One of the first examples of leadership in the early church is found in Acts 6. The church was growing magnificently, but that growth did not shelter the church from problems. Sometimes growth contributes to the problems. Including more and more people with different backgrounds often leads to perceived lack of fairness. The study of …
Monthly Archives: January 2012
Visionary Leadership
Every church has leaders, whether those leaders are officially chosen and officially recognized or not That the church chooses leaders does not insure that those chosen will be good leaders. A leader may technically meet biblical criteria and not be a good leader. Thinking that church leaders are selected for life often eliminates accountability for …
It’s Sunday Again: “To Whom Am I a Neighbor?”
Another Sunday, the opportunity to worship with another part of the wonderful, great, extended family of God. Today Jan and I are representing Baxter Institute at the Missions Fair at the Park Plaza church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, after which I will preach in the Spanish-speaking assembly. My sermon text is the parable of the Good …
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Team Building Seminars
The work of the local church cannot be done by one person charged with ministry, or even by a small group of persons who provide leadership and are committed to the work. God intended the church to work together with the involvement of every member for self-edification and self-development (Ephesians 4:15-16). Paul describes the church …
Evangelism 5-4-3-2-1
I believe most ministers want to be evangelistic, want to see the church grow, want to see people brought to Christ. I believe that evangelism is a goal of most churches. In my experience, most Christians are thrilled when people are saved and pleased when the church grows. I believe most church leaders believe evangelism …
Training Seminar: Developing Leaders and Teachers
The weekend seminar in Waukegan is underway despite a slight bump due to the weather. We will make up the session that was missed last night with an extra session today. Providing educational opportunities for Christians is essential for the development of church members, for the development of the local church, and for the development …
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Cause for Concern?
I offer a recent reflection (These Things Concern Me) with the hope that we might step back and evaluate our tendencies toward division rather than unity. I ask that you prayerfully read and think and reflect in the spirit in which I write. I am concerned with an increasing tendency to develop and use creeds, …
Baxter Institute: Going Strong as We Begin a 49th Year of Ministry Training
Today I am traveling to Dallas on behalf of Baxter Institute, attending a meeting of the Presidential Search Committee. The work of the committee will help determine the future of Baxter, but today I am reflecting upon the past. What we know today as Baxter became a reality in Mexico in 1963 as Brother Harris …
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It’s Sunday Again: A Day with our “Near Family”
[Some have commented on my ‘absence’ during the last couple of weeks. At times the mind is overwhelmed with thoughts and activities and a break is needed.–by] In our physical families, we have close relatives and distant relatives. So also spiritually. For Jan and me, our ministry and missions efforts mean that we spend a …
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Faith and Marriage
The end of 2011 brought an interesting report to my inbox. The Association of Religion Data Archives, in an Ahead of the Trend report, shared the following under the title, “Happily ever after: Shared faith linked to kinder, gentler marriages.” “Fewer people may be getting married today, but there is new evidence that religious beliefs …