Life Goes On

At our church we usually pray conversationally for as much as 20-30 minutes.  Our people are being trained to pray about one subject at the time for up to a minute, and then to give others the opportunity to either join in that prayer topic or introduce another one.  They are free to pray as many times as they choose, but asked to keep each prayer focused on one topic.  The result thus far (we've been doing this for about 6 weeks) is that more people pray about more topics than in the old method of one or two people recruited to open and close the prayer time while everyone else prays silently (if at all) We have the opportunity to study the Bible in Sunday School, to be encouraged, inspired and challenged by a sermon in church.  On Wednesday we have the opportunity to impact the world through prayer.  Ron Dunn, great Bible teacher/preacher now deceased, described intercessory prayer as an ICBM missile, launched from a pad no larger than your knees wh...

As usual, Andy Stanley get right to the "heart" of the matter in this book.  With personal anecdotes, clear scriptural exposition and to-the-point conclusions, Andy helps the reader expose the fountainhead that feeds the outflow of their life.  Guilt, anger, greed and jealousy are identified as the enemies which torment us all.  Not content to just help the reader discover these insidious foes, Andy then gives a clear-cut path to defeating them. At the end of the book there are discussion questions on each chapter which makes this book a great tool for Bible study groups, Home Groups, etc.  Get your hands on this book ASAP.  You'll be glad you did.

Today I was eating lunch at our local Wendy's.  Just across from me was a group of tables, pulled together to accommodate a contingent of Sr. Adults.  As more and more arrived, they embarked on a lively conversation about lousy service they had experienced at other fast food places.  Their conversation was peppered with profanity, and interestingly, the women held their own with the men in the cussing competition. It reminded me of times when I've signed up without a partner to play golf with the association where I live.   I've been partnered with some of the most profane guys around.  It almost seems as if they are once again in Middle School and trying out all the curse words they can come up with.  The last guy I played with dropped "f'" bombs left and right, and never seemed to think a thing about it. I think it may be that we grow older, but not UP.  Somehow our development gets arrested along the way and we never progress be...

It seems that everywhere I look I see people getting all bent out of shape over things that don't really matter in the grand scheme of things.  On the news I hear people nit-picking through a candidate's life rather than paying attention to their views on important issues.  Character is almost totally overlooked just as long as the person agrees with my biases.  If it just stayed there, on the news, it would be OK, but it permeates the church, family life, the neighborhood and more.  Since I'm intimately involved in the church, I'll address those issues here. While great attention was given to the building and decorating of the temple in Jerusalem, we do not have a template for building local churches.  As a matter of fact, it appears that God is blessing those congregations that don't even have a place, other than a home, or vacant store-front in which to meet, while the large, stately edifices are struggling to meet payments and maintain huge budgets, mo...

You've heard it over and over.  The enemy of the best is not the worst, it is the good and the better.  I find that to be so true in churches today.  We settle for the good and the better (projects to feed the hungry, provide for the poor, help the needy) while we let the best (making disciples of all nations) go begging.  Please understand, I'm not against these projects.  I just have a problem when we are unable to get people to buy into the Great Commission on a personal level but volunteer by the droves for the "good and better" projects. Perhaps the problem is that we have been making converts for many years without making disciples.  If I'm not a disciple, then I have no idea how to make one.  Maybe we should begin with a definition of "disciple".  Wikipedia defines the word as... A  disciple  is a follower and student of a mentor, teacher, or other wise figure.   A Christian disciple is a follower and student of Jesus Ch...

Faith Baptist Church of Lake Placid Inc. - Lake Placid Florida : 'via Blog this' This is my church. Last Sunday Rae and I joined here to begin our journey of faith with this group of believers. I'm excited about the future of this church because I truly believe that God has great plans for it. I've already come to know many of the Christ Followers here during an eight month interim I served over a year and a half ago. Little did I know that I would become the Pastor. God really does work in mysterious ways. As we begin this adventure, here are some random thoughts about how God grows a church. God looks for people whose hearts are completely His in order to show Himself mighty on their behalf. (2 Chronicles 16:9) Our goal is to become those people. The church is called the "Bride of Christ" and as such must be pure in all her words, deeds and attitudes. God ordained the church to continue the work of Christ until He comes again. The church whose members...

l'm in my hometown, Cullman, AL. It's always good to be with family. Enjoyed lunch at Chik-fil-a. Every Monday at the Cullman, C f l you can bring your church bulletin and get BOGO (buy one, get one free) My brother, sister in law, sister, and a host of their church friends occupied about 5_6 tables. Later, got in a round of golf w/Jerry. As we drove to and from the course I was saddened by the extensive damage left by the spate of tornadoes that devastated the area last May. My hometown will never be the same except in the memories of those of us who grew up there.