News
Let the Score Take Care of Itself
Renowned football coach Bill Walsh led the San Francisco 49ers to success 102 times over his 10-year career in the National Football League (1979 to 1988). Complementing this impressive record, he was able to amass three Super Bowl wins as well (1981, 1984, and 1988). Coach Walsh recounted his journey in a book published in 2009, titled “The Score Takes Care of Itself.”…
Are We Asking the Right Questions?
I recently heard a story on a podcast I was listening to. It’s a well-worn business management story—one that I’d heard several times before. However, this was a church leadership podcast, so I was hearing it with “new ears,” so to speak. The story goes that a new CEO stepped to the lectern to address a room of gathered employees at the 100-year-old company he’d been…
Hurricane Florence: Addressing an Immediate Need
I received an email several days ago with an immediate and significant need in which we can all participate. You may or may not know that our Adventist Community Services (ACS) agency is serving thousands of families who were evacuated due to Hurricane Florence in North Carolina. ACS has…
A Report from the Outreach Ministry Fair
The Spencerville Adventist Church celebrated its first Outreach Ministry Fair on September 8, 2018. This special event was organized by the Spencerville Adventist Community Services in conjunction with the pastoral staff to showcase the current outreach ministries provided by the church to its community. The threefold purpose of the fair was to create awareness among…
A Glimpse of the Divine
By all accounts, Ned Brooks is a fairly average guy. He has awife and three kids, a house in Norwalk, Connecticut, and considers himself semi-retired at age 65. I became acquainted with Ned’s story as he shared it with journalist Stephen Dubner, who hosts the popular podcast, Freakanomics. Several months ago, Ned was listening to an earlier episode of the show where Nobel…
Why Outreach is Part of Our DNA
This coming Sabbath our Spencerville church will be highlighting our outreach ministries during the Spencerville Outreach Ministry Fair. There are several reasons that inspire us to make this a priority as part of the DNA of our church family’s mission: We believe that God is passionate about restoring His physical, mental, and spiritual image in us. a. God created…
The Divine Multiplier
There was once a boy, around sixteen years of age. After a prolonged illness, he was informed by his family doctor that he likely had only six weeks to live. Understandably troubled by the news of his impending death, the boy went for a walk around the town where he lived. As he walked by a coffee shop, he saw a sign announcing a weeklong series of meetings presented by…
Rekindled. Renewed. Relationship.
A large crowd cramped under the white canopy to hear the words of the pastor. It was the middle of an evangelistic campaign and it seemed the congregation only grew larger each night. A member of the visiting choir and mission group, I wandered around the perimeter gazing at the faces and doing my best to understand the pastor’s rapid Spanish monologue. As I rounded a…
Why Do You Serve?
The church is God’s appointed agency for the salvation of men [Note: this means all people, not just males. —JL]. It was organized for service, and its mission is to carry the gospel to the world.” —The Acts of the Apostles, p. 9 In this space over past weeks, I’ve lauded your efforts as a church body with regard to service, and let me be clear, I have…
Never Stop Learning
As I write this, I’m sitting in the airport at Love Field in Dallas, Texas, on my way back from the North American Division’s (NAD) CALLED meetings in Austin. What a blessing it’s been to attend the first divisional meeting for pastors! I want to affirm the efforts made by our denominational leadership and mention how spiritually refreshed I’ve…
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