One of the little known facts of church growth is that pastors can stay too long. Long pastoral tenure can actually harm the growth of a church. Generally, the first twenty years of a pastor鈥檚 tenure are quite healthy, but it is very rare for a pastor to lead a church through a third decade with vitality and growth.
驴Por qu茅 las cosas son como son? 驴D贸nde est谩 Dios cuando el mundo lo ignora a 脡l y a sus principios? Cuando Dios act煤a, 驴por qu茅 hace 脡l lo que hace? Todos nos hemos hecho alguna vez preguntas dif铆ciles respecto a Dios y a nuestra fe. En muchas ocasiones, lo que vemos aparentemente no concuerda con lo que creemos acerca de Dios. 驴Qu茅 hacer en estas circunstancias? En Habacuc encontramos un libro b铆blico que nos muestra un modelo para enfrentar estos momentos y acrecentar nuestra fe en el Dios que sostiene el universo con su poder.
I love my office. There are many reasons that I love my office. One is that I can store the many books that I own in there. Second, it is a place for study or reading in a quiet setting. But what I love most is that my office is a place for ministry and discipleship to occur. In other words, it is a safe place to meet students who are not only facing the challenges of academia but also the hardships of life. For this reason, the value of my office hours is priceless!
My wife Trudi and I spoke for a parenting seminar this past weekend. We offered 14 鈥渢ips鈥 for nurturing the spiritual lives of one鈥檚 children. I鈥檝e included the 14 teaching points here for your own consideration. Our prayer is that many parents will take on the call to intentionally train their children in the ways of the Lord. If you want your children to grow up to be passionate followers of Christ鈥
There is a pressure that is constantly battling around us to give people whatever they want. When you are younger it was labeled peer pressure. However, as we grow older the peer pressures continues throughout life, we just call them 鈥淓xpectations鈥濃
A search of the Internet will reveal several different kite parables, including one in support of the (un-Christian) idea that by holding tight to the string of God鈥檚 commandments people can fly themselves up into the heavens. I鈥檇 like to suggest a different kite parable, one that is more in keeping with Christian orthodoxy. My parable focuses on the kite itself (not the string) as the gospel of salvation through faith in Christ alone, but not a faith that is alone.
Looking over a resume in order to hire a person for ministry can be trickier than one realizes at first. This is especially true because they typically want to give the benefit of the doubt to one鈥檚 accomplishments and experiences as listed on a resume. However, it has been the experience of this writer that what is often listed on a resume may not actually be the truth. There are those who like to 鈥渟tretch鈥 the information or possibly 鈥渆mbellish鈥 the facts to point in favor of the applicant. Then there are those who just flat out lie about who they really are and what they鈥檝e done. This blog will highlight some clues or signs of 鈥渞ed flags鈥 that may show up in ministry resumes.
Esta semana se conmemoran los d铆as m谩s importantes para el cristianismo y, por consiguiente, para todo el mundo. La muerte y resurrecci贸n de Jesucristo marcan el eje central de nuestra fe. Durante la semana santa recordamos la muerte de Jes煤s en la cruz por nuestros pecados y su victoria sobre la muerte a trav茅s de su gloriosa resurrecci贸n.
Breaking up may be hard to do, but starting over in ministry can be scary. No one enjoys change and often our worst mistakes happen in the stress of transitions.
Forming the right kind of pastoral staff or leadership team can be a very challenging endeavor. Getting the right people to work together for the long run is much more difficult than people imagine. Sometimes great individual leaders do not necessarily mean they will work well together in a team. So, how can this be remedied? But before this question can be asked, there is another important preliminary question that needs to be raised. What elements need to be in place or need to match in order to build a strong and cohesive staff? This blog will examine three aspects that need to match well in order to build a good, strong, and cohesive staff.
Recuerdo que el pastor de la iglesia donde crec铆 repet铆a constantemente esta frase 鈥渆l amor es un producto de la voluntad鈥. Estas palabras se convirtieron en una expresi贸n com煤n en la iglesia y se mencionaban constantemente en diferentes contextos. Me parece que lo que el pastor quer铆a comunicar era que la acci贸n de amar est谩 basada principalmente en una decisi贸n y no solamente en emociones. Nuestras emociones cambian, pero cuando decidimos amar a Dios y a nuestro pr贸jimo independientemente de nuestro estado de 谩nimo entonces estamos as铆 cumpliendo la ley de Cristo. Estoy de acuerdo con la idea general, pero creo que el amor va mucho m谩s all谩 de nuestra voluntad. El amor se centra en la persona de Dios y nosotros tenemos el gran privilegio de participar y demostrar el amor divino.
This post is for people who are praying seriously about the possibility of serving overseas in long-term cross-cultural missions. It may help you assess where you presently stand in terms of 鈥渞eadiness鈥 for such a ministry assignment.
There is poignant scene in the movie 鈥淎mazing Grace鈥 that pans onto a country field in which William Wilberforce is lying on the wet grass contemplating the magnificence of God. He is mesmerized by the dew on a spider web as evidence of God鈥檚 handiwork. In this instant he feels the inner tension between staying in the moment, meditating on God and returning to ongoing struggle in politics. He cannot discern which is better: to sit in solitude with God or enter the realm of politics where he is seeking to bring God鈥檚 justice? It is only later that some abolitionist ministers suggest that he could do both: seek to be with God and serve God 鈥 at the same time. It is this special combination that I believe is the key to living for God鈥檚 Kingdom - not at a glorious future in heaven above, but now in this broken world in need of God鈥檚 redeeming justice and hope!
Talbot faculty members share some of their picks for the best books released in 2012. Read about their recommendedations here, listed in alphabetical order:
As we near the outset of a new academic semester, I thought this comment from John Frame was a fitting word of encouragement for Talbot faculty and students alike concerning the nature of our engagement with God鈥檚 word.
I am very excited to announce that Talbot School of Theology will be launching a new Doctor of Ministry track in Asian-American Ministry in June of 2013. This is a 2-week residency that will run from June 3rd to the 14th, 2013. This track will be taught and guided by some of the most experienced leaders, instructors, and practitioners in Asian-American ministry. The track is geared towards anyone who pastors or leads Asian-Americans in a church or parachurch.
鈥淎l mundo paz naci贸 Jes煤s鈥 es el inicio de un popular villancico navide帽o que resume magistralmente esta temporada de fiesta por la llegada del Hijo de Dios entre nosotros. La navidad celebra el cumplimiento de la promesa de la venida del Pr铆ncipe de paz (Is. 9:6). La segunda persona de la trinidad se hizo hombre y habit贸 entre nosotros para despu茅s darnos vida a trav茅s de su sacrificio expiatorio en la cruz. Por lo tanto, la navidad es un acontecimiento digno de celebrarse.
鈥淏ueno, pero Dios sigue estando en su trono鈥 es una frase que he escuchado bastante veces en los 煤ltimos d铆as. Los que la pronuncian generalmente lo hacen con un tono de resignaci贸n al ver que las cosas no se han dado como inicialmente esperaban. Me da la impresi贸n que recuerdan que Dios est谩 en control de las circunstancias solamente como un premio de consolaci贸n al ver que su candidato perdi贸 las elecciones o enfrentan otras decepciones en la vida. Tristemente en estos casos, estas personas se olvidan que nuestro Dios siempre es victorioso, siempre est谩 en control y que nada ni nadie obstruye su soberan铆a sobre todo. Dios no deber铆a ser el premio de consolaci贸n de los perdedores sino el premio mayor de todos los d铆as sin importar lo que est茅 sucediendo a nuestro alrededor.
El Esp铆ritu Santo es esencial para la vida y ense帽anza cristiana. De hecho, no creo exagerar al afirmar que sin la ayuda y poder del Esp铆ritu Santo todos nuestros esfuerzos tanto para agradar a Dios como para ense帽ar a otros a hacerlo carecen de sentido y, por lo tanto, los resultados son insignificantes. Desgraciadamente, en muchas ocasiones el Esp铆ritu Santo es olvidado, minimizado o incluso relevado a solamente una teor铆a teol贸gica que creemos porque se encuentra en la Biblia, pero que no tiene ninguna relevancia en nuestra vida diaria. De hecho, llegu茅 a escuchar a un profesor de un seminario afirmar que muchos cristianos de forma pr谩ctica creen que la santa trinidad est谩 compuesta por el Padre, el Hijo y las Santas Escrituras. De esta manera, la presencia del Esp铆ritu Santo es totalmente olvidada.
Mentoring may be a 鈥渂uzz-word鈥 in the business world, but the practice of developing another person for specific purposes of skill or leadership development has been around since the beginning of civilization. It is evident throughout Scripture 鈥 especially in the ministries of Jesus and Paul. However, the integration of mentoring for ministry preparation within academic settings has built in problems. SO WHY BOTHER? For many reasons...
He tenido el privilegio de ser profesor por m谩s de veinte a帽os. A los diecinueve a帽os empec茅 a ense帽ar espa帽ol y otras materias en una secundaria publica en Guadalajara, M茅xico. Esta aventura que empez贸 como un simple trabajo se ha convertido en mi vocaci贸n y he tenido la oportunidad de ense帽ar en varios pa铆ses, instituciones y niveles acad茅micos que van de la secundaria hasta el doctorado. La tarea de un profesor es ardua y siempre hay muchas cosas que aprender. De hecho, actualmente ense帽o en un programa doctoral que se enfoca principalmente en la tarea educativa y en los procesos de ense帽anza-aprendizaje en diferentes contextos cristianos.
鈥淓l que espera, desespera鈥 dice un refr谩n popular. Esperar algo no es satisfactorio para nadie y en ocasiones las salas de espera en oficinas y consultorios se convierten en salas de tortura para muchos que, como yo, son impacientes y perciben el tiempo de espera como un tiempo perdido. Esta creencia com煤n puede percibir a la esperanza como algo negativo y algo no muy deseado.
I want to announce a new resource, as well as make a shameless plug, for small group Bible studies and Sunday School classes. It鈥檚 a DVD providing four 15-minute sessions about the book of Psalms. It is part of the new Deepening Life Together video series published by Baker Books, LifeTogether and Lamplighter Media.
Formal education at educational institutions has become in many ways the most popular understood form of education that in general we have the tendency to equate our ability to learn with our GPA or success at school. In this way, if adults earned good grades at educational institutions, it is assumed they 鈥渒now鈥 how to learn because they were good students. For this reason, this kind of people perceive favorably words like 鈥淏ible study鈥 or 鈥淪unday school鈥 and usually they like to be involved in them.
I was recently reflecting on my doctoral training and I realized that I learned a few things (ten, to be precise) beyond the actual subject matter of my discipline. For starters, I learned that footnotes can be overdone.
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