Run With Horses Norman Smith

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I have spent some time looking at the a definition of the church recently, today I want to consider what it means to be a good member of the church.
 
Welcome to Run With Horses! My name is Norman and my goal is to help you thrive as a follower of Jesus. The spiritual life is both incredibly simple and potentially the most difficult part of your life. God invites you to live intentionally and on His mission. It’s very cool that we can do that together!
 
A quick reminder:
 
MY WORKING DEFINITION OF CHURCH
A CHURCH is a group of followers of Jesus who worship Him in spirit and truth, humbly offering their lives as living sacrifices, together living out the mission of Jesus as His witnesses to the world, by sharing the gospel and making disciples through teaching obedience to His commands as they edify and equip others to join them on His mission.
 
So what does it look like to be a member of something like this? What is my role? How am I supposed to act and what should I do?
The church IS it’s members so what we do makes the church what it is to some extent.
 
The Church Member is a Disciple of Jesus
*Arrange their life to be with Jesus
*Intentionally pursue the character of Jesus
*Increasingly love what Jesus loves
*Are committed to the mission of Jesus because of their devotion to Jesus
 
Knows the mission of the church
Prays for church and it’s leaders
Understands the value of their presence
Pursues peace and unity in the church family
Has healthy relationships with unbelievers
Teachable
Humble
Patient
An encourager
Is a theologian
Is a growing disciple maker
Builds up others
Think about ministry and how to do it better
Work hard
We over me. Lives for others.
Understands difference between preferences and Biblical principles.
 
 

24_06_08 -Ep.315 - Run With Horses Podcast - Are Short-Term Missions Trips Worth It?
 
Podcast: rwh.podbean.com
Website: www.runwithhorses.net
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I have just returned from a 3 week trip to Japan taking two groups, one from a Bible college and one from a church. I’m often asked if these trips are worth it, today, let’s explore that question!
 
Welcome to Run With Horses! My name is Norman and my goal is to help you thrive as a follower of Jesus. The spiritual life is both incredibly simple and potentially the most difficult part of your life. God invites you to live intentionally and on His mission. It’s very cool that we can do that together!
 
Mission trips are by definition focused on the mission of Jesus, but are they really? How do short term trips fit into the bigger picture of what it means to be the church?
 
MY WORKING DEFINITION OF CHURCH
A CHURCH is a group of followers of Jesus who worship Him in spirit and truth, humbly offering their lives as living sacrifices, together living out the mission of Jesus as His witnesses to the world, by sharing the gospel and making disciples through teaching obedience to His commands as they edify and equip others to join them on His mission.
 
Goals of short term trips:
 
Some examples:
https://ministry127.com/missions/4-goals-for-a-short-term-missions-trip
 
https://leadership.lifeway.com/2019/06/26/three-objectives-for-a-short-term-missions-trip/
 
https://www.youthpastortheologian.com/blog/are-short-term-missions-trips-worth-it
 
1. Work Projects
2. Support missionary in relationship building
3. Encourage local churches and missionaries
4. Recruit new workers for the harvest
5. Inform and recruit prayer partnerships
6. Give both the church going and the churches receiving a better vision of the Universal church.
 
Why do short term missions trips sometimes have a bad reputation?
1. Vacation for rich Americans
2. Fulfilling for team, meaningless for nationals.
3. No clear purpose.
4. Team unprepared.
5. Waste of missionary time.
 
GRIT
 
 
Doing it Well:
https://missionguide.global/articles/missionexcellence
 
https://www.imb.org/2017/05/18/5-things-consider-church-plans-short-term-mission-trip/
 
1. Have clear goals that fit in with the missionary or national church pastor’s long-term vision and strategy.
2.Take time to train and prepare the team to be servants in all areas of life.
3. Use the opportunity to equip the team in new ways that will benefit the sending church when they return. New training opportunities.
4. Support disciple making in both the sending and receiving churches.
5. Plan ongoing evaluations and debrief, get the receiving church’s evaluation.
6. Pray!
7. Choose the right people for the team
 
Thanks for joining me again today! Stop and say a prayer for your church family today! I’d love to hear from you, write me at norman@runwithhorses.net or leave a comment on the Run With Horses Podcast facebook page. Take time today to pause and thank God for His work in your life and keep running.
 
 

24_06_01 Run With Horses Podcast - Progressing on the Mission of JesusI hope to return to looking at our definition of church soon but as I am traveling and don't have access to my notes at the moment, I am going to take a parallel path that should lead into the next topic, and Today, that topic is the mission of Jesus.Welcome to Run With Horses! My name is Norman and my goal is to help you thrive a a follower of Jesus. It may be a long road but it shouldn't be a lonely road because we get to travel it together with the body of Christ, His beautiful church! Thanks for letting me be part of your journey.
 
MY WORKING DEFINITION OF CHURCH
A CHURCH is a group of followers of Jesus who worship Him in spirit and truth, humbly offering their lives as living sacrifices, together living out the mission of Jesus as His witnesses to the world, by sharing the gospel and making disciples through teaching obedience to His commands as they edify and equip others to join them on His mission.The next official part of the definition of church that we will look at is the mission of Jesus. It may be jumping the gun a little but I want to spend some time today going over some simple steps that you can take to grow in your direct involvement in the mission of Jesus.I think 2 Corinthians 5: 17-20 and Matthew 28:18-20 give a good summary of the mission for now.First 2 Corinthians 5:17-20Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.Matthew 28:18-20And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.Throw in Ephesians 4: 11-16 and you have a good idea of the mission of Jesus and the work of the ministry that Jesus called us to.And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.But practically what are the things that you can do to directly grow in your involvement in the mission?0. Pray!For your spiritual growth, for your personal ministry, for gospel workers, for your church, for the lost in your sphere of influence.1. Remember your testimony.Go through again what Jesus did on your behalf on the Cross and the changes that He worked in your life. Not the point of today's show but a quick partial reminder: forgiveness of sin, reconciliation with God, adoption into God's family, eternal life, received the righteousness of Jesus, etc, etc. Be encouraged! This is what Jesus did for you!2. Remember the Gospel that secured those benefits for you.Jesus did it through His pe

24_05_25 -Ep.313 - Run With Horses Podcast - Growing Through Caregiving
 
Podcast: rwh.podbean.com
Website: www.runwithhorses.net
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Last Week I spoke with Chloe and Hope, this week we talk to Susan about the lessons she is learning as a caregiver.
 
 
Welcome to Run With Horses! My name is Norman and my goal is to help you thrive as a follower of Jesus. The spiritual life is both incredibly simple and potentially the most difficult part of your life. God invites you to live intentionally and on His mission. It’s very cool that we can do that together!
 
 
Thanks for joining me again today! Stop and say a prayer for your church family today! I’d love to hear from you, write me at norman@runwithhorses.net or leave a comment on the Run With Horses Podcast facebook page. Take time today to pause and thank God for His work in your life and keep running.

24_05_18 -Ep.312 - Run With Horses Podcast - Chloe and Hope
 
Podcast: rwh.podbean.com
Website: www.runwithhorses.net
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Twitter: https://twitter.com/RWH_podcast

24_05_11-Ep.311 - Run With Horses Podcast - Notes from the National Disciple Makers Forum
 
Podcast: rwh.podbean.com
Website: www.runwithhorses.net
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Last week we talked about the National Disciple Makers Forum and today we continue as I go through my notes and share some of what I learned along the way.
 
Welcome to Run With Horses! My name is Norman and my goal is to help you thrive as a follower of Jesus. The spiritual life is both incredibly simple and potentially the most difficult part of your life. God invites you to live intentionally and on His mission. It’s very cool that we can do that together!
 
 
 
The question we all answer every day is how do WE live this HERE, NOW. The answer says a lot about our view of God and His place in our lives.
 
A life that is focused on Intentional, Relational Disciple Making that is Centered on Jesus is a life of worship. And what a journey He takes us on when we follow Him!
 
Thanks for joining me again today! Stop and say a prayer for your church family today! I’d love to hear from you, write me at norman@runwithhorses.net or leave a comment on the Run With Horses Podcast facebook page. Take time today to pause and thank God for His work in your life and keep running.