Guide

Community


	Deacon People Posted on January 26, 2012, 11:56 pm Topics: Community The church is made up of people. Deacon teams are too. I'm thankful for the people who serve our congregations, and today we hear a brief reflection from an everyday deacon - someone like you! Read more »
	Christmas Initiatives - What Does Your Church Do? Posted on November 22, 2011, 1:09 am Topics: Community, Congregation We are entering the Christmas season and, as deacons, there are a lot of different initatives that we can undertake to help spread the hope and joy of this time. As we engage in these converations among our teams it can be helpful to brainstorm and share best practices from other congregations, so, let's do just that! Read more »
	Companioning Case-Managers, Not The Experts Posted on November 8, 2011, 2:50 am Topics: Community, Roles When we offer help to someone we can have the crazy notion that we need to fix the whole issue ourselves. We would do more for those we offer assistance if we understood our role as referring folks to the resources of our broader community, without abandoning them. Read more »
	Listening in on a Conversation Posted on October 25, 2011, 8:31 am \| 1 comment Topics: Community What should the church be doing, then, if government effort seems to have little effect, except maybe for providing ongoing relief? How should the church shape its own response? Can the church actually REDUCE poverty and dependence on programs that help? Even just in our neighborhood? Seems like that’s the ideal... Read more »
	As Easy As A.B.C.D. Posted on October 18, 2011, 2:32 am \| 2 comments Topics: Community, Roles We want to help people. We want to do the right thing, the good thing, the Godly thing. Often we discover that we need to learn how to help well. ABCD is a method of offering assistance which empowers those we are serving and, as it continues to grow in popularity, it's worth paying attention to. Read more »
	What's Needed? Posted on October 11, 2011, 10:59 am \| 1 comment Topics: Community, Congregation As we head into the holiday season, we need to be aware that need doesn't stop. It also doesn't increase exponentially. How can we inspire our congregations to engage with those in need in a meaningful way? And why has Stephen Colbert called Christians out on this? Read more »
	People, Not Projects Posted on September 27, 2011, 2:44 am Topics: Community, Roles We love to do good. Sometimes though, our desire to do something good leads us to turn people into projects. In the latest issue of Partners, a diaconal newsletter, Linda Weening shares a story of assistance which may make you think about how you speak with those you serve. Read more »
	The Power Of Being Present Posted on July 4, 2011, 9:38 pm \| 4 comments Topics: Community, Spiritual Health Everything in our being craves shalom. This is why when we see people hurting, we want them to be free of their pain. We know it's not right. It's not what God intended. So, we try to rescue them, perhaps we even try to be their saviour... but is that what we're called to? Read more »
	Deacons Harnessing "God Gifts" Posted on February 21, 2011, 8:58 am Topics: Community, Getting Started We deacons are in a leadership role and as such our job is to empower, prepare, nurture and disciple our congregation to go out into the world and do the real work of the church. How do we do this? Read more »
	A Listening Malfunction Posted on February 7, 2011, 3:49 pm \| 1 comment Topics: Community Within minutes my guts started to knot up as he discounted what others were saying in order to push his ideas on the group. Leaders need to listen – nowhere more than in the Church Read more »
	How Many Deacons Does it Take To Change....? Posted on January 4, 2011, 1:30 pm Topics: Community I want to tell you about a book about change that I think is unusually good - it's interesting, it's easy, it's funny, it's profound. And it'll change how you think about change while offering endless ideas for how to use these insights to bring about change in "real life". Read more »
	Don't Invite Them to Church Posted on December 14, 2010, 9:48 am Topics: Community, Deacons This book talks about relationships that are measured by whether friends have "refrigerator rights". And that's only ONE of the delightful ideas you'll find. The subtitle of the book is "Moving From a Come and See to a GO AND BE CHURCH". .. Read more »
	Operation Manna and Muffin Mornings Posted on June 8, 2010, 2:16 pm Topics: Community Learn how a CRC diaconal resource in Canada works with local congregations, resulting in delightful community involvement. Read more »
	The Church As Community Asset Posted on May 24, 2010, 11:54 am Topics: Community Dr. Amy Sherman unpacks the concept of the church in its community as a preview of the coming Kingdom attractions. Read more »
	Stories That Touched My Heart Posted on April 13, 2010, 3:28 pm Topics: Community Today I discovered the Reformed Church in America's (RCA) booklet entitled "The Ministry of the Deacon" by Betty Voskuil. It offers a brief but helpful look at the biblical concept of deacon, and the working out of the concept in the history of the RCA. Voskuil notes that... Read more »