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Increasingly, church communities are seeking new ways of living in community with countless people for whom the role “heterosexual, married with children” does not apply. How do we talk about the pain, the struggle and the violence (physical and verbal) that has accompanied the journey of many among us?
Home visitation allows the office bearer to encourage spiritual development among members of the congregation. I prepared the following materials for the elders of my previous congregation to use as a guideline in making home visits.
Economic life has become more unpredictable than ever. Some of the unfortunate people may sit next to you in church on Sunday, and their number may well increase in the coming years.
There is no doubt that the process of evaluation can be helpful in the growth of a pastor and in the mutual ministry of pastors and elders. Yet, it may get tricky for a whole lot of reasons. Let me pick up on two aspects of the dilemma.
No elder will ever get through a period in office without facing the dynamics of family dysfunctions. Understanding these dysfunctions help us gain relational wisdom in congregational life. It essentially comes down to a few questions.
My husband’s suicide brought us pain that was and is immeasurable ... I hesitate to use the word “acceptance,” for how do we “accept” what is totally unacceptable?
What do we mean by family devotions? How do devotions nurture out faith? What can these devotions look like? Read this article to find some great tips.
Leaders need to be aware of our tendency to let fear and control undermine God’s intention to liberate and restore our humanity including such things as participation, taking responsibility, creativity, and the freedom to explore. How can we do this?
What we need to know about depression? How can elders help? Here are a few of learnings I believe are helpful.
The phrase “wait till marriage” has a noble meaning. Yet, the message has unintended consequence: it communicates that in marriage sexual intercourse is an entitlement.
Our best identity is not found in exploration of self independent from others, but self in relationship to others. Here are at least four ways in which Jesus guidance will lead to us to live more deeply as and with community.
How does Jesus call us into service? In my mind there are at least three ways.
The basic guidance that Jesus as Lord gives through his Word and Spirit to us as a community include 1) the call to conformity, 2) the call to service, and 3) the call to community. In this article I will focus on the first.
We often look around for material on leadership that might inspire us our imagination. Reading Moses Pava helped me, in part because he used two words hardly ever used at the same time as the word leadership, namely, covenant and holiness.
I believe that the work of the elders can be enhanced by deliberately using different processes in our meetings. Let me mention a few and I encourage others to add to the list.
Wisdom for caregivers from nursing home residents.
How do we provide pastoral care? What should we say? What do we think?
Will we ever know Scripture well enough, pray faithfully enough, be wise enough? So how do we hear these words as a calling and an encouragement?
Listening Groups have one purpose: to listen to God. In this document I present three conversations worth having. These conversations are about character, calling and community.
Strategies for elders to support members of the church to grow in faith and service in the Lord.
What to record and why? These are perennial questions. Here are a few thoughts to guide a discussion about your pastoral elder team.
The following are characteristics of healthy churches that are seen in the biblical history of God’s people.
In Leadership we position ourselves in relationship to God and others for the sake of the Kingdom of God. Some basic relatively simple principles keep us on the right track.
Here are some pointers on visiting from Jim Dekker (pastor's network).
When a person chooses to live with God, there is a consequence. God chooses to transform her life. Knowledge grows. Faith increases. The fruits of the Spirit become evident. For all the differences between people, there is a similarity in the work that the Spirit does in our lives.