A lot of gatherings of people call themselves “church”. But are they? What is the essence of being church? As I go around meeting with people to discuss church health issues, I keep wondering to myself (and them), “Is this bunch people what you might consider church?” What do you look for? Recently I came across words penned by the 15th century Catholic Cardinal Carlo Carretto: “Defending life, witnessing light, living out love; these remain forever...
“Everything rises and falls on leadership development.” I am quoting Dale Galloway here but this is a church health principle that I have come to appreciate after more than three decades of pastoral ministry and almost a decade assisting unhealthy churches move toward health and growth. Quoting Galloway again: “It is my firm belief that the only way we will see the Great Commission fulfilled will be through the multiplication of leaders. Contagious ministry multiplication happens...
Recently I witnessed a hunger for the word of the LORD! It reminded me of the words of the prophet Amos: "Behold, the days are coming," says the LORD GOD, "When I will send a hunger over the land, not a hunger for the bread or a thirst for water, but rather a hunger for hearing the words of the LORD." (Amos 8:11) It began on a Sunday morning when I was asked to preach at the Coleridge...
From 4-7 April seventy-one CRCA pastors, ministry workers, and their spouses gathered together for Recharge 2016. It was a beautiful view! As Peter Adam reminded us, the place where we gathered was Kalorama, which in Greek means "seeing beautiful things." And it was beautiful in so many ways. We began with dinner on Monday 4 April. The conversations around the tables were lively and animated. That evening, and over the next three days, Peter Adam walked us through the Biblical...
Most everybody has heard of Amazon! Entrepreneur Jeff Bezos built Amazon from a small online bookseller to a retail giant. In a recent article in Foreign Affairs (January 4, 2015) Bezos stated: "Entrepreneurs ... benefit greatly from being willing to fail, willing to experiment. Good entrepreneurs tend to be stubborn on the vision but flexible on the details. Another quality is passion for the mission. The very best products and services are always built by missionaries. ...
