I always said that I wanted to be a father deserving of those corny plaques displayed at the Christian bookstores. If my boys ever gave me one of them, and I deserved it, then I would feel I had accomplished what God called me to do as a dad. I’m thinking now that I may need to contextualize that standard with the culture of the day.
There are signs of encouragement and life returning to the economy. The unemployment rate is a factor that usually lags behind other indicators, so that’s still very discouraging, but there are hints of better days to come. How should we react during the waiting times like this? Let me offer a few suggestions:
Hypothetically (or maybe not), how would one grow a church that had no young families? Any suggestions on the matter would be greatly appreciated.
The Obama’s have a new dog. The dog is a six-month-old Portuguese water dog, named Bo, given to Malia and Sasha Obama by the Edward Kennedy family. Apparently the dog wasn’t working out at the previous owner’s home, so they thought to give it to the Obama family. I’m happy for them, knowing the joy an animal can bring a household.
One Saturday morning some 2,000 years ago, surely there was a group of mixed-up, hurting, confused, sickly, tired, afraid, and desperate people. They had placed all their hopes in a man who claimed to be the promised Messiah. They were there when their hope was nailed to a cross. They watched their mentor and friend die a cruel death. What would they do now? What was next?
Technology is being used in incredible ways for Kingdom growth. It seems this Easter I have seen much more advertising for “Internet Church”. Several leading churches are encouraging people to check out the Internet this Easter. That’s not new, but it seems more prevalent this year than ever.
That is, until the morning came. The night before it was dark. I couldn’t see fully what I was doing. There was one bracket holding the light in place that when moved, made the headlight one of the easiest to change I have ever experienced. I’m driving his truck this week as he drives mine, so I’m thankful for the headlight.
Our church is 3 ½ years old. We have learned a lot in that time, but each day we realize we have so much more to learn. We usually look to newer churches to get inspiration, simply because they are closest to doing things the way we do them, but recently I was reminded that there are things I should learn from much older churches.
I don’t know about you, but I need to change my wanter! I need to correct my cravings and focus them in the direction they were intended: on loving and honoring our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! What a difference it would make in the way we live, if only we could be content with what we have!
The list of top small workplaces for 2008 is challenging and inspiring, even convicting at times. Some of the practices of these companies address issues our organization is experiencing and that was reflected in the staff’s evaluation of my leadership.