being the church
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Radical Prayer Walking
I’ve been coaching a group now for many months and recently we have been focusing on radical prayer walking. Here’s a glimpse… The format of church has been shifting for a very long time and 2020 put it into high gear. A bunch of us have gathered and scattered for prayer walking and gathering for…
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Kelly Shares What Happened…
It was a delight to interview Kelly Young from Teen Challenge on what happened for her recently in learning to encounter Jesus in a whole new way. We discussed compassion fatigue and church and pastoral ministry and what has shifted. May you be encouraged too… Learn more about the 5 week FOUNDATIONAL course here: https://www.merriellen.com/intro-course…
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What does God do when we repent?
Notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach. This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people—even eating with them! I loved that Jesus began to teach several stories including this one to show the religious leaders their arrogance… Parable of the Lost Son (Part…
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Pastoring in a Pandemic
I shared this video back in April 2020 on how pastors are being forced to pivot and throw all their methods out the window. This video continues to be VERY relevant. If you are a pastor, here is the current shift happening I see as I coach pastors, missionaries, and congregants. Pastors, you can do…
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My story out of Church Bondage and Into Freedom in Jesus!
This casual conversation recorded on a rainy day in November, may challenge you, offend you, or resonate deeply with you. I remember once judging others for ‘leaving the church’. Sadly, I didn’t get it at the time. These days, I walk multiple people a day through healing from ‘church’ and religious abuse and showing them…
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The New (Old) Wineskin of The Church
If you’ve been following this blog or my story, you will know that since 2016 the Lord called me out of the institutional church (I see now he had been warning me of this since 2010) and told me to ‘circle the wagons’ and unlearn a few things before stepping forward. After some healing and…
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Are you suffering on the inside?
There are 4 traditional approaches to discipleship that actually lead to bondage: Osmosis: Get people to attend church and serve faithfully. Academics: Teach information about the faith. Behaviour: Establish performance expectations for church members. Church: Train people to invite others, serve, and join a small group. These 4 things above may have good elements but without…
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How can you tell if the enemy (has even subtly) gotten a foothold in your life?
(I was asked this question yesterday by my students just before leading an interactive group coaching class online…) I first pointed them to Ephesians 4. Take a moment today to read it. I’ve seen the enemy get a foothold in people’s lives WAY too may times – as this passage explains. Secondly, read 1 Corinthians 13.…
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Am I Being Deceived?
This past year, I had the joy of walking with a woman coming out of the New Age movement. In fact, she had once been a New Age teacher. We started with Scriptures in our sessions and took our time before we began asking Jesus questions. Her heart now was so beautifully hungry and thirsty…
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Women, have you been silenced?
My heart loves to walk with women who have been silenced. Why? Because their voice holds a key to healing – their own healing and the healing of MANY others. I have been coaching people since 2003 online in over 120 countries. I especially love walking women through this journey of being silenced. If…
Following and Trusting : Encountering God Out of the Box 