Loading ...Matthew | May 30, 2008
I left out at 5:00am to meet with my friend Dale Sadler close to Nashville. Dale and I have a tradition of going on a hike each year. Dale and I have been friends for some time now. We met while he was the youth minister for the Portland church of [...]
Matthew | May 28, 2008
This is not an attack on youth ministers. I have heard a few sermons and read a few articles on liberal youth ministers destroying the church. This is a cry for help for the current youth ministers in the church. Recently, at the FHU graduation, I was talking with a talented young [...]
Matthew | May 27, 2008
I walked into the Carmax to buy a new family minivan. A nice young salesman greeted me at the door to provide help and service. His purpose was to answer questions, direct me to the cars that I would be interested in, and to make me feel comfortable. You walk in most [...]
Matthew | May 26, 2008
This was an excellent positional instructional book. Most of the book dealt with pawn development and strategy. It is a book that deals with the finer elements of the game. It teaches lessons on strongholds, pawn chains, isolating the Queen pawn, and how to push a minority pawn structure forward. The [...]
Matthew | May 25, 2008
There was never a greater champion in chess than Bobby Fischer. He was a artist over the board. His combinations, his sacrifices, and opening moves are still some of the most popular attractions. In later years, Bobby has developed a mental illness that has caused serious damage to his reputation and to [...]
Matthew | May 23, 2008
It seems in the past that those in leadership positions within the church functioned with a top-down structure. This was not done with prideful hands, or power hungry motives, but rather from a lack of leadership training. It seemed that the eldership or leadership functioned in this style because of the pervading structure [...]
Matthew | May 22, 2008
This book is written to the business culture in America. Books with a business mindset can be helpful or pointless for the ministry context. A helpful book from business is “Good to Great” and a unhelpful book from business is “Winning” by Jack Welch. This book falls between these two examples. [...]
Matthew | May 21, 2008
Most individuals with a churches of Christ background have heard the plea of establishing an identity. It is usually phrased with “preaching the distinctive nature of the church.” It was a plea to form an Christian identity in contrast to Christian practices in the denominational world. This desire to position the church was motivation for [...]
Matthew | May 20, 2008
This is one of the finest books on leadership in a congregational environment. The book deals with numerous paradoxes that the minister experiences in leadership. In most leadership books from the business culture, the application and transference is not applicable because of the difficult contexts of these cultures. The minister’s world [...]
Matthew | May 19, 2008
This past Sunday I was with the Hartsville Pike congregation in Gallatin for the friends and family day. We had a highly successful day as the food was great, the singing was wonderful, and there were 566 people in the pews–Too bad the preaching was terrible. It was great to see some [...]
