Loading ...Matthew | January 31, 2009
I have added a new poll concerning the firestorm about the new Church of Christ directory. There have been two major conversations concerning this new publication of the churches of Christ in America. One is that the churches of Christ are in decline and that the instrumental congregations have been excluded from the list. I [...]
Matthew | January 30, 2009
This was a short little booklet that is condensed from the author’s larger work of “The Peacemaker.” This little booklet was packed full of useful knowledge concerning the Biblical process for peace. It dealt with three concepts of helping people process peace. The first idea was coaching where you function as a support in encouraging [...]
Matthew | January 28, 2009
Mostly everyone is familiar with the verse of Matthew 7:5 “You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.” Jesus is making a powerful point of making sure you deal with your own problems before you begin dealing [...]
Matthew | January 27, 2009
The congregation had a tradition of having the seniors fill out a form concerning future plans and future hopes. The forms were read during “Senior Night” at the congregation. As the new youth minister, it was up to me to convey the information to the congregation. Being inexperienced, I added some humor to [...]
Matthew | January 26, 2009
This is another book that must be read for the Doctor of Ministry degree at Harding Graduate. You might all be bored with all the books on church fights by now, but I hope you are growing in your awareness of some of the material that will help your ministry. As I continue to journey [...]
Matthew | January 25, 2009
“All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible.”
T.E. Lawrence. “Seven Pillars of Wisdom.”
Matthew | January 23, 2009
Ministry is routine of the unexpected. Most days have similar elements. There is study, communication, teaching, prayer, visiting, and planning or administration duties. A minister must be disciplined as well as flexible in his timetable. He must focus on a task and be able to switch gears quickly to deal with pressing concern. Ministry is [...]
Matthew | January 22, 2009
This book has been the best so far from the texts that I must read for the conflict class. This book is more practical and helpful to a preacher in a local congregation. The book is based more in scripture than the other books that are rooted in conflict management skills. This is a type [...]
Matthew | January 21, 2009
The Castle Rock congregation was lacking a professional webpage. Fortunately, I have a brother who is a webpage developer for the Nova Scotia government. He is a profession who was kind enough to build a webpage for the church. He also designed and built the webpage for the Waynesboro congregation. This was a beautiful site, [...]
Matthew | January 20, 2009
At the fundamental level a church to grow must change its thinking first and foremost of all. The reason that congregations become stagnant is that the thinking of the leaders has helped the congregation to grow to its present size but fails to continue to grow because the leaders have not grown. For the congregation [...]
