As iron sharpens iron,
one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
“Part of Christian parlance is to speak of ‘the ministry’ or ‘the minister’ to refer to a set of professional religious activities….That’s a rather unfortunate happenstance of how religious terms develop, because ministry refers to everything Christians do to build up the body of Christ” - P&D
“trying to recruit church volunteers primarily by making announcements from the pulpit, via email, or within the church newsletter. Here’s why that approach doesn’t work” - Chuck Lawless
Reposted from Rooted Thinking.
Even though I had my struggles as a teen, God had my heart. I wanted to serve Him. When I heard appeals from pastors or missionaries about being willing to give ourselves fully to Christ in full-time Christian service, my heart sang, “Let me!”
“Quite the opposite from being a spiritual theatre intended for the entertainment of the saints, church is actually a spiritual bootcamp where they are to be equipped for service and prepared for cosmic warfare.” - Ref21
“Rather than asking, ‘How do we recruit move volunteers?,’ it’s time to ask, ‘How well are we stewarding the volunteers we have?’” - Facts & Trends
Reposted with permission from The Cripplegate.
by Eric Davis
Let’s face it. Church is not always as exciting as we would like. Sometimes it’s boring and disappointing. It’s possible that there are good reasons for that. But it’s possible that there are not.
Being bored is not the worst thing that can happen to us in our churches. In fact, it may be the best thing since it can present opportunity for personal change. Though not always, our personal boredom can often be symptomatic of a needed soul adjustment.
Consider a few shifts before submitting to disappointment’s demands:
Barna: “More than 80 percent of pastors disagree strongly or somewhat that ‘it is okay for a member who volunteers extensively not to give financially’ … only 20% of church members agree. CPost
From Voice magazine, May/June 2016. Used by permission. Read Part 1, and Part 2.
Imagine standing before a newly planted tree. For the first several years, we see rapid growth; but after a number of years, the tree seems to stop growing. In the first few years, we could measure the height of tree and measure the growth by feet. But as the years go by, the rapid upward growth slows and even seems to stop. Year after year we look at the tree and see little, if any, growth. However, reality often differs from perception. What we perceive to be the periods of little growth is actually when the tree grows the most. The greatest growth in the volume of board feet comes when the tree becomes so large it no longer appears to be growing.
So it is with the spiritual growth of people. When a person first experiences the redemption of Christ, the transformation is both dramatic and highly visible. But as time goes on, it seems as though people become stagnant with little growth occurring. However, what we fail to realize is that God is still at work within the individual.
Discussion