My Personal Strengths and Weaknesses
Fourthstream - Finding Hope
Personal transparency is something we are often engaged in - and we mostly keep this to ourselves, right? When contemplating our strengths and weaknesses we are dealing with some of the most personal attributes of who we are. Burnadette and Dave dig into this and discuss the personally helpful reality of being transparent with our Father Creator. Most of us don't want to be arrogant, or conversely, succumb to self criticism which buries the part of us that is our soul. How do we celebrate our strengths with humility, or embrace our weaknesses honestly to help us live where we know our...
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Establishing, Nurturing, and Guiding My Home
Fourthstream - Finding Hope
This chapter of God's Man/God's Woman gives a very personal inside look into how both Brent and Dave's families feel about home life. Even a modest numbered family has many moving parts and a complexity of relationships. Husband to wife. Wife to husband. Dad to daughter. Mom to son. Dad to son. Mom to daughter. Brother to sister. You get the idea. Add to this other immediate family and our close social networks, let alone the influence of school, the internet, and certain invasive structures, and guiding a home can be a real challenge, right? Brent and Dave believe that our children and...
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Finding and Cultivating Solid Relationships
Fourthstream - Finding Hope
The book is now available on Amazon in both printed and Kindle formats. We are awaiting final approval on the audio version as well. Exciting! Brent and Dave's purpose for this book is to clearly and succinctly help encourage your success in the core links to building an effective bridge between your God-life and your people life. In this episode Dave and Burnadette review cultivating solid relationships and what it looks like to build strong. It would be great if all our people interactions went perfectly, but we all know this is not realistic. But by applying God's principles to...
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What Is It I Want?
Fourthstream - Finding Hope
In chapter three Brent and Dave discuss personal vision and target acquisition. To know where you are heading and to be able to take steps to hit the mark. This is a big deal when it comes to being satisfied not only with where your life goes, but how you get there. Brent's insights here are awesome and his analogy of river travel is extremely helpful as you chart an effective course of action to succeed: heart and soul. We outline three specific targets which can help you focus your efforts, and explore why the how matters. This is great outline for personal vision - one you can adapt...
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Leveraging the Mind, Heart, Soul, and Conscience
Fourthstream - Finding Hope
We now spend a little time talking about leveraging our mind, body, heart and conscience for our personal success. Because we are made in the image of our Creator, we have vast capacities as well as remarkable uniquenesses. While God gets credit for our design, we have the privilege of deciding what we are going to do with it. Seriously. Brent and Dave begin conversations about the strengths and vulnerabilities of these capacities. Each area allows us to go more deeply into what makes life count. We have chosen five areas of thoughts for this leveraging chapter, with the hope we all will...
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What Are the Good Questions?
Fourthstream - Finding Hope
The best questions take us deeper. Seriously. Life is supposed to be fun and satisfying, but it should also be filled with substance and meaning. Relationships. Work. Accomplishments. Personal growth. Being at peace. This podcast episode investigates the good questions that will get us where we want to go. Brent outlines three very central queries which will help us succeed. √ Can I say I am good with who I am and how I am living? √ Are you and I good - are things right between us? √ And most importantly, am I good with God? When we take an honest look at...
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New Book Coming: God’s Man/God’s Woman
Fourthstream - Finding Hope
Every Jesus follower wants to see God's Kingdom grow. Deeper conversation, personal meditation, Jesus discipleship, and sheltering others are all a part of making our lives count. Brent Harris and Dave Nadler combine their gifts and experiences to bring clarity to how your life can build organic spirituality, as we follow the true Leader of all human souls. Brent's careers in the military, law enforcement, and business bring leadership insights that will focus your road to spiritual success. Dave has worked to bring about Kingdom outreach to our city and beyond. Together with Brent's wife...
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Joining Other Kingdom Allies
Fourthstream - Finding Hope
What if you could be taught by Jesus Himself AND Grow deeper roots - at your own pace - with a clear plan? 1000 KINGDOM ALLIES at fourthstream.com In our lifetime it is possible to deeply impact hundreds of souls. If we understand and embrace Jesus' example and invite Him to be the guide and power of our lives, this can definitely happen through us. Different than mere attendance participation, this is personal, spiritual engagement with other hearts and souls. It is what Jesus did. For instance, Burnadette and I disciple about a dozen people at any one time. These are those who choose to...
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Kingdom Pursuit Conversations
Fourthstream - Finding Hope
In times past one common form of art was the weaving of tapestries. Usually these were artistic "rugs" hung on walls, and only the rich had access to such extravagance. The visual side was always of beautiful colors and often told a story. Recently we were visiting the Biltmore estate in Ashville, NC (huge - pretty amazing 19th century monstrous tech!). The reverse side of a woven tapestry (vs modern printing process) was a series of disconnected colors and threads, and was not useful for indicating what was on the flip side. The God Story is like this. Yet if you follow the threads of the...
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Finding And Building My Kingdom Tribe
Fourthstream - Finding Hope
One of the truly rewarding things in life is to invest in meaningful relationships. When people speak of our "tribes" we are talking about those with whom we find and keep connection. We were not meant to live and build alone. Even though relationships have risk and rewards, for most people they are preferable to existing isolated or alone. Jesus’ 12 disciples were surrounded by others who formed His community. Mary and Martha and Lazarus, Jesus’ Mom, and Peter, James, and John and a few others were at the center of this relational discipleship network. It included His Father as well....
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And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go 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. You can know I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” - Matthew 28:18-20
God invites us into His passion for building His Kingdom among our neighbors. Just as Jesus came to do this very thing on behalf of His Father, we are included in His planting and cultivating, or, making Kingdom disciples. Because we are image-bearers of our Creator, we continue the original intent of Adam and Eve (and all humanity) to be fruitful and multiply. This is more than having babies and grand babies. It is relational fruitfulness and multiplication. Jesus says to His Father, “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done – on earth as it is in heaven.” When His Kingdom comes, and we are co-workers in it, God is honored and people are blessed.
Making disciples is in no way limited to church officials, pastors, teachers - "professionals." It is the spiritual birthright and directive of every Kingdom follower of Jesus. Let's consider Matthew 28 a little further:
1. Disciples operate under Jesus’ authority and GO. He does not give us authority, He invites us to cultivate under His authority. His command is to put one spiritual foot in front of the other and do just as He did. We follow Him!
2. We baptize in the Name of the Father/Son/and Holy Spirit, because we are disciples of the Kingdom, living in the power of God. The Father is our authority, Jesus provides our connective friendship with His Father, and the Spirit lives within us to communicate God to us and to empower our actions.
3. We teach men and women to hold fast to God’s Word. We have no authority of our own, but only that which is found connecting in the cross and resurrection of Jesus.
How do we encourage someone to become a Christ follower and how do we help them move from here to there? Here are some thoughts!
√ Define there for yourself - and then for them. The words and works of Jesus are everything. What did Jesus teach us? What did Jesus DO?
√ How do I define people processes that are Jesus-centered and personally adaptive to others? God has given us everything we need in the example of Jesus. "Leave your nets and follow me. I will make you fishers of men."
√ How do I give my heart and mind to pursue movement in the Spirit each day? Where does He wish for me to go this day, and most importantly, to whom? How does He want us to use our gifts to disciple others?
How do I identify whom God has placed in my circle of discipleship?
My spouse?
My kids and grand kids?
Who are my likely “neighbors” where I have connection options?
What is my God-role at work?
How do I bless these relationships through sharing good and cultivating truth?
"And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased." - Hebrews 13:16
A little later we will be talking about building each of our Kingdom "tribes." Imagine your life as a matrix of God-appointed people connections. Things change, people grow and move on, but heart connections never end. In fact, some of our most powerful discipleship occurs as we intercede for others before His throne. When we view our discipleship connections as those of the heart, we move to a deeper level. This is why Jesus said "love your enemies, and bless those who persecute you." Even our enemies are targets for God's heart prosperity, right?
This is key:
√ Connectivity requires effort, cultivating, and vigilance
√ Distractions are many and must be wisely navigated
√ Focus must be pursued each day
√ Discipleship is best accomplished one to one
Where would you consider yourself on the engaged discipleship spectrum? This is not an overwhelming or difficult process. It involved directed choices and experiences. Intentionality. It took the disciples 3-4 years to get the picture, and then one by one each of them engaged, as the years after the resurrection (and the words of Matthew 28) unfolded.
This is why it is called Kingdom "work."
And He was saying to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest."
- Luke 10:2
Enjoying being harvest workers with you!
Dave and Burnadette
More thots on this:
Jesus and Seeds and Soils
The Kingdom Harvest
To Those Who Love Our City