September 20, 2018
gauges

Five Gauges For Staying Healthy In Ministry

Reposted with kind permission from Breeze. It seems like every other week that a prominent Christian leader quits, is fired or lands in the news because of some sort of scandal. I don’t know about you, but I find these stories demoralizing because each story tarnishes the reputation of Jesus and His Church in our culture. These stories are also scary because I find myself thinking, Can anyone do this? Can anyone lead in the spotlight without failing? The truth is that hundreds, probably thousands, of church leaders and pastors serve and lead faithfully for years, even decades without a major failing. […]
September 18, 2018
online

Free Online Courses from Our Daily Bread Christian University

Watch and then read: our interview with Evan Morgan, president of Our Daily Bread Christian University (ODBCU), to learn more about the many opportunities available through this online school and then peruse their course offerings shared on our GProLearning site today. Access courses here via our Learning Paths on GProLearning: Interview below: How is Our Daily Bread connected with ChristianUniversity.org? Our ministry was founded in February 1998 as a subsidiary of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities in the USA, with the mission of reaching students worldwide with affordable and accessible Christian learning opportunities. We became a subsidiary of […]
September 18, 2018
hunger

Encouraging a Hunger for God

Shared with kind permission from author Barry Voss “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” Matthew 5:6 There is an old saying that “you can lead a horse to water but you cannot make him drink.” It means that if a horse is not thirsty he likely will not drink, even if you place some water before him.  The same can be said of our relationship to God.  We can be led to God, but unless we desire Him we will have no interest. So it is important for us to develop a hunger for […]
September 12, 2018
unchurched

5 Things That Give Pastors a Bad Name With Unchurched People

I’ve been a pastor since I was 30 years old, but even now, I still don’t really like telling people what I do. I have a heart for unchurched people and am always trying to find a way to build bridges and tear down barriers. But I feel like telling people I’m a pastor or lead a church almost automatically creates a barrier—a barrier that seems to grow with every passing year. Maybe it’s just me, but I always feel there’s a funk associated with the idea of being a pastor that might be a combination of Confusion…I’ve never actually met […]
August 28, 2018
legacy

Leaving a Legacy

Each one of us will be remembered or judged by what we leave behind. The life we lived. The fights we fought. The family we raised. The ministry we did. The mission we accomplished. The impact we had. This is what we call LEGACY. It’s what you and I leave behind. We often think of LEGACY in terms of what to leave behind WHEN we retire, grow old or die. It shouldn’t be, right? Have you considered leaving a legacy NOW? You see, we don’t need to be in the retirement stage to begin to leave a legacy. We shouldn’t […]
August 14, 2018
costly

When Preaching the Word is Costly

Guest post from Craig Parro, President of Leadership Resources To us, preaching the Word is a no-brainer. To people like Pastor John from Kenya, it is a costly choice. John used to be a “rhema” preacher—that is, one that ‘followed the Spirit’ in preaching—which really meant saying anything that came to his head at the moment. After studying 2 Timothy’s command to “preach the Word” during a TNT (Training National Trainers) workshop, John repented of his preaching approach and began to preach Word-saturated messages, beginning with Jonah. Many left his church, and one woman even said, “Tell the pastor we’ve had […]
August 7, 2018
stuck

3 Ways Almost Every Church Gets Stuck

Resharing with kind permission from Carey Nieuwhof.  At some point, almost every church gets stuck. If yours isn’t stuck right now, just wait a while. Every church and organization gets stuck at some point. Usually, churches get stuck because what was working stopped working, When that happens, leaders aren’t sure what to do. While figuring that out is complex (and a frequent subject of many posts on this blog), trying to find a solution is difficult if you’re looking in the wrong place. It’s easy to think that churches are prone to get stuck in the past. And that’s true. If there’s a trend, it’s […]
July 31, 2018
Singles

Singleness and the Church: Not overlooking the overlooked in our midst

 In this classic episode, Dr. Darrell Bock, Dr. Abraham Kuruvilla and Kari Stainback discuss singleness, focusing on how the church can better minister to singles.  Timecodes: 00:16 Kuruvilla and Stainback share their stories of singleness 04:50 the church’s struggle to minister to singles 08:16 Singleness comes in different forms and different circumstances 15:30 1 Corinthians 7 and practical implications in the local church 21:57 Advice for pastors and church leaders in ministering to singles 28:40 Singleness and small group ministries 31:45 Experiencing community as a single person 38:25 Advice to singles for gaining greater community 41:00 Ministering to those who have reentered singleness through death or divorce 47:45 Singleness […]