As iron sharpens iron,
one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
I think that mailing people sermons is a good idea not only for people here in the U.S., but all over the world. Think about it- not everyone can travel, but we are all capable of mailing things. I think it’s amazing that someone in another country could get saved because I mailed them a cd. Does your church do this?
The average dieter puts all his weight back on plus five percent more. Why is that? One reason is that most diets are not maintainable in the long term. The “eating deficits” created now result in binges and cravings later. One diet is all protein and no carbs. Another is no fat and all carbs. The result: Americans weigh more than ever.
On the other hand, those who make permanent, moderate, maintainable lifestyle changes to their eating habits (like measuring ice cream, cutting down on simple carbs) or exercise regimen (taking stairs instead of elevator) may not lose as much weight—but they are more likely to keep off the weight they lose.
Vitaliy, my husband, wanted me to ask a question on here— he knows you are mostly conservative men/women in ministry.
We talk a lot about salvation and spiritual growth/sanctification among ourselves. So he wants to know, in your ministries, do you see a place for and enage in helping people with emotional healing? Childhood wounds, etc.?
Thank you for your thoughts :)
George Barna has been the pied piper for many churches, leading many to adopt his conclusions, for better or worse. A few years ago, Barna sold his organization and began advocating the House Church.
With the way Christians are being silenced in our culture and government encroachment (particularly involving the gay issue) and the new emphasis on “diversity,” will church buildings become obvious points for protests, vandalism, etc., and will the government attach qualifications toward tax-exemption that will force compromise upon compliant churches?
From VOICE, May/Jun 2015. Used with permission. Read Part 1 and Part 2.
Some youth leaders leave youth ministry too early because they don’t have a plan. Without a plan that recirculates (yet leaves room for current and various studies throughout each year) the youth pastor continues to grow and grow, and brings kids with him, and then it becomes harder and harder to “start over” with a new group of kids.
Choosing topics to study month-to-month or week-to-week is an exhausting way to plan and teach, and it is impossible to duplicate. This kind of haphazardness (that we all have experienced to some degree as we figured out who we are in ministry) needs to be addressed so we don’t keep losing good leaders.
For some, youth ministry is just a stepping-stone to another ministry; I am not addressing those men. I am addressing the young man who is just starting out in youth ministry, with goals to change the world or at least the next generation, and plans to stay in youth ministry until God changes his passion. I am also sharing ideas with those who have been in youth ministry for years, yet struggle with continuity or structure and that fact is sapping their enthusiasm for the ministry they feel called to.
“The ACP statistics were released and things are not looking good for the SBC. About the only positive statistic is church planting – there are more of our churches out there. But fewer people are attending them”
“Bill Wilson, a former pastor and longtime church health consultant, noted that too often churches do not realize they—not the pastors—are the problem.”
“Below are a dozen pitfalls: five that don’t make the message of the passage the message of the sermon … five that fail to connect the text the congregation, and two that fail to recognise that preaching is ultimately God’s work.” Expositional Imposters
Discussion