Weekly Update (Page 4)
Persona non grata in the Friendly Skies
Sitting in a center seat of an airplane for a few hours isn’t a life-altering disappointment. At worst, it’s a “first-world” inconvenience. Yet, as a pastor, I couldn’t help but draw a spiritual comparison to the experience…
Cultural Shifts, Christmastime, and the Importance of Relationships
Christmastime, as I mentioned last week, is one of the seasons in which people are the most open to attending church. Within our local context, there is a fantastic opportunity to extend an invitation…
A Christmas Reminder for All of Us—Including the Pastors!
The Christmas season is here once again. Beyond the beautiful music, festive decorations, and the reminders of the first coming of our Savior, Christmas brings with it still another joy…
Book Suggestions for Your Winter Reading List
I’ve had the pleasure of reading several excellent books lately, and I wanted to share the ones that are worth your consideration as you ponder assembling your own winter reading list. I don’t know about you, but when the thermometer dips, it’s a signal to me that the time has come for books and warm beverages. It’s not that I don’t love winter weather—I do. But there’s…
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.”…
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…
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…
Responding in Service
Over the past few months I’ve seen our membership step up and commit to serving this church at an impressive rate. Not only do we have almost 300 people signed up for H.I.S. Teams, but our estimates show that almost 50% of our average weekly attendees are…