On Q

With the official launch of the 9 Arts book, Q Place has been on the move! On April 20 and 21 we celebrated the book release in the San Francisco Bay area and in Seattle and had the privilege to share stories, cast vision, and give out copies to those who came! Here are some highlights from Q Place’s time out West: Pastor James B. of Union Church described meaningful encounters he’s had in a Seattle coffee shop. His conclusion? “People want to talk about God if it is safe and they are not judged. They’re willing to come to church too if they sense they will be...Read more …

On March 21, Claudia Williams, our National Church Support Leader, and I looked out to more than eighty church leaders on the conference grounds of the Tampa Bay Baptist Association. We had been invited to a Pastors’ Lunch & Learn, a steak dinner event held several Mondays a year for fellowship, networking, and learning about new ministry opportunities. And we were ready to explain the “Why and What” of Q Place! How did Q Place get to Tampa Bay, Florida? The Tampa Bay Baptist Association is committed to helping pastors make disciples who make disciples, wholeheartedly embracing the concept of coming...Read more …

In interviews about our new book, The 9 Arts of Spiritual Conversations, I’ve been asked if the way that Christians share their faith needs to change. So I tell about a conversation I had in a Q Place when the subject of evangelism came up. The participants, who did not yet claim to be followers of Jesus, said they thought evangelism was a negative experience for most people like them. Even the Christians in the room had a negative opinion about evangelism. While the group members that day probably didn’t agree on much about God and the Bible, they all...Read more …

Eight years ago two friends of mine, Jim Henderson and Randy Siever, invited me to their workshop called “The Art of Noticing.” They pointed out that Jesus had a habit of simply noticing people. If Jesus made a point of noticing people like Zacchaeus up in a tree or a woman who touched him within a pressing crowd, shouldn’t we?  Through the next few years the Lord showed our Q Place team eight other practices that Jesus exhibited when He interacted with people. After noticing, we added praying, listening, asking questions, loving, and welcoming to the list of practices that build...Read more …

Almost a year ago the Billy Graham Center for Evangelism and Q Place formed a partnership called Rekindle: Engaging Gospel Conversations. The result is a new YouTube channel that equips and inspires Christian leaders in all levels and sectors of society to prioritize gospel witness through short relevant videos from their peers. One of this month’s ReKindle videos features Q Place supporter Rich Berg, who is the CEO of Performance Trust, a successful Chicagobased financial advisory firm. In this video, Rich talks about excellence in work as a precursor to gospel conversations. His premise is that Christians must be excellent...Read more …

Sharing the gospel. Making disciples. These topics are emphasized in Scripture, talked about from the pulpit, included in every church mission statement, used as the reason to fund the church’s budget, and written about in countless books, but do we dare ask the question: How are we actually doing at making disciples in the American church today? According to a recent comprehensive, multi-phase research study conducted by the Barna Group, not so well! Only 1% of church leaders believe today’s churches are doing very well at making disciples. A sizable majority—six in ten (60%)—feels that churches are doing “not too...Read more …