"Over the years," writes pastor Roger Barrier, "I have developed a checklist to help me distinguish when God is speaking to me. It is not complete or foolproof. No one point, of course, is sufficient in itself to prove or disprove the voice of God. But these principles have helped me discern more accurately the voice of God."
God tends to speak gently. Remember how God spoke ...
The fine art of leadership is something to be learned over time, and its effectiveness is measured by one's followers. The focus of leadership is on those being served rather than the one leading. Jesus said, "I am the Good Shepherd, and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep," (John 10:14,15).
Since people attend church only a few hours a week, I try to invest some of my time with them where they spend much of their time: at work.
In the early years of my ministry, I'd visit farms in the community where I served. It was fairly easy to spend a few minutes with agricultural folk. I'd wait at the end of the turn-row. When the farmer pulled up in the tractor, he'd shut it down for a few minutes' ...
I began pastoral ministry in 1963. I was 23, fresh out of seminary, and assigned to a church on the wrong side of the street in a Southern California community. I was given practically no chance of pulling my little charge out of the doldrums. But I had learned from my heritage how important it was to love people.
So I did.
I called in their homes, paid attention to their children, visited the sick ...
I love artists. I always have. I cannot imagine a world without the beauty, perspective, and sheer joy artists bring. I use the term artists for those who create videos, design the stage, dance, write, sing, paint, play an instrument, mix the sound, and contribute overall ideas. They're all artists.
Those who provide leadership to arts ministries have two primary goals: to lead artists in creating ...
"Over the years," writes pastor Roger Barrier, "I have developed a checklist to help me distinguish when God is speaking to me. It is not complete or foolproof. No one point, of course, is sufficient in itself to prove or disprove the voice of God. But these principles have helped me discern more accurately the voice of God."
God tends to speak gently. Remember how God spoke to Elijah? God was not ...
Stormie Omartian's books—including The Power of a Praying Wife, The Power of a Praying Woman, and Praying God's Will for Your Life—dominate the Christian best-seller list and are used in small groups and Sunday school classes around the world. Yet she blushes when someone calls her an expert on prayer. "A lot of people think because I've written books on prayer that I know something special," ...
I was abducted by an alien gospel. At least that seems like the best way to describe what happened when I was 11 years old. One day, during a summertime visit to my aunt's home, I found some matches and played with them in the back yard. As she was putting me to bed, my aunt, who had been tipped off by a neighbor, asked me if I had been playing with matches. Being an 11-year-old, I naturally said, ...