Archives For Local Church

We Love Our Programs But What About Our People?

July 19, 2012 — 4 Comments

We sure love our programs, don’t we?

Has it ever occured to you how programmed our lives are? It’s true; we have a program for just about everything we do. Not a day passes without having some sort of program in place to help us get by…

  • Dieting plans
  • Personal devotions
  • Calendar management
  • Local church ministry
Program notebook

Free image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Don’t get me wrong — “program” isn’t a bad word and I’m not saying all programs are wrong. It would be foolish of me to suggest that any one of the things I listed above is evil or wrong in and of themselves. However, when more stock is put in the program than on the principle behind the program, we tread on thin ice.

Again, don’t think I’m “anti-program.” I’m all for them, as long as their principle-based and not a program for program’s sake.

Let me explain. Continue Reading…

Posted on July 19, 2012 In Local Church, Personal Development , , , ,
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3 Steps to Becoming Available for What Matters Most

July 17, 2012 — 2 Comments
This is a guest post by David Livingston. He and his wife, Earlene are Word of Life missionaries to the Southeast United States. The Livingstons make their home in Woodstock, GA. Questions or comments about this article may be addressed to David in the comments section below. You can connect with him at his website.

God recently convicted me of something in my life that needed to be addressed. I had become so “busy” with ministry details that I found myself unwilling or unable to slow down to even talk with my neighbor, Bill. That might be okay if all Bill needed was to chew the fat (he and I are both Florida Gator fans), but he has a deeper need. He’s lost. And I know it.

Hands reaching out to help

Free image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Often, as he’d see me come out of my home to load up my stuff into my vehicle, he’d walk across our busy residential street with his little poodle in his arms, and he’d start talking. Next thing you know, I’d be edging back toward the house to go get the rest of my stuff, all the while pretending that I was interested in talking. Continue Reading…

Posted on July 17, 2012 In Local Church, Personal Development , , , , , , ,
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7 Ways To Get Your Vision Back

May 16, 2012 — 6 Comments

Sometimes it is easy to lose sight of what’s important, where you’re going or how you intended on getting there in the first place. Every now and then a reminder or two is required if we are to keep our vision sharp and our goals in focus.

Word of Life Canada (the Christian non-profit organization where I work) recently transitioned its highest level leadership position. For 19 years Gary Stairs led the organization well and on April 27, 2012, Scott Foreman, was officially installed as our new Executive Director.

Scott & Rachel Foreman and Gary & Barb Stairs

Scott & Rachel Foreman and Gary & Barb Stairs

As the evening’s events unfolded, a beautiful picture of God’s grace was painted as times and events were recounted leading up to the selection and transition of Scott into the Executive Director role.

In almost 15 years of my association with Word of Life, I’ve had various roles and responsibilities. As much as I enjoy my ministry with Word of Life, Continue Reading…

Posted on May 16, 2012 In Local Church, Non-Profits, Personal Development , , , , , ,
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Church Central Leadership Community [Resource]

April 13, 2012 — 4 Comments

Two weeks ago I was given the privilege of being welcomed as a contributing blogger at the Church Central Leadership Community (www.churchcentral.com).

Church Central Leadership Community logo

I consider it a great honour to be included in this church health and development community that includes notable authors such as:

The following is an excerpt from the “About Us” page at Church Central: Continue Reading…

Posted on April 13, 2012 In Announcements, Local Church, Non-Profits, Personal Development , , , , , , , ,
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Why Being At Peace With a Decision Isn’t Always A Good Thing

April 10, 2012 — 10 Comments

There’s no doubt that some decisions are bigger than others and we’ve all had our share of big “do I or don’t I” decisions to make. However, being at peace with a decision isn’t always a good thing.

We pray about it.

We seek wise counsel.

We labour through the thought process.

We create a pros and cons list.

We weigh our options.

Sometimes we agonize over which way to go. Continue Reading…

Posted on April 10, 2012 In Local Church, Non-Profits, Personal Development , , , , , , ,
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Resolved in the Resurrection

April 6, 2012 — Leave a comment

While a departure from my normal run of posts, the topic matter covered here is absolutely at the core of what I believe. I am indebted to Dale Flynn for this guest post; he has clearly put into words what I was struggling to arrive at in my writing. I trust this, if nothing else, at least helps you think about the most important things in your life.

Dale and his wife, Liz, are Word of Life Local Church Ministries missionaries in eastern Maryland. Dale is a Local Church Ministries curriculum editor and is the editor of the Ministering to the Minister E-Transfer national electronic Pastor’s newsletter. Questions or comments about this post may be addressed to Dale at dflynn@wol.org or in the comments section below.

One of the greatest opportunities for us to witness is now upon us, Easter, which I prefer calling Resurrection Sunday. It affords us a natural opening to share the Good News of the substitutionary death, burial, resurrection, and bodily appearance whereby Jesus was seen of many witnesses.

Empty Tomb

Graphic courtesy of: www.icr.org

Please make an effort to let your light shine. There are plenty of hurting people out there that are desperately in need of hope.  Continue Reading…

Posted on April 6, 2012 In Local Church, Non-Profits, Personal Development , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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