Thank you, Richard. The best, accessible book on the subject is Lewis Smedes' The Art of Forgiving. Forgiveness is giving up your right to hurt them back. Reconciliation is restoring the relationship, and starts the process of rebuilding trust.
Should be good! Let me add in the context of the above quote from Michael's book that the church's first mistake in the book of Acts is the apostles(!) expecting the risen Christ to reduce God's Kingdom to political nationalism (1:6). The church has been making this mistake ever since. Today is no different.
To evaluate a ministry, Jay, I would design four, perhaps five, diagnostic questions, assemble the stakeholders, and through a well-thought out circle exercise work the questions.
Which ministry evaluation tool to use depends on the kind of ministry to be evaluated. If the ministry is led by a paid staff, the tool to use will be different than one managed by volunteers. Staff evaluations must have necessary checks-and-balances built into the a Council-approved process that is mutually transparent; that is, it holds both the evaluator and the one evaluated accountable for their respective roles in the process. A volunteer-managed ministry evaluation is simpler, Council led, and essentially requires the design of right diagnostic questions.
Thank you, Tom, for your blog. MLK Jr was a remarkable human being, a courageous Christian, a great American, an exceptional leader, and deeply flawed like the rest of us. Having done a lot of reading by and about him, I highly recommend The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr, edited by Clayborne Carson.
Again this week my wife & I worshiped online at The Good Shepherd Church NYC at 8:00 a.m. PST, and online at our church, Hope Community CRC, Surrey, BC, at 11:00. As usual, Pastor Dave Groen hit it out of the park! So grateful to have you as our pastor, Dave.
Thank you, Scott, for your thoughtful reflection. Of course God's will is not always done. Why else would our Lord teach us to pray, "Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven"? To insist that the innumerable and unspeakable evil acts of mankind are God's will is to attribute to Him evil itself, which is a violation of the nature of God's essential and necessary goodness. Is God in control? No, but in the splendour of His holiness He reigns with sovereign wisdom, power, majesty and authority. In the words of Scripture itself, "I [the LORD] have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life that you and your children may live." Or, elsewhere, "In putting everything under Him, God left nothing that is not subject to Him. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to Him." In matters like these, I often turn to that magnificent Psalm 131. As you conclude, Scott, it's complicated.
There are no easy answers to Schuurman’s article about the deeply disturbing increasing use of Article 17. However, a key to address the problem is to help pastors and office bearers conduct transparent, honest and grace-filled conversations about things that matter. Too often, we simply do not know how to do this in the church. As a result, irritants lead to tension which turn into conflict and become the elephant in the room no one wants to confront until it is to late. We need help in designing the kinds of conversations early on and routinely that will be transformative toward renewal.
Posted in: Distinguishing Forgiveness from Reconciliation
Thank you, Richard. The best, accessible book on the subject is Lewis Smedes' The Art of Forgiving. Forgiveness is giving up your right to hurt them back. Reconciliation is restoring the relationship, and starts the process of rebuilding trust.
Posted in: Conversation With Michael Goheen on Missionary Ecclesiology (Thursday, Dec. 9)
Should be good! Let me add in the context of the above quote from Michael's book that the church's first mistake in the book of Acts is the apostles(!) expecting the risen Christ to reduce God's Kingdom to political nationalism (1:6). The church has been making this mistake ever since. Today is no different.
Posted in: Ministry Evaluation Tool?
To evaluate a ministry, Jay, I would design four, perhaps five, diagnostic questions, assemble the stakeholders, and through a well-thought out circle exercise work the questions.
Posted in: Ministry Evaluation Tool?
Which ministry evaluation tool to use depends on the kind of ministry to be evaluated. If the ministry is led by a paid staff, the tool to use will be different than one managed by volunteers. Staff evaluations must have necessary checks-and-balances built into the a Council-approved process that is mutually transparent; that is, it holds both the evaluator and the one evaluated accountable for their respective roles in the process. A volunteer-managed ministry evaluation is simpler, Council led, and essentially requires the design of right diagnostic questions.
Posted in: What Books Are You Currently Reading?
The January 6th Report, by the Select Congressional Committee
Loren Cunningham, The Book that Transforms Nations
Neil deGrasse Tyson, Starry Messenger: Cosmic Perspectives on Civilization
SM Houghton (ed.), George Whitefield’s Journals
Posted in: Best Books You Read in 2021
Where the Light Fell: A Memoir - Philip Yancey
When God Interrupts: Finding New Life Through Unwanted Change - M Craig Barnes
The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration - Isabel Wilkerson
Posted in: Martin Luther King Jr., Compassion Fatigue, and God the Insomniac
Thank you, Tom, for your blog. MLK Jr was a remarkable human being, a courageous Christian, a great American, an exceptional leader, and deeply flawed like the rest of us. Having done a lot of reading by and about him, I highly recommend The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr, edited by Clayborne Carson.
Posted in: Where Did You Worship This Past Sunday?
The Good Shepherd Church New York City at 8:00 a.m. (PST) online, then our own congregation, Hope Community CRC, Surrey, BC, at 11:00 online.
Posted in: Where Did You Worship This Past Sunday?
Again this week my wife & I worshiped online at The Good Shepherd Church NYC at 8:00 a.m. PST, and online at our church, Hope Community CRC, Surrey, BC, at 11:00. As usual, Pastor Dave Groen hit it out of the park! So grateful to have you as our pastor, Dave.
Posted in: Where Did You Worship This Past Sunday?
Thanks for sharing this. I listen to this excellent sermon.
Posted in: Conspiracies and Calvinism
Thank you, Scott, for your thoughtful reflection. Of course God's will is not always done. Why else would our Lord teach us to pray, "Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven"? To insist that the innumerable and unspeakable evil acts of mankind are God's will is to attribute to Him evil itself, which is a violation of the nature of God's essential and necessary goodness. Is God in control? No, but in the splendour of His holiness He reigns with sovereign wisdom, power, majesty and authority. In the words of Scripture itself, "I [the LORD] have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life that you and your children may live." Or, elsewhere, "In putting everything under Him, God left nothing that is not subject to Him. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to Him." In matters like these, I often turn to that magnificent Psalm 131. As you conclude, Scott, it's complicated.
Posted in: Fractured Flocks - A Good Reason to Consider Another Option
There are no easy answers to Schuurman’s article about the deeply disturbing increasing use of Article 17. However, a key to address the problem is to help pastors and office bearers conduct transparent, honest and grace-filled conversations about things that matter. Too often, we simply do not know how to do this in the church. As a result, irritants lead to tension which turn into conflict and become the elephant in the room no one wants to confront until it is to late. We need help in designing the kinds of conversations early on and routinely that will be transformative toward renewal.