Quotes from the book: Running with the Giants by John C. Maxwell

• Like the writer of Hebrews, we can receive inspiration, wisdom, and empowerment from those who have gone before us.

• Our race has an internal impact.

• One person can make a difference.

• Living a life of integrity and obedience to God always has the potential to positively impact others.

• The closest to you benefit most when you do what’s right.

• When you serve people or influence them positively-and encourage them to pass along to others what they have received-you create a chain of impact that can outlive you. 

• God is always looking for someone to stand in the gap for him, and he desires to partner with people who love him.

• You’re never too old-or two young-to make a difference for God.

• Don’t allow the words “It’s never been done” to prevent you from doing what God asks. 

• No places out of place when you’re in God’s place.

• Courage and initiative come when you understand your purpose in life.

• In every age there comes a time when a leader must come forward to meet the needs of the hour.

• For a period of time, you may not understand God’s planning and purpose for your life.

• Dreams are conceived long before they are achieved.

• Don’t give up on your dream even if you didn’t start off well.

• Just because things don’t go as planned, that’s no reason to give up.

• Don’t give up on your dream even if it takes a long time to realize it.

• God is always with you.

• God has in mind for us more than we can imagine. He is the giver of every good and perfect gift, and the fulfiller of every dream he gives.

• Live in the Faith zone, not the Safe zone.

• Each person’s life is written in risk-the ones taken and the ones avoided.

• Sad is the day when a person becomes absolutely satisfied with the life he is living, the thoughts he is thinking, the deeds he is doing-when there forever ceases to beat the door of his soul a desire to do something greater for God.

• The safe zones rob us of our greatest moments and memories.

• 20 years from now, you will be more disappointed by the risk you didn’t take them by the ones you did. Defeat tomorrow’s regret by moving forward and getting into the Faith zone today.

• Give generously to others.

• Go the extra mile.

• It’s easy for people to talk about the great and generous things they intend to do in the future. But if they are not being generous with what they have now, then it is unlikely that they will suddenly change in the future.

• Extra blessings result from extra effort.

• A lifestyle of generous giving will outlive you here on earth and in eternity.

• Abraham had learned the secret of walking with God: trust and obey.

• Perfection is not a prerequisite for God to begin his work in our lives.

• When you walk with God, your character becomes more like God’s.

• No problem is too big when you have help.

• The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality.

• Too often we are tempted to either carry the entire load ourselves or give everything to God and do nothing.

• The God of heaven himself will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build.

• Nehemiah’s increased awareness of God‘s blessing was a direct result of his continued obedience. 

• Motion always creates friction.

• Don’t let insecurity or ego or fear make you tried to go it alone. In God‘s kingdom, there are people ready to help you at the right time, in the right way-people you don’t even know yet.

• One small act can make a big difference.

• Instead of being discouraged by what she couldn’t do, she did what she could do.

• People always pay more attention to how you live then to what you say.

• You can overcome the limitations others put on you.

• David’s brother saw him as nothing more than errand boy, but he was really a man with a mission.

• You can easily determine the caliber of a person by the amount of opposition it takes to discourage him or her.

• God will never hold you accountable for gifts you don’t have or responsibilities he hasn’t given you. He wants you to be yourself.

• Strengthen a leader and save a nation.

• People seem to have forgotten what it means to serve others or exhibit true loyalty.

• Often our personal ambition clouds God‘s direction for our lives.

• Every time you encounter people with potential, you must make a choice. You can either hurt them or help them. 

• You don’t have to be on the front lines to share in the rewards or to make a great impact.

• You need not to wait until you’re sitting among us to cheer on your fellow runners. Empower others as you need them along the way. Pick them up when they fall, help them to run better, and pass along what we have taught you. 

To purchase the book, click here.

Quotes from the book: Core Values by Rev. George O. Wood

• Bridges must be built not only with words, but also with deeds and caring acts that demonstrate sincere, compassionate love.
• I would never want to hold an office for the sake of a position. I want to see God do something.
• If we as a church don’t share that passion Christ has for the lost, we have missed our reason for being.
• Proclaiming Christ is the reason we exist.
•  If we undermine our words by our deeds, we have lost the authenticity and the credibility of the gospel.
• Jesus came to heal, and the church ought to be a healing place.
• We need to live with the expectation that at any moment we can step out of the confines of this world, either through the Lord’s return or through our home-going.
• We must work until the Lord comes back. We must continue to serve him faithfully and fervently.
• God has no grandchildren. It has been observed that the church is always one generation away from extinction.
• We identify the need in a region and pull together the resources to send someone there to lead people into growth. But too often at the local church level we have reversed that. We staff a church for maintenance rather than for growth.
• We need leaders to guide our young people into spiritual growth. We also need young people to respond to God‘s call to spiritual leadership themselves.
• I learned as pastor that people much more readily identified with my weaknesses then my successes.
• Young people don’t just want to be handed something; they want to be a part of making something.
• I don’t care how you do church as long as people are getting saved, baptized in the Spirit, called into ministry, healed, delivered, effectively serving Christ, reaching the lost, and discipling people.
• If ministry doesn’t flow out of relationship, ministry is not going to happen.
• We need to be mature enough to take a punch, so to speak, and if young people have hard questions-whether doctrinal, philosophical, or organizational-we cannot be defensive about that.
• Spiritual “parents”, it is not our job to force young people into a mold. It is our job to motivate them to become all that Christ would have them to become.
• Relationships don’t happen unless you build trust.
• Church planting is the most effective means for evangelization.
• Churches of influence impact their community.
• What comes out of church planting is not buildings; it’s people.
• We are never to write people off on the basis of small numbers attached to their ministry.
• God will not ask us if we have been successful, but if we’ve been faithful.
• Churches must have faith to continue to push the envelope for the next work God has in store.
• The spirit wants to take not only the young leaders anxious to get out and make a mark for God, but he also wants to take senior veterans and launch them into new ministries they never would have imagined.
• There is a correlation between how we care for things physically and how we care for things spiritually.
• The pastor who connects with his or her congregation must offer the word with integrity and excellence.
• Small churches grow into larger churches if they are thinking and preparing as if they were bigger.
• Dr. Robert Frost, “Lord, help them to lay foundations that are strong enough to bear the weight you were later place on them.”
• We must re-configure our definition of success.
• Leadership must listen in order to effectively serve.
• My tongue prayer request is that God will give me in those serving with me on the leadership team wisdom.
• God can refuse nothing to a praying church.
• There are some things God will not give us unless we ask.
• We cannot suppose that God will do for us without prayer what he has promised to do for us only through prayer.
• Without prayer we cannot accomplish the work of the Lord.
• The church moves forward on its knees.
• Jesus set aside time and place for prayer. He prayed with passion and intensity.
• Jesus instructed us to pray with faith.
• When the church has no power, it is reduced to argument.
• A church that does not fervently pray is not going to see God moving in its midst.
• A church must be what it advertises.
• I’m afraid to say that in a lot of churches there are many events, but there’s little publication when the church is meeting for prayer.
• It is too easy for us to rely on our own efforts and our own strength. Prayer drives us to our knees in dependence upon God, reminding us that human effort cannot accomplish his purposes.
• Why does the church exist? To reach a spiritually dead world with the line giving gospel. Prayer will keep us from forgetting our mission.
• The early church devoted itself to the apostles doctrine, breaking of bread, and to prayer.
• Prayer in its simplest definition is a conversation with God.

To purchase the book, click here.

Quotes from the book: Chase the Lion by Mark Batterson

• If your dream doesn't scare you, it's too small.
• You are one idea, one risk, one decision away from a totally different life.
• I have a theory: your favorite scripture will become the script of your life.
• At the end of our lives, our greatest regrets will be the God ordained opportunities we left on the table, the God-given passions we didn’t pursue, and the God sized dream is we didn’t go after because we let fear dictate our decisions.
• Most people believe God is real, but few people actually live like it. 
• God honors big dreams because big dreams honor God.
• You fulfill your destiny one opportunity at a time.
• If you’re looking for an excuse, you’ll always find one.
• The best way to discover your dream is to help other people accomplish theirs!
• The size of your dream may be the most accurate measure of the size of your God.
• This book is a call to repentance-repent of your small dreams and your small God. It’s also a dare-dare to go after a dream that is bigger than you are.
• When Jesus walked out of the tomb on the third day, the word impossible was deleted from our dictionary.
• Imagination is God’s gift to you. A dream is your gift back to God.
• Your greatest legacy is the next generation of dreamers that your dream inspires-the dreams within a dream.
• Honor your up line! Empower your downline!
• Quit complaining about what’s wrong, and do something that makes a difference!
• Great conflict cultivates great character.
• The true measure of a gift is what you gave up to give it.
• That’s what the mighty men found in David-a cause worth living for, a dream worth dying for. If you don’t have a dream, get around people who do. Dreams are highly contagious!
• Impossible odds set the stage for God's greatest miracles!
• God is in the business of strategically positioning us in the right place at the right time.
• One small step of faith can turn into a giant leap.
• Destiny doesn’t make appointments.
• When we failed to take action, we forfeit the future.
• Don’t let what you cannot do keep you from doing what you can.
• If you want to reach people no one is reaching, you might have to do something no one else is doing.
• What got you here might not get you where you need to go next. You have to reinvent yourself, reimagine your life.
• Whether it’s a stop doing list or a start doing list, a dream without a to do list is called a wish list.
• You can’t just pray as if it depend solely on God; you also have to work as if it depends on you. It’s your work ethic plus your prayer ethic that will inch you closer to your dream.
• No one achieved his or her dream without daily disciplines.
• Games aren’t won on game day. Games are won in the weight room, the film room, the locker room.
• We live in a culture that celebrates 15 minutes of fame, but God honors a lifetime of faithfulness.
• To achieve the highest level of success in any field, you need a high pain threshold when it comes to failure.
• Change of pace + change of place = change of perspective
• Only when the dream is dead and buried can it be resurrected for God’s glory.
• Don’t put a period where God put a comma.
• More often than not, what we perceive is a no is really a not yet.
• When we operate in faith we aren't risking our reputation. We’re risking God’s reputation!
• Faith is taking the first step before God reveals the second step.
• Faith is claiming out on a limb, cutting it off, and watching the tree fall down.
• Faith is willingness to look foolish.
• Gratitude is thanking God after He does it. Faith is thinking God before He does it.
• If you want to walk on water, you have to get out of the boat.

To purchase the book, click here.

Notes from Session: VOUStopsy

• Expectation leads to preparation. 
• There’s a difference between and idea and execution. 
• Constantly improve. 
• You don’t have the be the best today just have to be better today. 
• You have to be okay with the friction. 
• Be open to feedback. 
• If it worth doing, it’s worth evaluating. 
• You can take people to places you haven’t been to unless you go with them. 
• It’s not a job but a calling. 
• Create systems for people to work together. 
• Don’t remind me of my weaknesses but cover them. 
• Replace yourself. 
• Your job is to pour yourself out. 
• Fear: What is I train them and they leave? What if you don’t train and they stay?
• We recruit, resources  and release. 
• Leadership is more than talent. 
• The enemy wants remove gratefulness
• No one else can have a prayer life for you. 
• Enjoy the journey.
• I don’t balance the life. Life is about  rhythm
• Define your season so you can determine your rhythm. 
• Don’t grade yourself in the wrong scale.
• You can’t get an A in every season. 
• Focus your efforts.
• Where do you want to win?
• Just because something is working doesn’t mean you have to do it forever.
• Remain flexible. 
• If you’re growing your changing. 
• Recipe for revival is prayer and work.
• Attach people to the vision/mission not you. So when you leave they don’t follow you. 
• Bend without breaking. 
• Celebrate constantly. 
• Culture happens by design or default. 
• Be proud of what your doing. 
• Make much of every moment.  
• Get the focus off of you. 
• It’s not hard to find something to celebrate. 

Quotes by @richwilkersonjr at Vous Conference 2018.

To watch the session, click here. 

Quotes from Vous Conference 2018

• The trouble is training you. Your pain has a plan. Your struggle is strengthening you. @richwilkersonjr
• This is simply a scene in your story. @richwilkersonjr
• How you view God will determine how you receive from Him. @richwilkersonjr
• We are not going light on sin, we are going heavy on Jesus. @richwilkersonjr
• It’s not about hype but hope. @richwilkersonjr
• It’s powerful when you discover who you are. @richwilkersonjr
• Jesus came down to get you out. @richwilkersonjr
• Shame will make u close the doors that God opened. @dawnchere
• The problem is what we want is not what we need. @dawnchere
• His names are pathways to his heart. @dawnchere
• We can only see to the sky but God has much more. Our limitation doesn’t change that there’s isn’t more. @dawnchere
• Preaching creates catalyst for change. But life change happens in conversations. @brookeligertwood
• Leaders reproduce who they are. @brookeligertwood
• Joy is a weapon. @brookeligertwood
• Always remember your bc (before Christ) life. @brookeligertwood
• Church is built around meals just as much as meetings. @brookeligertwood
• The church needs every single one of us to be planted. @brookeligertwood
• Love people more for who they are not just their gift. @brookeligertwood
• Don’t follow your dreams, follow Jesus. @brookeligertwood
• Everyday the mission is the same: follow Jesus. @brookeligertwood
• Don’t treat Jesus like tourism. The door is open come in. @brookeligertwood
• Were are ordinary people with an extraordinary friend. @brookeligertwood
• Kingdom work is going to require kingdom power. @brookeligertwood
• In creation nothing is wasted. @erwinmcmanus
• God loves outsiders. @erwinmcmanus
• Don’t carry your captivity with you. @erwinmcmanus
• Stephen didn’t know it was his last time. @erwinmcmanus
• Do define people by their worst moments. @erwinmcmanus
• Every time you fail it's new material for God to use in your future. @erwinmcmanus
• You are not a failure. @erwinmcmanus

Quotes from Michael Hyatt - The Power of Positive Summit 2018

• Self-care is the foundation of positivity. 
• The Hustle Fallacy = That you can overwork yourself and not pay a price. 
• The Hustle Fallacy leads to self-neglect. 
• Sometimes people look like they have it all together on the outside but they are fried on the inside. Don't be mislead. 
• Don't sacrifice yourself or your family on the altar of career ambition. 
• The bigger your vision, the more you need to prioritize self-care.
• It's more about managing energy than managing time. 
• You're not a robot. You're a person who requires rest to be at your best.
• Self-care isn't selfish. It's necessary. 
• When you exercise your legs, you also exercise your mind.
• Sleep, exercise and fun are all powerful contributors to positivity.
• Long term success requires sustainable habits.
• Protect your margin. Set hard boundaries around your work and life.

Watch online: http://www.powerofpositivesummit.com/watch18/2018hyatt.html

Quotes from ARC Conference 2018

Daniel Floyd (@psdanielfloyd) - Life Point

-God will meet you at the level of your expectations. 

-Biggest struggles will always be inside you. 

-When in struggle: Submit, Stay, Serve.

-Can you serve someone’s dream while you still have one in your heart?

-The greatest anointing of your oil may come from the greatest struggle.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Chris Hodges (@pastorchrishodges)- Church of the Highlands

-You can’t reach your potential alone.

-Every pastor needs a pastor. 

-What every son needs: Acceptance, Affection, Affirmation.

-Develop the people around you: 

1. See people as they could be not as they are.
2. Say what you see. 
3. Start a process to develop them.

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7 on 7 (7 speakers with 7 minutes each)

-Authentic relationships are key.

-The kingdom requires collaboration.

-Unity creates a greater legacy.

-Competition and comparison kill together.

-Pain is not the absence of God.

-You are not just special but needed.

-It’s impossible to be in harmony with God’s people without being in tune with God.

-Church planting means digging.

-If you are going to do a greater thing you must have a great cling.

-You may not know the entire plan but I have you an assignment.

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Terry Crist (@terrycrist)- Hillsong Phoenix

-Your culture must be intentional.

-What kind of church do you want to build?

-Consistently is under rated.

-Be the culture. Being it consistently is better than communicating frequency.

-Don’t create a sermon series to solve something a conversation can.

-How do you transfer and reproduce culture:

1. Model it. Let others into your life. 
2. Teach it. Explain why.
3. Put language around it. Clear is better than clever.
4. Express is through your story.
5. Focus on honest and instant feedback. Say it with love and kindness then move beyond it.
6. Welcome the input that improves your culture. Allow them to own it.

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Miles McPherson (@milesmcpherson)- The Rock San Diego

-Elisha and Elijah principle: Stay with me and see what is possible.

-Kintsugi- Japan art form of broken pieces coming together to make a masterpiece.

-The enemy only gives you two options when talking about race, but God provides us a third option. 

-In-group bias means having preferential treatment for people like you.

-Don’t treat others different just because they are not like you.

1. Rename everyone as your brother and sister.
2. Give in-group love to your out-group.
3. See my color. I am beautiful, end of story.
4. Give me your heart. 

-We are one family.

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Carl Lentz (@carllentz)- Hillsong New York

-If we can’t get along in the church, it’s foolish to think we will in the world.

-Proximity creates passion. Distance creates distortion.

-It’s not what they say about you. It’s who says what about you.

-Preach so people can get the message. Be simple.

-This season doesn't determine your entire story.

-Have you ever said: "I don’t have what it takes"? Welcome to finally being ready to be an effective minister.

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John Gray (@realjohngray)- Redemption Church

-Lay down culture to pick up kingdom.

-Do more. Say less.

-Stop apologizing for the faith you choose to live by.

-You with all your imperfections is who God chose.

-The way you received Jesus is how you present him to others.

-If the house is on fire and the door is open, you don’t pray for an exit.

-The church has been too exclusive for the broken to come in.

-He best sermon is the life you live.

-Stop putting on spiritual hand sanitizer and touch everyone. Go after everyone. 

-You could have best practices and no presence (of Holy Spirit).

-When Jesus touches you everything changes.

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Larry Osborne (@larryosborne)- North Coast Church & Sticky Teams

-Winning teams have winning players. Losing teams have gifted players.

-Better to have a void than the wrong person in leadership.

-Top 2 factors for success: Flexibility & People skills.

-Winning teams guard the gate. Losing team let’s anyone.

-How to guard the gate:

1. Never ignore a lack of character because of abundance of giftedness. 
2. Never ignore people skills because of Bible knowledge. 
3. Winning teams make unity a priority. Losing teams make it an afterthought. If you have high turnover it will be hard to have impact. If you don’t develop friendship you won’t be able to handle crisis. 
4. Willing team focus on mission. Losing teams focus on success. 
5. Winning teams empower, losing teams focus of excellence and tenure. If you only let the best do the front you’re slowly dying. There always has to be room at the table for young eagles. Have a pipeline. Don’t clip eagles wings.

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Micah Carter (@micahncarter)- Together Church

-Jesus grows the church. We grow the people.

-Build people that build people.

-How Jesus calls the first disciples:

1. Invites them- recruits. Found common interest. Adding people to THE team, not YOUR team. Anyone God sends you you build them. They might not look like something special. We don’t recruit people to a job but a mission.
2. Rally- here you impart culture. Paint the picture and picture of possibility. Share the why. Make is personal then practical. Repeat it often.
3. Release. Most leaders don’t release because we think we lose it.

-Everything that is healthy grows.

-People duplicate what you celebrate.

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Brian Houston (@brianchouston)- Hillsong Church Founder and Global Senior Pastor

-There is more. God can do anything.

-God can change pain into power.

-Your capacity for pain will determine your potential for growth.

-Just outlast your critics.

-Leadership is bleedership.

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For more information about ARC Churches and events, please visit: arcchurches.com.

'In Christ' Statements

To live an effective Christian life we need to KNOW and BELIEVE who we are in Christ. Understanding our identity in Christ is crucial to living life as God intended.

The best way to renew our mind and experience inner transformation is by knowing, thinking and speaking out loud who we are in Christ.

Train yourself to say the same things that God says in His Word. Become who you ALREADY ARE in Christ. God wants to do more in your life than you imagine.

1. In Christ, I who was once far away have been brought near. (Ephesians 2:13) 
2. In Christ, my life is now hidden. (Colossians 3:3)
3. In Christ, all my needs are met according to His glorious riches. (Philippians 4:19)
4. In Christ, I have every spiritual blessing. (Ephesians 1:3)
5. In Christ, I can approach God with freedom and confidence. (Ephesians 3:12)
6. In Christ, I can give thanks in all circumstances. (1 Thessalonians 5:18)
7. In Christ, my labor is not in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:58)
8. In Christ, my joy overflows. (Philippians 1:26)
9. In Christ, I have wisdom from God. (1 Corinthians 1:30)
10. In Christ, I have faith, hope, and love. (1Timothy 1:1, 14)
11. In Christ, I can never be separated from God’s love. (Romans 8:39)
12. In Christ, I am a new creation. (2 Corinthians 5:17) 

Sermon Notes: Sell Out by Pastor Steven Furtick (Inside Elevation 2018)

Passage: Matthew 13:44-46

6 ways for people to buy into our vision:

1. Sell out to your STANDARD.

-Sometimes to attract people we lower our standards.

-What you attract them to is what you keep them with.

-Stick to the excellence God has called you to.

-Don’t label lazy leadership as Grace.

-Don’t ask God to bless basic.

-Tell others: You’re not bringing me down I’m taking you up.

-It’s not that I’m not patient, it’s that I’m not playing.

-Your standard is your protection.

2. Sell out to your STRATEGY.  

-How stupid must have it felt to borrow jars while in debt.

-You want me to do what? Silly stuff.

-We weren’t strategic, we were obedient.

-Stupid until it was successful.

-There’s a difference between miracle and mechanics.

-If it would have worked the first time you wouldn’t have appreciated it.

-God is asking us if we are willing to do it again. 

-The standard becomes the cycle.

3. Sell out to your STRENGTH.

-Can you celebrate your weaknesses?

-Don’t step out of position and miss your purpose.

-I’m good with what I don’t have.

-Ask people around you what strengths do you see in me?

-Greatest gift you can give a a compliment.

4. Sell out to SPHERE.

-What is the field God has called you to?

-Don’t run to different fields, the treasure is in you.

-I don’t always have control but I do have a choice.

-God honors you when you honor others.

5. Sell out to your SEASON.

-Don’t say one day when…

-You plow, God promotes.

-Process this season right or you will not have what you need for the next.

-You don’t need more authority but more responsibility.

-Grow what you have been given.

-Redefine success.

-God will give you the grace you need for your season.

-Study without a microphone. 

-This is the crushing season.

6. Sell out to your SACRIFICE.

- We are not doing a favor by serving Him.

- Lady poured out oil on Jesus feet; she called it worship others called it a waste.

Sermon Notes: Chosen Vessels and Frozen Oil by Pastor Steven Furtick (Inside Elevation 2018)

Passage: 2 Kings 4:1-7

-God’s ways look weird until it works.

-Inspiration is pulling, motivation is pushing.

-God is going to bless your exception.

-It’s not a formula it a flow.

-God specializes in deficits.

-Don’t be so quick to write off your oil.

-You can borrow the jars but you have to have your own oil.

-Don’t be so proud that you don’t borrow.

-The ministry you see  today was built on decisions made behind closed doors.

-Invest what you have in the close available people.

-Can you pour behind closed doors or do you have to have an audience?

-Keep it coming.

-You are the next jar.

-You can live off what’s left.

-The vessel doesn’t have to be perfect but in position.