North point’s invest-and-invite strategy has made it safe for hundreds of seasoned but scared believers to get back into the game. Instead of training our people in the art of personal evangelism, we instruct them to invest in the lives of unbelievers with the express purpose of inviting them to an event…

Neighborly Prayer Some of you may be familiar with a story by journalist Tom Junod. It is a true story of a young man afflicted with cerebral palsy. Cerebral palsy did not affect this young man’s mind, but it affected his motor skills and his ability to speak. The boy could only communicate through typing…

What are the keys to attracting visitors and keeping them coming back? by Charles Arn I sat affixed in front of my TV. THE BORG had just captured my hero and brought him onboard. “You will be assimilated,” a hideous-looking Borg intoned, raising his tentacles to the temples of “Star Trek” ’s Captain…

The local sheriff was looking for a deputy, and one of the applicants - who was not known to be the brightest academically, was called in for an interview. "Okay," began the sheriff, "What is 1 and 1?" "Eleven," came the reply. The sheriff thought to himself, "That's not what I meant, but he's right."…

While money has a big impact on our lives, it is not nearly the impact we might think, especially when it comes to making us happy. According to one study, joining a group that meets just once a month produces the same happiness gain as doubling your income. According to another study, being married…

FRIENDS In his book, The Shape of Faith to Come, Brad Waggoner writes, “Church practices vary. No congregation is exactly like another. Facilitating fellowship, however, does not have to be hard. We must get past the idea of a ‘friendly church’ to the concept of a ‘church of friends.’” --Shape of Faith…

James 2:1-13 This passage in James always makes me smile. I find it funny that James, the brother of Christ, would be advising others not to show favoritism. He probably spent years watching Jesus being treated as the favorite before he wrote this. Sibling rivalry is always difficult, but when your older…

A man named Walter once invited his friend Arthur to go for a ride through some undeveloped land in southern California. They drove through some groves of trees and past some ramshackle buildings before they arrived at what looked to Arthur like barren wasteland. Walter began telling his friend about…

A man is walking his dog in a park when he meets a friend, also walking his dog. They say hello and start to talk about their dogs. One has a Chihuahua and the other a Doberman. They decide to rest for coffee and they walk into a local cafe. Upon seeing a "No Animals Allowed" sign, the man with the Doberman…

What's mainly wrong with society today is that too many Dirt Roads have been paved. There's not a problem in America today, crime, drugs, education, divorce, delinquency, that wouldn't be remedied of we just had more Dirt Roads, because Dirt Roads give character. People that live at the end of Dirt Roads…

A man is walking his dog in a park when he meets a friend, also walking his dog. They say hello and start to talk about their dogs. One has a Chihuahua and the other a Doberman. They decide to rest for coffee and they walk into a local cafe. Upon seeing a "No Animals Allowed" sign, the man with the Doberman…

In a new book entitled, Friendfluence, author Carlin Flora looks at the effect friends have on people and says the influence of friends could even affect a person’s health. Flora says psychologist have long believed that friendships have a direct effect on our overall health and life expectancy. One…

A new survey says the place considered to be the one of the safest places on earth is not viewed as friendly by most Americans. The study commissioned by Group Publishing found the only 18 percent of Americans thought the church was the friendliest place in town. The result ranked the local church behind…

It’s the things in common that make relationships enjoyable, but it’s the little differences that make them interesting.

When I see a bird that looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, has webbed feet like a duck, paddles in the water like a duck, and prefers the company of ducks, it is hard for me to resist the conclusion that it must be a duck! “Birds of a feather flock together” and where you feel at home is most likely…

When the wrong people stop to give you a lift, they can let you out a long way from home. Lifetime Speaker’s Encyclopedia, Jacob M. Braude, page 54

He that lies down with dogs rises with fleas. Speaker’s Sourcebook, Eleanor Doan, page 205

Georgia Cops Search for MySpace Blogger Who Posted High-School Gossip Monday, October 02, 2006 ATHENS, Ga. — Authorities are searching for whoever posted a long list and description of supposed sexual encounters between dozens of high school students on the online networking site MySpace.com. Oconee…

"Friends are God's way of taking care of us" Maybe God wants us to meet a few wrong people before meeting the right one so that when we finally meet the right person, we will know how to be grateful for that gift. When the door of happiness closes, another opens, but often times we look so long at the…