Podcast appearances and mentions of Kevin G Harney

In this episode of the Organic Outreach® Podcast, we are launching a new focus on practitioners of Organic Outreach®. Adam Barr will also continue hosting the Thought Leaders episodes once each month, but guests in this new stream will be pastors, denominational leaders, Outreach Influence Team Leaders, church board members, and congregational members – all from the context of implementing Organic Outreach® in their churches. In this inaugural episode, Walt Bennett, President/CEO of Organic Outreach International, introduces this additional focus in a conversation with Co-Founder, Visionary Leader of Organic Outreach International, and Lead Pastor of Shoreline Church in Monterey, CA, Rev. Dr. Kevin G. Harney.

Pastor and author Kevin G. Harney hears from a lot of overcommitted and overextended people, even those who are retired. So what should we do about it? In his book, "No Is a Beautiful Word," Pastor Harney helps us say no in many creative and effective ways so we can say yes to the things that matter most. Listen as he shares these tips and more with host Dr. Steve Greene.

If you’ve ever found yourself over-committed or just exhausted, perhaps you have trouble saying “No." Author, pastor, and speaker Kevin G. Harney is this week's guest with some practical advice from his brand new book: No is a Beautiful Word. Find out more about Kevin at his website: kevingharney.com

In this episode, we talk with Bob Bouwer, pastor of Faith Church (RCA) in Dyer, Indiana. Over the last 20+ years, Bob led Faith through an amazing process of revitalization and multiplication. As of this recording, Faith Church is a growing, multi-site congregation, 1 church in 6 locations. Today's episode will inspire us to put all our eggs in the local church basket! God is still moving as local congregations move out in mission. You can learn more about Bob's journey in the book he co-wrote with Kevin G. Harney: The U-Turn Church: New Direction for Health and Growth. For hands-on coaching and growth, visit uturnministries.org

Discord“I did not grow up in a Christian fellowship or in a family that went to church. When I started going to church, I had no history, either good or bad, with being part of a church community. I came into the family of God with a blank slate. Over the coming years, I was amazed at how kind and loving Christians were. For the most part, they reached out to me, tried to help me figure out how to walk with Jesus, and cheered me on. A lot of them even prayed for me and encouraged me as I was growing up in the faith. With time, I got so close to some Christians that I discovered they loved me enough to tell me when I was making a dumb choice or living in a way that did not honor God. These people actually cared enough to point out where I was messing up and helped me learn to read the Bible, make better choices, and receive the grace of God when I stumbled and fell. I have to say it, and say it loud and clear: I am a big fan of Christians!” [Reckless Faith, Kevin G. Harney] Rather than walk that through the situation in a godly manner, people got hurt feelings and walked out. When those kinds of things happen repeatedly, there is a pattern that is established, and a spiritual atmosphere that is established. “The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Galatians 5:19-21, NIV) Webster's 1828 DictionaryDiscord – “Disagreement among persons or things. Between persons, difference of opinions; variance; opposition; contention; strife; any disagreement which produces angry passions, contest, disputes, litigation or war. discord may exist between families, parties and nations.” In the New Testament, the Greek word – éris éris literally means “quarrel, i.e. (by implication) wrangling” It is translated various ways, including: · strife· contentions· making trouble· fighting· quarreling· cutthroat competition· rivalry There is a huge difference between this word – discord – and disagreement. When you and I have a disagreement, rather than being my brother or sister in Christ, you become my adversary. “There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.” (Proverbs 6:16-19, ESV) “When the authorities arrested and imprisoned a house-church pastor and father of seven children, they also placed his wife under house-arrest. The pastor's wife was told that she was allowed to leave her home only to shop at the local market. That didn't seem to matter much to her; she had no money to purchase food at the market anyway. She had to rely on faithful fellow house-church members for food. As it turns out, they provided for her well. She would wear a baggy smock with large pockets over her other clothes when she went to her village's open-air market. Walking slowly through the crowd as she wandered in and out among the stalls, she would notice a nudge here and a tug there until she had walked through the entire market. By the time she reached home, her pockets would be filled with tomatoes and onions and other items. Sometimes there was money in a pocket. She always seemed to come home with just enough food to feed her family of eight for another day. Occasionally, when those seven children got really hungry, the mother would be surprised to find a chicken on her front steps. One day her oldest son was offered a job in a nearby city—and there just happened to be a bicycle leaning up against their front door. Seemingly out of the blue, the boy had transportation to and from work.” [Nik Ripken, The Insanity of God] That wouldn't happen if believers are at odds with one another.“We call ourselves Christian but we are not known for the kind of love Jesus said would mark his followers.” (Ted Dekker, Waking Up: To Who You Really Are) If an arm or a foot or a finger is amputated, that part of the body dies. (see 1 Corinthians 12) But what if we are genuinely attached to the Body – a local Christian community – but another part is cut off? Even if you're not the one who is cut off, there is still an underlying awareness – at least at some level – that that person is supposed to be connected. When you have an inclination to speak against someone, ask yourself a question: Is that person is a believer – a follower of Christ. When I frame it like that, then the other things are far less significant. We need to remember that according to Ephesians 2, Jesus died not only to reconcile us to the Father, but also to one another. His death and resurrection causes us to be united with the Father and with one another. “We are members of one another.” (Ephesians 4:25) “If one member suffers, all suffer together…” (1 Corinthians 12:26) “Some people tempt me out of the flow of the Spirit. They judge me, and I feel discouraged. They dislike me, and I feel rejected. They are a black hole of need and drain me. They throw roadblocks in my path and discourage me. They anger me. They scare me. They depress me. Plus I don't like them.” (John Ortberg, The Me I Want to Be) “Honestly, I don't really like dealing with other people's problems. I've got enough problems of my own. In fact, I don't like dealing with needy people in general. Needy people require time and resources and emotional investment and phone calls in the wee hours of the morning and the occasional bailing out of jail. Being around them is draining. I would rather be around people who have something to offer. You know, funny people or smart people or popular people or rich people. People who make me feel good about myself. People who let me be a burden to them instead of the other way around.” [Stephen Altrogge, Untamable God: Encountering the One Who Is Bigger, Better, and More Dangerous Than You Could Possibly Imagine] We generally hold others to a higher standard than we hold ourselves to. What if we chose to view each other, not as the old sinful, argumentative, cantankerous folks that we know, but as new creatures in Christ? How we see each other – as old creatures or as new creatures – changes how we interact with one another. “You're familiar with the old written law, ‘Love your friend,' and its unwritten companion, ‘Hate your enemy.' I'm challenging that. I'm telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best — the sun to warm and the rain to nourish — to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that. “In a word, what I'm saying is, Grow up. You're kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you.”(Matthew 5:43-48, from THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language © 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved.) “But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way?”(1 Corinthians 3:1-3, ESV) If having jealousy and strife means we are babies, then if you were the enemy, what would you want to do?What's your heart's desire in this area? Christian Outreach Church, 10 September 2017

Kevin G. Harney serves senior pastor at Shoreline Community Church in Monterey, California. Harney is the author of Leadership from the Inside Out: Examining the Inner Life of a Healthy Church Leader; Seismic Shifts: The Little Changes That Make a Big Difference in Your Life; Finding a Church You Can Love and Loving the Church You've Found; and more than sixty small-group Bible studies.

Kevin G. Harney is the Teaching Pastor and Evangelism Champion at Faith Church in Dyer, Indiana and Central Wesleyan Church in Holland, MI. He is also on the Teaching Team of the campus ministry at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan. Harney is the author of several books.

Kevin G. Harney serves senior pastor at Shoreline Community Church in Monterey, California. Harney is the author of Leadership from the Inside Out: Examining the Inner Life of a Healthy Church Leader; Seismic Shifts: The Little Changes That Make a Big Difference in Your Life; Finding a Church You Can Love and Loving the Church You've Found; and more than sixty small-group Bible studies.

Kevin G. Harney is the Teaching Pastor and Evangelism Champion at Faith Church in Dyer, Indiana and Central Wesleyan Church in Holland, MI. He is also on the Teaching Team of the campus ministry at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan. Harney is the author of several books.

Kevin G. Harney is the Teaching Pastor and Evangelism Champion at Faith Church in Dyer, Indiana and Central Wesleyan Church in Holland, MI. He is also on the Teaching Team of the campus ministry at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan. Harney is the author of several books.

Desciption: Kevin Harney talks about trajectory, and how life can be changed with a single movement. Biography: Kevin G. Harney serves as senior pastor at Shoreline Community Church in Monterey, California. Harney is the author of Leadership from the Inside Out: Examining the Inner Life of a Healthy Church Leader; Seismic Shifts: The Little Changes That Make a Big Difference in Your Life; Finding a Church You Can Love and Loving the Church You've Found. He is also the founder of more than sixty small-group Bible studies.