson
POSTED IN

Blog, Random Stuff

DISCUSSION 31 Comments
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Your Past Has Passed

Most people I know are really good at looking into the past.

Seeing what’s happened in their life,
seeing what they’ve accomplished,
seeing how they’ve failed,
remembering past experiences.

While it’s definitely never wrong for us to look in the past to celebrate what’s happened and thank God for His faithfulness, I’ve noticed something…

It’s kinda rare that we look into the past and just look on the good stuff.

We often drift to past hurts,
past sins,
past mistakes,
past failures.

So, while we’re busy dwelling on the negative of the past, we often miss the opportunities of the present.

It’s important for us to keep moving forward,
to keep looking to the future and living for all that today is worth.

Don’t miss out on the hope of the future because of the horror of the past.

14
Feb 2011
POSTED BY Jonathan Pearson
POSTED IN

Blog, Life

DISCUSSION 19 Comments
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3 Elements to Turn the World UPSIDE Down

If you missed yesterday’s post and would like to catch it, you can read it here.

If we’re going to be people that actually turn the world upside down and make a significant impact, we MUST be willing to do these 3 things…

1. Be with Him.

We must be willing to spend time with God. When I first met my wife, I knew there was something about her that I liked. I didn’t know everything about her, but I certainly wanted to. So, I made consistent and desperate (really desperate sometimes) attempts to spend time with her. The more time I spent, the better I got to know her. I know her better everyday we’re together. If we truly see God for WHO He is, we’ll want to know Him. Only then will people begin to see Him IN us.

2. Listen to Him.

When my wife and I first exchanged phone numbers shortly after meeting, it took me a while to be sure it was her I was talking to when I called her. Even though I knew her, I didn’t know her voice that well. The more we talked, the easier it was to recognize her voice. Many of us can’t hear from God because we haven’t taken the time to learn His voice. We don’t know if it’s really Him calling us to take that step, or the shrimp we ate for dinner. We must spend time with Him and listen to Him. When God speaks, we have to listen.

3. Sell out for Him.

It’s not enough for us to listen to God, we have to obey Him. It blows me away that we can believe that God is God and that Jesus is who He claims to be and not sell out on a daily basis to His kingdom. Regardless of the risks. Regardless of the cost. Regardless of the outcome. We need to be sold out for Him. That’s exactly what it’s going to take for us to reach the world for Christ. We must be different and we must be obedient. Only then will we be people that…

turn the world UPSIDE down.

04
Jan 2011
POSTED BY Jonathan Pearson
POSTED IN

Blog, Church Ministry, Leadership, Life

DISCUSSION 11 Comments
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