Job Search Ended!

For Sunday, July 20, 2025:

Luke 16:11 NLT: “If you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven?”

In the parable of the shrewd manager, Jesus was setting a high bar for his followers. You may recall that the shrewd manager was making gifts of his master’s wealth, thinking that when he got fired he could call in favors from those he had gifted. Jesus acknowledged the man’s skill in providing for himself, but could never condone the thievery it required.

Jesus has appointed each believer to be the manager of their personal evangelical efforts. You’ve been ‘hired’ whether or not you realize it. New believers quickly transition into seasoned recruiters and teachers. It’s all intentional, God’s plan for growth and expansion. Christian leadership didn’t just fall off of the turnip truck! (Which means it’s no accident!)

Many believers have a not-so-nice past, a time before they met Jesus. This isn’t unusual since Jesus is in the rescue business, and many good Christians really needed divine intervention to separate them from their past iniquities.

Consider the Apostle Paul, who was known for persecuting Christians. It took a personal visit from the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus to convert Paul. But he also had to sojourn to Jerusalem to convince Christian leadership that they were all on the same team. It was a tough sell. That time could have been invested in evangelism rather than in cleaning up Paul’s mess. Nonetheless, given his situation, it was necessary.

So from now on, you are the hired manager and Jesus is your master. Let’s all get to work! Be good stewards of the time, talent and resources he has bestowed upon you. Be more honest than the shrewd manager in the parable. See if you can make Jesus smile today!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Cock-a-doodle-do!

March 25, 2024 Monday Message:

Mark 14:67 NLT: “The girl noticed Peter warming himself at the fire. She looked at him closely and said, ’You were one of those with Jesus of Nazareth.’”

If Peter had acknowledged being a disciple of Jesus, he would have been arrested on the spot. Instead he denied Jesus to save his own skin. I believe God had something to do with that.

Peter would be the one to spearhead Jesus’ ministry after Jesus returned to the Father. Peter was the one disciple who demonstrated the leadership skills needed to become a leader of “The Way.” Although a wee bit impulsive, Peter possessed the tenacity to step forward and take charge. Perhaps those two traits go together.

So Peter denied Jesus, the rooster crowed and it seemed that all was lost. But God is still on the throne, directing all the action at this point. Everybody was fulfilling God’s vast eternal plan. Jesus would be taking the sins of the world to the place of the dead, thereby absolving mankind. Peter was preserved to become leader of The Way. The Temple hierarchy and Roman soldiers would enforce the false accusations against Jesus. The pieces were all falling into place to complete Jesus’ mission in coming to our planet.

If you want to help with ministry, look for where God is already working and jump in there. Be a part of the winning team!

Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Benevolent Leadership!

For Tuesday, November 14, 2023:

John 4:9 NLT: “The woman (at the well) was surprised (when Jesus spoke to her), for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, ‘You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?’”

Aren’t you tired of all the prejudice in our world, people hating each other for no good reason? In this account, Jews and Samaritans didn’t get along. Jews considered Samaritans “unclean.” Samaritans worshiped a creator God, but on their own mountain, not in Jerusalem. Samaritans held scriptures that sometimes differed slightly from the Jewish version. In fact, these two group are related, probably cousins. So why not get along? Jesus in fact threw out the old prejudices and traditions. He was determined to strike up a friendly relationship with this woman, and so he did!

In 1887, in a letter to his bishop, Lord Acton wrote, “Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely.” He had good insight into human nature. If someone has enough power, benevolent leadership seems to fall by the wayside. Benevolent Leaders are predisposed to doing good and loving those under their authority. It’s not so bad living in a monarchy if the king loves you unconditionally. God’s Kingdom is like that.

Our capital city recently held an election, and as it turned out, the entire city council is now female! On talk radio, callers suggested a second election, or requiring half the council to step down. Why? There really is no problem. Voters thought that these women were the best candidates. They received the most votes! Do you know what will happen? They’ll serve to the best of their ability, the city will be fine, and there’ll be another election in a couple years.

Male vs female; black vs white; Russia vs Ukraine; Israel vs Nation of Islam; I’m sick of it all. Jesus didn’t live that way, and he didn’t teach us to live that way. I believe the whole world would be better off living as Jesus taught. Let’s all push in that direction!

More tomorrow! Blessings!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Spiritual Gifts - More!

For Wednesday, October 18, 2023:

Romans 12:6-8 NLT: “In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.”

Thoughts on Spiritual Gifts:

In college, I was put in front of 40 Middle school students, each of whom had a ukulele. Right then I knew that public education wasn’t a good fit for me. I wasn’t cut out to be a teacher, or so I thought! But nowadays, God uses me to teach about Jesus – lectures, sermons, videos. Turns out that teaching is fine if I’m given the right topic!

I knew a pastor who told his staff, “I’d better stop by the hospital and see Tom.”

His staff replied, “Why would you do that? You’re no good at it!”

A couple wanted to retire from the business they had founded. But their staff was all in place, and their business was largely answering the phone and writing up orders from existing customers. They could work it a few more years and give the proceeds to the church. Since a new worship center was under construction, the pastor encouraged them to do just that. This couple had the spiritual gift of giving.

Visionary Leadership is a rare commodity. Most leaders run things the way we’ve always done them. They do their best to solve problems that have already happened. But visionary leaders can look down the road and see where our church needs to be in five years. They have a goal in sight, an optimistic picture in their minds of a growth scenario, and a plan for getting there.

Blessings as you share your spiritual gifts with the world today!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

The Original Rock!

For Thursday, April 13, 2023:

Matthew 16:18 NLT, Jesus speaking to Simon: “Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.”

Peter is a unique character, insatiably curious and wildly impulsive. Remember the night Jesus was arrested and Peter denied knowing Jesus – three times! He could instantly lie to save his own skin! As Jesus was being taken into custody, Peter cut an ear off one of the soldiers, impulsively defending his mentor. Jesus, on his way to the cross, immediately healed that soldier.

Peter’s character traits caused him to constantly seek knowledge, and his impulsive nature spurred him to rapidly put that knowledge to work. He had the spiritual gift of leadership, and he probably would have risen to lead the twelve even if Jesus hadn’t assigned him that position. His get-it-done attitude was perfect for establishing Jesus’ new churches.

Each of us needs to ask ourselves, what are we called to do for Jesus and his church? What are our spiritual gifts? Have we been given the spiritual gift of leadership?

Jesus was fully man and fully God, and when God opens a new church, the powers of hell cannot prevail against it! Peter was guaranteed success!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Prepare the Way!

For Friday, December 30, 2022:

Matthew 3:2 NLT, John-the-Baptist’s message: “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.”

A basic leadership principle is to let people know what’s coming, to get them accustomed to new ideas. Then when you make the final announcement, it won’t be a big surprise to anyone. People will say, “I’ve heard of that – that’s what we’ve been talking about!”

Example: A church needed more room, and they suddenly announced a building campaign. It was voted down. No one had heard of the idea, so the leadership regrouped and talked benefits. A new fellowship hall would accommodate community meals, women’s luncheons, men’s Bible studies and allow growth for the youth group! Everyone benefits! A year later, 90% voted ‘yes!’

The Son of God coming to earth to rescue mankind and the Hebrew people transitioning from a ‘works’ based religion to ‘grace & faith’ religion was monumental, Good News for all of us. The prophet Isaiah cracked open the door 800 years earlier. Now John-the-Baptist was the advance man for our Messiah. Jesus and John were close to the same age, but Jesus didn’t begin his ministry until he was 30. That gave John at least 10 years to prepare hearts to receive Jesus’ message.

"The Kingdom of God is right here, right now!”

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Leadership!

September 26, 2022 Monday Message:

Nehemiah 2:3 NLT, Nehemiah speaking: “How can I not be sad? For the city where my ancestors are buried is in ruins, and the gates have been destroyed by fire.”

Nehemiah had been told, “Things are not going well for those who returned to the province of Judah. They are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem has been torn down, and the gates have been destroyed by fire.” God placed this burden on his heart, and he could not rest until the problem was solved, until the task was completed.

While these scriptures talk about loving the Lord, his Temple and the city of Jerusalem, the deeper lesson is about leadership. The people living in Jerusalem had settled for the status quo, but Nehemiah let them know that things could be a lot better! Under his leadership, they rebuilt the walls and fortified the city. Worshiping the Lord became a priority as the Temple was restored. Civic pride and religious pride were prioritized! But without leadership, the project would never have started!

God called Nehemiah to be the point-person for restoration of the Holy City. With his leadership, the project was a success!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship, 3249 30th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406

Visionary Leadership

For Saturday, February 26, 2022

Proverbs 29:18a KJV: “Where there is no vision, the people perish.”

Visionary leadership is sharing intuition about the future. If the leader of an organization, in this case a church, can visualize and communicate where it should be next year, in 3 years, in 5 years, then the steps to get there will make sense and may even become obvious.

Visionary leadership is peeking into the future and believing it could be so. Steve Jobs of Apple is a great example of just such a visionary. His company already had a successful iPod. He reasoned that if you could combine that with a phone and then make the whole thing go on the internet, a lot of people would want one. So far almost 3 billion iPhones have been sold!

Jesus commissioned us to make disciples of all nations, to take Christianity to the world. Calling and equipping the next generation of visionary leaders will bring us closer to that goal.

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship, 3249 30th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406

Obedience!

For Thursday, February 24, 2022

Genesis 12:1 NLT, God speaking to Abram: “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you.”

This was a big ask! Pack all your belongings; same for your family and the people who work with you; pack all your wealth and livestock, and journey to the land that I will show you! That Abram did this shows obedience to the Lord and a lot of faith! God hadn’t even shared with Abram the intended destination! Turns out it was Canaan, a land currently inhabited by the Canaanites. This might not go well!

In return, God promised to bless Abram, to give him hope for the future: “I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”

Churches are now seeking the next generation of leaders who can carry forward the task of sharing the Good News with the world. Each of us can serve when called, and encourage others who have been called.

Remember, God rewards obedience!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship, 3249 30th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406