So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. – Galatians 5:16 (NIV) If I’m honest, I love this verse and I wrestle with it at the same time. It almost seems too good to be true or “easier said than done.”

What helps me process and grasp this truth better is a fresh reading of it in another translation. In The Message it reads: My counsel is this: Live freely, animated and motivated by God’s Spirit. Then you won’t feed the compulsions of selfishness.

Now THAT is something I can relate to: being motivated by God’s Spirit. Truly seeking to have the mind of Christ. Please know, friends, that this is a daily process. We must (intentionally) walk in the Spirit, being motivated by what the Spirit shows us – daily.

I know this isn’t easy, but it’s something I’m striving for and pray and encourage you to do the same.

My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power. – 1 Corinthians 2:4 (NIV)

I heard Dave Gibbons speak  a couple of days ago and deeply resonated with his thoughts on churches and pastors needing to believe in the Holy Spirit more. I don’t have much to add to this powerful Scripture verse. I sincerely hope you’ll mediate on it and let it sink in. Rest in Him.

Today and tomorrow, I’ll be attending the Velocity ChurchPlanters.com conference in Cumming, GA at Mountain Lake Church. Speakers include Rick Warren, Steven Furtick and Dave Gibbons! If you’re there, I’d love to meet you. Should be fun. You can follow the action on Twitter.

Renee Johnson is a spirited speaker and writer to twenty-somethings. She graduated from Biola University and has had the pleasure of working with the top nationally-known Christian speakers and writers at Outreach Events. Her devotional blog reaches hundreds of readers.

Renee’s mission in life is to “spur others forward” (Hebrews 10:24) using the lessons learned from her own trials to encourage others in their walk with God. Sign up for weekly devotionals at http://www.devodiva.com. Learn more about Renee and her ministry at www.devotionaldiva.com. For more information on her book, go to the book website: http://www.faithbookofjesus.com.

I had a chance to ask Renee some questions. Take a look:

1. GREG: What led you to write this book? RENEE: When I read through new devotional books year after year I eventually ran out of relevant devotionals. There were the classics such as “My Utmost For His Highest” and “Streams in the Desert” and then the fluffy ones for teenagers or women (or men) only. I decided I had had enough and started to write my own. That was seven years ago and it took me that long to learn the publishing world and to find my voice as a writer!
2. GREG: Why do you think 20-somethings in particular will benefit from reading this? RENEE: 20-somethings will especially benefit from reading “Faithbook of Jesus.” I surveyed over 300 plus 20-somethings and young adults and picked the best quotes for each daily devotional.
3. GREG: Do you think this book is good for people of all ages? RENEE: “Faithbook of Jesus” can be read by people of all ages. However, it is the first devotional book written for men and women, ages 18-35! GREG: I’m in that target age group so I look forward to using it daily!
4. GREG: Tell us a little more about your background in ministry. RENEE: I had the pleasure of working at Outreach for the past two years. I helped pastor’s plan Events and was able to represent amazing speakers such as Josh McDowell, Lee Strobel, and Kirk Cameron. For me to work at Outreach was a dream come true.
5. FUN FACT FROM RENEE: My Literary Agency and NavPress found and discovered me on Twitter! For any individuals, pastor’s, or faith-based ministries wondering how to impact young people, social networking is definitely the way to go!

*** I encourage you to pick up your copy HERE.

I met with a church leader yesterday and we were discussing ideas for this year’s Easter service at his church. I’m curious about you and your church. Please share what you guys are working on for Easter.

Greg Atkinson is a consultant, friend and partner with a select group of strategic partnerships. Greg works with these partner companies (listed in alphabetical order) and encourages you to contact him at greg@gregatkinson.com for more information on how we can be a resource to your church. Click on the logos to go to the company website.

• We focus on your finances. You focus on your church. We’ve created a web-based system that allows your church to outsource all aspects of day-to-day financial management. Greg is also available for financial consulting for your church or organization.

• HelpStaff.me is a church staffing company. If your church is looking for a new staff member or you’re a church leader looking for a new ministry position, contact Greg. Many organizations have hired employees to fill needs without having a master plan for their organizational goals and growth. HELPSTAFF.ME can do an overall assessment and help you set up your staffing more effiiently and effectively. Again, contact Greg for more info.

• TruthCasting creates custom iPhone apps for your church. Greg is your connection to this amazing mobile resource.

Recently, I spoke with my friend (and Center for Church Communications Executive Director) Cynthia Ware. She asked me to be a Regional Network Coordinator for the Center for Church Communications and I agreed. Last week she announced this on the CFCC website. Below is what she said:

Yesterday, with the announcement of ProPresenter 4 (for Mac) – my friends at Renewed Vision threw in one other big announcement: they’re making a Windows version. I knew this, but couldn’t blog about it before. Here’s the announcement that came in their email:

For 10 years, we’ve developed ProPresenter for Mac only, and have been asked repeatedly if there was going to be a version for Windows. Our answers were always the same:

• The tools that enable us to do what we do on the Mac aren’t as robust on the Windows platform.
• We have nothing against Windows, but felt we could make a more powerful and reliable product on the Mac.
• We’d rather focus on making the best software for any platform, rather than divide our efforts by supporting two platforms.

All of these answers were valid, and as the marketshare of the Mac has increased over the last several years, the question has become a lot less frequent. At the same time, however, we’ve been troubled by some things:

• There are a lot of churches that don’t have Macs, particularly overseas
• There is a great variety of Windows-based machines on the market that are seemingly very capable.
• A new computer purchase is often difficult in today’s economy.
• Many PC users get excited about our product only to be let down when learning it’s Mac only.
• Some organizations will not purchase a Mac just to run ProPresenter.
• If we can improve the worship experience on the Mac, why not use our expertise to do the same for Windows?

Through the years, a lot has changed. Computers have become far more powerful and technologies have evolved. We’ve kept our eye on Windows technologies that would enable us to create a quality ProPresenter experience for Windows users, and we now believe we have found the right tool set, and assembled the right team of people to make ProPresenter for Windows a reality!

So, the cat’s out of the bag. We’ll be keeping you updated via our website as this story unfolds. Until then, here are answers to some questions we thought you might have:

WHAT WILL PROPRESENTER 4 WINDOWS LOOK LIKE?
We have put a great deal of thought into the user interface of ProPresenter 4 on the Mac, so why ruin a good thing? We are building the Windows version to look and function identically. If you know how to run ProPresenter 4 Mac, you will know instantly how to run ProPresenter 4 Windows.

WILL IT HAVE ALL THE FEATURES OF THE MAC VERSION?
We are working hard to make sure that every feature of the Mac version is implemented in Windows. In some cases, a feature may be less robust on the Windows platform while others may work even better. Some technical realities beyond the scope of ProPresenter may have an impact (video codecs, shared storage, etc.), but we’re going to make sure these are minimal.

WILL I BE ABLE TO USE BOTH IN MY ORGANIZATION?
From the ground up, we have worked to ensure interoperability between ProPresenter 4 Mac and ProPresenter 4 Windows. This means you will be able to move files back and forth, and they will run largely the same way on either platform.

WHAT ABOUT THE ADVANCED AND ALPHA KEYER MODULES, OR THE PROPRESENTER REMOTE FOR IPHONE?
We’re not planning our initial release of ProPresenter 4 Windows to include any modules or iPhone remote functionality. Depending on market acceptance and customer demand, however, we may consider developing them in the future. Be sure to let us know your interest in these additional features.

WHAT IS THE PRICING OF PROPRESENTER FOR WINDOWS?
ProPresenter for Windows has the same pricing structure as its Mac counterpart. Single user licenses will be platform specific and sold for $399. However, a Site License for ProPresenter 4 will work on either platform, allowing unlimited use on any platform for a single campus, making our site license an even better value add. This means for a $799 site license purchase, you can run ProPresenter 4 on either a Mac or a Windows machine. Existing ProPresenter 4 site license owners will be able to download and unlock the Windows version immediately after it becomes available.

WHY ARE WE ANNOUNCING IT NOW?
Because site licenses of ProPresenter 4 will work on both the Mac and Windows versions, we want people to know these benefits before placing their upgrade orders.

WHEN WILL PROPRESENTER 4 WINDOWS BE RELEASED?
We don’t have a specific date for release quite yet, but are working towards Summer 2010. We will certainly have a public beta test for registered ProPresenter users prior to the wide release. Stay tuned for such an announcement in the coming months.

So – BAM – yesterday Google Buzz dropped. There’s been a lot of talk about whether or not people like it. I’m still not sure myself. I’m such a huge fan of Twitter. I did just do my first “buzz” though. So, what do you think about it? Will it survive?

As I watched the Super Bowl I couldn’t help but be struck by the boldness and guts it took to do the onside kick at the beginning of the second half. I applauded New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton for having the idea and nerve to go for it. For me, I think that recovery of the onside kick changed the rest of the game – there was a momentum shift and the Colts never recovered.

As you know, I’ve been traveling the country for the last 2 years speaking on the subject of innovation. I’ve taught on innovation at several conferences, schools and to regional meetings of Church leaders around the country. After the past 2 years of studying, reading and forming my thoughts on innovation, I’ve come to realize that innovation and risk go hand in hand.

A lot of churches want to be “innovative”, but don’t have the guts or faith to take strategic risks. Hear me Church leaders: sometimes you must be willing to risk it all – that means your organization’s culture has to have a freedom to fail. Successful and innovative organizations and businesses actually reward failure because they realize it’s necessary for breakthroughs in innovation.

I’m working on a book on innovation in which I’ll go into much more detail, but for today I encourage you to chew on this notion of risk and being willing to fail – it just might lead to something amazing in your ministry.

Let me know: When was the last time your church took a risk?