Articles Tagged 'Past' (Page 2)

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It Starts with Mission

Where do you begin to find a new preacher, pastor, or minister?

Tim Woodroof begins a series of articles by Interim Ministry Partners on discovering a congregation's mission by talking about how churches want to find someone to fill the pulpit in a hurry when they first need to discover who they are and what their mis

Bill Knapp's Keeps Me up at Night

How can an out of business restaurant speak to churches?

Mark Frost of Interim Ministry Partners shares a powerful parable about Bill Knapp's restaurants and America's quick fix mentality about the North American church and its troubles.

Discovering the Character of Your Church: Values & Integrity

How do we handle our values with integrity in the life of our congregation?

Greg Anderson reminds us why values are so important and how we must live out of our values with integrity.

In olden Times It Was Different

Nostalgia isn't what it used to be

Don't dwell on the past. Don't despair about the present. Look to the future and know that God is going to do wonderful things. And let that fill you with hope.

Fast or Full?

The old saying is that life happens fast, but can we live like that and enjoy its fullness?

Tom Norvel reminds us that life happens quickly, fast, and if we are not careful, we can get so busy that we miss life in all its fullness, abundance, and joy.

Moving beyond the Ashes

How do you restore the joy to life and ministry again?

Phil Ware talks about burn out and how God restored Elijah to ministry and freshness after his great victory on Mt. Carmel and his collapse in the desert.

If only Tomorrow...

I can't change the past or be sure of the future. But I know who can.

We worry about the past and cannot do anything about it, but God can. We worry about the future and cannot do anything about it. But God can.

I Know too many Hypocrites

Hypocrisy is often cited as a reason not to follow Jesus. It is just not true.

Hypocrites say one thing while intending to do another. That is not what Christians do.

What You Need to Move Ahead

Does the New Year already seem like an old one?

Rick Brown reminds us that even though we may have already begun to slip back into the old way of living, the New Year can be bring us fresh life if we remember this.

Lost and Found

Isn't it a blessing when you find what's been lost?!

Phil Ware tells about a time he lost his son Zachary and then found him and the joy of finding lost sheep in the teaching of Jesus.

A Really Inconvenient Truth

What is a shepherd's real goal in leading God's flock?

Phil Ware talks about Nathan's rebuke of David using a shepherding story, the use of shepherd imagery to describe God, and the call of God's leaders to be shepherds to the people of God.

System Maintenance

What's slowing down your system?

Computers generate temporary files that can accumulate over time and slow down the system. We can get bogged down in the same way by things that accumulate in our minds over time.

No Minister?

Can a

Patrick Odum talks about how we are all called to be ministers and challenges us to imagine church lived that way.

Is It Really Over?

So what do you do now that it has come to an end?

Tom Norvell looks at how the disciples must have felt right after Jesus' death and then talks about a year ending and the New Year beginning.

We Are His People!

Do we act like it?

Tom Norvell reminds us that we need to live like the Lord is our God!

Ruts

How can we get out of those hard and fast ruts?

Mike Barres talks about his gravel driveway and how it gets full of ruts and how he goes about avoiding them and then he challenges us to avoid living in the ruts we have made in our churches and our lives.

Changing the Past

What would you change about your past?

God gives us the chance to change the things we've done in the past, or at least make it as if we hadn't made the mistakes we did.

Leaving the Past, Living the Kingdom

How can I escape my past?

Paul Faulkner reminds us that we need to live for the present to help others and keep our focus on the matters of the Kingdom rather than let our lives get filled with regret for the past.

Proclaim Liberty Throughout the Land

Let's celebrate TRUE freedom

Despite common misconceptions, freedom is not granted by governments, nor won on a battlefield. True freedom comes from God and God alone.

What Do You Think?

Sometimes, don't you think you ought to find the answer for yourself?

While spiritual leaders have wisdom and knowledge, they are not always right and we should seek to answer many of our own questions ourselves using the Bible as our guide.

Leaders Create Culture

How much influence and power does a leader really have?

Leaders build confidence, encourage others, and equip to serve and thus change the culture of an organization.

Cutting Loose the Dead Weight

Why do we hang on to it when it weighs us down?

Light a stuck anchor prevents a boat from advancing or moving, so we often get stuck in our pasts and can't go forward until we get rid of the dead weight that weighs us down and holds us back.

Gallows?

Why in the world would anyone keep this around in their basement?

The old Gallows of the city of Chicago were left in the basement for years and years and this reminds Patrick of things that we allow to sit around in our hearts and fester and destroy us for years.

Vulnerably Successful

Why is it so hard to let folks minister to us?

So often, ministers and pastors won't let others minister to them, but we need to minister and be ministered to, we need to bless and be vulnerable so we can be blessed.

Personality or Person?

How do you view your church leaders?

We've got to move from viewing people as personalities to seeing them as people to love.