4 minute Video version: https://fb.watch/gQGaUgTHan/ I proposed a definition for personal success. What about church success? I asked our staff, elders, and governing board, “What does success look like for our church?” A popular model of church success involves the ABCs – attendance, buildings, and cash. While not overlooking these, our church leadership teams gave much better, more thoughtful answers. Here’s what they said. Success is . . . • Looking like Jesus’ followers; others recognizing us as Christ followers. • Strengthening our relationships with God and

3½ minute Video version: https://fb.watch/gHmQNH5AF8/ I recall as a young leader setting high expectations on myself for success. I wanted to succeed, but the results I sought to achieve were often unrealistic and even fanciful. I wanted to be successful, but I was driven by the outward accomplishments of others and restricted by my own internal critic. I didn’t know what success actually looked like. Soon I crafted a definition of success that guided my thought process. It took some pressure off myself. I gave

3 minute Video version: https://fb.watch/gy7r_V0cIo/ A friend once thoughtfully asked me, “Are you and I preoccupied with Christ’s second coming?” Even an elemental “statement of faith” includes it: Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again. Our own Statement reads: “The Second Coming of Jesus Christ, our Lord and King (Revelation 19:16), is imminent (Hebrews 10:37, Revelation 22:20) and will be sudden (1 Corinthians 15:52), personal, and visible (Acts 1:11; Matthew 26:64). This is the believer’s blessed hope and is a vital

3 minute Video version: https://fb.watch/gqQL6S26bt/ Decisions we make in this life affect our eternal existence. Moses earnestly appealed to people, “I have set before you life and death. Now choose life” (Deuteronomy 30:19). Jesus repeatedly called people, “Follow me.” He told us, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). Our Statement of Faith says: “There will be a bodily resurrection of all people (Acts 24:15). Our Lord Jesus Christ

3 Minute Video version: https://fb.watch/goRDP-EILa/ Some years back I went with others on a missions tour to Ecuador. We wanted to see what God was doing in his Church. We visited urban churches in the capital city of Quito, and we visited rural churches in the Amazon jungle. We toured some expansive church complexes, and we toured some very simple church structures. We talked with strong leaders, and we talked with quiet leaders. We experienced joyful, Spanish worship in metropolitan Ecuador, and we