One Small Step , livre ebook

Cover
Endorsements
“Matthew’s story is a powerful example of how amazing life becomes when you follow the daily nudges of the Holy Spirit in your heart. His life experience of helping others will inspire you to step out of your comfort zone and live the adventure Jesus has for you!”
Joyce Meyer, Bible teacher, bestselling author
“Every believer would benefit from reading One Small Step . At times we all fall into complacency and live unaware of what God wants to do through us. Matthew Barnett teaches us how to be mindful of the promptings of God so that we can be available to take part in His work here on earth. The stories found within these chapters and the impactful biblical teachings make this resource a life-giving read for anyone wanting to wholeheartedly follow God.”
Lysa TerKeurst, #1 New York Times bestselling author; president, Proverbs 31 Ministries
“We all want to make a difference as we follow the example of Jesus, but we can easily feel overwhelmed by where to start. In One Small Step , Matthew Barnett shows us how to begin from where we are. When we follow the Holy Spirit’s guidance and faithfully follow through on His prompting, we discover that we can be Jesus to others every day. With powerful insight from God’s Word and memorable stories that will inspire you, One Small Step will lead you to take giant strides for God’s Kingdom.”
Chris Hodges, senior pastor, Church of the Highlands; author, The Daniel Dilemma and What’ s Next?
“If I was to take advice from anyone about how to walk in faith, stay humble and accomplish great things for God, I would take it from Matthew Barnett. With the relentless commitment of an Energizer Bunny, Pastor Matthew has been serving the needy of Los Angeles with an intense and joyful commitment rarely seen in the City of Angels. In fact, the angels in this city pretty much all reside at the Dream Center, where those souls who have been labeled a lost cause are resurrected by the care of Matthew, his wife, Caroline, and all the wonderful people who have committed to helping ‘the least of these.’”
Patricia Heaton, award-winning actress and author
Half Title Page
Title Page
Copyright Page
© 2020 by Matthew Barnett
Published by Chosen Books
11400 Hampshire Avenue South
Bloomington, Minnesota 55438
www.chosenbooks.com
Chosen Books is a division of
Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan
www.bakerpublishinggroup.com
Ebook edition created 2020
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
ISBN 978-1-4934-2296-8
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™
Scripture quotations identified ESV are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2016
Scripture quotations identified KJV are from the King James Version of the Bible.
Scripture quotations identified MSG are from THE MESSAGE, copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
Scripture quotations identified NCV are from the New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations identified NKJV are from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations identified NLT are from the Holy Bible , New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Note that in some of the author’s stories, the names and identifying details of certain individuals have been changed to protect their privacy.
Cover design by Rob Williams, InsideOutCreativeArts
Author represented by The Fedd Agency, Inc.
Dedication
This book is dedicated to my wonderful wife, Caroline, and my two precious children, Caden and Mia, for the way they have embraced the messy aspects of ministry (while loving every second of this outrageous calling and roller-coaster journey).
Contents
Cover 1
Endorsements 2
Half Title Page 3
Title Page 5
Copyright Page 6
Dedication 7
Foreword by Jentezen Franklin 11
Acknowledgments 13
Introduction 15
STEP 1: Follow the Nudge 19
STEP 2: A Life-Changing Step 33
STEP 3: The Steps You Think You Cannot Take 49
STEP 4: Make Everything a Big Deal 61
STEP 5: The Small Steps That Change Lives 73
STEP 6: Step on Toes 87
STEP 7: Step Out of Yourself 101
STEP 8: When You Feel You Cannot Move 119
STEP 9: One Small Thought 133
STEP 10: The Attitude of a Servant 149
STEP 11: The Risk-Taking Step 165
STEP 12: Step to the Future 185
STEP 13: Leave a Local Legacy 203
About the Author 219
Cover Flaps 220
Back Cover 221
Foreword
In One Small Step: The Life- Changing Adventure of Following God’ s Nudges , Matthew Barnett spells out God’s plans for our changing the world—and those society has left behind. Small step after small step is the path I have watched Matthew walk through the years, covering an incredible amount of territory. No one has stayed the course and covered more ground, step by step, nudge after nudge, than Matthew and his amazing team at the Dream Center. Life after life, one day at a time, meeting every crisis with the love of Jesus and compassion that is unparalleled, the Los Angeles Dream Center is a refuge from a thousand storms.
In this groundbreaking book, Matthew provides the formula for stepping off the boat for any brave soul who would dare to do the same. It’s a must-read for any young pastor searching for a way to make a difference in the lives of the most marginalized in our modern society. And for every seasoned pastor looking for the next move of God in your church, this could very well be the call He is asking you and your congregation to answer.
This is not a book for the faint of heart or for those wanting to punch that nine-to-five time clock. Human need doesn’t keep bankers’ hours, and the immediate needs of a desperate soul may wake you in the middle of the night. But if you dare to take a glimpse at life on the front lines of the battle for the souls of the forgotten, then this book is for you.
It has been our honor to partner with the Dream Center over the years and to watch them answer the call to help the homeless, those caught up in sex trafficking or veterans at the end of themselves ready to take their lives. Every time Matthew says yes, the miracles start to happen. Not big and loud miracles. No, the kind of miracles that never make the papers—such as an addict celebrating thirty days of sobriety or the homeless man who receives his first paycheck or moves into his first apartment. Miracles like these happen every day, but not without those small steps of preparation and organization that it takes to pull it off. These are the nuts and bolts that build the launching pads of a thousand lives—and thousands more . . . little by little, day after day, in a city that never sleeps. It’s all here to see as Matthew lays out the blueprint for any who dare to reproduce this kind of love in your city that never sleeps.
Lastly, to whom much is given, much is required, and that’s a weighty responsibility. Matthew hasn’t been able to do this all by himself, and neither will you. But know this: For each and every person who dares to walk this path, the Lord has already started moving on the hearts of those who will someday help you in ways you never could have imagined. Allow Matthew to tell you some of these kinds of stories in the pages ahead. Allow each chapter to move you to action as the Lord begins to surround you with the army He is raising up to go with you. It’s all here on the pages ahead. And I know of no better tour guide than Matthew Barnett. He knows where every land mine has been planted and where every ambush has been set. He has experienced victory after victory and has the scars to tell their stories.
Jentezen Franklin, senior pastor, Free Chapel
Acknowledgments
With joy and gratitude, I acknowledge the members of the Dream Center family who continue to walk on water while keeping their eyes on Jesus, extending a life jacket to others at the same time.
Many thanks to our amazing friends at Chosen Books, who champion a message of service and surrender, for encouraging me to write this book, and to my father, Tommy Barnett, who inspired so much of this book with the way he models adventure and who has never lost sight of the fact that ministry is all about the “one.”
Special thanks to my mother, Marja, who taught me that you can have fun and still be a Christian, as well as my brother, Luke, and sister, Kristie, who would fight a bear to protect their baby brother.
Finally, I also want to acknowledge everyone living at the Dream Center who is dreaming from rock bottom—you amaze me with your courage to rise from the ashes and embrace God’s “next.”
Introduction
The bedtime Bible stories we tell our children are truly wonderful. David taking a few smooth stones, placing them in a slingshot and launching them toward the forehead of a giant, knocking him out. The Red Sea being rolled back so peo