Leadership
Creativity And Bureaucracy
The English professor in Dead Poets Society (‘John Keating’ played by Robin Williams) dramatically tells his students ‘Carpe diem’ – ‘Seize the day!’ Every one of you will die, he warns, and the critical question is: Will you wait too long to make what you should of your lives? ‘Make your life extraordinary!’ The climax […]
What Makes Churches Grow?
A pastor and lay leader were attending a symposium on church growth, and at the end confronted the main speaker. ‘I’m convinced our church’s ministry to the community is valuable, a solid core of members is dedicated… But few people are joining us’, the pastor said. ‘We want to grow, rather than merely survive. But […]
Women And Ministry: A Sermon
Text: Romans 16: 1 – 27 Caller to American Christian radio talk show: ‘What do you think of Philip’s four daughters who prophesied?’ Guest clergyman: ‘It just means they witnessed for Christ.’ Caller: ‘But why can’t women teach and preach?’ Clergyman: ‘That ministry is for men only and I can give you a very good […]
Leadership, Maturity And Risk-Taking
At Mount Rushmore, South Dakota, are the carved figures of four great U.S. presidents – Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt. Gutson Borglum was the artist and when asked how he did it, he modestly replied: ‘Well, those figures were there for forty million years. All I had to do was dynamite 400,000 tons of […]
The Church And Its Mission
(THE CHURCH AND ITS MISSION) What would you do if you knew the Lord was coming back tomorrow? Fundamentalists would stage an evangelistic crusade; ‘mainliners’ might visit the sick; charismatics would have a revival meeting, radicals organize a protest march. Martin Luther said he’d plant a tree… An inappropriate response would be to hold a […]
Worship
Praise God from whom all blessings flow Praise him for one hour here below; Praise him with nickel and with dime, Praise God we’re getting out on time. ‘It’s dead, a mechanical routine. We do the same things, ritually, week after week. I don’t get anything out of it.’ ‘My friends have voted with their […]
Confessions Of A Timeaholic
I was brought up by good Christian parents to believe that work was good, laziness was bad, and that sanctity is measured by omnipresence at church meetings. Once or twice in sermons I remember someone quoting the words from the old clock in Chichester cathedral: ‘When as a child I laughed and wept, time crept. […]
Stress And Burnout In Ministry
It was a grey Canadian morning in April 1982. The children had gone to school, my wife to work, and I did something I’d never done before. I turned the phone down, put a note on the front door, and went back to bed. I was burned out – and within two months resigned my […]
Searching In Sorrow–Pastoral Reflections On God’s Leading
Thomas F. Fischer, M.Div., M.S.A. “Three times I prayed…but God said, ‘My grace is sufficient for you…My strength is made perfect in your weakness.” St. Paul in II Cor. 12:9 (NIV) Searching in sorrow In my weakness I found The path I had taken Was not at all sound. The road to success The way […]
Control, Compulsions Etc…
WHEN IT’S OUT OF CONTROL In a storm it’s better to be a Willow tree than an Oak tree. Why? Even though the Oak is stronger, during strong winds it’s the Willow which can bend in the wind and survive. The Oak, on the other hand, will break…and die. When pushed by stormy winds of […]
Categories
Articles may be reproduced in any medium, without applying for permission
(provided they are unedited, and retain the original author/copyright information - and a reference to this website :-)!
26,756 articles online.
Protected by Akismet, Digital Ninjas and an Ion Cannon. Really.
Blog with WordPress