Commended to the Word: Equipping leaders for ministry impact … around the world

Posts Tagged ‘ministry’

  • 25th Anniversary Celebration of The Coastlands

    Wednesday, January 6th, 2010

    In December 1984, Daniel and Pamela Brown pioneered The Coastlands, Aptos Foursquare Church. Twenty-five years later, they share their hearts and stories during this anniversary celebration and Daniel tells about the process of how he thinks strategically in building a church and ministry.
    To watch or listen to the final 10 teachings Daniel taught while Senior [...]

    Excerpt from “25th Anniversary Celebration of The Coastlands”
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  • Access to Out-of-This-World Power

    Thursday, April 29th, 2010

    What concerns me more than the lack of thought is the lack of spiritually-discerned (biblical) approaches to the problems leaders face. It is as though we have traded in our “divinely powerful” tools for implements, strategies and solutions borrowed from universities, showbiz, or Fortune 500 companies. Under the guise of two important but limited values [...]

    Excerpt from “Access to Out-of-This-World Power”

  • Aiming the Future

    Sunday, January 20th, 2008

    So I guess what I want to say is that in effective ministry, we’re always reminding people of their future more than their past.

    Excerpt from “Aiming the Future”
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  • Altars of Uncut Stones

    Friday, October 24th, 2008

    “So it shall be when you cross the Jordan, you shall set up on Mount Ebal, these stones, as I am commanding you today, and you shall coat them with lime. Moreover, you shall build there an altar to the LORD your God, an altar of stones; you shall not wield an iron tool on [...]

    Excerpt from “Altars of Uncut Stones”

  • Antidote for Burnout

    Tuesday, June 30th, 2009

    Daniel shares his thoughts and personal preference to a pastor who is feeling “burnout” and inquiring about good reading material on the subject.
    (Original letter from Pastor)
    Dr. Daniel,
    I’m looking forward to seeing you at (Event)!
    I’ve experiences a bit of a burnout the last couple weeks. I think going from a 20-unit semester to and intensive, and [...]

    Excerpt from “Antidote for Burnout”

  • Baggage and Battles

    Monday, July 7th, 2008

    1 Samuel 30
    Because of King Saul’s jealousy, David has had to flee with his band of followers into the land of Israel’s traditional enemies, the Philistines. David has sought and received protection from Achish, the Philistine King of Gath, and David has been given the city of Ziklag as his home. While away from Ziklag, [...]

    Excerpt from “Baggage and Battles”

  • Basic Premise

    Saturday, March 8th, 2008

    You will never, ever grasp effective ministry until you understand this basic premise that people as we see them now are not the way that God made them.

    Excerpt from “Basic Premise”
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  • Body Parts

    Thursday, April 29th, 2010

    The global body of Christ needs even more ministry variety and “body” parts than a local church does. All are neither eyes nor ears. The biblical secret for a healthy and growing church (whether it is local, national or global) is found in Ephesians:
    “…the whole body, being fitted and held together by that which every [...]

    Excerpt from “Body Parts”

  • Bystanders of Glory

    Sunday, April 13th, 2008

    We are just bystanders of what God does through spiritual gifts – God gets the glory, not man; people who want to “minister” in the gifts (meaning draw attention to themselves), but not serve others have the wrong focus.

    Excerpt from “Bystanders of Glory”
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  • Challenged by Successes

    Thursday, March 18th, 2010

    Churches can sometimes be challenged by their very successes. For instance, let’s say a person gets spiritually healed at a church whose mission is like that of a spiritual hospital. That healed person might then feel a desire to enlist—and mobilize others—in a ministry that is more outreach-oriented. The church’s mission was successful in bringing [...]

    Excerpt from “Challenged by Successes”

  • Choosing How You Leave

    Thursday, March 18th, 2010

    Two cannot walk together without agreement. Every son and daughter of God must lead his or her own life in Jesus. I almost never lost respect for people who felt led to “move on” and away from Coastlands. The only ones for whom I lost all respect were the people who forgot what had been [...]

    Excerpt from “Choosing How You Leave”

  • Church – A Vehicle

    Tuesday, April 1st, 2008

    Church should be a vehicle that can take people somewhere they can’t get on their own.

    Excerpt from “Church – A Vehicle”
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  • Church with Attitude, Part 1

    Saturday, February 5th, 2005

    Can you name the people–outside of your immediate family–who KNOW that you absolutely love them? Believe it or not, that’s your church. How refreshing it is to discover “church” isn’t what we thought!sort of like attending a weekly college lecture series, arriving and departing as strangers (or class acquaintances), and thinking you’ve taken the course. [...]

    Excerpt from “Church with Attitude, Part 1”
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  • Church with Attitude, Part 2

    Saturday, February 19th, 2005

    In Part 2 of this teaching, Daniel digs a little deeper into the passion and purpose that fuels what happens at the Coastlands. You’ll hear how he was first catapulted into leading and mentoring people, why fractured human beings are God’s “tool of choice”, and what anyone can do to make a huge difference in [...]

    Excerpt from “Church with Attitude, Part 2”
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  • Church with Attitude, Part 4

    Saturday, March 12th, 2005

    You wouldn’t just go to the gym without working out–-not if you expected results. To shape up, slim down, or build muscle, you have to work up a sweat. Here’s a physical truth that parallels the spiritual realm: although you’ve been “pre-approved” by God for significance, you still need to be stretched, pulled, squeezed, and [...]

    Excerpt from “Church with Attitude, Part 4”
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  • Concerns for Young Leaders

    Wednesday, March 25th, 2009

    A Discussion with Young Adults within our Denomination
    by Daniel A. Brown PhD
    INTRODUCTION
    The primary reason I asked you to concentrate more on positive aspects, rather than negative factors of your church life, is because that determination to remain hopeful—despite the impossibility of it all—is a skill you must acquire in order to survive leadership challenges [...]

    Excerpt from “Concerns for Young Leaders”
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  • Confirming Words

    Thursday, March 26th, 2009

    Daniel responds to a letter of encouragement and what he believes is a confirming word from the Lord.
    (Letter to Daniel from Man)
    Dear Daniel,
    It was so refreshing to hear your heart on Sunday morning. I felt like my spirit was well watered as I heard your perspective on the commonality of struggles that men and women all across [...]

    Excerpt from “Confirming Words”

  • Cost of Congregational Growth

    Wednesday, September 30th, 2009

    As a church, we orient ourselves toward growth—not just in the number of people who call The Coastlands home, but in the quality of our individual and corporate life in the Lord.  Our significance comes from believing in God’s plan to transform and utilize people for His glory.  The more we are a part of [...]

    Excerpt from “Cost of Congregational Growth”
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  • Couple Responding to an Urgent Summons from the Lord

    Thursday, March 26th, 2009

    Daniel responds to a leter sent from a woman who once attended college group Daniel led before he went out to pioneer a church.
    Hi Daniel,
    A blast from the past! Wow—about 30 years ago? Hard to believe!
    Yes, this is [Woman].
    I was thinking about something you said in the college group at [Church]—must have been about [Year]. [...]

    Excerpt from “Couple Responding to an Urgent Summons from the Lord”

  • Couple Transitioning to Full-Time Ministry

    Thursday, March 26th, 2009

    A young couple, who previously were part of the intern program at the Coastlands, ask for Daniel’s counsel after previously discussing plans to pioneer a church—but recently were asked to support the existing church in pastoral positions.
    (Original letter from Leader)
    Hi Daniel!
    How are you? It was a long and busy summer for me and [Wife], especially [...]

    Excerpt from “Couple Transitioning to Full-Time Ministry”

  • Credibility, Part 1

    Saturday, June 14th, 2008

    Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20
    Since Jesus commissioned us to make disciples, [...]

    Excerpt from “Credibility, Part 1”

  • Daniel’s Annoucement to Transition into New Phase of Ministry

    Friday, February 16th, 2007

    Daniel Brown wrote this letter to The Coastlands congregation in September of 2006, in which he offered an intimate glimpse into his years of preparation for pastoral ministry. He shares the Scriptures and experiences that shaped his leadership philosophy and outlines the factors leading to his decision to invest full-time into CTW, his resource [...]

    Excerpt from “Daniel’s Annoucement to Transition into New Phase of Ministry”

  • Declaring His Praise in The Coastlands

    Tuesday, October 14th, 2008

    “He will not be disheartened or crushed, until He has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands will wait expectantly for His law to open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the dungeon, and those who dwell in darkness from the prison. Let them give glory to the Lord, and declare His praise [...]

    Excerpt from “Declaring His Praise in The Coastlands”

  • Definition

    Monday, June 1st, 2009

    Jesus has a Problem

    Excerpt from “Definition”

  • Delta Recourse

    Saturday, October 18th, 2008

    “The afflicted and needy are seeking water, but there is none, and their tongue is parched with thirst; I, the Lord, will answer them Myself, as the God of Israel I will not forsake them. I will open rivers on the bare heights, and springs in the midst of the valleys; I will make the [...]

    Excerpt from “Delta Recourse”

  • Different Perspectives in Ministry

    Thursday, March 18th, 2010

    Very often conflicts over one thing or another in church signal a deeper disagreement between people about how church ought to function. When leaders in a church have a different perspective about the church’s calling than the pastor has, things can be painful and confusing. That doesn’t mean that the pastor is right and the [...]

    Excerpt from “Different Perspectives in Ministry”

  • Don’t Bury Your Head in the Sand

    Thursday, April 29th, 2010

    Having watched too many Pentecostal pastors’ utter disregard for thinking things through, I believe a good many of their quandaries in ministry could be solved with more careful planning and more articulated thinking. So, don’t hear me calling for an ostrich-spirituality where leaders bury their head in the sand and try to navigate the complexities [...]

    Excerpt from “Don’t Bury Your Head in the Sand”

  • Effective Ministry

    Wednesday, March 12th, 2008

    First, let’s remember that effective ministry, like God’s ministry to us, must always blend kindness and truth.

    Excerpt from “Effective Ministry”
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  • Final Frames, Part 5: God Can Make You Great

    Saturday, November 25th, 2006

    This teaching is part of the “Final Frames” series, a compilation of Bible studies Daniel taught in his final weeks as the Coastlands’ Senior Pastor in late-2006. The Scriptures shared in this series were pivotal in Daniel’s life and helped form his ministry.
    Ever wonder why we do things the way we do at The Coastlands–why [...]

    Excerpt from “Final Frames, Part 5: God Can Make You Great”
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  • Focus Points for Church Leadership

    Wednesday, September 30th, 2009

    INTRODUCTIONIn some religious circles people talk about a call on their life—a sense of mission and purpose, an assignment for how to direct and devote their energies.  A typical call might be into medical missions work, pastoral ministry, etc.  While I would never argue with anyone who spoke about a call on their life, I [...]

    Excerpt from “Focus Points for Church Leadership”
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  • Germany (Baden-Baden): 2010, Day 14

    Tuesday, March 16th, 2010

    Jochen arranged for me to get a chance to speak to several of the pastors in this area of Germany, so he picked me up at the hotel just after 9:30am for the 15 minute drive to a nearby village where one of their daughter-churches meets. Seven of us spent the morning and early afternoon [...]

    Excerpt from “Germany (Baden-Baden): 2010, Day 14”

  • Germany (Bochum): 2010, Day 9

    Thursday, March 11th, 2010

    Jan, Pamela and I took two trains to arrive in Bochum, one of the cities in a heavily industrialized part of Germany. In many ways, the area reminds me of eastern Pennsylvania and other parts of the northeast (US), where a changing economy and the loss of manufacturing jobs, as well as the decline in [...]

    Excerpt from “Germany (Bochum): 2010, Day 9”

  • Germany (Diepholz): 2010, Day 7

    Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

    We spent most of the day (9am-2pm) traveling north by train to Diepholz. As we went further and further north, the amount of snow on the ground increased considerably, so it was like riding on the train in the old movie Dr. Zhivago. The trains were very comfortable and warm, so the journey was pleasant [...]

    Excerpt from “Germany (Diepholz): 2010, Day 7”

  • Germany (Engstingen): 2010, Day 12

    Sunday, March 14th, 2010

    We stayed in a quaint mountain hotel with a breakfast bar specializing in natural foods; not natural as in tasteless, but whole milk, homemade yogurt and jams, a fresh juicer machine, baked-on-premises breads, etc. Oh my, but I ate allot. Pamela stayed in the hotel to rest while I went off to continue the seminar [...]

    Excerpt from “Germany (Engstingen): 2010, Day 12”

  • Getting a Burden

    Thursday, October 16th, 2008

    “Bear one another’s burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have reason for boasting in regard to one another.” Galatians 6:2-5
    How do we each decide upon what particular [...]

    Excerpt from “Getting a Burden”

  • God’s Goal for Each Person

    Sunday, August 17th, 2008

    The goal of one-to-one ministry is rather to see each individual person fully restored to everything that God wanted for them to be, and it helps us if we will remember that. No matter how broken a human being is, if you look at them with a hopefulness in your heart, if you look at [...]

    Excerpt from “God’s Goal for Each Person”
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  • God’s Invitation to Us

    Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010

    This excerpt is from the series “How to Mobilize Your Church.”

    Excerpt from “God’s Invitation to Us”

  • God’s Ways are Counter-Intuitive

    Sunday, March 21st, 2010

    Since I no longer pastor, I’m able to say many more things in a more direct manner than I was able to speak. No one could accuse me of having a vested interest in describing the biblical elements of what church is supposed to be. I’m not in the unenviable position most pastors are in: [...]

    Excerpt from “God’s Ways are Counter-Intuitive”
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  • Great Addiction of Ministry

    Tuesday, January 12th, 2010

    The following is an excerpt from “Process Leadership.”
    It’s my dream to get every single person in our church will ultimately become a leader of a small group of people where they know the joy of discipling and nurturing other people. This is the great addiction of ministry, seeing change in other people. I don’t want [...]

    Excerpt from “Great Addiction of Ministry”

  • Having the Ears to Hear

    Friday, April 30th, 2010

    Usually, if there is one person who has the courage to speak to us directly about something disturbing [that what we said or did], there are others who either didn’t know how to bring the issue up or who simply were too afraid to say anything.

    Excerpt from “Having the Ears to Hear”

  • Heart of Counseling

    Wednesday, September 30th, 2009

    1 Kings 3:6-9, 10:1-10Most people have heard of Solomon’s wisdom even if they do not realize that he wrote Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, two Books in the Bible that are filled with practical advice and counsel for almost any imaginable subject.
    The Queen of Sheba (a country 1,200 miles southeast of Jerusalem, in modern-day Yemen) heard of [...]

    Excerpt from “Heart of Counseling”
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  • Helping Others Embrace the Call

    Friday, March 26th, 2010

    Church leaders can also fall prey to the myth that only a few are “called to the ministry.” Actually, the entire church is already “the few,” and it makes no sense to reduce our ministry numbers even further. Since people will naturally slot toward “least resistance” and comfort themselves with vague thoughts of not being [...]

    Excerpt from “Helping Others Embrace the Call”

  • Highly Effective Discipleship, Part 1A: Remembering God’s Heart

    Sunday, January 8th, 2006

    How sweet is the taste of God’s goodness–yet infinitely sweeter is the taste of His goodness when it pours out of us upon the lives of those we touch. That is the experience for which we are each uniquely fashioned, and at the launch of this new series on discipleship, we find that it’s also [...]

    Excerpt from “Highly Effective Discipleship, Part 1A: Remembering God’s Heart”
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  • Highly Effective Discipleship, Part 1B: Remembering God’s Heart

    Saturday, January 14th, 2006

    God’s desire is to do people good all the days of their lives. In this second part of a series on discipleship, Daniel teaches how the heart of God, as He revealed Himself to Moses in the book of Exodus, is first to deliver us out of whatever bondage or affliction we find ourselves in [...]

    Excerpt from “Highly Effective Discipleship, Part 1B: Remembering God’s Heart”
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  • Highly Effective Discipleship, Part 4B: Mending the Menders

    Sunday, April 9th, 2006

    God’s heart for discipling others can be found in Isaiah 61:1-6, the very passage Jesus read at the onset of His ministry, declaring that “today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” As he continues his series on discipleship, Daniel teaches how each verse equips us to come both alongside and under people whose [...]

    Excerpt from “Highly Effective Discipleship, Part 4B: Mending the Menders”
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  • Hints

    Monday, April 28th, 2008

    The messes that people get into, the struggles that they go through, and the “stuff” that is visible within their lives can actually often be clues as to what their ministry is.

    Excerpt from “Hints”
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  • Hints For Understanding Difficult Passages

    Wednesday, September 30th, 2009

    All of us have encountered verses and statements in the Bible that confuse or alarm us because they seem to be saying something that sounds so unlike the Lord, so different than how we have experienced Him in our personal life.  When that happens, what can we do to at least begin to look at [...]

    Excerpt from “Hints For Understanding Difficult Passages”
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  • Humble Servant

    Thursday, January 17th, 2008

    The interest of a server and helper is not in whatever particular assignment they are given, it is simply interest in an ultimate victory or accomplishment of a much greater good. This is one reason why the server / helper tends to be a little on the invisible side. When they are helping [...]

    Excerpt from “Humble Servant”
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  • Hungary (Budapest): 2010, Days 26-27

    Monday, March 29th, 2010

    Supposedly, these are vacation days intended for walking the gorgeous streets of Budapest, sitting in the hot springs mineral baths and eating Hungarian food with Volker and Ruth, and Mitko and Vania. We’ve had all the above, in some measure, but how can we resist the temptation to talk about church, ministry, Europe, the upcoming [...]

    Excerpt from “Hungary (Budapest): 2010, Days 26-27”

  • Imprints of Evil Presences

    Thursday, April 29th, 2010

    God is often trying to warn us about problems that will surely develop if we just look the other way. The Enemy counts on the fact that Christians value being polite more than being alert to “secretly introduced falsehoods” (2 Peter 2:1).  Intimidation, uneasiness, confusion, fear, agitation—these may be the imprints of evil presences on [...]

    Excerpt from “Imprints of Evil Presences”

  • In the Midst of Assaults

    Saturday, March 28th, 2009

    Encouraging letter (and response) written in the midst of assaults Daniel experienced regarding his ministry.
    (Letter from Woman)
    Hi Daniel,
    I was just sitting here at my kitchen table thinking about your teaching this weekend.  When I heard your message and watched you deliver it, it was so clear to me that the Lord has really given you [...]

    Excerpt from “In the Midst of Assaults”

  • Isn’t Everyone Like This?

    Wednesday, August 20th, 2008

    Who you are and the ministry that you have should be so interlaced with your personality and with your being that it does not seem like any big deal when you are being the way you are supposed to be. It doesn’t even strike you as being unusual and you sort of think, “Well, isn’t [...]

    Excerpt from “Isn’t Everyone Like This?”
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  • Job of Completing People

    Monday, June 2nd, 2008

    The risk you take of empowering and releasing people to do things, at which they will make mistakes, is actually better for a congregation than trying to control things and keeping people from making mistakes. For in my opinion, the real job of the ministry is not getting the job done. The real job of [...]

    Excerpt from “Job of Completing People”
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  • Labor for Others

    Monday, January 28th, 2008

    One-to-one ministry is rigorous ministry. It will exhaust you. But what better use of our life than to know that our labors and our striving have not just been for ourselves–they have been for others. Lives get changed in the Kingdom when people who care enough and love enough to invest themselves will do that, [...]

    Excerpt from “Labor for Others”
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  • Laboring for Others

    Saturday, June 7th, 2008

    One-to-one ministry is rigorous ministry. It will exhaust you. But what better use of our life than to know that our labors and our striving have not just been for ourselves–they have been for others. Lives get changed in the Kingdom when people who care enough and love enough to invest themselves will do that, [...]

    Excerpt from “Laboring for Others”
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  • Lack of Church Leaders

    Sunday, March 21st, 2010

    My theory about the lack of leaders in churches is quite simple:
    1. Jesus told us to pray for more leaders/shepherds because He understood that God chooses to do most of His work through individual people, and most miracles are the result of someone praying, speaking, going or otherwise engaging in ministry to another person;
    2. When [...]

    Excerpt from “Lack of Church Leaders”
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  • Launching into New Ministry

    Thursday, March 18th, 2010

    Just as households are supposed to produce and nurture children through the years until they reach the point when they launch out to establish households of their own, so, too, should churches mend and train believers to the point where those believers launch into new ministry that may be beyond the walls of the church [...]

    Excerpt from “Launching into New Ministry”

  • Leslie Keegel Healing Seminar

    Thursday, June 10th, 2010

    Daniel Brown and Leslie Keegel, the national leader of Foursquare Sri Lanka, have a long-standing friendship. In May 2010, The Coastlands had the opportunity to host a healing seminar taught by Pastor Leslie, whose ministry has been empowered by the Holy Spirit so that many thousands have been healed both physically and spiritually. During this [...]

    Excerpt from “Leslie Keegel Healing Seminar”
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  • Life Advice for a Struggling Leader

    Thursday, March 26th, 2009

    Daniel offers encouragement and advice to a man facing discouragement in his ministry and personal life.
    (Letter from Man)
    Dear Daniel,
    Wished to write a letter to you and prayed for a long time for that and realized how busy you might be (as I looked through your Internet Travel Journal times and again, get a sense of [...]

    Excerpt from “Life Advice for a Struggling Leader”

  • Making a Place

    Thursday, April 24th, 2008

    Discipling isn’t about keeping people in their place; it’s about making a place for them.

    Excerpt from “Making a Place”
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  • Mercy Triumphs

    Monday, April 21st, 2008

    Never forget, God’s truth is always spoken as an act of mercy. It is a longing that God has to do people good. It is a desire He has for their lives to truly work the way that it’s supposed to work. This is why mercy will triumph over judgment. So we have [...]

    Excerpt from “Mercy Triumphs”
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  • Ministers of a New Covenant

    Thursday, January 15th, 2009

    No one feels adequate to pass the things of God along to other people–we know our own weaknesses too well. How amazing it is to think that Moses’ face (imperfectly) radiated God’s glory when the message he passed along was our faliure to “get it right”; how much more amazing it is to know that [...]

    Excerpt from “Ministers of a New Covenant”
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  • Ministry Gift-Mix Seminar: June 10-11, 2010

    Friday, April 30th, 2010

    Daniel will be teaching the Ministry Gift-Mix Seminar at The Coastlands in Aptos, California. For more information, please contact Lindsay at (831) 688-5775 ext. 207.
    If you would like to see the Gift-Mixes resource that we have available in our web store, please click here: Gift-Mixes Resource

    Excerpt from “Ministry Gift-Mix Seminar: June 10-11, 2010”

  • Ministry Gift-Mix Seminar: June 10-11, July 11 2010

    Monday, June 28th, 2010

    Ministry Gift-Mix Seminar
    In this seminar, which was videotaped at The Coastlands on June 10-11, July 11 2010, Daniel Brown shares how God made us to reflect His amazing characteristics. He designed us as givers, teachers, exhorters, pastors, apostles, leaders, evangelists, prophets, helpers and mercy showers. But these aren’t based on our natural aptitudes!
    God made each [...]

    Excerpt from “Ministry Gift-Mix Seminar: June 10-11, July 11 2010”
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  • Ministry Mentors

    Friday, March 26th, 2010

    Ministry mentors try to pass along tricks of their trade by using ministry situations the way a master-craftsman trains an apprentice as part of his promise to the aspiring craftsman: “someday-you’ll-have-your-own-shop!” With time and skill, the apprentice is supposed to have hope that he or she can do the same work as the mentor—but with [...]

    Excerpt from “Ministry Mentors”

  • Ministry Model

    Friday, March 28th, 2008

    I think it’s far more effective in one-to-one ministry to look to the model that God presents. His model is simple: be there so that people can really pour out their hearts. Listen to the things that they say, but don’t necessarily answer them about the specific questions that they’re asking.

    Excerpt from “Ministry Model”
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  • Ministry that You Are

    Saturday, June 7th, 2008

    I am not interested in sharing with you these kinds of spiritual ministries in an effort to pigeon hole exactly who and what you are. We are not dealing with a kind of Christian horoscope!
    There is no “best ministry.” There is no right ministry. There is just the ministry that you are, and God [...]

    Excerpt from “Ministry that You Are”
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  • Minneapolis (Eden Prairie): 2010, Day 5

    Monday, January 18th, 2010

    George and I took one more swipe at the Pancake House, and I discovered its name is “The Original Pancake House,” not to be confused with other Pancake Houses. What’s in a name? I’m not sure, just as I’m not sure what is in those 49’er pancakes, but a second stack of them in as [...]

    Excerpt from “Minneapolis (Eden Prairie): 2010, Day 5”

  • Misshapen Theology

    Tuesday, May 18th, 2010

    Our misshapen theology urges us to look for problems external to ourselves. We begin to talk about commitment and use expressions like, “You need to be more committed” to beat our sheep and drive them from one barren pasture to another.

    Excerpt from “Misshapen Theology”

  • My Biggest Ministry Mistakes

    Sunday, March 21st, 2010

    A pastor in Germany recently me about the three biggest mistakes I’ve made in ministry. She didn’t mean which particular incidents had I blown it the worse, but what patterns of thought or behavior caused the most wreckage or fruitlessness. Where do I begin? My top three mistakes in pastoral ministry were:
    1. Believing the best [...]

    Excerpt from “My Biggest Ministry Mistakes”
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  • My Main Goal for All Ministry

    Friday, March 26th, 2010

    Your philosophy of ministry (i.e., how you think about ministry) also includes the goal for ministry. My main goal for all ministry is at least two-generational; in other words, I want people who observe or experience ministry to be able to do the same ministry to others. I want ministry to be “performed” by mentors, [...]

    Excerpt from “My Main Goal for All Ministry”

  • Need for More Thought and Revelation

    Thursday, April 29th, 2010

    Most of the time, pastoring calls for more thought and more revelation. I need spiritual discernment and sensible reasoning—balancing the natural and spiritual realms. Loving God with our heart, soul, mind and strength is a call for total integration—offering our whole being, with its multifaceted components, for service to the Lord. It’s like saying, “Walk [...]

    Excerpt from “Need for More Thought and Revelation”

  • Our Anointing

    Sunday, September 28th, 2008

    Thou hast anointed my head with oil… Psalm 23:5b
    You are anointed by God.
    Anointing with oil was a common practice in Bible days, and it was done as a symbolic act of consecration—the setting apart of someone for a particular office, service or position. Kings were anointed to rule; they had the right [...]

    Excerpt from “Our Anointing”

  • Parent Church Identifiers

    Wednesday, September 30th, 2009

    WHAT MAKES A LOCAL CONGREGATION A PARENT CHURCH?
    Our need for more church planters means that we need more parent churches which give birth to these new pastors and congregations. But just because a planter comes from a particular congregation, that church may have little interest in (or understanding of) fulfilling a parental role.
    I was intrigued [...]

    Excerpt from “Parent Church Identifiers”
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  • Paul and Barnabas

    Sunday, March 21st, 2010

    Sometimes, as happened with Paul and Barnabus, former mentor-pupil relationships get broken, just because of different perspectives they each have about something. We have no indication from the Bible who was correct—Paul or Barnabus. The point, as I understand it, is that sometimes God capitalizes on human issues to create two mission teams out of [...]

    Excerpt from “Paul and Barnabas”

  • Poland (Wroclaw): 2010, Day 23

    Thursday, March 25th, 2010

    After a decent breakfast buffet, Pamela and I met Martijn and Ellen for an excursion in and around the Old City. Pamela wanted to do a little shopping, so she and Ellen were soon waylaid at the “Salt Market” where numerous vendors have set up booths to sell their home-made crafts and wares. Martijn and [...]

    Excerpt from “Poland (Wroclaw): 2010, Day 23”

  • Premise for Ministry Preparation

    Sunday, March 21st, 2010

    Unfortunately, our training model in church is based on a premise that makes people feel perpetually unqualified for leadership. No one comes right out and says so, but how we train people communicates one major fact: “You need to know what you don’t yet know!” Yikes. No wonder people feel like they don’t know enough [...]

    Excerpt from “Premise for Ministry Preparation”
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  • Prophetic Foundations for Ministry Breakthrough

    Thursday, March 19th, 2009

    by Daniel A. Brown, PhD
    There is, of course, a world of difference between natural wisdom and spiritual truth. They relate to entirely different dimensions of reality, but sometimes folk knowledge and popular truisms echo spiritual principles—and make scriptural truth a bit easier for us to remember. For instance, we all know the saying, “Great gifts [...]

    Excerpt from “Prophetic Foundations for Ministry Breakthrough”
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  • Proposed Adoption Protocol for Churches (in Europe)

    Monday, March 9th, 2009

    by Daniel A. Brown, PhD
    The following thought-piece was composed in March 1997 as a beginning point for discussion. It was not then, nor is it now, a complete or thorough discussion of all the issues related to adopting churches and pastors into the Foursquare Church. The paper centers on Europe, but most of the [...]

    Excerpt from “Proposed Adoption Protocol for Churches (in Europe)”
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  • Pursuing a Ministry Mantle

    Thursday, March 19th, 2009

    by Daniel A. Brown, PhD
    Experiencing All That God Intends for You in Ministry
    Like Jesus, you and I have been anointed to bring God’s life changing, life saving message to people—no matter how low or desperate their condition. The anointing abides. We do not have to go someplace to have it reapplied; neither [...]

    Excerpt from “Pursuing a Ministry Mantle”
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  • Reassured by Mercy

    Friday, July 25th, 2008

    When you have tried everything you know to try and nothing is changing, you can think, “Lord, I pray, I read, I fast, I seek your face, I do all these things and just nothing comes of it!” We don’t want somebody to feel sorry for us; being merciful and being sorry for somebody is [...]

    Excerpt from “Reassured by Mercy”
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  • Redefining Rest

    Monday, July 21st, 2008

    Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts. By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all [...]

    Excerpt from “Redefining Rest”

  • Responding to a Man’s Transitions

    Sunday, March 29th, 2009

    A long-time friend who is going through many changes, writes Daniel of the transitions in his life and church. He uses a picture to describe the place he sees himself and shares caution he feels of treading new territories without complete dependency and counsel from the Lord, and His words of truth and safety.
    (Letter from [...]

    Excerpt from “Responding to a Man’s Transitions”

  • Responding to an Invitation to Speak Abroad

    Wednesday, May 28th, 2008

    Dear [Church Pastor],
    Thank you so much for your kind letter. I was touched by your warmth and sincerity. Since you know [Mutual Friends], it feels like we almost know each other, too.
    I am not often in [Country] over the last few years, but it could be that I will have more opportunity to visit in [...]

    Excerpt from “Responding to an Invitation to Speak Abroad”

  • Saints in the Rough

    Thursday, April 17th, 2008

    Effective ministry is always going reflect God’s perspective on people.

    Excerpt from “Saints in the Rough”
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  • Seeds of Tomorrow’s Great Harvest

    Thursday, April 29th, 2010

    When medical researchers announce a tremendous breakthrough in the treatment of diabetes, other scientists and doctors studying cancer, brain disorders and Alzheimer’s disease pause to rejoice. It is unlikely that the discovery about diabetes will have any direct effect on their research. How foolish it would be if they left their specialized studies in order [...]

    Excerpt from “Seeds of Tomorrow’s Great Harvest”

  • Serving Greatness by Greatly Serving

    Thursday, July 10th, 2008

    “And they came to Capernaum; and when He was in the house, He began to question them, ‘What were you discussing on the way?’ But they kept silent, for on the way they had discussed with one another which of them was the greatest. And sitting down, He called the twelve and said to [...]

    Excerpt from “Serving Greatness by Greatly Serving”

  • Serving IS Ministry

    Friday, June 20th, 2008

    God doesn’t have some funny distinction where He looks down and He sees someone who is preaching and says, “Oh, that is the kind of spiritual ministry I like!” And He sees somebody else who is cooking the spaghetti for the church potluck and says, “Well, someday, someday!” He doesn’t divide it up [...]

    Excerpt from “Serving IS Ministry”
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  • Sign Me Up!

    Sunday, March 21st, 2010

    This excerpt is taken from the Article “My Biggest Ministry Mistakes.” http://ctw.coastlands.org/read/articles/my-biggest-ministry-mistakes/

    Excerpt from “Sign Me Up!”

  • Signs, Wonders and Discipleship

    Wednesday, March 25th, 2009

    by Daniel A. Brown, PhD
    New Tools in Our Toolbox
    In His sovereignty God teaches different people, different things at different times; no one learns everything, and no church will ever learn or function in everything there is to know in the Kingdom.  Just as all believers do not have the spiritual ministry of an evangelist, [...]

    Excerpt from “Signs, Wonders and Discipleship”
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  • Simple Discipleship

    Wednesday, September 30th, 2009

    SIMPLE DISCIPLESHIPWith An Excerpt From “Enjoying Your Journey With God”
    The Bible was written to people like you and me who had questions and concerns exactly like the ones we all have. The spiritual words and lessons penned in the Bible all carry a quality of incarnation. The word becomes flesh, and other human beings can [...]

    Excerpt from “Simple Discipleship”
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  • Sincere Communication

    Wednesday, April 2nd, 2008

    No matter how sincere someone is, not anyone is 100% accurate in communicating God’s word.

    Excerpt from “Sincere Communication”
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  • Staying True to the Call

    Thursday, March 18th, 2010

    Through the years, many people left our church. Some moved out of town, some fell away from the Lord, some found other churches in the area matched their needs better than Coastlands did, some pioneered other churches, and some left because of a disagreement or disappointment with me. Fortunately, I went into pastoring with the [...]

    Excerpt from “Staying True to the Call”

  • Staying Your Course

    Thursday, April 29th, 2010

    We often deal in the realm of the unseen, and so we long for substantial confirmation that we are on the right track. Thus, when tremendous physical evidence (numbers, manifestations, etc.) attends someone else’s ministry, style or city, it is hard to resist the momentum that draws us toward such tangible assurance.

    Excerpt from “Staying Your Course”

  • Strategic Questions To Ask When Event Planning

    Wednesday, September 30th, 2009

    Long ago when I was a kid, I heard from knowledgeable sources (older friends on the block) that if I was ever alone in the wilderness and needed to survive on my own, I should not waste my energy hunting rabbits. “Rabbit meat costs your body more to digest than the meat gives back in [...]

    Excerpt from “Strategic Questions To Ask When Event Planning”
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  • Stretching…But Which Way?

    Sunday, November 2nd, 2008

    I’ve been thinking about the pain that comes from being stretched by the Lord into/for more ministry. When we “go through” difficult trials or when God has us in seasons of lesson-learning and character-shaping, it isn’t fun. It hurts. It’s tempting to opt out of such an ever-expanding training process. And many people do! The [...]

    Excerpt from “Stretching…But Which Way?”

  • Structure Your Church Differently

    Wednesday, October 7th, 2009

    Practical Thoughts for Church Leaders
    INTRODUCTION
    Sometimes the most obvious truths escape our attention until we find ourselves in a new setting. For instance, even though I had been taught the truth of God’s word from boyhood, it was not until after I began attending a Pentecostal church during my college years that I realized how often [...]

    Excerpt from “Structure Your Church Differently”
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  • Study of Acts, Part 05: Spiritual Leadership

    Thursday, January 15th, 2009

    The Study of Acts is a series taught by Daniel while he was Senior Pastor of The Coastlands in Aptos, California. It’s packed full of scriptural truths and practical nuggets of how ordinary people like you and I can embrace life in God and make an impact in the world we live in today.
    For related [...]

    Excerpt from “Study of Acts, Part 05: Spiritual Leadership”
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  • Successful Challenge

    Sunday, March 21st, 2010

    Churches can sometimes be challenged by their very successes. For instance, let’s say a person gets spiritually healed at a church whose mission is like that of a spiritual hospital. That healed person might then feel a desire to enlist—and mobilize others—in a ministry that is more outreach-oriented. The church’s mission was successful in bringing [...]

    Excerpt from “Successful Challenge”
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  • Switzerland (Bern): 2010, Day 15

    Wednesday, March 17th, 2010

    Strange, isn’t it, how the primal instinct of people is to try climbing higher, getting up and over others, rather than to get down where they can serve and come under others? I think the Christian life butts against that tendency more than almost all others. To find significance in becoming less obvious, to work [...]

    Excerpt from “Switzerland (Bern): 2010, Day 15”

  • Switzerland (Bern): 2010, Day 16

    Thursday, March 18th, 2010

    Without going into any details—because the whole story isn’t mine to tell—I have spent the last two days talking to several people about things that inevitably happen in church. Being a collection of people, church gives rise to people-issues. No church can avoid the reality of broken humanity, and even when a group of people [...]

    Excerpt from “Switzerland (Bern): 2010, Day 16”

  • Take Aim with Your Life and Ministry

    Wednesday, March 25th, 2009

    by Daniel A. Brown, PhD
    Spiritual/Strategic Focus Points for Success
    In some religious circles people talk about a call on their life—a sense of mission and purpose, an assignment for how to direct and devote their energies. A typical call might be into medical missions work, pastoral ministry, etc. While I would never argue with anyone who [...]

    Excerpt from “Take Aim with Your Life and Ministry”
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  • Taking a Risk

    Saturday, September 13th, 2008

    And this is what to me it’s all about. A willingness to risk or to spend my time, my energy, my resources, that I might be a part of God doing something in another person’s life.

    Excerpt from “Taking a Risk”
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  • Taste the Lord’s Goodness!

    Friday, October 10th, 2008

    “When He, the Spirit of Truth comes, He will guide you into all truth for He will not speak on His own initiative but whatever He hears He will speak and He will disclose to you of what will come. He shall glorify Me for He will take of Mine and shall disclose it to [...]

    Excerpt from “Taste the Lord’s Goodness!”

  • Teaching Obedience

    Thursday, June 26th, 2008

    A discipler is someone who sets about to teach others to obey what he or she has been taught and has obeyed. If we teach beyond our obedience, we are not discipling…we’re participating in hypocrisy.

    Excerpt from “Teaching Obedience”
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  • Team Players

    Thursday, April 29th, 2010

    Being on the same team rarely means playing the same position; spiritual leaders need encouragement to remember that simple truth. Our zeal to “get it right” often leads us to a preoccupation with what others are called to do.

    Excerpt from “Team Players”

  • Through Obedience to the Future

    Wednesday, January 9th, 2008

    But because I know that God is great, I can say to them, God has a great future for you. The way that we open up to that future is through obedience. That is the key to every person’s future.
    See, one-to-one ministry is all about helping people see the power of simple obedience.

    Excerpt from “Through Obedience to the Future”
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  • Timely and True Spirituals

    Wednesday, March 25th, 2009

    by Daniel A. Brown, PhD
    Small Beginnings

    Not everything that looks/seems spiritual comes from the heart of God, and most of us need practical instruction to be able to distinguish between the truly spiritual, and those promptings that are pseudo-spiritual. Spiritual promptings, spiritual giftings that come from God are not the same as those that come from [...]

    Excerpt from “Timely and True Spirituals”
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  • Two Extremes of Delegation

    Sunday, March 21st, 2010

    We know from research that churches tend to get stuck at predictable sizes; if we “count” the average attendance at the weekly service (including children in the count), we see 90% of churches all over the world plateau at 40, 60, 90, 120 and 200. Only 10% get larger than 200. We know, also, that [...]

    Excerpt from “Two Extremes of Delegation”
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  • Uncommon Cure

    Wednesday, March 25th, 2009

    Spiritual Answers for Mental and Emotional Turmoil— Isaiah 61:1-3
    by Daniel A. Brown, PhD
    “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives, and freedom to prisoners…” ISAIAH 61:1
    ANOINTED [...]

    Excerpt from “Uncommon Cure”
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  • Unintended Legalism in Ministry

    Thursday, April 29th, 2010

    Sincere pastors easily fall prey to an unintended legalism emanating from glowing testimonies, ministry newsletters, Christian periodicals, conference speakers and the ever-present grapevine. Spiritual happenings (like revival in one country or a uniquely focused Para-church ministry) get highlighted through the conversations and ministries of prominent leaders and the rest of us wonder what’s wrong with [...]

    Excerpt from “Unintended Legalism in Ministry”

  • Using the Work to Get the People Done

    Sunday, March 21st, 2010

    Strange, isn’t it, how the primal instinct of people is to try climbing higher, getting up and over others, rather than to get down where they can serve and come under others? I think the Christian life butts against that tendency more than almost all others. To find significance in becoming less obvious, to work [...]

    Excerpt from “Using the Work to Get the People Done”
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  • What Can I Give You?

    Thursday, October 22nd, 2009

    We’re supposed to send people into the ministry. That’s why we have a philosophy of ministry at The Coastlands of we will love you, we will mend you, we will train you, and we will send you. We’re not supposed to just collect everybody, “Let’s all get together and have a nice club.” [...]

    Excerpt from “What Can I Give You?”

  • When Conflicts Arise

    Sunday, March 21st, 2010

    Without going into any details—because the whole story isn’t mine to tell—I have spent the last two days talking to several people about things that inevitably happen in church. Being a collection of people, church gives rise to people-issues. No church can avoid the reality of broken humanity, and even when a group of people [...]

    Excerpt from “When Conflicts Arise”
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  • You Are Not Alone

    Tuesday, June 17th, 2008

    See, in the Kingdom of God there is no such thing as a self-made person. How tragic it is that so many people in the church of Jesus Christ have been left to themselves. We’ve almost ennobled this idea that, well, I’m a mature Christian, and I’m just going to go it on my [...]

    Excerpt from “You Are Not Alone”
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  • Your ministry is your capability

    Sunday, September 28th, 2008

    Your ministry is your capability, your empowerment from the Lord to function in a certain way and to fulfill ultimately the role that He has intended for you to have in His body here on the earth.

    Excerpt from “Your ministry is your capability”
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