Author Archives: gospelrichbooks

God Wants Healthy Pastors Pre-Sale

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I’m on a mission.

I want to help pastors get in shape.

So many pastors are struggling with obesity, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and a myriad of other health conditions. My heart breaks for them, while simultaneously, I’m concerned what their physical health is communicating to their congregations.

No, I’m not starting a weight loss program or an infomercial or anything like that.

Instead, I’m creating an audio seminar entitled, “God Wants Health Pastors – Tackling the Epidemic of Out of Shape Pastors”. This will be a two-plus hour seminar dealing with the realities of pastoral life, the biblical basis for caring for our bodies, and detailing a path forward.

At the moment, the audio seminar is nearly complete, and the artwork is about to begin. I’d love your support. Here’s what that will look like:

First, I am pre-selling the seminar that will be available in October. I’d love for you to purchase it. Even though you may or may not be a pastor, I think you will find it practical and relevant. For example, much of the seminar chronicles my health journey and the biblical basis for honoring God with your body. The first should interest you, and the second will apply to you.

Second, this seminar will ultimately be a book that I hope to have published by the end of the year. When it is available, everyone who pre-purchased the audio seminar will get a free pdf of the book.

And third, when you pre-purchase this seminar, you’ll receive digital copies of my books “Joy in Trials, “God Creates Joy”, and “The Gospel of Christ”.

Thank you so much for your continual support of me and Gospel Rich Books. Pray with me that this work will have an encouraging impact on pastors, their families, and their congregations. You can pre-purchase “God Wants Healthy Pastors” at https://gum.co/dBvZi.

Gordon Duncan

Gospel Rich Books

If you would like to learn more about Gospel Rich books, we offer a host of challenging and encouraging resources.  You can find them below:

Gospel Rich Books Amazon Catalog

Gospel Rich Books Blog

 

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The Lies We Believe Series

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Gospel Rich Editor gives us an update on a recent series he completed…

Over the course of the past three weeks, I have preached three sermons at Evident Grace Fellowship. Each one of those sermons speaks to the mission of Evident Grace: Worship, Community, and Service.

 

Having preached similar messages before, I decided to approach these sermons differently. I wanted to debunk myths and lies that we believe about worship, community, and service. Towards that end, that messages were entitled,

 

Lies We Believe about Worship

Lies We Believe about Community

Lies We Believe about Service

 

Whether you worship at EG or not, my desire was to preach them objectively, tackling mistruths that have crept into our minds about each one of those areas. I hope you enjoy them.

 

Give them a listen, and feel free to give me any feedback you think helpful. Thanks for listening.

Growing in the Knowledge of Your Weakness

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A week or so ago, the Evident Grace leadership team met for our annual New Year’s dinner.  This is our yearly time to celebrate all that God has done in our lives and at the church, while also getting some much-needed fun time with each other. 

After dinner and dessert, Amy and I gathered everyone together.  We had taken the time to write out ICNU cards for each person there.  An ICNU is when you encourage people by telling them, “I see in you _______.” It’s an opportunity to affirm and encourage people about what you see in their lives or what you see God doing in their lives.  This initiative comes from author Dave Ferguson and his book “Hero Maker”. Learn more about both at http://www.heromakerbook.org/.

After that, we put names in a basket, and everyone drew one.  Then, anonymously, we wrote out ICNU’s.  We then gave them to each person, and they read theirs out loud.  It was a powerful time where people read what others saw in them. 

I was admittedly curious as to what someone would say about me.  I opened the card and read, “Gordon, I see in a leader growing in the knowledge of his weakness and his need to depend on the church.”  

My first reaction?  Disappointment.  I wanted to be seen as strong, and faithful, or maybe even…Godly.  I wasn’t ready for, “growing in knowledge of my weakness.”  But upon reflection, isn’t that we are called to do?  Doesn’t the Bible say…

2 Corinthians 12:9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

I realized that pride had snuck in, wishing they said something different. Ultimately, I’m thankful for this.  Of course, I want to grow to be strong, but if others see God in my life in this way, I can trust that God is faithfully pouring our His sufficient grace to me.

So, don’t despise the knowledge of your weakness.  Instead, thank God for its recognition, and trust His grace.

If you would like to pursue this thought more, I recorded a podcast about it.  You can find the link to your favorite podcast platform to listen to it at:

https://anchor.fm/thisisgonnahurt/episodes/Episode-46—Growing-in-Weakness-as-an-Individual-and-a-Leader-e2v9dl.

Gordon Duncan

Gospel Rich Books

If you would like to learn more about Gospel Rich books, we offer a host of challenging and encouraging resources.  You can find them below:

Gospel Rich Books Amazon Catalog

Gospel Rich Books Blog

 

Control Your Mind, Body, and Time to Be in Control of Self from the 25 Biblical Laws of Success

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I recently read the, “25 Biblical Laws of Success” by William Douglas and Rubens Teixeira.

To be honest, I usually avoid these types of books because “success” books from scripture often horribly misuse the bible to meet the modern day expectations of business and life.  But I was challenged on this approach, and I will be honest, I loved this book.

While it is not completely free of the aforementioned trappings, it does a good job of looking at the biblical principals of work and effort (there are many) and appropriates them well.  I was specifically struck by the simplicity and practicality of one well-known passage.

1 Corinthians 9:24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. 25 Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. 27 But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

Douglas and Teixeira make these observations about how we approach work, life, and serving God.  To accomplish that which we are called to…

Run like a winner (“in such a way to get the prize”)

Make sacrifices (go into “strict training”)

Have faith and trust (“not running aimlessly”)

Behave in an intelligent and objective way (“not fight like a boxer beating the air”)

Take charge of yourself and have self-control (“strike a blow to my body and make it my slave”).

They go on to say:

“Learning to control your mind, your body, and your time is to be in control of yourself.  Those who don’t control themselves first are in no condition to control anything else.” (108, “25 Biblical Laws of Success).

How true are these principals?  They are true in our service to Jesus and gifted through the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).  They are true in athletic training.  They are true in marriage, parenting, and the workplace.

Our goal in these things?  Trust our security and power in Jesus as we seek to honor Him in all things.  If you get a chance, check out the “25 Laws”, and let me know what you think.

Gordon Duncan

Gospel Rich Books

If you would like to learn more about Gospel Rich books, we offer a host of challenging and encouraging resources.  You can find them below:

Gospel Rich Books Amazon Catalog

Gospel Rich Books Blog

 

 

 

 

 

The Personal Growth Movement & The Church

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Welcome to the “This is Gonna Hurt Podcast”.  In this episode, we talk about the rise of the Personal Growth movement, and we discuss the church’s mixed reaction to it.  We talk about:

The history of the movement from “How to Win Friends & Influence People” to Tony Robbins and his “Awaken the Giant Within”. 

We also highlight Christians in the Personal Growth space like Ed Mylett https://www.edmylett.com/  & Rachel Hollis https://www.msrachelhollis.com/. We also give time to Tim Challies critique of Rachel Hollis (referenced below).

At the end, Gordon gives his recommendation of some rails to run on with the Personal Growth movement.  We hope you enjoy it. https://www.edmylett.com/ Thanks for listening!

As Gordon mentioned in the podcast, if you would like to become a podcast patron, you can do so by clicking www.anchor.fm/thisisgonnahurt and clicking the “support this podcast” button.

Thanks for listening. If you want to find out more about what Gordon is up to, check out his website at www.jgordonduncan.com.

Article referenced:  https://www.challies.com/book-reviews/girl-wash-your-face/  

Can You Love Jesus When He Purposefully Hurts You?

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Can you still love Jesus even if He purposefully causes you pain?

Check out our newest episode in the “This is Gonna Hurt” podcast. 

In this Free Friday episode, Gordon asks this question:  Can you love Jesus even if He purposefully causes you pain?  We examine that question by taking a brief look at the raising of Lazarus.

We examine how Jesus purposefully waited to go to Judea when Lazarus was dying.

We talk about how Jesus said He was glad that Lazarus died.

We talk about how hard times detach us from the things of this world.

We hope this episode is encouraging. You can find it at https://anchor.fm/thisisgonnahurt. 

Thanks for listening.

If you would like to become a podcast patron, you can do so by clicking anchor.fm/thisisgonnahurt and clicking the “support this podcast” button.

If you want to find out more about what Gordon is up to, check out his website at www.jgordonduncan.com.

How to Make Real Change in Your Life Podcast

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Gospel Rich Books wants to tell you about today’s “This Gonna Hurt” podcast.

In this episode, Gordon talks about how to make real change in your life. In light of the passing of a friend, Gordon considers what the steps of change are in our lives if we want to make real, positive change. He talks about:

Opportunity
Rationalization
Restraint
Inspiration

If light of what Gordon mentioned in the podcast, if you need help for drug or alcohol addiction, you can find that help at www.recovery.org.

As Gordon mentioned in the podcast, if you would like to become a podcast patron, you can do so by clicking www.anchor.fm/thisisgonnahurt and clicking the “support this podcast” button.

Thanks for listening. If you want to find out more about what Gordon is up to, check out his website at www.jgordonduncan.com.

Thanks for listening.

Bouncing Back When You Miss Your Goal

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Preparation is everything.  Controlling what you control is essential to performance.  But you can’t control what you can’t control, and in that, there are so many lessons to learn.

Saturday was the Rivanna Marathon.  My preparation was the best I could hope for.  I set multiple PR’s (personal records), and I felt mentally ready.  I felt that my 12 weeks of training brought me to the starting line ready.  I was going to improve my Boston Qualifying time and set another PR.

However, with 2 minutes and 56 seconds until race start, I knew something wasn’t right.  I immediately felt my body change.  I wasn’t feeling my best.  Five miles into the twenty-six, I found myself struggling at a very normal pace.  Again, at mile, nine, I felt the same.  My heart rate was in the 94th percentile in 98% humidity.  Heart rate and heat are not something to mess with.  I’ve never DNF’d (Did Not Finish) in ten years of racing.  I wept for what I had lost.

I went to the doctor soon after getting home, and he diagnosed me with an infection and prescribed some meds.  The rest of the day was pretty painful, physically and emotionally.  I do have a Boston Qualifying time, but with Boston, that doesn’t always guarantee you a spot.  That means that if I don’t get in when registration opens this week, I’ll have to qualify again in another race and hope for 2020.

There is a lot to learn from missing my goal.  I won’t profess to have processed everything already, but I have thought about it a great deal.

You Can’t Control What You Can’t Control.

There is nothing I could do to prevent this infection.  It.just.happened.  There was nothing I could do.  It was as if God just said, “Not today.”  I’m not bitter.  God is good and gracious to me in so many areas.  Any other emotion would only lead to bitterness.

Use Your Disappointments. 

I’m motivated to meet this goal of running in the Boston Marathon.  I’m committed to it and know that if it were easy, everyone would run it.  Boston is elite.  It takes more than even your average marathon.  And while training for 12 weeks and not meeting a goal is frustrating, I won’t allow it to be crushing.  It’s going to be motivating.

Set Incremental Goals Along the Way.

If I don’t get into Boston 2019, Boston 2020 will be a long way away.  I will need incremental goals to keep my motivated.  Things like running a half and setting a PR.  Placing top 3 in a race.  Becoming a better swimmer.  These small goals will keep me motivated as I go after the big goal.  Without it, I might lose drive.

I know that not everyone likes running.  Running is my drive.  But all of us face disappointments.  Every goal worth attaining is going to have obstacles.  Making our will stronger than those obstacles’ is not easy.  But hopefully, by implementing the above tips, especially when you experience a setback, will help you meet that goal and move onto your next one.

I goal into more details about all of this in my podcast www.anchor.fm/thisisgonnahurt.

Thanks for listening.

As Gordon mentioned in the podcast, if you would like to become a podcast patron, you can do so by clicking www.anchor.fm/thisisgonnahurt and clicking the “support this podcast” button.

Thanks for listening. If you want to find out more about what Gordon is up to, check out his website at www.jgordonduncan.com.

 

MIddle School, Back to School, Anxieties, & the Gospel

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Our youngest is navigating middle school.  This is her second year, but her first without a sister, as my oldest two are now in high school.   Whew, we are off to a tough start.

Let me just say that my youngest is awesome.  She is super creative and energetic, but her highs are high and her lows are low (isn’t that all of us?). 

As we head into the third week, a very common challenge has sprung up:  gym.  As a kid, I was fast, but that didn’t earn me much in gym as I was like 4 foot 3.  I was picked on, and I hated the whole locker room.  As best as I can tell, the lack of a close friend seems to be the culprit in this case. 

As we headed to school, Em’s just didn’t want to go.  Since there is a 10 min gap between dropping off my high schoolers and going to the middle school, I took the opportunity to try to soothe her.

We talked about David and King Saul in 1 Samuel 24.  This is the story about David cutting off the corner of Saul’s robe while David hid in a cave and Saul relieved himself (for real).  As soon as David cuts of the corner of the robe, he immediately repents.  He runs out to Saul, lies prostrate on the dust, and confesses his sin. 

How risky!  Saul wants to kill David, but David knows that he has disrespected the Lord’s anointed and sinned.  The two leave in peace, and we have a great testimony about how to interact with authority, loving our enemies, and an example of repentance.

Em and I talked about his.  I ask her if anyone in there is her enemy.  She says no.  Then we talked bout how to bless the people in her class.  We come up with this plan.  She is going to begin the class by praying for herself – praying that God would sustain her when she is miserable in gym.  Then, she is going to look at each person in the class.  She knows their names.  Then, she is going for God to bless each one of them.  It will take most of the class to get through every person’s name and to pray for them.  Then, she is going to pray for herself again.  My encouragement is that I am sure that God will bless her if she is praying that God will bless them. 

Will she find new friends?  Will gym by enjoyable?  We’ll see, but the time will be redeemed if she blesses those that she feels alienated from, and that is a pretty sweet work of the Gospel. 

Middle school is tough.  Emotionally loving (and sometimes nudging) your kids is a challenge, but we trust God sustains our kids and ourselves as we seek to bless the world. 

Gordon Duncan

Gospel Rich Books

If you would like to learn more about Gospel Rich books, we offer a host of challenging and encouraging resources.  You can find them below:

Gospel Rich Books Amazon Catalog

Gospel Rich Books Blog

 

Godliness Affects Leadership

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1 Samuel is an amazing picture of how Godliness affects leadership.  Take for example the contrast between King Saul and King David.

  1. Rationalization for Sin – In Samuel 13, Saul is facing defeat from the Philistines, so he asked for the priest Samuel to come onto the field to offer a sacrifice to God. But he wasn’t patient, so he offered the sacrifice himself which was unbiblical and disobedient.  When Samuel confronted him about it, Saul lied.  When he was caught in the lie, he then blamed the people. At that point, Samuel tells Saul that his kingdom will be given to another.
  2. Endangers the People He Leads – Later on in a battle with the Philistines (1 Samuel 14), Saul foolishly declares that any of his solders who eat before the victory is won will be put to death. His son, Jonathan, doesn’t know about this vow.  Jonathan eats, feels better, battles the Philistines and wins.  Saul foolishly declares that Jonathan must die, but the people ransom Jonathan so he isn’t executed.
  3. Selfish – Saul is then commanded to go and strike the Amalekites down. God commands him not to leave any single thing alive and to devote everything to destruction.  Saul instead takes their best livestock and keeps the King of the Amalekites alive (1 Samuel 15).
  4. Ignores God’s Honor – When Goliath threatened the Israelite army (1 Samuel 17), Saul didn’t lead them into battle and didn’t inspire anyone enough to fight for him and the people of God.

Now we know that David is not perfect.  He lied and deceived the priest when he was hungry.  As a result, David sinned, a mass of priests died, and an entire city was wiped out (1 Samuel 21-22).  But here is the difference between David and Saul.

  1. Ownership of Sin – Unlike Saul who lied when confronted with his sin, David admits his sin. He shows what true sorrow and repentance looks like. The next time David is put in a stressful place, he asks God for wisdom about what to do, not one, not two, but three times (1 Samuel 21-22).
  2. Protects the People He Leads – Whereas Saul threatened his men with death to motivate them, David leads a group of debt-dodging soldiers into battle, and when they express their concern and weariness, David takes their concern to God in prayer (1 Samuel 23).
  3. Selfless – When Saul disobeyed and withheld the best for himself against the Amalekites, when David fought for Israel, he obeyed completely and God gave them the victory (1 Samuel 18).
  4. Defends God’s Honor – And when Saul wouldn’t fight for Israel against Goliath, David boldly defended the honor of God (1 Samuel 17).

Godliness isn’t required to be a good leader as evidenced from the many amazing leaders in our world, but if someone has faith in Jesus, their Godliness directly affects their leadership.  Humility, faith, and boldness will either bolster one’s leadership or the lack of those things will hinder it.

May we pray for humility, faith, and boldness today as we are called to some measure of leadership.  David shows us that we don’t have to be perfect; we just need to be greatly dependent on the grace of Jesus.

Gospel Rich Books

If you would like to learn more about Gospel Rich books, we offer a host of challenging and encouraging resources.  You can find them below:

Gospel Rich Books Amazon Catalog

Gospel Rich Books Blog