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You can also read the following articles from the current and
previous issues:
SMALL
GROUPS AS KEY TO UNITY
June,
2008
For
some decades now, church leaders have been recognizing the importance
of small groups as a critical tool for Spiritual formation (or
for Spiritual “transformation”, depending on whose vernacular
you favor)...But I will take this one step further. Because small
groups are such a powerful tool for Spiritual formation, they
are also a key ingredient to unity in a local body of believers.
RECLAIMING
YOUR LOST SHEEP
December,
2007
If
there are any people at all in your church, then feelings have
been hurt and wounds have occurred. That is just the way human
relationships work. Moreover, if your church is not perfect (I
am still looking for the one that is) then some—perhaps many—of
those wounds have never been healed, leaving perfectly good church
members feeling estranged and betrayed by people they thought
were their friends.
MAKE
NEW FRIENDS, BUT KEEP THE OLD
December,
2007
Our
family's experience with Girl Scouts (I have two daughters) was
mostly positive. My girls kept many friends and family (and my
office) well stocked in cookies for several years! But among the
things we learned through those few years, I will always remember
this line from their theme song: Make new friends, but keep
the old; one is silver and the other is gold. It is not scripture,
but I have learned this year that it does reflect one of the ways
of God.
THE
SHIRT OFF HER BACK (Ann Farris)
May, 2007
Working
in Romania, on behalf of Becky's Hope and at the invitation of
my dear friend, Lidia Oprean, was another excursion into the nature
of the human spirit, an affirmation of our having been made in
the image of God. I have often wondered how that worked
exactly, our being made in the image of God: so many people, so
much variety, so many different appearances, a Babel of languages
and laughter.
THE
GOD OF ALL COMFORT
May, 2007
I
have seen II Corinthians 1:4 illustrated many times, particularly
in my continuing experience with support group ministries. But
I may have never seen it as vivid as with Becky's Hope Ministries
on my recent trip to Cluj, Romania.
THE
WORLD IS OPENING ITS DOORS TO THIS MESSAGE
December,
2006
Well, I did
not see this coming. We can save all the discussion about why
NOT for another column (it will be one filled with conviction
and confession on my part for having such little faith and such
a small vision). I did not ever envision Five Principles of
Unity printed in multiple languages and distributed to brothers
and sisters in Christ all around the world.
WALKING
THE FIELDS OF THE UKRAINE (Ann Farris)
June, 2006
On
our second trip to this unusual country, I learned even better
the fields of the Ukraine :
both the farms and the people.
SIMPLE
TRUTHS (Kristi Tschoepe)
June, 2006
...I
was not excited about going and not at all sure why I was going
because I felt totally inept. Nevertheless, I was left
with no doubt that it was the calling of the Holy Spirit. Our
team, Blake Coffee, Anne Farris, Connie Whilden and I saw the
Lord at work everyday in everything we did and Luhans'k truly
became our home.
THE
ENEMY IN THE UKRAINE (Connie Whilden)
June, 2006
...Everywhere
I looked I saw division--even in the places I least expected to
see it, and my heart is broken. They are no different than
us, but my prayer for them is that they will learn the message
of unity and the principles of love, and incorporate them into
their spirits and their culture to become much better then we
are.
SUPPORT
GROUP MINISTRY REACHES HURTING PEOPLE
August,
2005
...The
truth is, the pews of America today are filled with people who
are in too much emotional pain to even begin thinking about ministering
to others. Their pain simply prevents any thoughts of fulfilling
a larger purpose such as ministry or mission. If the church
did nothing but find a way to connect with those people and re-engage
them in their walk with the Lord, it would have accomplished much!
TRUSTING
GOD'S PEOPLE... AGAIN
August,
2005
...when
we have been hurt by God’s own people, we have been hurt
in one of the deepest and most profound ways imaginable. These
are people whom we trusted with our deepest concerns and with
whom we became vulnerable. Being betrayed by them is like being
betrayed by family. The pain can last a lifetime.
THE
LANGUAGES OF WORSHIP
May,
2005
Imagine, if you can, that God leads
you and your spouse to adopt a Russian child who speaks only Russian.
Then, imagine that God leads you to adopt a child who speaks
only Spanish. And then imagine that God blesses you with
a child who is deaf, and can communicate only with sign language.
Being the loving parent you are, you want to plan a regular
dinner experience for the whole family—an experience that will
benefit everyone. Your challenge is this: which languages
will you speak at the table?
THE
LANGUAGES OF WORSHIP EXPERIENCED (Connie
Whilden)
May,
2005
On
a cold Wednesday night, in February, 2005, a small Hispanic congregation
gathered together for their regular middle of the week service...
EXPERIENCING
GOD'S POWER THROUGH UNITY IN THE CHURCH
(Connie Whilden)
February,
2005
...
Have you ever noticed that
accounts of supernatural workings of the Holy Spirit through men
typically follow reports of unity among God’s people?
LESSONS
FROM THE UKRAINE
November,
2004
...I
wish you could see the expectation in their eyes as they gather
to hear God's Word taught. I am so grateful God gave me
the privilege of seeing that! But upon relfection, I wonder
what He really wanted me to see more clearly is the church
here in America?
UKRAINIAN
CHURCHES EAGER TO UNDERSTAND BIBLICAL UNITY
November,
2004
...At
that moment, in a church known for its lack of expression and
for its fear of anything "charismatic", a few church
members began crying and praying out loud. Then others joined
them. Church members were heard confessing to one another
and praying spontaneously...
DRIFTING
AWAY (Marcus Norris)
August,
2004
NOTICE
"Special
business meeting next week for the purpose of destroying long
time friendships, splitting our church in anger, and disillusioning
our youth..."
CONTROLLING
THE TONGUE (Connie Whilden)
May, 2004
But Joshua commanded
the people, "You shall not shout or let your voice be heard,
nor shall any word proceed out of your mouth until the day I tell
you to shout. Then you shall shout!"
Joshua 6:10
There is
an important lesson here about controlling the tongue...
"Formed
for God's Family"? ABSOLUTELY!
May,
2004
What
a wonderful thing God has done through Pastor Rick Warren's Purpose
Driven Life material! Literally thousands upon thousands
of church bodies around the world have been touched by the "40
Days of Purpose" process...
COMMUNITY:
THE BEST OF GOD'S PROVISION (Pete Barker)
August,
2003
Where
does your mind go when you hear the words, "God's provision"?
Is it our daily bread, manna from heaven, or deliverance from
evil? Maybe it's the cattle on a thousand hills. If
you get beyond temporal things, it could be the atoning work of
Christ on the cross, or the eternal reward of the unclouded day.
All of these would be good answers, even scriptural answers.
But surely God's provision is more comprehensive than all of those
things...
WATCH
THE SIGNPOSTS
May, 2003
On the road to unity
in your church, there are signs that there may be danger ahead.
1. GOSSIP
- When church members are talking about one
another at times when they should be talking to one another...
THE
PERFECT STORM (Paula Hickman)
May, 2003
In the
Fall of 1991 a cold front hovered off the Northeast U.S. coast.
Strong upper air support deepened the front into a low, and this
low was soon joined by Hurricane Grace. Together these forces
of nature created the Perfect Storm, a storm of such magnitude
and power that the loss of lives and property caused by the storm
is legend.
Ten
years later, another Perfect Storm occurred at First Baptist Church
in Shreveport, Louisiana. This storm, however, was not caused
by forces of nature but by a church that failed on many levels
to be the church God created it to be...
"FIVE
PRINCIPLES OF UNITY" IN ACTION
February,
2003
As God
gives our ministry opportunities to join Him in what He is doing
in churches, we often have the privilege of having a front-row
seat to His activity. Read and praise Him for this testimony
from a friend of ours:
For
years it seemed as though God had not spoken to First Baptist
Church, Anahuac, Texas. Some even thought that God might
have removed His lamp stand...
OUR
STORY
November,
2002
In 1995
I felt a clear and almost overwhelming sense of calling away from
my law firm of 10 years, away from a partnership which had been
my only siginificant career goal up to that point in time, and
away from practicing law with some of my closest friends at the
time. It was scary and sad and exciting all at the same
time. And it left me with a multitutde of questions...
RESPONDING
TO BAD BEHAVIOR IN THE CHURCH
August,
2002
Here
is a question I have begun to ask in every conflict. What
did more damage, the initial bad behavior or the poor response
to the bad behavior? It seems to me that, as Christians,
we have lost sight of how God's Word tells us about how to respond
to bad behavior among His people. Maybe this is because
God's teaching is almost exactly opposite from what the world
teaches us...
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