The Rob Skinner Podcast: Helping You Make This Life Count

The Rob Skinner Podcast will inspire you to: • Live a no-regrets life • Make this life count • Multiply disciples, leaders, and churches

260. Dating and Relationship Advice with Chris Schwartzenberger 04/22/2024

259. How to Be a Multiplying Disciple: Seek Pleasing Results, Not Pleasing Methods 04/15/2024

259. How to Be a Multiplying Disciple: Seek Pleasing Results, Not Pleasing Methods How to Be a Multiplying Disciple: Seek pleasing results, not pleasing methods “When do you plan on moving? How long have you lived at this address? Where did you move from? How did you happen to pick this area? If you were to move, where would you go next? And when would that be?” In the middle of the great recession and housing collapse of 2008, I clung to this sales script as if it were straight from the Bible. I had only been selling real estate for two years when the real estate market collapsed. In order to survive, I looked around for some way to list and sell houses in one of the worst markets on record. I had a wife and three kids in elementary and middle school. I had a mortgage and I had just bought a brand new Chevy Suburban. I saw an advertisement for a real estate sales conference held in Las Vegas taught by a man named Mike Ferry. Mike made Donald Trump appear humble, but he guaranteed that anyone who followed his methods would sell in any market. I put the conference on a credit card and listened for three days as he expounded on how to sell homes. I came back with the confidence that if I just put into practice what he taught, I could keep my head above water and sell homes. One technique he promoted was direct sales or door knocking. This is a method that most realtors avoid at all costs. However, desperation drove me on. Nearly every morning I would knock on fifty to one hundred doors and recite the script Mike had provided. Amazingly, it worked. I started finding people who were thinking about selling their homes. One lady said, “Yes, I need to sell my house immediately. I called another realtor, but they never called me back! Come right in.” I listed and sold her home. I found another couple that wanted to sell their home and then called my brother who was looking to buy in that same neighborhood. He lives there to this day. It wasn’t easy, but I was able to support my family on straight commission sales (I only earned money if I actually sold a house), build a new house and support the newborn church we had just planted in Ashland, Oregon. Why would I do something so uncomfortable? I was new, unknown, untested and had few relationships in the community. I didn’t have time to build a relationship network in time to feed my family. Desperation drove me to embrace unpleasant methods. The result, however, was pleasant results. If you desire to multiply disciples for Christ, you have to ask yourself the question, “Do I want pleasant methods or pleasant results?” I talk to many disciples who sincerely want to save souls, bear fruit and help people to know God. They’ve been praying for years to find someone open, but they remain barren. The problem is they are praying for pleasant results while using pleasant methods. They aren’t running to win. Look at what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, 24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26 Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. 27 No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. All disciples are running the Christian race, but not all are running to win. They have a false expectation that even if I don’t beat my body and make it my slave, I can still win the race. Paul understood that only those willing to crucify themselves would see the kind of life-giving results that most disciples pray for. When we were living in Japan, my wife, Pam, got sick of not saving souls. She made a decision to start sharing with 100 people a day for seven days. I was shocked. Pam is a highly relational disciple. She had never done anything like that before. I joined her in the challenge. During that week, she met a woman who got baptized within a couple of months. She was the wife of professional baseball player in Japan. Pam chose to prioritize pleasing results over pleasing methods. Did she wake up every day, thinking “Yes! I get to share with 100 people today!”? No. I certainly didn’t. But in one week, she changed her entire situation. Last year, I decided to help out campus ministry recover from Covid. It had shrunk from twenty-plus disciples to three. I decided to simply go out and go sharing along with the few students. It wasn’t easy inviting people to church who were 35 years younger. One day I met a man named Hudson on campus. He was a freshman. We studied the gospel together and he got baptized. The campus grew from three to 13 in one school year. I had to ask myself the question, do I want pleasing methods or pleasing results? I am pleased with the results. God blessed the willingness to crucify ego and pride. If you want to save souls, you will have to decide to run to win, pay the price and practice methods that aren’t pleasant at times. It starts with: · Inviting people you don’t know · Sharing your faith every day · Keeping invitation cards with you · Bringing people to church · Following up with people you’ve met · Share with the first person you meet that day · Set a goal for how many people you will invite over the next 30 or 90 days Saving souls is not a mystery. It takes a run to win attitude. It demands that you desire pleasing results over pleasing methods. Take a look at your life right now. If you aren’t multiplying disciples what’s your priority. Practical application: · Set a sharing goal for the next seven days · Schedule a time to go sharing with another disciple in the next three days · Challenge yourself to practice an unpleasant method to accomplish a pleasant outcome /episode/index/show/robskinner/id/30820098

258. Chris Reed, Forest Versele and Ryan Jones on How to Be a Man in 2024 04/08/2024

257. How To Live Your Life on Purpose 04/01/2024

257. How To Live Your Life on Purpose If you want to make this life count, you will need to live your life on purpose. That starts with setting goals and setting up daily systems to achieve your spiritual ambition. In this episode I talk about how to do just that. 1. How to Live Your Life on Purpose A 10x disciple is a disciple living with a purpose and goal in mind. Everything he or she does has Jesus’ interests in mind. This type of person is extremely rare as Paul states in Philippians 2:20-22, 20 I have no one else like him, who will show genuine concern for your welfare. 21 For everyone looks out for their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. 22 But you know that Timothy has proved himself, because as a son with his father he has served with me in the work of the gospel. Timothy was clearly a 10x disciple because he was looking out for the interests of Jesus. Unfortunately, it’s rare to find a person who is living to advance Jesus’ interests in this world. If you want to be a multiplier, there are a few steps to move in that direction: 1. Set goals 2. Write them down daily 3. Set up your day and week’s activities and schedule to support those goals Set goals for yourself. Jesus lived with an agenda guiding his life. Over and over he repeated his goal for his life. In Luke 19:10 he says out loud, “For the son of man came to seek and save the lost.” He explicitly describes the goal for his life. This enabled him to cut through all of the other competing demands on his time. When his disciples begged him to continue healing the sick in Mark 1:37, he said no without saying “no” by stating his greater goal for his life, “ 38 Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” With only three years to accomplish his father’s will for his life, Jesus had to have a clear goal guiding his life. But because he was clear and often restated his primary purpose he was able to complete his primary mission and say with satisfaction, “It is finished.” (John 19:30) Clarity about our goals in life is what enables us to enjoy the satisfaction of pleasing God and knowing when we’ve achieved what we are on this earth to accomplish. Take some time to write your goals down. I would recommend having a one-year goal for each one of your primary areas of responsibilities or interests. For example: 1. Evangelistic Goal 2. Spiritual Growth Goal 3. Financial Goal 4. Relationship/Dating/Marriage Goal 5. Career Goal 6. Health and Fitness Goal 7. Skill Development Goal 8. Fun and Adventure Goal Write your goals down daily. Many people write goals down at some point and then forget them. A fruitful disciple of Jesus never loses track of where they are going. He refers constantly to his course in life. Like an explorer discovering uncharted ground, he constantly refers back to his compass to make sure he stays on course. In the same way, if you want your life to count, write and rewrite your goals down every day. If you need more help on writing goals I’d recommend any book by Brian Tracy. However, there is nothing magical about goalsetting. Just keep doing it every day. This world is filled with distractions. Jesus warns of this in Mark 4:19 when he said that “the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.” If you don’t keep your eye on your most precious goals, they will soon be lost beneath a thousand competing weeds. Your job is to tend your precious purposes every single day like a gardener weeding around his plants. I will write my goals down daily and often will repeat them out loud while I pray. I spend time imagining them coming true at the time I’ve set for them. Set up your day’s schedule and activities to support your goals. Setting goals without a clear connection to your daily and weekly routine leads to frustration and lack of progress. John Maxwell said this, "You'll never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine." Scott Adams echoes this same concept in his book, “How to fail at almost everything and still win big.” He argues for setting up “systems” every day that support your goals. In fact he claims that goals without daily systems to achieve them are for losers, meaning if you only have goals you will constantly feel like you are failing until you actually reach that goal. However, if you set up a daily routine that takes small steps toward your goals, you will feel like a winner anytime you are moving in the direction of your deepest wishes. For example, every morning I write in my journal things that I’m thankful for. Then I write down my goals for the year. Once I do that, I write down a few things I can do that day to take small steps toward that goal. For instance, if one of my goals is to save a soul that year, I would list out the following activities for that day: · Share my faith at least once today · Call and follow up with my friend who came to church · Invite a couple over for dinner this weekend · Pray for the people I’m reaching out to The great thing about having a daily routine that supports your goals is that every time you take small steps toward your goals, whether on a daily or weekly basis, you get the sense that you are “winning.” And that feels good. I like how Earl Nightingale defines success, "Success is the progressive realization of a worthy goal or ideal." Any time that you are working toward your goal, you are a success. That’s the power of setting up a daily and weekly routine that points you in the direction of your goals, every day feels like you are succeeding. Take a look at your daily routine. If you desire to multiply disciples and yet every night you are going home to spend four hours watching “Squid Game” you have a disconnect between your goals and your daily routine. You will have to open up your schedule to make yourself available for Jesus’ purpose for your life. A “10x” disciple knows where he is going. He also has a daily plan to get there. Remember to: 1. Set goals 2. Write and rewrite them daily 3. Set up your day and week’s activities and schedule to support those goals /episode/index/show/robskinner/id/30379623

256. The Top Ten Books for Growing Christians 03/25/2024

256. The Top Ten Books for Growing Christians With so many books out there, it’s easy to get paralyzed and confused as to what to read. Today, I’m going to share the top ten books I would take with me if congress declared a law that said people can only own ten books. These are the books that have changed my life. The Top Ten Books for the growing Christian. Leaders are readers. Everything you want to become or achieve by definition is something you will have to learn to do or imitate from someone else. The quickest path to get there is to read and imitate those who have gone before you. John Wooden, who coached his UCLA team to 10 NCAA basketball championships, was a reader. On the day of his middle school graduation, his father gave him $2 and a card with the following advice: 1. Be true to yourself. 2. Help others. 3. Make each day your masterpiece. 4. Drink deeply from good books, especially the Bible. 5. Make friendship a fine art. 6. Build a shelter against a rainy day. 7. Pray for guidance and count and give thanks for your blessings every day. This is a great list, but I want to concentrate on item four: Drink deeply from good books, especially the Bible. Here are a couple of things to note about this advice. First, he mentions good books. There are a ton of books that aren’t worth reading. You know you are reading a good book if the following criteria are met: · You can read and reread it · It inspires you to action, change or imitation · It moves you · It typically focuses on principles that are useful in a variety of situations · It’s often been around a while and has a reputation for being good Secondly, Joshua Wooden highlights the Bible as especially unique. The Bible meets all of the above criteria while adding: · A clear path to eternal life · How to know who God is, what he is like and what he expects of us · Comfort, encouragement and guidance in life Reading won’t necessarily make you a great coach, but it will increase your chances of making this life count. I’d like to give you my top ten list of good books. These are books that I’ve read and reread many times. I’ve read many books and these have impacted me greatly. I will classify them by genre. · The Bible. This goes without saying, but there is a reason we should be reading, rereading and memorizing this on a daily basis. If we don’t read anything else, this is the one book that we need to know cover to cover. 1. Spiritual Book: “The Imitation of Christ” by Thomas A’Kempis a. This is my most read book outside of the Bible. “Spiritual Formation” is a buzzword in Christian circles today. A’Kempis wrote the book on spiritual formation 500 years ago. Written by a man living in a monastery, it is filled with scripture and insight into living a godly and holy life. I can’t read it without getting completely convicted about the state of my interior life, motivations and sinful nature. Two bits of advice when starting this book: i. Read it one chapter a day along with your Bible. This is a book for meditation and consideration not rapid consumption ii. Get past the age and religious bias against this book. Yes, he was a Catholic monk. Yes, it’s an old book. However, human nature doesn’t change and the issues he deals with in this book are as relevant as the day it was originally printed. 2. Time management and priorities, “The One Thing” by Gary Keller a. Keller is the founder of Keller Williams Real Estate Corporation. He helps us get out of the weedy third soil by advising his readers to daily ask themselves the question, “What’s the one thing I can do such that by doing it everything else will be easier or unnecessary?” b. This book will enable you to overcome paralysis caused by too much information, distraction, busyness and other demands that can overwhelm us. 3. Personal Growth: “How to fail at almost everything and still win big” by Scott Adams a. Adams created the Dilbert cartoon series. In this book he shares about his life, medical challenges, setbacks and successes and offer suggestions on how to find a path for growth that fits how God made you. Some of the ideas that I go back to over and over again: i. Develop your “Talent Stack.” You may not have legendary talent in one area, but through grit and determination you can become really good at five or more skills. The combination of five “pretty talented” areas is remarkable. ii. Use affirmations. I find this advice an updated and repackaged version of Jesus’ teaching on faith in Mark 11:24, “…Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” 4. How to build your faith level and become more optimistic. “The Power of Positive Thinking” by Norman Vincent Peale. a. Peale wrote this book while working as a church minister. He borrows scripture from the Bible and creates a “crossover” book that helps non-disciples apply Jesus’ teaching on faith to tackle real world problems like making money, getting promoted or anything else. As a disciple, this book has incredible value in both the spiritual and secular parts of life. Since Jesus said, “According to your faith will it be done to you” in Matthew 9:29, we should be constantly looking for methods of increasing our faith in an increasingly cynical world. Peale offers sound advice on how to build a firm foundation of faith. 5. Books on Relationship Building. “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie. a. This is the GOAT (greatest of all time) when it comes to building and developing relationships. Your Friendships, business relationships, family relationships and relationships with non-believers will start multiplying and deepening when you put Carnegie’s lessons into practice. b. Carnegie’s advice to be interested in people and ask questions is worth the price of the book alone. This trait is completely missing in about 90% of the people I meet and leads to dead, one-way relationships. Assimilate this one tip and you will immediately distinguish yourself as a friend magnet. 6. Books on money and money management. “The Millionaire Next Door” by Thomas Stanley. a. This was a tough one. There are a lot of books on money out there. I’ve never been great at handling or saving money. In order to compensate for this weakness, I’ve read a ton of books on money management. This area is an example of how knowing more won’t make you better, it’s all about practicing time-honored principles. The reason why I like Stanley’s book is that he devoted his life to understand how rich people get rich. The paradoxical message is that most rich people got that way by not acting “rich.” They save money from every paycheck, never pay more than $10 for a bottle of wine, and don’t drive fancy cars. Instead of reading mind-numbing insight on the benefits of hedge-fund investing, it helped me identify and imitate the key traits of people who were better at money management than me. It’s paid off for me. 7. Fantasy books. “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy by JRR Tolkien a. My mom was an English teacher and she would bring home books from her classes for me to read at home. I became a fantasy fan by reading from Robert Heinlein and JRR Tolkein. I remember reading “The Hobbit” and falling in love with fantasy. Upon rereading Tolkien’s work, I’m struck by how writers have gotten much better over the last 100 years. Tolkien needed a good editor to cut out entire chapters of his trilogy. Peter Jackson did a great job reducing the trilogy to its essential content in his movie series. However, the Lord of the Rings is still the gamechanger when it comes to fantasy. All other books are measured against his groundbreaking “world-building” novel. Another side benefit is the messianic theme running throughout the book. This book honors courage, masculinity, sacrifice and brotherhood in an age where these qualities are often under attack. 8. Biography. “The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt” by Edmund Morris. a. I’ve read so many great biographies that this was hard to choose. Morris highlights Roosevelt’s journey from sickly, weakling childhood to robust, vigorous, and courageous manhood. In the past, people learned from biography as the primary source of instruction. I couldn’t help but be both inspired and called higher by Roosevelt’s conscious labor to become a better man. Here is his counsel on how to overcome fear: i. “at the outset almost every man is frightened when he goes into action, but that the course to follow is for the man to keep such a grip on himself that he can act just as if he was not frightened. After this is kept up long enough it changes from pretense to reality, and the man does in very fact become fearless by sheer dint of practicing fearlessness when he does not feel it.” 9. Books on mindset. “As a man thinketh” by James Allen a. The King James Version of Proverbs 23:7 reads “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” This book develops the idea that our outer, physical world is simply a reflection of our inner, mental or spiritual world. Nothing is more relevant for a strong disciple than this concept. Paul echoes the importance of taking charge of our thought life in 1 Corinthians 10:5, “…we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” This book went on to form the foundation for so many other books like “Think and Grow Rich” and “The Secret.” Each one is built on the idea that if you change your thinking, you will change your life. If you don’t like to read, you’ll like this one. It’s a tiny book. 10. Books on Marriage. “The Seven Principles for making marriage work” by John Gottman. a. This book is the best of all books on marriage. He studied marriage in his “love lab” and found out how to predict whether a couple would be stay married or divorce with over 90% accuracy. The principles of strong marriages and the traits of weak marriages offer a pathway to a life of ever-strengthening love. One of the primary triggers for me to seek God originally was my desire to have a successful marriage. The combination of God, God’s word and advice from books like Gottman’s have enabled me to exceed my most fanciful wishes. 11. Other notable mentions a. Any book by Brian Tracy. His books repeat over and over, but his best is “Maximum Achievement.” You will hear echoes from this book in his other books. b. I would hate to be limited to only ten books. I read voraciously and don’t want to give the impression you should cap your reading at only a few. But I’d like to leave you with a few more thoughts: i. It’s better to choose a few “good books” and reread them than to simply hope the next book will offer a silver bullet for your problem. ii. Find a way to take in more reading. Many people are limited by their reading ability or lack of desire to read. There are so many ways to take in good reading. Chief in my mind is audiobooks. Even if you don’t like reading, you can gain the benefit of books simply by listening to them read to you. Find a way to love reading. /episode/index/show/robskinner/id/30379728

255. J. Brian Craig, Torrance, California. How to Navigate a Terminal Cancer Diagnosis. 03/18/2024

254. How to Support Your Mission and Ministry Through Online Content Creation. Interview with John Stange, Langhorne, Pennsylvania. 03/11/2024

254. How to Support Your Mission and Ministry Through Online Content Creation. Interview with John Stange, Langhorne, Pennsylvania. Recently, I was searching for a new book to listen to on my Audible account. I typed in “podcasting” and one of the recommendations that popped up was, “The Podcaster’s Playbook.” I listened to that and what blew me away was the author, John Stange (“Stahn-Gee”), is a pastor for Core Creek Community Church community church near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He started posting YouTube videos and then writing a blog and then a podcast and then books. One of his podcasts has millions of downloads and he has been contracted to write books by a major book publisher. He has an interest in spiritual things and business startups. I thought to myself, “I’m a minister with a podcast and some books and videos. I need to read this guy’s stuff and contact him.” I reached out to him, and he got back to me immediately about letting me interview him for my podcast. Today, I’ll be asking him about what he’s doing and how he’s helping other people build sources of income to support their purpose. Listen as he talks about: Building a "Content Waterfall" The importance of having a purpose that drives your business The Five "D's" of Building an online platform Saying "Yes!" to God when He opens a door of opportunity More about John Stange: John Stange is an author, podcaster, and pastor. He has written over 30 books, his podcasts have been downloaded over 10 million times, and he has been serving in church leadership for the past 25 years. John also leads a membership community called Platform Launchers which helps members build, grow, and monetize message-based online platforms. John's Podcasts: 1. The Chapter-A-Day Audio Bible 2. Daily Devotions with Pastor John 3. Dwell on These Things 4. Platform Launchers To learn more about John, please visit: PlatformLaunchers.com or DesireJesus.com Or email John at: You can find his books at: https://www.amazon.com/stores/John-Stange/author/B008FQQT92?ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true#:~:text=John%20Stange%20is%20an%20author%2C%20podcaster%2C%20and%20pastor. /episode/index/show/robskinner/id/30273743

253. Chester and Sirikit Umaguing (Ooh-Mah-Ging), Bangkok, Thailand. Missionaries to the Phillipines in Their Twenties and to Thailand in Their Sixties. 03/04/2024

253. Chester and Sirikit Umaguing (Ooh-Mah-Ging), Bangkok, Thailand. Missionaries to the Phillipines in Their Twenties and to Thailand in Their Sixties. Today, I’m talking to Chester and Sirikit Umaguing (Ooh-MAH-Ging). Chester and Sirikit went on the Manila Mission team together, went into the professional ministry, witnessed 400 baptisms in the first year of that planting, got married and returned to the states in 2004. They started successful careers in real estate and restaurant ownership. They then returned to the paid ministry in 2016, leading the Colorado Springs church. Two years ago they took another step forward in faith and returned to the Asian mission field, this time in Bangkok, Thailand. Bangkok has historically been a difficult mission field for Christian missions. Nevertheless, Chester and Sirikit, at the age of sixty, are baptizing and bringing revival to the college and young professional ministries in this Buddhist country. Find out what they are doing to make this life count. More about Chester and Sirikit: Chester and Sirikit Umaguing are church builders known for their love for God, people and missions. They were baptized in San Diego (1986) and New York (1988) respectively. They were part of the mission team planting in Manila, Philippines in 1989 and later helped prepare and plant 5 more churches, including one in the Middle East. While they’ve served for over 25 years in the full time ministry, they felt blessed to work for 10 years out of the ministry as owners in the restaurant and real estate business. They went back into full-time ministry and served as church leaders in Colorado Springs Christian Church for 8 years. They also served as Regional Family Chairs, Global Missions Society Chair and Women’s Service team and HOPE Board of Directors (2020-present). They currently lead the church in Bangkok while overseeing all the churches in Thailand & Laos. They have been married for 32 years and been blessed with two loving children, Joshua and Alexa. They love life and adventure. You can reach Chester and Sirikit at: /episode/index/show/robskinner/id/30207723

252. How to Become a Multiplying Disciple of Christ or a "10X" Disciple. 03/01/2024

252. How to Become a Multiplying Disciple of Christ or a "10X" Disciple. Today, I’m going to talk about how to become a “10x” disciple. If you are listening to the program you want to be a man or woman who multiplies whatever God gives you. You want to appear before God loaded with the fruit of a life well lived. Like the servant who took one Mina and turned it into 10 more, you want to please God with the work of your hands and content of your hear. How do you do that? I’ll be talking about that and how prayer is the first step to becoming a “10x” disciple. Prayer Bench Mentioned in the Podcast: https://a.co/d/3Iq3KZ9 Transcript The First “10x” Disciple Jesus prepared his disciples for his departure by telling this story in Luke 19:12-17 12 He said: “A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. 13 So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. ‘Put this money to work,’ he said, ‘until I come back.’14 “But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We don’t want this man to be our king.’15 “He was made king, however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it.16 “The first one came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned ten more.’17 “‘Well done, my good servant!’ his master replied. ‘Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.’ Luke 19:12-17 Jesus revealed that he would go away and return as King. There would be little if any supervision. His servants would be left only with one mina, worth about three months wages, and the knowledge that their master would someday return. Out of the ten who received a mina, one servant came back with ten more minas than when he started. He multiplied the gift ten times or “10x.” This man is the original “10x” disciple. Reading this passage recently, I thought to myself, that’s the kind of disciple I want to be. I want to be able to multiply his gifts ten times or more. Whatever he gives me, I want to make more of it. I would guess that if you are reading or listening to this, you feel the same way. So, what does it take to be a multiplying disciple or a “10x” disciple? That’s the subject of this series. First of all, A 10x Disciple Is A Man Of Prayer 4 In return for my friendship they accuse me, but I am a man of prayer. Psalm 109:4 How do you want to be known? Can you say of yourself, “I am a man of prayer?” For many men, this is the hardest challenge of all and yet it’s absolutely necessary if we want to multiply the gifts that God has given us. Prayer Is Necessary For Revival. They all joined together constantly in prayer, Acts 1:14 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Acts 2:42 Consistent and intentional prayer powered the explosive growth of the early church. The same will be true today. Jesus said that “apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5). In the wake of the pandemic, there is nothing more important than men of prayer both individually and even more importantly together with other men of prayer. In order for our church to thrive, we have to devote ourselves to prayer like never before. That’s why we are devoting 30 minutes every midweek to crying out to God for revival. Heartfelt Prayer is Needed 3 They said to me, “Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.” 4 When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven. Nehemiah 1:3-4 Nehemiah was broken when he considered the situation his people were in. He himself enjoyed comfort and privilege. However, his heart went out to his own people and the shame and disgrace they were facing. His first response was not forming a plan or trying out a new technique, it was letting his emotions feel. He let the hurt in. He thought about the situation. He first went to prayer and only later did he come up with a plan to save his people. Just as Jesus displayed forty days in the desert praying and fasting, prayer precedes all our plans and efforts. Patient and Persevering Prayer is Needed 10 Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. Daniel 6:10 Daniel’s enemies had made it against the law to pray to anyone but King Darius. Daniel ignored the law and maintained his devotion to God in prayer. What was the result? He was thrown into a den of lions-and then rescued! “…When Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.” Daniel 6:23b Daniel had a prayer habit. He forced himself to pray three times a day. He persevered when he was busy, tired and overwhelmed. He never quit praying and God delivered him. This is the prayer of a multiplying disciple of Jesus. So often, we don’t pray because we get anxious, run out of things to say, feel awkward or our minds run wild. We aren’t in shape spiritually and so our prayer lives are brief, sporadic and shallow. Blaise Pascal was right when he wrote, “All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” There is no shortcut to being a man of prayer without discipling yourself to sit, kneel or stand in the presence of God consistently. Here are some things that help me: · Dedicate time each day for prayer · Set a timer · Get a kneeling bench · Keep in mind Satan doesn’t want you to pray · Don’t give in to anxiety and worry, let it be. Don’t give in to impulses (coffee, phone, checking on things etc.) · Take some deep breaths · Think about Jesus · Remember that the “Great I Am” is with you (Matthew 28:20) · Don’t beat yourself up if you aren’t “good” at prayer · Ask for what you want, not for what you should want · Develop prayer to the point it becomes enjoyable · Keep a journal of things to pray for · Pray for other people, especially your own family · Ask God for revival for the church Just like no one starts out massive the first time in the gym, no one is powerful in prayer initially. It takes time, effort, patience and perseverance. Over time you will become a “man of prayer.” Men and women of prayer are what’s needed in this day and age we live in. There is nothing more powerful than prayer that moves God, the most powerful being in the universe. Prayer is the most highly leveraged activity you can do every day. When we lived in Tokyo, I went through a period of barrenness. I wanted to save more souls, but nothing was happening. One night at midweek I announced that I was starting a prayer group once a week before work to pray that God would help us to save souls. About six other disciples joined and we met for an hour every week. In the next six months that group of six people helped 13 people become Christians and two married couples got baptized on the same day. A multiplying disciple or a “10x” disciple is a praying disciple. Devote yourself to growing in your prayer life. In time you will see the fruit of a powerful life of prayer. /episode/index/show/robskinner/id/30195858

251. Jordan Wetterlind, Threatened with Death at 13, He Escaped Home and Lived on His Own. 02/26/2024

250. Daren Overstreet Talks about His New Website, BiblicallyResilient.Com, and How He Deals with Doctrinal Drift 02/19/2024

249. Valentine's Special: How To Become a Spiritual Casanova 02/14/2024

248. John Porter, Clemson, South Carolina 02/05/2024

247. Vincent and Jayne Sim, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Leaders of the KL Church Talk About Their Life in the Ministry. 01/29/2024

246. Willie O'Quinn, Lawrence, Kansas, University of Kansas 12/18/2023

245. "Twenty-Somethings" Darcy Smyth, The Gold Coast, Australia. 12/11/2023

244. Climb Conference Recap, Day Three, Saturday, December 2nd, 2023 12/03/2023

243. Climb Day 2, Friday, December 2nd, 2023 Recap with Kevin Miller 12/02/2023

242. Climb 2023 Day One Thursday Recap with Shawn Wooten 12/01/2023

241. Rob and Chelsea Novack, New York City, New York. Leading a Campus Ministry in the Big Apple. 11/27/2023

240. "Twenty-Somethings." Ben and Melina Hutchins, Blacksburg, Virginia. Two Twenty-Somethings Plant a Church During COVID and Personal Tragedy 11/20/2023

239. "Twenty-Somethings." Armin and Megan Day, Albuquerque, New Mexico. How to Build a Multiplying Ministry on Six Pillars of Conviction. 11/13/2023

238. Don't Ask God to Do For You What He Wants to Do With You and Through You 11/09/2023

237. The New Thread Podcast with Dave Pocta and Joel Nagel 11/03/2023

236. "Twenty-Somethings." Kenan Mitchell, 24-year-old shares about Chance of a Lifetime, "Delhi Belly", Paragliding in Himalayas and Seeing God Grow His Campus Ministry 10/30/2023

235. 200+ People at the Merced, California Inaugural Service. How a couple in their late sixties planted a church, baptized 10 people in 8 months and had 200+ people at their first church service. 10/20/2023

234. "Twenty Somethings." Josephus Bartuah, Leader of One of The Fastest Growing Campus Ministries in The Country 10/16/2023

233. Glenn Neargarder, Providing Financial, Legal and Administrative Solutions for Small Churches 10/13/2023

233. Glenn Neargarder, Providing Financial, Legal and Administrative Solutions for Small Churches Today, I’m talking to Glenn Neargarder. Glenn became a Christian in 1988, spent time in the ministry, administration and went on to work at Bank of America. In trying to help his home church with their administration he uncovered what is often the weakest part of many churches, having a coherent and complete administrative system. He started a “passion project” to serve small churches by doing all the administrative functions for them at extremely low cost. Glenn will be a speaker at the Climb Conference in Dallas this year. If you’ve ever been frustrated with your church financial situation and are looking for a low-cost, one-stop solution, you need to listen to what Glenn is talking about. More about Glenn: Glenn became a disciple of Jesus in 1988 as part of the University of Cincinnati campus ministry. Immediately after graduation in 1992 he and his wife, Vicki, moved to Chicago to work in the full time ministry. After 3 years in the full time ministry (Chicago and Champaign, IL) they moved to Los Angeles. Glenn worked in church administration for the International Church of Christ at the Los Angeles head quarters for four years. He then went back into the full time ministry for three more years as part of the North region of the Los Angeles Church of Christ. Glenn then spent 14 years working for Bank of America in mortgage servicing operations. During his last 7 years he held an SVP of Operations position with offices across the country and internationally managing over 1,000 employees. Glenn has been working as a business improvement and transformation consultant in the pharmaceutical industry since 2016. Glenn's experience with local and international church administration, full time ministry as well as his experience with managing large operations domestically and internationally in a corporate environment have allowed him to develop skills in Human Resources, financial management, legal, policies and procedures, process improvement, performance management, state and federal employment laws, and technology and systems. How to Reach Glenn: ChurchAdm.Com General Support / Main Office [email protected] (919) 229-9315 Ramon (Mon) Eusebio (Manager) [email protected] (919) 229-9315 Glenn Neargarder (CEO/Owner) [email protected] (919) 229-9521 How to Support The Rob Skinner Podcast Your tax-deductible gift will help me get my next mission team sent off. Click the link here: https://tucsoncoc.breezechms.com/give/online?fund_id=1728794 /episode/index/show/robskinner/id/28300385

232. Nate Bigbee's Tentmakers' School. Is God Calling You to Bi-Vocational Ministry? 10/09/2023

231. Martin Chairez on Spanish-Speaking Ministries, Immigration and Politics. 10/02/2023

The Rob Skinner Podcast: Helping You Make This Life Count

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