Often times it seems that harder the church tries to be relevant, the more irrelevant we become. The Bible is full of this kind of upside down logic. The self-clingers lose themselves, the prideful end up humbled, those jostling to be first end last, and, now it seems, those trying the hardest to be relevant end up most irrelevant. Thaddeus Williams explores what happens when the church puts relevance to culture ahead of reverence to Christ.
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.
Can anything good come out of Kansas City? Absolutely! A global event is taking place there now at the International House of Prayer. You are invited to participate in what God is doing.
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.
Over the past three years I have had the privilege of serving as a part-time pastor in a local church here in Southern California. Though I鈥檝e been in ministry for several years and have even spent significant time in ministry overseas, these past few years have constituted a re-education in the gospel. Here is what I mean: 鈥淭he gospel鈥 is a phrase that Christians often use without fully understanding its significance. We speak the language of the gospel, but we rarely apply the gospel to every aspect of our lives. Yet this is exactly what God wants for us. The gospel is nothing less than 鈥渢he power of God鈥 (Rom. 1:16). In Colossians 1:6, the apostle Paul commends the Colossian church because the gospel has been 鈥渂earing fruit and growing...among [them] since the day [they] heard it.鈥 The apostle Peter teaches that a lack of ongoing transformation in our lives comes from forgetting what God has done for us in the gospel (2 Peter 1:3鈥9). If we are to grow into maturity in Christ, we must deepen and enlarge our understanding of the gospel as the way God transforms us.
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.
Social Justice or The Proclamation of the Gospel? In Amos Part One (2/18) we encountered the Northern Kingdom experiencing great prosperity during the reign of Jeroboam II. Suddenly, the prophet Amos appeared on the scene predicting Israel鈥檚 destruction and exile. I ended the previous post with this challenging question: 鈥淲hy has God become so angry with a people that He has so richly blessed?鈥
We are presently teaching through the Minor Prophets at church. I had the joy of tackling the book of Amos over a couple Sundays in February鈥攏ot exactly a seeker-sensitive text.
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.
Jesus prayed for His church to form a kind of angled mirror, bonded together with the kind of love that directs the world鈥檚 gaze upward to behold the Triune God of love (Jn. 17:11-24). Are we reflecting the Triune God clearly, or do our churches often form more of a cracked mirror, fragmented shards with animosities and apathies caked like mud, refracting little light from above? Dr. Williams explores one reason we may often fail to reflect the Trinity, namely, the lack of a robust doctrine of "the anti-Trinity."
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!
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.
I recently discovered something about Nehemiah that I had never noticed before. There are lots of hints in the biblical book that bears his name that Nehemiah was a person who lived with an ongoing awareness of the presence of the Lord, and who highly valued the importance of communion with God.
The Christmas story is about Jesus being born into the family of Mary and Joseph. Have you ever considered what other options there were for which type of family Jesus could have been born into? We could explore these possibilities by asking, 鈥淲hat early life experiences do we think could best prepare Jesus for his later public ministry?鈥 Let me suggest a context for this kind of musing. Imagine you were invited to observe that special planning session in eternity past when the Godhead considered creating this world and mapping out a plan for our redemption. Of course this couldn鈥檛 happen, but pretend this divine session was like one of our committee meetings. The topic on 鈥渢oday鈥檚鈥 agenda is 鈥淲hat is the best early life experience preparation for Jesus to be formed for his distinctive divine-human role as Messiah and Savior of the world?鈥
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.
Con Campbell鈥檚 new book, Paul and Union with Christ: An Exegetical and Theological Study (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2012, 479 pages, $34.99 softcover) is one of the most important books I鈥檝e read in a long time. I predict that scholars and serious students of the Bible will be referring to this book for years to come. The reason is simple: Campbell has meticulously and even-handedly taken one of the Apostle Paul鈥檚 central themes, union with Christ, and has painstakingly examined it both through an exegetical and a theological lens.
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.
Life can be busy. This just seems to be a reality of life. And especially within the Christian world, busyness sometimes seems to translate into godliness. I have known this to be true in my own life. I have the privilege to teach each week at the seminary and interact with students and colleagues regarding very important eternal matters. I also served as the lead pastor of a church on a 鈥減art-time鈥 basis. I鈥檓 married with two little boys who were always wanting daddy鈥檚 time. And I was finishing my dissertation for my doctorate. Just a little busy!
Every now and then It is good to be surrounded by people who cause us to consider the stewardship of our life. Being at the global summit, Transform World 2012, has caused me to do just that. Perhaps this can be of encouragement to you.
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