Pastor Retreats
The Lodge is an ideal locale for pastors’ retreats, staff meetings, leadership events, and specialized group functions. Whether it be one of
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Latest Leadership Content
Pandemic Purpose: Thom Rainer
What is happening to churches in the midst of the Covid-19 Crisis? Join Thom Rainer and John Avant as they talk about what God is doing in churches across America.
The Promise of God’s Presence
Those who understand realize that God’s presence is the greatest of all treasures. If you have His presence, you have everything you need—wisdom, joy, power, peace, direction, love, life itself. But if you do not have His presence—if He is not with you—you have nothing that is valuable or that lasts.
Where Is God in All This?
One of the most wonderful things about the Bible is its reality. It depicts man as he really is, with all his doubts and fears and questions. It shows us ourselves … and then it shows us our all-sufficient God.
Will God Hear Your Prayers?
Your answer to that question determines everything about you. If you believe God answers prayer, you will pray often and experience all the benefits of that arrangement with Him. But if for some reason you think that prayer is meaningless—a mere shout into the wind—you will never communicate with God. And you will miss everything that matters and lasts.
Oblivious to the Greatest Tragedy?
It is sad to lose something we value … Our health. Our relationships. Our financial employment. Our possessions. Our house. Our ability to be with others. But there is one loss that is greater than all the rest: The loss of God’s presence. If you have Him, you have all that matters and lasts, for everything flows from the presence of the Lord. But if you do that which aborts the presence of God, you will lose the Source of everything valuable and secure in this life and the next.
Choosing Our Gods in This Crisis
There is a phenomenon happening right now during the coronavirus crisis that we must not miss. God is systematically stripping away every idol we worship—and He’s doing it all across the world. Taken away from us are our gods of sports, entertainment, health, wealth, position, and power. One by one, we find that the things we looked to for life and meaning suddenly gone, stripped away by a marauding army of germs we can’t even see.
Walking Through a National Crisis on Purpose
Hard times happen … places where our back is against the wall and there seems to be no solution, nowhere to go. When our way has been thwarted or the path seemingly closed. When everything seems impossible and confusing. So, what do we do?
“CHECED”
Gratitude is one of the most foundational components of authentic Christianity. It is the humility that recognizes that what God has done for us is undeserved. It gladly acknowledges, with an open heart and mouth, that everything we’ve received is from God. I have often said that I can tell you how proud a man is by how much or little he prays. But I can also tell you how proud a man is by how quickly or slowly he gives thanks—to others and, most importantly, to God.
Today’s Great Awakening
We are living, right now, in a Great Awakening. All the signs are there—churches full of revived Christ-followers who will go wherever He leads, even unto death; believers who love each other deeply and live in unity; bold sharing of the gospel. And, as a result, millions coming to faith in Jesus!
Overcoming the Fear of Man
“Whatever you fear, you will serve,” said Rebecca Pippert. If you follow this logic, you will see how completely your fears rule you. Fear drives your thoughts and actions. It controls your life. Proverbs speaks of one of these fears and its consequences:
Choosing Holiness
To be holy is to be like God Himself—different from the sinful parts of the world; sanctified, our body and soul cleansed from the ever-present defilement of sin. We are not completely, outwardly holy (in the daily, practical sense) the moment we come to Christ. God sees us as completely clean, but we still live in a world that influences us. We can fail to live up to our new birthright.
Neutralizing Your Greatest Enemy
The writer of Proverbs divides the world into two types of people: wise and foolish. He has much to say about both. A man is made wise by listening to the Lord and living his life in surrender to God’s will and way.
Have You Ever Been Hurt?
Everyone gets hurt. It can start early, with a parent, a friend, an enemy. It could be a classmate, a colleague, or an associate. We live in a fallen world, and one of the most devastating parts of our sinfulness is that we hurt each other, by things we say and things we do.
Twenty Instructions Regarding the Foolish Person
The writer of Proverbs divides the world into two types of people: wise and foolish. He has much to say about both. A man is made wise by listening to the Lord and living his life in surrender to God’s will and way.
Time Management
Many of us find ourselves wasting time, which is our most precious commodity. When combined through a week (or a life), we spend thousands of hours doing senseless things and wonder why we don’t get the most important things done.
New Things
It is the great tendency of man to live in the past. We love to recall some of our “best days,” when life was what we longed for it to be. As we get older, in fact, this increases. If we are not careful, we will find ourselves living there. But God is not merely the God of the past. His mercies are “new every morning.” He has more.
Courageous and Joyful in Difficulty
All of us face some measure of suffering in this life. It could be a physical challenge, a hard ministry task, an overwhelming and perplexing difficulty, a persecution for our faith, a deep burden, or simply the rigors of living a life of determined godliness. For some, this suffering is more intense. Paul was one of those who faced grave suffering in order to complete the task of the gospel that was entrusted to him. Yet, he was able to face it with courage and even joy. How?
Spiritual Self-Awareness
Do you have what it takes? Do you worry about your inadequacy? Do you have an accurate assessment of your life? Have you found the secret of having confidence in any situation? Many people (perhaps most) are clueless about who they really are. One of the great secrets...
Understanding the Mind of God
One of my mentors, Manley Beasley, once said to me that 1 Corinthians 2 is one of the most important passages in the Bible because it helps us see how to know the mind of God. It has become one of the most precious passages to me in all the Bible. Look at this vital...
Our Posture in Difficult Seasons
As we live in this fallen world, we encounter all kinds of sinfulness and its effects, both within and without. If we are not mindful, we lose hope as we suffer difficulties and trials. If we lose hope, we quit praying, thinking there is no use. And if we stop...