201. Mike Ashcraft – What’s Your One Word?

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Mike Ashcraft, senior pastor at Port City Community Church, shares his journey and insights on generous leadership.

“Reach isn’t a measure or a strategy for how we get bigger. Reach is a measure of what we’re willing to care about.”

“We have to wage war against regret.”

“We break the patterns of the past by choosing to be faithful in the moment.”

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction and Background
07:27 Reaching People and Caring for Their Needs
09:07 Walking with People and Being Helpful
17:19 The Importance of Surrender
23:17 Choosing a Word of the Year
27:58 Living a Life of Beauty and Generosity
30:37 The Power of a Single Word
32:27 Being Intentional and Generative
36:39 Disrupting Old Patterns and Finding Peace
39:43 The Process of Encounter, Formation, and Expression
50:02 Being Cool and Embracing Authenticity

Episode Summary:

Mike Ashcraft, senior pastor at Port City Community Church, shares his journey and insights on generous leadership. He emphasizes the importance of reaching people and caring about their needs, rather than focusing on building something big. Mike also discusses the value of walking with people and not standing on issues, as well as the significance of surrender and choosing a word of the year. He encourages individuals to focus on who they want to be and to live a life of beauty and generosity. In this conversation, Mike Ashcraft discusses the power of choosing a single word to guide and shape our lives. He emphasizes the importance of being intentional and generative in our actions and thoughts. Mike also shares insights on disrupting old patterns, finding peace in the present moment, and the process of encounter, formation, and expression. He encourages us to be cool and not let our emotions dictate our responses. Ultimately, Mike wants to be remembered as someone who was authentic and actively worked towards becoming the person he aspired to be.

R.O.G. Takeaway Tips:

Reaching people is about caring for their needs and extending ourselves towards them.
Walking with people involves being helpful and asking how we can support them.
Surrendering involves trusting God with different aspects of our lives and offering ourselves as a living sacrifice.
Choosing a word of the year helps deepen our awareness and focus on who we want to be.
Living a life of beauty and generosity involves offering something that isn’t necessarily productive or efficient. Choose a single word to guide and shape your life.
Be intentional and generative in your actions and thoughts.
Disrupt old patterns and find peace in the present moment.
Embrace the process of encounter, formation, and expression.
Be cool and don’t let emotions dictate your responses.
Strive to be authentic and actively work towards becoming the person you aspire to be.

Guest Bio:

Mike Ashcraft serves as the senior pastor at Port City Community Church which he helped start in 1999. He is the author of To Be Concluded and My One Word, as well as a children’s picture book, The Bright Idea. He married Julie, his high school sweetheart, in 1992. They grew up in Atlanta and relocated near the beach in southeastern North Carolina. They enjoy family time with their two daughters, sons-in-law, and grandchildren. The beach is Mike’s happy place and surfing is the only hobby he needs.

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