Notable Voices and the Week in Review: March 25, 2017
Five Things the Traditional Church Is Doing Well
12 Metrics for Church Assessment – Rainer on Leadership #312
Five Fascinating Lessons from a “Secret” Guest in Church Worship Services
Five Reasons Why This Millennial Still Likes Using Hymnals
Eight Easter-Related Church Trends – Rainer on Leadership #313
Six Lessons Learned Ministering in a Blue-Collar Community — Craig Thompson
For a long time, I struggled with some of my blue-collar guilt until I realized that God had put me in a position to minister well among this blue-collar crowd. These are my kind of people. I understand them and amazingly, they seem to understand me. As a result, I have worked to overcome my false guilt and to tap into the riches of my background that enable me to better minister among the people to whom God has called me. Here are some lessons I’ve learned:
Four Questions You Must Ask Yourself Before Hiring a Friend — Art Rainer
At first, it seems like a great idea. You know him, trust him, and like being around him. What more could you want? This is the mindset many fall into when presented with the opportunity to hire one of their friends. They imagine their friend only increasing the happiness of their work environment. And for a while, it may. Unfortunately, bringing a good friend on to the team does not always work out well. How do you know if you are making the right decision when such an opportunity presents itself? Here are four key questions you must ask yourself before hiring a friend:
Five Realities About the Weight of Pastoring — Eric Geiger
When the apostle Paul listed all his sufferings, he concluded the list with referencing his burden for the churches he served. The weight of pastoring, though filled with immense joy, was a weight that topped Paul’s list of suffering.
Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn? (2 Corinthians 11:28-29)
Notice a few of the words Paul uses: face, daily, pressure, concern, sin, inwardly, burn. With those words in view, here are five realities about the weight of pastoring.
Are You Confusing Leadership and Control? — Michael Hyatt
Aspiring leaders would do well to stop focusing on control and figure out how to expand their influence. Here are four ways you can become a person of influence, no matter your position in your organization:
Why Ministry Is Discouraging — Darryl Dash
Discouragement is simply part of ministry. I don’t know a pastor or church leader who doesn’t occasionally struggle with discouragement. “Discouragement is an occupational hazard of the Christian ministry,” said John Stott. “It is not necessary by quotations from the biographies of eminent ministers to prove that seasons of fearful prostration have fallen to the lot of most, if not all of them,” observed Spurgeon. If you’re in Christian ministry, prepare to be discouraged at least some of the time. Why is ministry discouraging? Three reasons.
When a Minister Helps to Kill a Ministry — Jim Martin
Unfortunately, many other ministers start out well but then make one of three fatal errors which often brings a ministry to an end. In this case, the problem wasn’t a cantankerous elder or harassment from a segment of the congregation. Rather, in this case, this minister made three mistakes which are often fatal to to a ministry.
