Miles McPherson: We Serve The City For Jesus

Speaker Info:

Miles McPherson, is the senior pastor of the Rock Church in San Diego, one of the fastest-growing churches in the United States, and author of Do Somthing! Make Your Life Count.

Keep in mind, these are raw. I’ll be summarizing and organizing my thoughts over at ChurchMag at a later time. Meanwhile, here’s what I gathered from session one:

Exodus 3

Miles was an NFL player, doing coke (not the soda), smoking marijuana, chasing women, and running from women.

• One of his coaches was doing a Bible study on an airplane and shared the Gospel with him.
• Months later after doing coke all night Miles was at rock bottom and gave his life to Jesus.

All of the communities your church’s are in are in critical condition.

• Don’t be deceived by what you see.
• All people are going to the same place without Christ.

Be a “Do Something” church.

If we could only match the resources the church has been given to the needs of those who need it…

4 Things Jesus Did

Count

“God is a numbers freak. He’s like Einstein.”

All throughout the Bible you see God counting things.

• Luke 17:11
• Miles makes everyone in the crowd shrivel their hands and talk like the lepers in the story.
• How many lepers are in your community? How many homeless? How many prostitutes? How many convalescents?

Know the “Symptom Centers” around your church.

• Abortion centers
• Homeless centers
• Strip clubs
• Adult stores
• Liquor stores
• Convalescent homes
• …Go to The Rock church website to find those places around your church.

2 Cor. 1:3-4

Walk

Jesus walked everywhere. He could have sat in a synagogue and said, “Come to me.” [Stop Inviting People to Church]

Deut. 11:2

• Go and walk and reclaim your property. Don’t let the Devil hold on to what is God’s.

Ask

Mark 10:49

• Ask places in your community how you can help.
• Businesses that you visit regularly– ask how you can pray for them.

Love

• Every woman has a certain way that you’re supposed to love them.
• God is not complicated on how we are to love him - Do what he says. 1 John 5:3

When you ask how you can help, it must be in love.

• If you ask an alcoholic how you can help him and he says to buy him a 40oz., don’t buy him 80oz.- buy him a meal.

You have to be like a broken record with the devil. “I have to obey God.”

Miles tells a story about a man who wanted to be in a knitting ministry– here’s how it played out:

• A man wanted to be in knitting ministry.
• Miles asked why.
• He said he doesn’t knit but he crochets.
• Miles is further baffled because this guy looks like an ex biker gang member.
• He was formerly in the Hells Angels.
• Miles asks how in the world he learned how to crochet.
• The man says he learned in prison.

Miles talks about the movie Big Fish.

Don’t look back and say you had a church that looked like the following:

• It was a Christian country club.
• More butts in the seats than boots on the streets.

Q&A

Q: How did you arrange to get to that plane? [He got to ride in a Navy fighter Jet]

A: He has a lot of Navy men in his church.

Q: hat would a 52-year-old Miles tell a 25-year-old Miles?

A: To do as little as possible. Slow down. Balance all the ideas and business and try to make it more focused. Temper your strengths to work in balance with others.

Q: How were you inspired to mobilize people?

A: Passionate people. He saw a lot of people doing all different ministries.

Q: How do you empower people or teams?

A: The people who come with an idea get told to take that idea and run with it.

Q: Is there any danger in going off-mission to be a do-something church?

A: If you’re looking to become a Bible college and just have people come and learn then yes. I don’t believe churches are meant to be that way.

Q: Speaking at conferences, leading at church, that’s all great, but is there a dark side to that?

A: The more people you are helping, the more demons that will be assigned to you. Everyone has a Judas, everyone has a Pontius Pilate.

Miles was 100% pure awesome! His entertainment factor is through the roof while simultanteously giving incredible wisdom and insight. Love this guy!

Did anything in my notes stick out to you? You can leave a comment by clicking here.