Friday, December 24, 2010
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to YOU!
Christ is the reason for our Season!
From the Members, Founder and Friends of Great Women of God Abroad, a subsidiary of The Christian Women's Leadership Exchange
Top 10 List of Things to help De-stress Christian Women Events
In these tough economic times many churches and ministries are tempted to scale back on planning events so that it won't put any added burden on women who are struggling to make ends meet. The problem is that this is exactly the time when we need to gather for fellowship and encouragement. Here is a "Top 10" list that can help women's leaders plan more effective events that are perfect for this tough economy.
1. Use your own members: Organize an event that uses your own members as the leaders. You can find different women who have specialties and have them lead small groups or you may have someone who would be able to teach a large group time. Look around and see who has a story to tell that others can relate to and go from there. You may want to gather several women and hold a panel discussion on a specific topic. be creative and allow God to direct you to the right women.
2. Reinvent the covered dish: Most often the cost of an event is largely tied up in the food. Keep costs down by either asking everyone to bring a dish to share or enlist a team of women to organize the different dishes you want to offer and let them designate who brings what. You could decide on a theme and plan the food around that.
3. Network with Other Churches: Find some other churches in your area and share or trade Bible Study materials with them. Your church could buy one study and theirs a different one then after you finish, trade studies.
4. Plan 1 night events: Schedule your next event on an evening so that your costs can stay low. You even start a little later so that everyone has dinner before arriving then offers a dessert fellowship after the program.
5. Serve Others: Remember that if the economic crisis has hit you hard then it has devastated many others. Organize your women to focus on helping others. Service projects are a great way to build strong bonds and show people the love of Jesus in a practical way. The bonus is that your struggles tend to diminish in the face of what others may be dealing with.
6. Start a Support Group: Offer the opportunity for women who have lost their jobs or whose husbands have lost their jobs to gather for support and encouragement. Let your community know it is available and you may be surprised at the outreach it can become.
7. Get Out of the Church: Take your Bible Studies out of the church and hold them in different homes in the community so that people don't have to spend much time or money on gas to be involved.
8. Decorate for Less: Women's events always have the issue of decorating. Go old school and use things you already have at the church or enlist different women to hostess each table and make decorating her table part of her duties.
9. Simplicity and Relevance: Don't ignore the issues that people are dealing with but rather plan an event to specifically address them. Make it a brown bag night or just very simple in all details. Offer topics such as how to dress, dine, and decorate on a budget. Consider inviting a financial specialist to speak on practical advice in troubling times.
10. See the big Picture: Plan your events to coincide with other large gatherings like just after church or when the youth or children are already doing something.
Take the stress off of women who are worried about being all things to all people and who feel guilty for taking time out for themselves.
These are just a few ideas. Whatever you decide to do, don't give up on ministry. Women need encouragement and support more now than ever before.
1. Use your own members: Organize an event that uses your own members as the leaders. You can find different women who have specialties and have them lead small groups or you may have someone who would be able to teach a large group time. Look around and see who has a story to tell that others can relate to and go from there. You may want to gather several women and hold a panel discussion on a specific topic. be creative and allow God to direct you to the right women.
2. Reinvent the covered dish: Most often the cost of an event is largely tied up in the food. Keep costs down by either asking everyone to bring a dish to share or enlist a team of women to organize the different dishes you want to offer and let them designate who brings what. You could decide on a theme and plan the food around that.
3. Network with Other Churches: Find some other churches in your area and share or trade Bible Study materials with them. Your church could buy one study and theirs a different one then after you finish, trade studies.
4. Plan 1 night events: Schedule your next event on an evening so that your costs can stay low. You even start a little later so that everyone has dinner before arriving then offers a dessert fellowship after the program.
5. Serve Others: Remember that if the economic crisis has hit you hard then it has devastated many others. Organize your women to focus on helping others. Service projects are a great way to build strong bonds and show people the love of Jesus in a practical way. The bonus is that your struggles tend to diminish in the face of what others may be dealing with.
6. Start a Support Group: Offer the opportunity for women who have lost their jobs or whose husbands have lost their jobs to gather for support and encouragement. Let your community know it is available and you may be surprised at the outreach it can become.
7. Get Out of the Church: Take your Bible Studies out of the church and hold them in different homes in the community so that people don't have to spend much time or money on gas to be involved.
8. Decorate for Less: Women's events always have the issue of decorating. Go old school and use things you already have at the church or enlist different women to hostess each table and make decorating her table part of her duties.
9. Simplicity and Relevance: Don't ignore the issues that people are dealing with but rather plan an event to specifically address them. Make it a brown bag night or just very simple in all details. Offer topics such as how to dress, dine, and decorate on a budget. Consider inviting a financial specialist to speak on practical advice in troubling times.
10. See the big Picture: Plan your events to coincide with other large gatherings like just after church or when the youth or children are already doing something.
Take the stress off of women who are worried about being all things to all people and who feel guilty for taking time out for themselves.
These are just a few ideas. Whatever you decide to do, don't give up on ministry. Women need encouragement and support more now than ever before.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Christian Grant Funding Sources
Christian grant funding sources
The question of what foundations to turn to for funding is one Christian ministries and churches ponder over all the time. There are of course various factors to consider. The degree of compatibility between your mission and the aims of a foundation remains the most important consideration. But at a time when foundation funding is declining, it helps to know which foundations are giving the most - along with knowing a little about their overall purpose, the kinds of Christian organizations they fund, and the kinds of programs that interest them.
The following are the top 20 Christian grant funding sources in terms of funding generosity.
1. Of all the Christian grant foundations accepting applications at this time the Alpharetta, Georgia-based National Christian Foundation (NCF) provides the most funds. Seeking to further the gospel of Jesus Christ, its funding territory is national. This is largely a donor advised fund. A donor-advised fund is a charitable giving vehicle administered by a third party and created for the purpose of managing charitable donations on behalf of an organization, family, or individual. A donor-advised fund offers the opportunity to create an easy-to-establish, low cost, flexible vehicle for charitable giving as an alternative to direct giving or creating a private foundation.
NCF helps individuals and families plan their giving through such programs as the Legacy Fund (after death giving). It advises them on asset giving (cash, stocks, real estate, business interests, restricted securities) and shows them how to balance income needs and estate planning goals (through charitable trusts and charitable gift annuities.)
The Single Charity Fund allows supporters to donate all kinds of assets; the Professional Advisors group - comprised of financial planners, CPA's, attorneys, and more - advises supporters in the art of tax-efficient giving.
2. The Christian Aid Ministries is a foundation based in Berlin, Ohio. Having an international gift giving scope, the Ministries seeks to "provide spiritual and material assistance such as food, clothing, medicine, and Christian literature to needy people in various countries." It also provides emergency funds and in-kind gifts. The Ministries supports Amish, Mennonite, and other conservative Anabaptists as they minister to the physical and religious needs of people worldwide. It aids victims of war, famine, and natural disasters.
3. The Nehemiah Corporation is a foundation out of Sacramento, California. Its mission is to facilitate "home ownership and asset development opportunities for diverse populations in underserved neighborhoods across the U.S., while maintaining a commitment to successful, responsible homeownership." It gives mostly to California foundations and individuals and to Christian organizations that support its mission.
4. The Trinity Christian Center of Santa Ana is a foundation from Tustin, California. It supports Christian services and organizations that seek to spread the gospel around the world. It provides care, comfort, and emergency aid to the sick, the disabled, the homeless. It is also known for producing televised religious broadcasts for ministries that spread the gospel worldwide.
5. The Barnabas Foundation is a foundation from Tinley Park, Illinois that supports its nearly 200 member Christian ministries through planned giving and estate planning. Its participating churches include Legacy Churches, Good Steward Ministry Churches, Member Asset Management Churches, Member Churches. It also offers stewardship education as well as development programs that facilitate stewardship "based on God's ownership of all gifts."
6. The J. Bulow Campbell Foundation is an independent foundation from Atlanta, Georgia. The foundation seeks to uplift "intellectual and spiritual life, preferably projects of a permanent nature or for capital funds." It does not fund operating expenses or recurrent programs except in cases where funding might allow a significant new program to succeed without continuing support from the foundation. It gives anonymously to church-related agencies of the Presbyterian Church, but not to congregations. It mostly supports organizations in Georgia, though it does give to organizations in Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
7. The Rupert H. Johnson Foundation is an independent foundation in San Mateo, California that generally funds only educational programs in California and Virginia. Only Christian organizations seeking grants for education programs in these two geographic regions would be eligible for funding.
8. The Rees-Jones Foundation, a family foundation based in Dallas, Texas, funds "programs that help improve the quality of life for the under served of north Texas." It provides employee/matching gifts and funds capital campaigns, general operations, management and program development, and scholarship funds. It supports churches that seek to relieve hunger, and it provides medical care for the mentally and physically disabled, educational opportunities for youth, and affordable housing, shelter, and spiritual development for those left behind.
9. The Poplar Foundation is an independent foundation that mostly gives within its base of Memphis and the metropolitan area. It funds mostly youth services and education. Ministries that focus on these two areas are eligible for funding.
10. The Wege Foundation, an independent foundation in Grand Rapids, Michigan, gives mostly within Kent County and above all in Grand Rapids. Christian agencies that provide health, human services, and education are likelier to receive funding from the foundation than those that do not. It funds annual campaigns, building/renovation, capital campaigns, curriculum development, endowments, equipment, matching/challenge campaigns, and program development.
11. The Hope Christian Community Foundation is a Christian public charity community foundation in Memphis, Tennessee that "helps Christians share their wealth with others in the most thoughtful and efficient ways." It serves ministries by administering and managing agency funds, offering a cash management pool, investing endowments, and making grants through the Hope of Memphis Fund. It partners with churches to serve the community, administer church and donor-advised funds for church members, and offer a cash management pool.
12. The Maclellan Foundation is a Chattanooga, Tennessee-based independent foundation. It gives internationally and nationally, stressing Chattanooga. It is the largest of a group of four family foundations that are committed to "fulfilling the Great Commission of Jesus Christ through strategic giving." The foundation provides financial and leadership training to local organizations that enhance the spiritual well being of the Commission by working "to extend the Kingdom of God to every tribe, nation, person, and tongue." Toward that end, the foundation offers consulting services, equipment, general/operating support, program development and evaluation, and seed money to Christian organizations.
13. The New York City-based American Bible Society is a foundation that translates, publishes, and distributes the Bible in every language it can. The Society wants every person "to experience the Bible's life changing message." It collaborates with other Christian organizations including Faith Comes by Hearing, the creator of an audio version of the Bible. Other partners are Feed the Children, the Military Ministry, Mission Year, Samaritan Purse/Operation Christmas Child, United Bible Societies, and the National Association of State and Regional Bible Societies.
14. The National Endowment Association is a public charity in Princeton, Indiana that helps small to mid-sized charities in the United States, mostly religious ministries, endow funds. The objective is to free ministries from the constant demands of fundraising so they can devote more time to their missions. The association helps them solicit long-term planned gifts, something the larger charities already have the means to do. It helps them tap into larger funding sources through tax-exempt planning. It also helps them promote their charity by offering website templates, educational classes, marketing material templates, marketing/fundraising consultation, and donor/consumer seminars.
15. The Harold Simmons Foundation of Dallas, Texas is a company-sponsored foundation. It provides grants that support zoos, arts and culture, education, energy, health, substance abuse treatment, HIV/AIDS treatment, disaster relief, athletics, human services, human rights, community development, programs that address women's issues, and Christian organizations. It gives mostly in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.
16. The Norcliffe Foundation is an independent foundation in Seattle, Washington. It gives to organizations that benefit the arts and cultural organizations, hospitals, early childhood development, higher and secondary education, and historic preservation. It also supports medical research and health associations, hospices, the environment and conservation, and social services that include programs for the disabled, the homeless, child welfare, youth agencies, and the aged. The foundation's Christian grantees are the Roman Catholic Church and religious associations. It gives mostly in the Puget Sound area of Washington, especially in Seattle.
17. The Stephen and Mary Birch Foundation of Wilmington, Delaware is an independent foundation that gives throughout the United States. It supports nonprofit institutions, communities, and organizations that support research, medical, health, educational, sports, social services, and artistic programs in communities across the nation. Christian organizations that work in any of these areas are eligible for funding.
18. The Harry J. Lloyd Charitable Trust in Overland Park, Kansas "supports God's work as described in the Great Commission by spreading evangelism throughout the world." It primarily supports organizations and programs that further this mission. The Trust provides grants that help start new ministries or new programs or expand current programs. It funds organizations that are creative, accountable, stable, and effective. It also funds Christian programs that provide housing, food, medical assistance, and education for the poor. It may also support medical research in different areas.
19. The Lynn and Foster Freiss Family Foundation is an independent foundation out of Jackson, Wyoming. It mostly funds faith-based entrepreneurial programs, especially one-one-one mentoring. The foundation provides general/operating support, matching/challenge support, and program-related investment/loans.
20. IBS-STL is a foundation from Colorado Springs, Colorado. It came about in 2007 from a merger of the National Bible Society and Send the Light. It gives nationally and internationally to Christian organizations that further its mission of translating, interpreting, and publishing the Bible. Its goal is to give more and more people throughout the world the opportunity to experience the Bible.
Some foundations exist solely to benefit Christian ministries and churches. Others lack a direct connection to Christianity but work to solve problems that are at the core of Christian concern. Some have a limited geographic focus; others have a national focus; still others have an international focus. But wherever your organization operates, and whatever programs it has, many (if not most) of these foundations are viable funding possibilities for your organization. And there are countless other possibilities. The Christian Funding Directory (CFD), Foundation Directory Online, and Foundation Search are the most valuable sources of information about foundations.
The question of what foundations to turn to for funding is one Christian ministries and churches ponder over all the time. There are of course various factors to consider. The degree of compatibility between your mission and the aims of a foundation remains the most important consideration. But at a time when foundation funding is declining, it helps to know which foundations are giving the most - along with knowing a little about their overall purpose, the kinds of Christian organizations they fund, and the kinds of programs that interest them.
The following are the top 20 Christian grant funding sources in terms of funding generosity.
1. Of all the Christian grant foundations accepting applications at this time the Alpharetta, Georgia-based National Christian Foundation (NCF) provides the most funds. Seeking to further the gospel of Jesus Christ, its funding territory is national. This is largely a donor advised fund. A donor-advised fund is a charitable giving vehicle administered by a third party and created for the purpose of managing charitable donations on behalf of an organization, family, or individual. A donor-advised fund offers the opportunity to create an easy-to-establish, low cost, flexible vehicle for charitable giving as an alternative to direct giving or creating a private foundation.
NCF helps individuals and families plan their giving through such programs as the Legacy Fund (after death giving). It advises them on asset giving (cash, stocks, real estate, business interests, restricted securities) and shows them how to balance income needs and estate planning goals (through charitable trusts and charitable gift annuities.)
The Single Charity Fund allows supporters to donate all kinds of assets; the Professional Advisors group - comprised of financial planners, CPA's, attorneys, and more - advises supporters in the art of tax-efficient giving.
2. The Christian Aid Ministries is a foundation based in Berlin, Ohio. Having an international gift giving scope, the Ministries seeks to "provide spiritual and material assistance such as food, clothing, medicine, and Christian literature to needy people in various countries." It also provides emergency funds and in-kind gifts. The Ministries supports Amish, Mennonite, and other conservative Anabaptists as they minister to the physical and religious needs of people worldwide. It aids victims of war, famine, and natural disasters.
3. The Nehemiah Corporation is a foundation out of Sacramento, California. Its mission is to facilitate "home ownership and asset development opportunities for diverse populations in underserved neighborhoods across the U.S., while maintaining a commitment to successful, responsible homeownership." It gives mostly to California foundations and individuals and to Christian organizations that support its mission.
4. The Trinity Christian Center of Santa Ana is a foundation from Tustin, California. It supports Christian services and organizations that seek to spread the gospel around the world. It provides care, comfort, and emergency aid to the sick, the disabled, the homeless. It is also known for producing televised religious broadcasts for ministries that spread the gospel worldwide.
5. The Barnabas Foundation is a foundation from Tinley Park, Illinois that supports its nearly 200 member Christian ministries through planned giving and estate planning. Its participating churches include Legacy Churches, Good Steward Ministry Churches, Member Asset Management Churches, Member Churches. It also offers stewardship education as well as development programs that facilitate stewardship "based on God's ownership of all gifts."
6. The J. Bulow Campbell Foundation is an independent foundation from Atlanta, Georgia. The foundation seeks to uplift "intellectual and spiritual life, preferably projects of a permanent nature or for capital funds." It does not fund operating expenses or recurrent programs except in cases where funding might allow a significant new program to succeed without continuing support from the foundation. It gives anonymously to church-related agencies of the Presbyterian Church, but not to congregations. It mostly supports organizations in Georgia, though it does give to organizations in Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
7. The Rupert H. Johnson Foundation is an independent foundation in San Mateo, California that generally funds only educational programs in California and Virginia. Only Christian organizations seeking grants for education programs in these two geographic regions would be eligible for funding.
8. The Rees-Jones Foundation, a family foundation based in Dallas, Texas, funds "programs that help improve the quality of life for the under served of north Texas." It provides employee/matching gifts and funds capital campaigns, general operations, management and program development, and scholarship funds. It supports churches that seek to relieve hunger, and it provides medical care for the mentally and physically disabled, educational opportunities for youth, and affordable housing, shelter, and spiritual development for those left behind.
9. The Poplar Foundation is an independent foundation that mostly gives within its base of Memphis and the metropolitan area. It funds mostly youth services and education. Ministries that focus on these two areas are eligible for funding.
10. The Wege Foundation, an independent foundation in Grand Rapids, Michigan, gives mostly within Kent County and above all in Grand Rapids. Christian agencies that provide health, human services, and education are likelier to receive funding from the foundation than those that do not. It funds annual campaigns, building/renovation, capital campaigns, curriculum development, endowments, equipment, matching/challenge campaigns, and program development.
11. The Hope Christian Community Foundation is a Christian public charity community foundation in Memphis, Tennessee that "helps Christians share their wealth with others in the most thoughtful and efficient ways." It serves ministries by administering and managing agency funds, offering a cash management pool, investing endowments, and making grants through the Hope of Memphis Fund. It partners with churches to serve the community, administer church and donor-advised funds for church members, and offer a cash management pool.
12. The Maclellan Foundation is a Chattanooga, Tennessee-based independent foundation. It gives internationally and nationally, stressing Chattanooga. It is the largest of a group of four family foundations that are committed to "fulfilling the Great Commission of Jesus Christ through strategic giving." The foundation provides financial and leadership training to local organizations that enhance the spiritual well being of the Commission by working "to extend the Kingdom of God to every tribe, nation, person, and tongue." Toward that end, the foundation offers consulting services, equipment, general/operating support, program development and evaluation, and seed money to Christian organizations.
13. The New York City-based American Bible Society is a foundation that translates, publishes, and distributes the Bible in every language it can. The Society wants every person "to experience the Bible's life changing message." It collaborates with other Christian organizations including Faith Comes by Hearing, the creator of an audio version of the Bible. Other partners are Feed the Children, the Military Ministry, Mission Year, Samaritan Purse/Operation Christmas Child, United Bible Societies, and the National Association of State and Regional Bible Societies.
14. The National Endowment Association is a public charity in Princeton, Indiana that helps small to mid-sized charities in the United States, mostly religious ministries, endow funds. The objective is to free ministries from the constant demands of fundraising so they can devote more time to their missions. The association helps them solicit long-term planned gifts, something the larger charities already have the means to do. It helps them tap into larger funding sources through tax-exempt planning. It also helps them promote their charity by offering website templates, educational classes, marketing material templates, marketing/fundraising consultation, and donor/consumer seminars.
15. The Harold Simmons Foundation of Dallas, Texas is a company-sponsored foundation. It provides grants that support zoos, arts and culture, education, energy, health, substance abuse treatment, HIV/AIDS treatment, disaster relief, athletics, human services, human rights, community development, programs that address women's issues, and Christian organizations. It gives mostly in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.
16. The Norcliffe Foundation is an independent foundation in Seattle, Washington. It gives to organizations that benefit the arts and cultural organizations, hospitals, early childhood development, higher and secondary education, and historic preservation. It also supports medical research and health associations, hospices, the environment and conservation, and social services that include programs for the disabled, the homeless, child welfare, youth agencies, and the aged. The foundation's Christian grantees are the Roman Catholic Church and religious associations. It gives mostly in the Puget Sound area of Washington, especially in Seattle.
17. The Stephen and Mary Birch Foundation of Wilmington, Delaware is an independent foundation that gives throughout the United States. It supports nonprofit institutions, communities, and organizations that support research, medical, health, educational, sports, social services, and artistic programs in communities across the nation. Christian organizations that work in any of these areas are eligible for funding.
18. The Harry J. Lloyd Charitable Trust in Overland Park, Kansas "supports God's work as described in the Great Commission by spreading evangelism throughout the world." It primarily supports organizations and programs that further this mission. The Trust provides grants that help start new ministries or new programs or expand current programs. It funds organizations that are creative, accountable, stable, and effective. It also funds Christian programs that provide housing, food, medical assistance, and education for the poor. It may also support medical research in different areas.
19. The Lynn and Foster Freiss Family Foundation is an independent foundation out of Jackson, Wyoming. It mostly funds faith-based entrepreneurial programs, especially one-one-one mentoring. The foundation provides general/operating support, matching/challenge support, and program-related investment/loans.
20. IBS-STL is a foundation from Colorado Springs, Colorado. It came about in 2007 from a merger of the National Bible Society and Send the Light. It gives nationally and internationally to Christian organizations that further its mission of translating, interpreting, and publishing the Bible. Its goal is to give more and more people throughout the world the opportunity to experience the Bible.
Some foundations exist solely to benefit Christian ministries and churches. Others lack a direct connection to Christianity but work to solve problems that are at the core of Christian concern. Some have a limited geographic focus; others have a national focus; still others have an international focus. But wherever your organization operates, and whatever programs it has, many (if not most) of these foundations are viable funding possibilities for your organization. And there are countless other possibilities. The Christian Funding Directory (CFD), Foundation Directory Online, and Foundation Search are the most valuable sources of information about foundations.
Friday, November 19, 2010
The Dilemmas of Being a Woman...and Christian
In today's lifestyle there are several reasons why women are either single by choice, single again or widowed at a young age. Many of these women are struggling to live a Christian life and they have the forces of the world beating them down daily. Economics make up a large portion of problems for single parents. Loneliness is faced daily. Work obligations enter into the lives of the parent and the children and there never seems to be enough hours in the day. Then there is the ever problem of living a life where God calls for purity in our life in all areas.
The single life gives us a unique time and opportunity to work on our own personal self, develop a variety of relationships and a variety of ways that we can serve in the church. However, single women particularly, face a "stigma" in the church. Since "people will be people"; this will likely never change. Single women must constantly take care of their behavior, their dress, their associations and every word that is spoken from their mouth if they are to live a separated life and maintain respectability. God's word tells us that a good reputation is worth more than fine jewels. It is priceless yet it is constant maintenance and dedication to achieve.
Many churches offer their own single groups for Sunday School and fellowship. The success of these groups in accomplishing the job of ministering and discipleship of the single woman is often the success or failure of a godly leader. Often it is difficult to find such a leader, due to the complications and time that a singles ministry requires. Ideally a good group is headed by an older married couple who stand together in responsibility of the singles.
Christian women must often stand alone in the church, maintaining a reputation of a godly life. "Dating around", friendships with married men and not having a quiet spirit can be deadly to the reputation of a single Christian woman.
Our culture often puts the single Christian woman in the fire. However, single or married, we all have the same heavenly Father, the same offer of salvation and the same love from Jesus.
The dedication of ourselves to children and family, if they are in a woman's life is a wonderful basic. The dedication of a Christian woman to a ministry for God will fulfill and sustain as He is molding the woman's life for the future.
Any friendship or dating relationship must be viewed as a possible potential mate and special care must be taken to slowly build and nurture it. Both parties must first have their eyes on the Lord and die to self as far as temptations or the desire to move ahead too quickly.
There are many challenges and victories to the life of a single Christian woman. The opportunity for growth can reach mountain-top peak level or it can bring you into a valley so deep you are tempted to just follow the world and give it up. A godly life is worth the struggle and will be the example for your children as they struggle in a broken family. It is a matter of giving and trusting in God to deliver you up to that mountain-top where the rewards will be worth it
The single life gives us a unique time and opportunity to work on our own personal self, develop a variety of relationships and a variety of ways that we can serve in the church. However, single women particularly, face a "stigma" in the church. Since "people will be people"; this will likely never change. Single women must constantly take care of their behavior, their dress, their associations and every word that is spoken from their mouth if they are to live a separated life and maintain respectability. God's word tells us that a good reputation is worth more than fine jewels. It is priceless yet it is constant maintenance and dedication to achieve.
Many churches offer their own single groups for Sunday School and fellowship. The success of these groups in accomplishing the job of ministering and discipleship of the single woman is often the success or failure of a godly leader. Often it is difficult to find such a leader, due to the complications and time that a singles ministry requires. Ideally a good group is headed by an older married couple who stand together in responsibility of the singles.
Christian women must often stand alone in the church, maintaining a reputation of a godly life. "Dating around", friendships with married men and not having a quiet spirit can be deadly to the reputation of a single Christian woman.
Our culture often puts the single Christian woman in the fire. However, single or married, we all have the same heavenly Father, the same offer of salvation and the same love from Jesus.
The dedication of ourselves to children and family, if they are in a woman's life is a wonderful basic. The dedication of a Christian woman to a ministry for God will fulfill and sustain as He is molding the woman's life for the future.
Any friendship or dating relationship must be viewed as a possible potential mate and special care must be taken to slowly build and nurture it. Both parties must first have their eyes on the Lord and die to self as far as temptations or the desire to move ahead too quickly.
There are many challenges and victories to the life of a single Christian woman. The opportunity for growth can reach mountain-top peak level or it can bring you into a valley so deep you are tempted to just follow the world and give it up. A godly life is worth the struggle and will be the example for your children as they struggle in a broken family. It is a matter of giving and trusting in God to deliver you up to that mountain-top where the rewards will be worth it
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
The Act or the Church? Which are YOU?
Do you go to church? Where do you go to church? I remember being in the company of believers hearing them exclaim " I Belong To The Church of.." or "I Attend...." It was as if they had an exclusive membership to a club or something. People will often flock to a church in which the leader is like a celebrity. It seems to bring a sense a pride to member to proudly say "I Attend New Wave Ministries" and "My Bishop Is..." How impressive.
There is nothing wrong with church pride, but church membership is not a promise of salvation. Your faith in Jesus Christ is what gets you into the body of Christ. Belonging to a prominent church with a membership of 1000 or stronger, doesn't mean that church has the monopoly on the teachings of Christ nor are they "THE" path to God the Father. Identifying with a favorite teacher, preacher, pastor or prophet is not good because they are just ministers (servants) of the gospel.
Paul had a similar problem with... the Corinthians (Corinthians 3), rather than identifying with the Body of Christ, the people identified themselves as being apart of Paul or Apollos. Paul referred to this type of behavior as carnal. Who is Paul but a minister (servant) of the gospel?, who is Apollos but a minister (servant) of the gospel? Who is your Bishop or favorite Evangelist or celebrity Prophet, but a servant of the gospel? In the book of Romans 8:7… “because the mind of the flesh is enmity to God, for to the law of God it doth not subject itself (Y.L.T).”
The ministry (service) has no place for superstars and heroes, we (the believers) belong to the body of Christ not to a building, not to a movement, not to a denomination or an organization. Attending a geographical location faithfully on a Sunday morning or being proud of the celebrity status of your church and its leaders does not equate to citizenship in the Kingdom of God.
When looking for a place to fellowship with Gods people, don't be fooled by the celebrity of the leadership of the high-tech gadgetry in the building that others call church. I'm sure there are many who are reading this article, have heard a hundred times, "You Are The Church?". Far too many people will express their disappointment in a Leader after he or she falls. But we are God’s people, how is it that we are and at times can be so easily fooled? In many cases we have only ourselves to blame.
Understanding who and what the church is will cause you to realize that you can't sign in, you must be Born again and keeping a close walk with the Savior won’t allow you to be taken advantage of by the “wolves in sheep’s clothing”.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Excellence: Personal or Capital?
Personal excellence is something that you can not pay for, but it will pay your the highest dividends over the course of your life. It takes lifelong dedication to achieve personal excellence, whether it is in your business, your job, or your personal life.
Achieving personal excellence is a worthy pursuit and should be pursued above all else.
**Building Your Intellectual Capital is Key**
If you want to achieve personal excellence building your intellectual capital is where you need to start. There are three forms that you can gain.
Developing these forms of intellectual capital takes hard work and study, but they will pay you in personal satisfaction and higher income.
Your knowledge, skills, and abilities is the first type of intellectual capital that you need to develop. This is gained through education, training and experience. This Type of intellectual capital will determine how well you perform your job and the value that you can add to your business.
**Tacit Knowledge**
Your tacit(what's inside your head) knowledge of how your company runs internally is the second form of intellectual capital that you should possess and further develop in order to achieve personal excellence. Knowing the different methods, policies and practices of how your business operates makes you very valuable to your company and hard to replace.
Tacit Knowledge is very valuable, especially if you work for someone else. You would be the last person they would want to let go during a recession.
**Build Your Ability to Get Results**
Finally, your ability to get results, will be the determining factor on how marketable you are and your income level.
How well you know your customers, your serve and products will determine your ability to get results to meet and exceed your company or business goals.
You can not develop this overnight. It does take years of dedication and training to hone the skills your need in this area. As long as you continually invest in yourself in this area you will be able to increase your ability to get the results you need and live with a spirit of excellence.
Commit today to develop and increase your personal excellence.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Community Empowerment Event-Jacksonville, FL
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Challenges of Women working in Church Ministry
In these tough economic times many churches and ministries are tempted to scale back on planning events so that it won't put any added burden on women who are struggling to make ends meet. The problem is that this is exactly the time when we need to gather for fellowship and encouragement. Here is a "Top 10" list that can help women's leaders plan more effective events that are perfect for this tough economy.
1. Use your own members: Organize an event that uses your own members as the leaders. You can find different women who have specialties and have them lead small groups or you may have someone who would be able to teach a large group time. Look around and see who has a story to tell that others can relate to and go from there. You may want to gather several women and hold a panel discussion on a specific topic. be creative and allow God to direct you to the right women.
2. Reinvent the covered dish: Most often the cost of an event is largely tied up in the food. Keep costs down by either asking everyone to bring a dish to share or enlist a team of women to organize the different dishes you want to offer and let them designate who brings what. You could decide on a theme and plan the food around that.
3. Network with Other Churches: Find some other churches in your area and share or trade Bible Study materials with them. Your church could buy one study and theirs a different one then after you finish, trade studies.
4. Plan 1 night events: Schedule your next event on an evening so that your costs can stay low. You even start a little later so that everyone has dinner before arriving then offer a dessert fellowship after the program.
5. Serve Others: Remember that if the economic crisis has hit you hard then it has devastated many others. Organize your women to focus on helping others. Service projects are a great way to build strong bonds and show people the love of Jesus in a practical way. The bonus is that your struggles tend to diminish in the face of what others may be dealing with.
6. Start a Support Group: Offer the opportunity for women who have lost their jobs or who's husbands have lost their jobs to gather for support and encouragement. Let your community know it is available and you may be surprised at the outreach it can become.
7. Get Out of the Church: Take your Bible Studies out of the church and hold them in different homes in the community so that people don't have to spend much time or money on gas to be involved.
8. Decorate for Less: Women's events always have the issue of decorating. Go old school and use things you already have at the church or enlist different women to hostess each table and make decorating her table part of her duties.
9. Simplicity and Relevance: Don't ignore the issues that people are dealing with but rather plan a event to specifically address them. Make it a brown bag night or just very simple in all details. Offer topics such as how to dress, dine, decorate on a budget. Consider inviting a financial specialist to speak on practical advice in troubling times.
10. See the big Picture: Plan your events to coincide with other large gatherings like just after church or when the youth or children are already doing something. Take the stress off of women who are worried about being all things to all people and who feel guilty for taking time out for themselves.
These are just a few ideas. Whatever you decide to do, don't give up on ministry. Women need encouragement and support more now than ever before.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Single, Marriage & Ministry....Whoa
You are single and you have never been married, and God has a calling on your life for full time service to Him. You have a zeal for God and you only want a lady that has a zeal like yours to serve God. In essence you want a lady to partner you with a great anointing of God on her life also. This article is written for you. Enjoy reading and if you agree pray the prayer and write a comment on the article.
**TIP 1** Be honest with her and yourself
A lady with an anointing on her life for full time ministry is a person that treasures honesty and she is love with Jesus, someone that NEVER lies to her. A lady needs a husband that can lead her house and be the head, and if you are not up to the task it is best that you don't try and pretend that you are!
You can kid yourself and think that you are a spiritual person, but there were many spiritual people when Jesus walked the earth also, even New Age people are a lot more spiritual then many Christians.
If you are sold out to Jesus and the will of God, then by all means seek the hand of a lady with a calling on her life.
**TIP 2** Be Sold out For God's Will in Your Life
Don't kid yourself or God. To win the heart of a lady called by God, you and her visions for your future should be the same. If God has been calling you to go to Africa for years you should be pursuing that for God. You should not be searching for a lady who also has a calling to Africa on her life.
This is part of being honest with yourself and with her. In some of the very first conversations with a potential lady you should not be afraid of mentioning that God is calling you to Africa.
You should take the lead when you talk about where you are called. You will know the "right" lady when as you mention this, she is quick to tell you that she has also had a calling to go there also.
Paul said it is best that a man does not marry and therefore devote all of his time and resources to God. I agree, many men spend all of their earnings on a wife and family, and these men could have done a lot more for God if they had remained single.
Be prepared to go to Africa without a wife man of God! Do firstly what God wants you to do. Seek first the Kingdom of God and He might bless you with a helpmate.
The Lord God is a jealous God. He would rather you be single then for you to have a wife that hinders you from completely doing the will of God. God does not favor men and women that make an idol out of their partners.
A woman that has been called by God for full time ministry will see this zeal on your life and your passion too serve the King of Kings and this will attract her more then any romantic words spoken by you could!
**TIP 3** Make it clear that you want to serve God first in your marriage
Living in Africa can mean that you don't have the electricity of the West and toasters, jugs, electric blankets and all manner of luxuries of the West. To have a wife with a calling on her life fall in love with you means that you will serve God, no matter how much you have to go without.
Many people don't serve God in their life because the world is so attractive with its high wages and all that they can buy. But to have the servant heart of Jesus you might not be a person that puts much stock in the goods of the world and the life in Africa would not be such a huge cost for serving God for you.
Many women want to serve BOTH God and their families. But a precious women of God with a great calling on her life will care little for the things of the world and the luxury of the West. They will already be the women that Jesus and the Father speak to tenderly and you might find that they are quite old and have been waiting patiently for the man of God that has been promised to them so many years ago.
They won't be married once and wanting to have a second marriage with you.
***Mark 10:11-12 (New International Version)
11He answered, "Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her. 12And if she divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery." No matter what the world says, second marriages are adultery. So the woman called by God won't have been married once and now want to marry you.
No, the women called by God might even be in her forties or older, yet she would have always been waiting for a man of God. A woman called of God would not have settled for a lesser man of God to starve off her loneliness as Jesus would have been her partner for years.
No matter how many gifts a woman of God might have, if she has been married once and her ex husband is still living; she is not the woman for you. You have to be strong and prove you will serve God first and not her want for you.
**TIP 4** Be patient when it comes to God's will in your life.
Many people tend to march ahead of God and move and do things that the Spirit has not asked them to do. Having a website might be a popular thing to have if you are in ministry. But, you must not make a website UNTIL the Spirit of God tells you to move and do that.
Jesus only did what His Father told Him to do through the Holy Spirit. You also need to learn only to move when the Spirit calls you to move.
This may be very important when it comes to asking a lady out on a date. A woman called of God might have noticed you, but she may need more evidence that you are the right sort of guy for her.
If you are interested in a woman with an anointing by God, be patient until the Spirit gives you the go ahead to ask her out.
This applies to nearly all your decisions that you make and most certainly the big decisions. It is vital that you let patience have its perfect work in you. Jesus could have started to preach when he was 14 years of age, but he waited till He was 30 years of age, the minimum age of a Rabbi.
As a man of God, it is a tremendous responsibility to be called by God to serve Him full time and double as much responsibility for you to marry a woman with an anointing by God.
It is vital therefore, that you learn to move as the Spirit of God moves. If revival breaks out, you might want to go and check it out, but you must first consult the Spirit of God, as to if you can, and when you should go.
The Holy Spirit might want you to start another fire at the same time from your own ministry as the same angel that came to the first revival comes over and anoints you.
A woman that has waited many years for the husband that the Lord of Hosts has destined for her does not want to be disappointed with you with you making a financial commitment or some other decision "without" the Holy Spirit giving you the go ahead.
God does some of his greatest works through men and woman of God that have waited twenty or more years for their visions coming into being. There is just such a special anointing reserved for people willing to go through the refiner's fire and storms of life for many years before God raises them up into major ministry.
Only a patient man will win the heart of a very patient woman of God. An anointed woman isn't looking for clever talk; she is looking for well developed fruit in your life. Sure, she may "feel" the anointing when you preach or "feel" the anointing on what you write, but many men have the anointing and lack the fruit to sustain the sort of calling she has on her life.
Can I pray for you:
Father of Lights:
We come to you today and seek Your Will in our life when it comes to marriage. Father give us the patience to seek only your best and to do only Your Will. Lord lead us more and more by You Holy Spirit. Teach us only to move when we see You Moving. Teach us to become leaders and not followers. Lord anoint us to break new ground for you and bring into our life the fruits of the Spirit through the storms of life. Lord give us the wisdom to read and re- read this teaching so that we know what we need to do to win the right anointed woman to be our partner.
Father, anoint us, give us the power to do Your Will, lead us by Your Spirit and keep us learning the things that we need to know to do Your will in our life. Keep us away from distractions and keep us from touching those things that are not pleasing to You. Teach us from every medium we experience, and mentor us through the voice of the Good Shepherd and Teach us the Word of God from the Teacher, the Holy Spirit.
Give us the endurance to weather the storms of life and keep us from sin to the appointed day that we marry the lady for us.
In Jesus name we ask
Amen
If you have prayed the prayer take a second to rate this article by pressing how many stars out of five, or writing a comment that will take a few minutes.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Our Monthly Newsletter!
Hey, if you have not had the opportunity, take advantage of this one and click on the link above to see/read our monthly newsletter. The newsletter is an updated body of information to keep you informed of "What's New?" and "What's to Come". We have several upcoming events this month and are really excited about what is coming forth.
You can also subscribe to the monthly newsletter for FREE at www.leadershipexch.com! Do not let this opportunity pass you by. We are here to serve and would love to have you join us in whatever way you can.
God's Best,
Sherell Edwards,Founder
Great Women of God Abroad, a subsidiary of
The Christian Women's Leadership Exchange
Monday, September 13, 2010
Leaders: Born or Made?
A recent television reality show featured three chefs in a competition. They received the same list of ingredients and were to prepare several courses. Each chef had the same amount of time and could use only the ingredients on the list. When the gourmet meals were finished, a panel of judges picked the winner. This is a good example of what happens during leadership development. Given the same individual, different mentors develop leaders differently; and, of course, leaders respond to each mentoree differently. There are several implications here. Leaders should have multiple people developing them. Not only should we develop the leaders under us, but we should encourage them to seek outside mentors who can also develop their ingredients.
People often say, "He is a born leader." I respectfully disagree. Leaders aren't born; they're made, like bread is made. Leadership development is an intentional activity. Raisin bread doesn't appear by itself even if we leave the ingredients on the kitchen counter overnight. Someone must consciously take ingredients and knead them together, put the mixture under the right amount of heat and allow it to rise, then punch it down and start over again until the dough is the perfect consistency. Only then will it rise above the pan. Helping a leader rise takes this same kind of intentional activity.
One reporter wrote:
I believe everyone has the ingredients needed to be a leader. We are leaders at different times and places. Dad might be a manager in an office. The people who work for him acknowledge that he is a leader. But Mom is also a leader. She leads a Cub Scout troop, she leads the family in getting chores done, and every morning she leads the kids to school. But Junior could be a leader too. Maybe he is the academic pacesetter of the fourth grade or is the captain of the dodgeball team at recess. Even the dog can lead with his bark when a stranger comes to the front door. So if everyone is capable of being a leader, how do we explain the difference in ability between leaders? If we could measure people on a leadership scale of one to ten, some people will only rise to a level three while others will rise to a ten. The ingredients are there, but they never seem to come together to their full potential. That's where we come in. With the proper training, dogs are taught to lead blind people through busy streets. What can our leaders accomplish if we invest time in developing them?
People often say, "He is a born leader." I respectfully disagree. Leaders aren't born; they're made, like bread is made. Leadership development is an intentional activity. Raisin bread doesn't appear by itself even if we leave the ingredients on the kitchen counter overnight. Someone must consciously take ingredients and knead them together, put the mixture under the right amount of heat and allow it to rise, then punch it down and start over again until the dough is the perfect consistency. Only then will it rise above the pan. Helping a leader rise takes this same kind of intentional activity.
One reporter wrote:
I believe everyone has the ingredients needed to be a leader. We are leaders at different times and places. Dad might be a manager in an office. The people who work for him acknowledge that he is a leader. But Mom is also a leader. She leads a Cub Scout troop, she leads the family in getting chores done, and every morning she leads the kids to school. But Junior could be a leader too. Maybe he is the academic pacesetter of the fourth grade or is the captain of the dodgeball team at recess. Even the dog can lead with his bark when a stranger comes to the front door. So if everyone is capable of being a leader, how do we explain the difference in ability between leaders? If we could measure people on a leadership scale of one to ten, some people will only rise to a level three while others will rise to a ten. The ingredients are there, but they never seem to come together to their full potential. That's where we come in. With the proper training, dogs are taught to lead blind people through busy streets. What can our leaders accomplish if we invest time in developing them?
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Women's conference headed to Fleming Island | jacksonville.com
Women's conference headed to Fleming Island | jacksonville.com
Great Women of God Abroad is one of approximately eight co-hosting churches and/or ministries that have volunteered with the Fresh Grounded Faith event with Jennifer Rothschild. WE are excited, greatful for the opportunity to serve and so look forward to the Jacksonville event!!
Great Women of God Abroad is one of approximately eight co-hosting churches and/or ministries that have volunteered with the Fresh Grounded Faith event with Jennifer Rothschild. WE are excited, greatful for the opportunity to serve and so look forward to the Jacksonville event!!
Heavy Doctrine...Pure Rationale
One great theologian writes:
There are approximately 224.5 million citizens of the United States who identify themselves as Christian in religious affiliation and belief. The great majority of these religious adherents express an apparent sincere faith that the Holy Bible is the inspired word of God, as was delivered through revelation to ancient prophets and apostles for the purpose of being written and preserved for the benefit of future generations. Most of these individuals don't question, or argue with, the authenticity of the theological doctrines delivered to mankind through these ancient writers. In fact, most, that is to say, approximately 90 percent, of church-going Christians believe in the account of man's creation by deity, as recorded in the Book of Genesis; and that flies in the face of popular scientific empiricism holding fast to agnostic Darwinian evolution.
Among the 224.5 million Americans who consider themselves Christian, there are, however, an ever-increasing percentage of them (now approximately 5-10 million) who subjectively regard certain portions of the Bible as fiction, or fantasy. Somehow, these people can selectively believe that God parted the Red Sea through the prophet Moses, as recorded in the Book of Exodus, to allow the Israelites to escape an angrily ominous Egyptian army, but choose not to believe that Jehovah of the Old Testament destroyed the cities, Sodom and Gomorrah, because of the unnatural sins and abominations committed by nearly 100 percent of the inhabitants of those ancient metropolitan areas. For reasons that most of these, so called, Christians cannot rationally explicate, the most vile moral sins, punishable by death during the Old Testament period, should be tolerated, accepted, and indulged in a 21st Century world, even though these sinful practices were also condemned in the 1st Century A.D. by the disciple of Jesus Christ who wrote the bulk of the New Testament, the Apostle Paul, who, supposedly, spoke for Jesus Christ.
Now, as I've pointed out in previous essays, the practice of the organized Christian religion has, since the early demise of Jesus' twelve original apostles, been aptly comparable through the later centuries to a politically geared system fed by wealth and military power to almost the exclusion of godly purpose. The egregiously violent history of the Holy Roman Empire presents the secularization of Christianity in the religious wars and conflicts which, through the later centuries, displayed the greatest examples of man's inhumanity to man. During most of the 1st Century A.D., while under Jewish and Roman persecution in the Holy Land, and in other places in the world ruled by the Roman Empire, the overt practice of Christian faith by the called together bodies of believers (churches) was, however, generally dedicated to the Apostle James' proffered definition of "true" religion undefiled before God, which was to "visit widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unspotted from the world (sin)." After the last Apostle's death (or removal from the ministry) that is John the Devine, the expostulations and teachings of the Gospel writers (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), Peter, James, Paul, and Jude were, more or less, codified into a doctrinal schema over the next two centuries. Though there were quite a few other inspired Christian writers of the 1st Century A.D. New Testament period, the current content of the Holy Bible was determined as cannon scripture almost 300 years after Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection, at the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D., through the dictates of a pragmatic Roman emperor, supposedly a convert to Christianity, Constantine the Great. Surprisingly though, those basic moral proscriptions, which had been considered doctrinal rules in the 1st Century and in millennia before, were proclaimed as sacred law by the collective ruling body of Christians comprising the newly acquired state religion of Rome.
These basic moral rules for all of mankind, the keys to the continuation of the family of man, are believed by most Christians to have been laid down by the God of the Old Testament for the Patriarchs as recorded by the Prophet Moses in the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible). Yet, these basic do's and don'ts, as found in the Bible, are as readily applicable to every human civilization that has ever existed, or will exist (Jewish, Christian, or non-Christian) throughout all the earth. What are some of these basic moral rules? You shouldn't lie, steal, cheat, lust, commit murder or inflict pain unnecessarily on other human beings, marry and, afterward, have an affair with another person's wife or husband, and covet the possessions of other people. You should, however, honor your father and mother. If the four purely Jewish doctrinal commandments are removed from the Ten Commandments (commandments 1-4), the six remaining commandments, if obeyed, would benefit any human civilization; for they comprise a code of human conduct that, if individually observed, would result in the maintenance of peace and tranquility within any society.
The systematic disregard for basic moral rules by human beings is the substrate of the inexorable sin, and the lawlessness that it breeds, that may slowly creep over time into any human society to destroy, and replace, incumbent morality with its insipid opposite. The old expression that morality cannot be politically legislated is quite true, and has been proven true again and again throughout history. Though morality does not, in and of itself, have to originate from religious doctrine, it must essentially precede the formation of man-made law; and nature's God has given certain natural laws unto man that are inherent to any lasting social system, which equate the fundamental rules of morality. For instance, it is inherently wrong in any human being's mind for something that belongs to that particular person to be stolen and used by another person. Or, it is inherently wrong in any human social system, primitive or advanced, for a person to lie, or bear false witness, against another person. Even if laws and rules have been established making stealing and lying allowable in certain social systems, alarms still go off in the individual person's mind when lying and stealing occur, telling that person that something is considerably wrong.
I like to consider the basic social and religious similarities between the ancient metropolitan areas of Sodom and Gomorrah, and the current day metropolitan areas of San Francisco and Houston. You see, something went very wrong in those ancient cities that, over time, made Jehovah, the God of the Old Testament, very angry with their inhabitants. According to the ancient record, the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah had been established and growing for, probably, hundreds of years before the Prophet Abraham was told by God, in Genesis 18:20-21, that, "Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is grave, I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry which has come to me; and if not, I will know." So, according to the Bible three men (angels) were sent by God to Abraham, and then, later, to Sodom and Gomorrah, in order to determine the sinfulness of the two cities, and whether the cities' sinful inhabitants should be destroyed.
The necessary task of any sincerely inquiring mind is now to determine the type of human sins that had so severely angered God to the point of destroying two populous cities. The biblical record is quite clear that mankind had been permitted their free mortal agency to choose whether to follow the moral rules of God or the dictates of evil. It is good to remember that, according to Moses' earlier record in Genesis, God had previously destroyed all of the inhabitants of the earth, with the exception of Noah, his wife, and his sons and their wives, with a great flood, and had, somehow, repopulated the earth through Noah's seed. Some Biblical historians venture guesses that, probably, a thousand-or-more years passed between the time of the great deluge and that of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Of course, the cities of Houston and San Francisco have grown to their vast metropolitan population sizes in less than 200 years, which is much less than the time in which Sodom and Gomorrah grew to be heinously corrupted.
What could have developed, over time, in Sodom and Gomorrah that caused an angry God, according to Genesis 19:24, to "rain brimstone and fire from heaven upon the two cities, overthrowing them, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground." Was it their lying, cheating, stealing, coveting, murdering, ordinary adultery, or dishonoring parents that really ticked-off the God of heaven and earth? Or was it something much more severely sinful? Certainly, if a person claiming to be a Christian can believe that God caused rain to fall from the heavens to flood, and destroy, the entire earth with water, why can't that same person believe that two ancient cities became so sinful that God caused fire and brimstone to rain down upon them from the same heaven? Perhaps it was when God's angels were in the city of Sodom attempting to evacuate the four only righteous inhabitants of the city (Lot, his wife, and his two daughters), and the men of Sodom, young and old, surrounded Lot's house, demanding that the angels be brought out to them for some vile purpose that Lot greatly feared. Perhaps then the Lord God almighty was more than certain that he should destroy the cities. Moreover, Abraham pleaded with God, as recorded in Genesis 18:23-33, to spare the cities if only ten righteous people could be found there; but God, in his omniscience, knew that there weren't ten righteous people in all the thousands, if not millions, of the inhabitants of both cities. What could all of these people have done to warrant such a horrible death?
After a great deal of study into these matters, I have come to a hearty conclusion that human acceptance and toleration of abhorrent sin and immoral practices, even if the people accepting and tolerating the sin and immorality do not, themselves, indulge in the immoral practices, has, throughout human history, been despised by God. What do the people living in Houston and San Francisco have in common with the ancient people of Sodom and Gomorrah? Do they, as did their ancient brethren and sisters, accept and tolerate heinous immorality? Do you suppose that the great majority of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah thought it politically correct to accept and tolerate the commission of vile immoral acts? Were, perhaps, civil laws enacted by the cities' politicians, and endorsed by the majority of the residents, allowing the practice of these abominations? As I have aforementioned, these acts must have been something much more vile than lying, murdering, and stealing; for there were other cities at that time besides Sodom and Gomorrah, and all of them had their basic social problems emanating from lying, stealing, and murder. But only Sodom and Gomorrah became vile enough to destroy. Of course, this biblical record, and the New Testament admonitions of the Apostle Paul, may be regarded as fictional fantasy by millions of, so called, Christians in a 21st Century world. But it is quite interesting that most of these same Christians also believe that Jesus is eventually returning to the earth, as a thief in the night, to judge and rain vengeance on the human beings, the living and the dead, who have not chosen to follow the basic moral rules of God. This is a sobering thought, that the God and father of Jesus Christ has revealed through ancient scripture that he is reserving judgment of his children until the very end of time, which is a totally different way than he dealt with man anciently. Essentially, God has given the modern Christian world two opportunities through free mortal agency. These apparent options are: 1) enough time to change its evil ways, or 2) enough time and rope to hang itself. Though far from being morally and spiritually perfect, I am quite satisfied with my choice to honor, obey, and sustain the basic moral rules that God established when he created the earth and commanded men and women to multiply and replenish it. And though I can only speak for myself, the ancient words of the Prophet Joshua, found in Exodus 24:15, mean a great deal to me. He said, "And if you be unwilling to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell, but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
There are approximately 224.5 million citizens of the United States who identify themselves as Christian in religious affiliation and belief. The great majority of these religious adherents express an apparent sincere faith that the Holy Bible is the inspired word of God, as was delivered through revelation to ancient prophets and apostles for the purpose of being written and preserved for the benefit of future generations. Most of these individuals don't question, or argue with, the authenticity of the theological doctrines delivered to mankind through these ancient writers. In fact, most, that is to say, approximately 90 percent, of church-going Christians believe in the account of man's creation by deity, as recorded in the Book of Genesis; and that flies in the face of popular scientific empiricism holding fast to agnostic Darwinian evolution.
Among the 224.5 million Americans who consider themselves Christian, there are, however, an ever-increasing percentage of them (now approximately 5-10 million) who subjectively regard certain portions of the Bible as fiction, or fantasy. Somehow, these people can selectively believe that God parted the Red Sea through the prophet Moses, as recorded in the Book of Exodus, to allow the Israelites to escape an angrily ominous Egyptian army, but choose not to believe that Jehovah of the Old Testament destroyed the cities, Sodom and Gomorrah, because of the unnatural sins and abominations committed by nearly 100 percent of the inhabitants of those ancient metropolitan areas. For reasons that most of these, so called, Christians cannot rationally explicate, the most vile moral sins, punishable by death during the Old Testament period, should be tolerated, accepted, and indulged in a 21st Century world, even though these sinful practices were also condemned in the 1st Century A.D. by the disciple of Jesus Christ who wrote the bulk of the New Testament, the Apostle Paul, who, supposedly, spoke for Jesus Christ.
Now, as I've pointed out in previous essays, the practice of the organized Christian religion has, since the early demise of Jesus' twelve original apostles, been aptly comparable through the later centuries to a politically geared system fed by wealth and military power to almost the exclusion of godly purpose. The egregiously violent history of the Holy Roman Empire presents the secularization of Christianity in the religious wars and conflicts which, through the later centuries, displayed the greatest examples of man's inhumanity to man. During most of the 1st Century A.D., while under Jewish and Roman persecution in the Holy Land, and in other places in the world ruled by the Roman Empire, the overt practice of Christian faith by the called together bodies of believers (churches) was, however, generally dedicated to the Apostle James' proffered definition of "true" religion undefiled before God, which was to "visit widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unspotted from the world (sin)." After the last Apostle's death (or removal from the ministry) that is John the Devine, the expostulations and teachings of the Gospel writers (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), Peter, James, Paul, and Jude were, more or less, codified into a doctrinal schema over the next two centuries. Though there were quite a few other inspired Christian writers of the 1st Century A.D. New Testament period, the current content of the Holy Bible was determined as cannon scripture almost 300 years after Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection, at the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D., through the dictates of a pragmatic Roman emperor, supposedly a convert to Christianity, Constantine the Great. Surprisingly though, those basic moral proscriptions, which had been considered doctrinal rules in the 1st Century and in millennia before, were proclaimed as sacred law by the collective ruling body of Christians comprising the newly acquired state religion of Rome.
These basic moral rules for all of mankind, the keys to the continuation of the family of man, are believed by most Christians to have been laid down by the God of the Old Testament for the Patriarchs as recorded by the Prophet Moses in the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible). Yet, these basic do's and don'ts, as found in the Bible, are as readily applicable to every human civilization that has ever existed, or will exist (Jewish, Christian, or non-Christian) throughout all the earth. What are some of these basic moral rules? You shouldn't lie, steal, cheat, lust, commit murder or inflict pain unnecessarily on other human beings, marry and, afterward, have an affair with another person's wife or husband, and covet the possessions of other people. You should, however, honor your father and mother. If the four purely Jewish doctrinal commandments are removed from the Ten Commandments (commandments 1-4), the six remaining commandments, if obeyed, would benefit any human civilization; for they comprise a code of human conduct that, if individually observed, would result in the maintenance of peace and tranquility within any society.
The systematic disregard for basic moral rules by human beings is the substrate of the inexorable sin, and the lawlessness that it breeds, that may slowly creep over time into any human society to destroy, and replace, incumbent morality with its insipid opposite. The old expression that morality cannot be politically legislated is quite true, and has been proven true again and again throughout history. Though morality does not, in and of itself, have to originate from religious doctrine, it must essentially precede the formation of man-made law; and nature's God has given certain natural laws unto man that are inherent to any lasting social system, which equate the fundamental rules of morality. For instance, it is inherently wrong in any human being's mind for something that belongs to that particular person to be stolen and used by another person. Or, it is inherently wrong in any human social system, primitive or advanced, for a person to lie, or bear false witness, against another person. Even if laws and rules have been established making stealing and lying allowable in certain social systems, alarms still go off in the individual person's mind when lying and stealing occur, telling that person that something is considerably wrong.
I like to consider the basic social and religious similarities between the ancient metropolitan areas of Sodom and Gomorrah, and the current day metropolitan areas of San Francisco and Houston. You see, something went very wrong in those ancient cities that, over time, made Jehovah, the God of the Old Testament, very angry with their inhabitants. According to the ancient record, the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah had been established and growing for, probably, hundreds of years before the Prophet Abraham was told by God, in Genesis 18:20-21, that, "Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is grave, I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry which has come to me; and if not, I will know." So, according to the Bible three men (angels) were sent by God to Abraham, and then, later, to Sodom and Gomorrah, in order to determine the sinfulness of the two cities, and whether the cities' sinful inhabitants should be destroyed.
The necessary task of any sincerely inquiring mind is now to determine the type of human sins that had so severely angered God to the point of destroying two populous cities. The biblical record is quite clear that mankind had been permitted their free mortal agency to choose whether to follow the moral rules of God or the dictates of evil. It is good to remember that, according to Moses' earlier record in Genesis, God had previously destroyed all of the inhabitants of the earth, with the exception of Noah, his wife, and his sons and their wives, with a great flood, and had, somehow, repopulated the earth through Noah's seed. Some Biblical historians venture guesses that, probably, a thousand-or-more years passed between the time of the great deluge and that of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Of course, the cities of Houston and San Francisco have grown to their vast metropolitan population sizes in less than 200 years, which is much less than the time in which Sodom and Gomorrah grew to be heinously corrupted.
What could have developed, over time, in Sodom and Gomorrah that caused an angry God, according to Genesis 19:24, to "rain brimstone and fire from heaven upon the two cities, overthrowing them, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground." Was it their lying, cheating, stealing, coveting, murdering, ordinary adultery, or dishonoring parents that really ticked-off the God of heaven and earth? Or was it something much more severely sinful? Certainly, if a person claiming to be a Christian can believe that God caused rain to fall from the heavens to flood, and destroy, the entire earth with water, why can't that same person believe that two ancient cities became so sinful that God caused fire and brimstone to rain down upon them from the same heaven? Perhaps it was when God's angels were in the city of Sodom attempting to evacuate the four only righteous inhabitants of the city (Lot, his wife, and his two daughters), and the men of Sodom, young and old, surrounded Lot's house, demanding that the angels be brought out to them for some vile purpose that Lot greatly feared. Perhaps then the Lord God almighty was more than certain that he should destroy the cities. Moreover, Abraham pleaded with God, as recorded in Genesis 18:23-33, to spare the cities if only ten righteous people could be found there; but God, in his omniscience, knew that there weren't ten righteous people in all the thousands, if not millions, of the inhabitants of both cities. What could all of these people have done to warrant such a horrible death?
After a great deal of study into these matters, I have come to a hearty conclusion that human acceptance and toleration of abhorrent sin and immoral practices, even if the people accepting and tolerating the sin and immorality do not, themselves, indulge in the immoral practices, has, throughout human history, been despised by God. What do the people living in Houston and San Francisco have in common with the ancient people of Sodom and Gomorrah? Do they, as did their ancient brethren and sisters, accept and tolerate heinous immorality? Do you suppose that the great majority of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah thought it politically correct to accept and tolerate the commission of vile immoral acts? Were, perhaps, civil laws enacted by the cities' politicians, and endorsed by the majority of the residents, allowing the practice of these abominations? As I have aforementioned, these acts must have been something much more vile than lying, murdering, and stealing; for there were other cities at that time besides Sodom and Gomorrah, and all of them had their basic social problems emanating from lying, stealing, and murder. But only Sodom and Gomorrah became vile enough to destroy. Of course, this biblical record, and the New Testament admonitions of the Apostle Paul, may be regarded as fictional fantasy by millions of, so called, Christians in a 21st Century world. But it is quite interesting that most of these same Christians also believe that Jesus is eventually returning to the earth, as a thief in the night, to judge and rain vengeance on the human beings, the living and the dead, who have not chosen to follow the basic moral rules of God. This is a sobering thought, that the God and father of Jesus Christ has revealed through ancient scripture that he is reserving judgment of his children until the very end of time, which is a totally different way than he dealt with man anciently. Essentially, God has given the modern Christian world two opportunities through free mortal agency. These apparent options are: 1) enough time to change its evil ways, or 2) enough time and rope to hang itself. Though far from being morally and spiritually perfect, I am quite satisfied with my choice to honor, obey, and sustain the basic moral rules that God established when he created the earth and commanded men and women to multiply and replenish it. And though I can only speak for myself, the ancient words of the Prophet Joshua, found in Exodus 24:15, mean a great deal to me. He said, "And if you be unwilling to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell, but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
How to Overcome Complacency....
Complacency is overcome by change, however in order to have change you must first overcome complacency. This is the chicken and egg problem, which comes first. Change begins with a single powerful person, spreads from him or her to a few others through examples, produces some group benefit, and then spreads still more widely. In order to bring about change you must have a plan or a program. In order to have a successful program you must have change and the change or involvement of people in the change will reduce complacency. The more programs, the more change and less complacency.
The problem to overcome with programs is how to keep them moving ahead and produce positive results. I have been reading Leading Change by John P. Kotter, It's Your Ship by Captain D. Micheal Abrashoff and now the 80/20 Principle by Richard Koch in order to learn how to overcome this problem of complacency. Leading Change explains why and how, It's Your Ship will give you the management techniques to use and the 80/20 Principle helps you direct your resources for the best results.
The Plan:
Over the next year we will be developing a program with a team from our Church that will launch in 6 months a new program called The Development Hour, Christians in High Places. With the goal to offer practical Christian solutions to our world around us. Businesses are looking for leaders who can take them through the changes required to survive in the twenty-first-century, and what better way to spread the message of Jesus than to give them strong Christians equipped to do the job right.
The Method:
We plan to tap the resources of our seniors for the experiences of how to overcome the mistakes of the past and teach the skills of Leading Change in the future.
*To create a Guiding Coalition made up of leaders in the Church and seniors willing to accept the challenge, to guide the program and make suggestions for improvements.
*To train teachers for Sunday school classes of all ages.
*Offer classes in finance and stewardship.
*Conduct classes on Leadership for the twenty-first-century.
*Conduct classes on Management techniques from examples given in the
book It's Your Ship.
*Have counseling sessions on gifts and how to put them to work.
*During 2007 develop a list of classes to be offered and class outlines, review and improve each class on an ongoing basis.
The Benefit:
More people involved in the ministry.
**Less complacency in the Church.
**Growth in our Sunday school and Church through involvement with the community.
**Enabling our young people to enter the work place with the tools needed to succeed in a Christian manor.
**Identifying our gifts and how to use them.
**Having a strong team in the Guiding Coalition that can review the process keep us on track.
The ultimate Goal, overcoming complacency
In order to ultimately overcome complacency, the program must rack up short term wins. These must be planned for in the Guiding Coalition team and celebrated at regular intervals.
New programs have to be started in no less than eighteen months to overlap the existing programs in order to keep the changes moving forward. The more programs that are ongoing at the same time the greater the result of reducing complacency.
Apply the 80/20 principle to the programs, 20 percent of the effort will produce 80 percent of the result. So work on improvement with the first 20 percent for compound results. A small improvement in the best 20 percent will result in the largest result.
Look at the example that Jesus gave us, He selected a Guiding Coalition of 12, gave them a program, produced short term wins (miracles), and kept the program going by introducing new programs. Be aware that just like the 12 with one snake, you will have egos and snakes to deal with.
The problem to overcome with programs is how to keep them moving ahead and produce positive results. I have been reading Leading Change by John P. Kotter, It's Your Ship by Captain D. Micheal Abrashoff and now the 80/20 Principle by Richard Koch in order to learn how to overcome this problem of complacency. Leading Change explains why and how, It's Your Ship will give you the management techniques to use and the 80/20 Principle helps you direct your resources for the best results.
The Plan:
Over the next year we will be developing a program with a team from our Church that will launch in 6 months a new program called The Development Hour, Christians in High Places. With the goal to offer practical Christian solutions to our world around us. Businesses are looking for leaders who can take them through the changes required to survive in the twenty-first-century, and what better way to spread the message of Jesus than to give them strong Christians equipped to do the job right.
The Method:
We plan to tap the resources of our seniors for the experiences of how to overcome the mistakes of the past and teach the skills of Leading Change in the future.
*To create a Guiding Coalition made up of leaders in the Church and seniors willing to accept the challenge, to guide the program and make suggestions for improvements.
*To train teachers for Sunday school classes of all ages.
*Offer classes in finance and stewardship.
*Conduct classes on Leadership for the twenty-first-century.
*Conduct classes on Management techniques from examples given in the
book It's Your Ship.
*Have counseling sessions on gifts and how to put them to work.
*During 2007 develop a list of classes to be offered and class outlines, review and improve each class on an ongoing basis.
The Benefit:
More people involved in the ministry.
**Less complacency in the Church.
**Growth in our Sunday school and Church through involvement with the community.
**Enabling our young people to enter the work place with the tools needed to succeed in a Christian manor.
**Identifying our gifts and how to use them.
**Having a strong team in the Guiding Coalition that can review the process keep us on track.
The ultimate Goal, overcoming complacency
In order to ultimately overcome complacency, the program must rack up short term wins. These must be planned for in the Guiding Coalition team and celebrated at regular intervals.
New programs have to be started in no less than eighteen months to overlap the existing programs in order to keep the changes moving forward. The more programs that are ongoing at the same time the greater the result of reducing complacency.
Apply the 80/20 principle to the programs, 20 percent of the effort will produce 80 percent of the result. So work on improvement with the first 20 percent for compound results. A small improvement in the best 20 percent will result in the largest result.
Look at the example that Jesus gave us, He selected a Guiding Coalition of 12, gave them a program, produced short term wins (miracles), and kept the program going by introducing new programs. Be aware that just like the 12 with one snake, you will have egos and snakes to deal with.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
USTREAM, My Shows: information and control panel
USTREAM, My Shows: information and control panel
Get READY! Get Ready! Get Ready! We will not give up on you, so we will move in closer. Starting from this point forward we will hold our monthly conferences via UStream. We mean it when we say we are of service and that YOU mean everything and maybe you will take us seriously EYE to EYE! So we will get off the phone and move to the screen. We look forward to seeing and serving you! The Spirit of the Finisher will not rest....
God's Best,
Sherell Edwards, Founder/CEO
Great Women of God Abroad, a
subsidiary of The Christian Women's Leadership Exchange
weareGWGA@gmail.com
Get READY! Get Ready! Get Ready! We will not give up on you, so we will move in closer. Starting from this point forward we will hold our monthly conferences via UStream. We mean it when we say we are of service and that YOU mean everything and maybe you will take us seriously EYE to EYE! So we will get off the phone and move to the screen. We look forward to seeing and serving you! The Spirit of the Finisher will not rest....
God's Best,
Sherell Edwards, Founder/CEO
Great Women of God Abroad, a
subsidiary of The Christian Women's Leadership Exchange
weareGWGA@gmail.com
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Your Words
I am, as are many of you, a diligent student of The Wisdom of Almighty God. I love reading the Holy Bible as well as books that illuminate principles that are drawn from the Holy Scripture. I read constantly and love every minute of it. Too often I am disappointed by many authors who have either 'missed the point' of their subject or have simply rehashed the thoughts of others. I do sincerely enjoy reading a 'fresh' perspective. I have truly enjoyed reading Candace House' new book 'You Frame Your World By The Words You Say.'
I know that I have heard hundreds of sermons and read hundreds of books that deal with the subject and context covered in this book.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Candace House is the Founder/ CEO of The World Education Network Inc (TWEN), a company that provides curriculum, tutoring & technology for students around world. The World Education Network has just finished a wall building project in Ghana. This wall is built around land that will house a school for 1200 students. TWEN plans for the school to be complete by the summer of 2009.
She is an Entrepreneur, Humanitarian, Life Coach, Motivational Speaker and Published Author of Shut the Door It Is Well and What Is God Eating?, She has a new book coming out the end of August titled Day Dreamer vs.
BOOK SUMMARY
Candace has really written a winner. All of her books are super because of their clarity and easy to grasp concepts. This book, You Frame Your World By The Words You Say, is an adventure into the core values that help each individual sculpt his world.
Her premise is sound and can be experienced in any individual's life.
She illustrates a point that each individual needs to be aware of in daily life.
QUOTABLE QUOTES
"You create the world you live in by the way you think and the words you say"
DISTINCTIVE FEATURE
The clarity of her explanations and the poignant expression of a life altering principle make this book easy to read and understand.
USEFULNESS
The concepts presented in this book are necessary for building a positive and successful self image.
I know that I have heard hundreds of sermons and read hundreds of books that deal with the subject and context covered in this book.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Candace House is the Founder/ CEO of The World Education Network Inc (TWEN), a company that provides curriculum, tutoring & technology for students around world. The World Education Network has just finished a wall building project in Ghana. This wall is built around land that will house a school for 1200 students. TWEN plans for the school to be complete by the summer of 2009.
She is an Entrepreneur, Humanitarian, Life Coach, Motivational Speaker and Published Author of Shut the Door It Is Well and What Is God Eating?, She has a new book coming out the end of August titled Day Dreamer vs.
BOOK SUMMARY
Candace has really written a winner. All of her books are super because of their clarity and easy to grasp concepts. This book, You Frame Your World By The Words You Say, is an adventure into the core values that help each individual sculpt his world.
Her premise is sound and can be experienced in any individual's life.
She illustrates a point that each individual needs to be aware of in daily life.
QUOTABLE QUOTES
"You create the world you live in by the way you think and the words you say"
DISTINCTIVE FEATURE
The clarity of her explanations and the poignant expression of a life altering principle make this book easy to read and understand.
USEFULNESS
The concepts presented in this book are necessary for building a positive and successful self image.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Christian Counseling and its Role
I discovered psychology when I was a university freshman, many years ago. I loved everything about that first course, even the multiple choice tests and especially the section about counseling. Religion was not mentioned in the course, except in a negative way, but in my mind, I could see glimpses of how this newly-discovered field of study could have an impact on the church. I was surprised to discover that my old Sunday School teacher was not enamored with psychology like I was, but my interest grew as I took more courses and eventually decided to study further in graduate school.
In those days nobody talked about the integration of psychology and theology. Christian counseling was not a term that I heard often. My efforts to link my faith with my emerging career were guided by writers in the field of pastoral psychology. Most of these were more liberal theologically than I was but they wrote about ways in which psychological insights could help church-based counselors understand and better deal with issues like depression, interpersonal conflict, panic, and grief. The anti-psychology polemicists had not begun their angry campaigns against Christians in this field so I entered my profession never doubting that Christian counseling, guided by the Holy Spirit and informed by the Holy Scriptures, could be a powerful Christ-honoring tool for helping us do good to all people, especially to fellow believers (Gal. 6:10).
Over the years I have never wavered in my belief that Christian counseling has a lot to contribute to the church. I believe even more that the church makes a crucial contribution to the power and impact of Christian counseling.
*The Church Needs Christian Counselors*
Many Christian leaders still wonder why the church needs counselors. Is not good preaching and discipleship enough? Is not Christ sufficient to meet all human needs? Could not the efforts of dedicated church elders and other leaders eliminate the need for counselors? Do not the Scriptures tell us that believers have everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness? (2 Peter 1:3) Why would the church need counselors like us? We must begin our answer by looking to God's Word. Jesus was a teacher and a preacher, but he also was an effective counselor. He talked one-on-one to the woman at the well. He counseled Martha about her busy lifestyle, and talked tenderly to a woman caught in adultery. Late one night he helped Nicodemus with his spiritual struggles. Often Jesus talked with people privately, shared their hurts, gave encouragement, and guided as they coped with their problems. Sometimes he helped people find forgiveness. He asked questions, listened carefully, and often told stories that left people free to draw their own conclusions. When two of his followers were grappling with their grief and confusion on the road to Damascus, he spent time with them, listened to them, and showed them what Scripture said about their uncertainties.
In the early church and throughout the New Testament we see personal helping modeled and encouraged. Paul, for example, gave sensitive guidance and mentoring to Timothy. Barnabas was a consistent encourager. The epistles overflow with principles for living, guidelines for solving problems, and instructions for individuals with tension in their lives. More than 50 times we read one another passages. Bear one anothers burdens, we are told, encourage one another, care for one another, be kind to one another, serve one another. Of course these words are not directed to a special group known as counselors. These instructions are for all Christians, but they are teachings that encourage the type of help, support, and care giving that counselors have the calling, time, and special training to provide. There are those who say that counseling does not help. Sometimes it does not. But many people can tell encouraging stories about ways in which they have been changed by counselors who are trained to understand problems, teach communication skills, help people get along, and show how to deal with inner conflicts and pain left over from the past.
The best trained counselors recognize the influence of biology and appreciate the role that body chemicals play, sometimes creating havoc in Christian homes and individual lives. We need to remind church leaders that literally thousands of scientific research studies have examined the work of counselors and demonstrated their effectiveness. It is true, of course, that God does not need counselors for the advancement of his kingdom. Neither does he need teachers, physicians, preachers or anybody else.
In his sovereign wisdom, However, he uses mortals like us to accomplish his purposes. He could give us instant knowledge of all truth and could bestow wisdom like he gave Solomon; but he has chosen instead to work most often through godly teachers. He could heal all our diseases in an instant and sometimes he does, but for reasons that we do not fully comprehend, he brings most physical healing through the skillful hands of scientifically trained doctors and nurses. He could evangelize the world with the blink of an eye, but instead he has given this responsibility to evangelists, pastors, and faithful followers of Christ charged with the duty to go forth and make disciples. Instantaneously, God could wipe away all depression, anxiety, inner turmoil and interpersonal conflicts, but often he works through compassionate human beings with the gifts of encouragement, discernment, and counseling.
How then, do these counselors strengthen the church? First, counselors free pastors and other church leaders for the overall work of the ministry. Most pastors would agree: the demands of ministry gulp up large quantities of time and leave few hours for the concentrated care giving that counseling often demands. But no one person is called or equipped to do everything not even the pastor. Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12 teach that members of the body have different spiritual gifts and responsibilities. Counselors use their gifts to help people, honor Christ, and strengthen Christians in their churches. Counselors also help pastors, missionaries, and other church leaders deal with difficulties in their own lives. Recently I attended a large conference on church leadership led by two prominent evangelical pastors. During their messages, both mentioned how Christian counselors had helped in times of special difficulty and rejuvenated their ministries as a result. One described how a counselor had helped when the demands of ministry almost destroyed his marriage. The other talked about the time he hit bottom, burned out emotionally, physically and spiritually.
With the support of his church board he took time off, got help from a Christian therapist, and learned to pace himself for the effective ministry that he has today. Where do church leaders go when they need help? What if a pastor or missionary is struggling with a failing marriage, uncontrolled kids, hostile criticism, deep feelings of failure, insecurity, bitterness, or lust? Sometimes the best counselor is the person who can be objective, available, and trained to deal with the unique problems that may be draining energy, vitality, and effectiveness from Gods chosen servants. Christian counselors also can (and should) give support and encouragement to their spiritual leaders. This is one of the things we can do best, but I wonder how many of us take the time to come alongside our pastors or other Christian leaders to give a little inspiration and encouragement. Even when they are not having problems in their own lives or with counselees, church leaders need to know that people like us care enough to say with our words and our presence, Well done...I am standing with you. Christian Counselors have their own unique healing ministries that can strengthen the Body of Christ. Counselors have Counselors use their gifts to help people, honor Christ, and strengthen Christians in their churches.
As part of their in-depth training, counselors learn special helping skills. They have knowledge about the nature of common emotional problems like depression or anxiety, familiarity with the impact of biology on behavior, and expertise in handling faltering marriages or dealing with interpersonal conflict. Some suggest that counselors take a paraclete role, being used by the Holy Spirit to come alongside struggling people to bring special comfort, guidance, encouragement, and sometimes confrontation.
*Christian Counselors Need the Church*
One of the greatest weaknesses in the development of professional Christian counseling has been our movement away from the church. This has happened for at least three reasons. First, attitudes in some churches have driven counselors away. When church leaders condemn professional counselors and urge church members to avoid counseling, is it any wonder that some have set up their practices away from the church? Second, the mental health professions have encouraged independence. These attitudes are now changing, but for many years secular organizations and professionals have tended to distrust religion, proclaim the Importance of professional objectivity, and warned against dual relationships such as those that might occur in church settings. Influenced by managed care companies, state licensing agencies, ethical guidelines and the desire to be as professional as possible, many Christian counselors have concluded that their practices should be completely separate from the church just as medical or legal practices are independent.
Third, sometimes the movement away from the church has come because of the attitudes of counselors themselves. Some of us have kept our counseling and our Christianity compartmentalized because we do not know how to bring the two together, do not want to bring them together, fear being accused of proselytizing, or do not want our beliefs to impact our therapy adversely. But Christian counselors ignore the church at their own peril. We are members of the body of Christ. Christian counselors need the church for encouragement, support, teaching, and worship. We cannot forsake meeting together with other believers (Heb. 10:25). For many years I attended church routinely but only within the past few years have I begun to fully appreciate the role that corporate worship plays in my life. I need it. When I am traveling and miss worship with other believers, I sense a vacuum in my life even if my personal devotional life is intact. Every Christian needs the church body even when our churches are not very worshipful. We need this more because of our kind of ministry. We are in the business of seeking to undo what the devil does best. Our work is a form of spiritual warfare. He is the father of lies; we seek to help people face the truth.
He divides people; we bring them together. He convinces them that life without God is best; we teach that life without God is futile and ultimately empty. He seeks to discourage us, distract us, sidetrack us, and prevent our effectiveness as counselors; we work with the knowledge that while the evil one is powerful in his activities, the one who is in us is greater than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4). We are helpless to do this kind of ministry in our own strength. We need the body of believers to hold us up in prayer and support. If there are none in your church who do this, you are lacking a key ingredient for your Christian counseling effectiveness. In addition, Christian counselors need the church for accountability. We live in a culture where independence and individual achievement are lauded, even in many churches. We acclaim super-star pastors and applaud our heroes in sports, music, and even the Christian counseling profession. I have seen it up close in the Christian publishing industry. Publishers, readers, and talk show hosts tell writers how wonderful they are and in time these authors begin to believe their own press reports. Accountability goes out the door along with humility. Whether or not we are successful or famous, each of us needs Christian brothers and sisters to stand alongside us, challenge us, and keep us accountable for the ways in which we live our lives, care for our marriage, pare not our kids, spend our money, deal with our own sexuality, and relate to our
clients.
Christian counselors also need the church for the support and spiritual encouragement of our clients. I know a counselor who makes three requirements for all of his counselees. They need to see him for their weekly counseling sessions, be involved in some kind of small group, and attend at least one worship service a week. My friend believes that his counseling is more effective and long lasting when his clients are anchored in a local church. For some counselors this may not be feasible, but the churches impact for good in the lives of clients cannot be overemphasized. Here is therapist directory for your help.
*Winds of Change*
Our profession has come a long way since I took the freshman psychology course that eventually got me into Christian counseling. We still have a long way to go but the winds of change are blowing. Christians are recognizing that Christian counselors do serve a purpose especially when problems arise that common sense care giving does not seem to help. Counselors, in turn, are realizing that we need the church, desperately. Churches and counselors are in partnership like never before. This is the way it should be. I suspect this is Gods way.
Wilma Johannsen
In those days nobody talked about the integration of psychology and theology. Christian counseling was not a term that I heard often. My efforts to link my faith with my emerging career were guided by writers in the field of pastoral psychology. Most of these were more liberal theologically than I was but they wrote about ways in which psychological insights could help church-based counselors understand and better deal with issues like depression, interpersonal conflict, panic, and grief. The anti-psychology polemicists had not begun their angry campaigns against Christians in this field so I entered my profession never doubting that Christian counseling, guided by the Holy Spirit and informed by the Holy Scriptures, could be a powerful Christ-honoring tool for helping us do good to all people, especially to fellow believers (Gal. 6:10).
Over the years I have never wavered in my belief that Christian counseling has a lot to contribute to the church. I believe even more that the church makes a crucial contribution to the power and impact of Christian counseling.
*The Church Needs Christian Counselors*
Many Christian leaders still wonder why the church needs counselors. Is not good preaching and discipleship enough? Is not Christ sufficient to meet all human needs? Could not the efforts of dedicated church elders and other leaders eliminate the need for counselors? Do not the Scriptures tell us that believers have everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness? (2 Peter 1:3) Why would the church need counselors like us? We must begin our answer by looking to God's Word. Jesus was a teacher and a preacher, but he also was an effective counselor. He talked one-on-one to the woman at the well. He counseled Martha about her busy lifestyle, and talked tenderly to a woman caught in adultery. Late one night he helped Nicodemus with his spiritual struggles. Often Jesus talked with people privately, shared their hurts, gave encouragement, and guided as they coped with their problems. Sometimes he helped people find forgiveness. He asked questions, listened carefully, and often told stories that left people free to draw their own conclusions. When two of his followers were grappling with their grief and confusion on the road to Damascus, he spent time with them, listened to them, and showed them what Scripture said about their uncertainties.
In the early church and throughout the New Testament we see personal helping modeled and encouraged. Paul, for example, gave sensitive guidance and mentoring to Timothy. Barnabas was a consistent encourager. The epistles overflow with principles for living, guidelines for solving problems, and instructions for individuals with tension in their lives. More than 50 times we read one another passages. Bear one anothers burdens, we are told, encourage one another, care for one another, be kind to one another, serve one another. Of course these words are not directed to a special group known as counselors. These instructions are for all Christians, but they are teachings that encourage the type of help, support, and care giving that counselors have the calling, time, and special training to provide. There are those who say that counseling does not help. Sometimes it does not. But many people can tell encouraging stories about ways in which they have been changed by counselors who are trained to understand problems, teach communication skills, help people get along, and show how to deal with inner conflicts and pain left over from the past.
The best trained counselors recognize the influence of biology and appreciate the role that body chemicals play, sometimes creating havoc in Christian homes and individual lives. We need to remind church leaders that literally thousands of scientific research studies have examined the work of counselors and demonstrated their effectiveness. It is true, of course, that God does not need counselors for the advancement of his kingdom. Neither does he need teachers, physicians, preachers or anybody else.
In his sovereign wisdom, However, he uses mortals like us to accomplish his purposes. He could give us instant knowledge of all truth and could bestow wisdom like he gave Solomon; but he has chosen instead to work most often through godly teachers. He could heal all our diseases in an instant and sometimes he does, but for reasons that we do not fully comprehend, he brings most physical healing through the skillful hands of scientifically trained doctors and nurses. He could evangelize the world with the blink of an eye, but instead he has given this responsibility to evangelists, pastors, and faithful followers of Christ charged with the duty to go forth and make disciples. Instantaneously, God could wipe away all depression, anxiety, inner turmoil and interpersonal conflicts, but often he works through compassionate human beings with the gifts of encouragement, discernment, and counseling.
How then, do these counselors strengthen the church? First, counselors free pastors and other church leaders for the overall work of the ministry. Most pastors would agree: the demands of ministry gulp up large quantities of time and leave few hours for the concentrated care giving that counseling often demands. But no one person is called or equipped to do everything not even the pastor. Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12 teach that members of the body have different spiritual gifts and responsibilities. Counselors use their gifts to help people, honor Christ, and strengthen Christians in their churches. Counselors also help pastors, missionaries, and other church leaders deal with difficulties in their own lives. Recently I attended a large conference on church leadership led by two prominent evangelical pastors. During their messages, both mentioned how Christian counselors had helped in times of special difficulty and rejuvenated their ministries as a result. One described how a counselor had helped when the demands of ministry almost destroyed his marriage. The other talked about the time he hit bottom, burned out emotionally, physically and spiritually.
With the support of his church board he took time off, got help from a Christian therapist, and learned to pace himself for the effective ministry that he has today. Where do church leaders go when they need help? What if a pastor or missionary is struggling with a failing marriage, uncontrolled kids, hostile criticism, deep feelings of failure, insecurity, bitterness, or lust? Sometimes the best counselor is the person who can be objective, available, and trained to deal with the unique problems that may be draining energy, vitality, and effectiveness from Gods chosen servants. Christian counselors also can (and should) give support and encouragement to their spiritual leaders. This is one of the things we can do best, but I wonder how many of us take the time to come alongside our pastors or other Christian leaders to give a little inspiration and encouragement. Even when they are not having problems in their own lives or with counselees, church leaders need to know that people like us care enough to say with our words and our presence, Well done...I am standing with you. Christian Counselors have their own unique healing ministries that can strengthen the Body of Christ. Counselors have Counselors use their gifts to help people, honor Christ, and strengthen Christians in their churches.
As part of their in-depth training, counselors learn special helping skills. They have knowledge about the nature of common emotional problems like depression or anxiety, familiarity with the impact of biology on behavior, and expertise in handling faltering marriages or dealing with interpersonal conflict. Some suggest that counselors take a paraclete role, being used by the Holy Spirit to come alongside struggling people to bring special comfort, guidance, encouragement, and sometimes confrontation.
*Christian Counselors Need the Church*
One of the greatest weaknesses in the development of professional Christian counseling has been our movement away from the church. This has happened for at least three reasons. First, attitudes in some churches have driven counselors away. When church leaders condemn professional counselors and urge church members to avoid counseling, is it any wonder that some have set up their practices away from the church? Second, the mental health professions have encouraged independence. These attitudes are now changing, but for many years secular organizations and professionals have tended to distrust religion, proclaim the Importance of professional objectivity, and warned against dual relationships such as those that might occur in church settings. Influenced by managed care companies, state licensing agencies, ethical guidelines and the desire to be as professional as possible, many Christian counselors have concluded that their practices should be completely separate from the church just as medical or legal practices are independent.
Third, sometimes the movement away from the church has come because of the attitudes of counselors themselves. Some of us have kept our counseling and our Christianity compartmentalized because we do not know how to bring the two together, do not want to bring them together, fear being accused of proselytizing, or do not want our beliefs to impact our therapy adversely. But Christian counselors ignore the church at their own peril. We are members of the body of Christ. Christian counselors need the church for encouragement, support, teaching, and worship. We cannot forsake meeting together with other believers (Heb. 10:25). For many years I attended church routinely but only within the past few years have I begun to fully appreciate the role that corporate worship plays in my life. I need it. When I am traveling and miss worship with other believers, I sense a vacuum in my life even if my personal devotional life is intact. Every Christian needs the church body even when our churches are not very worshipful. We need this more because of our kind of ministry. We are in the business of seeking to undo what the devil does best. Our work is a form of spiritual warfare. He is the father of lies; we seek to help people face the truth.
He divides people; we bring them together. He convinces them that life without God is best; we teach that life without God is futile and ultimately empty. He seeks to discourage us, distract us, sidetrack us, and prevent our effectiveness as counselors; we work with the knowledge that while the evil one is powerful in his activities, the one who is in us is greater than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4). We are helpless to do this kind of ministry in our own strength. We need the body of believers to hold us up in prayer and support. If there are none in your church who do this, you are lacking a key ingredient for your Christian counseling effectiveness. In addition, Christian counselors need the church for accountability. We live in a culture where independence and individual achievement are lauded, even in many churches. We acclaim super-star pastors and applaud our heroes in sports, music, and even the Christian counseling profession. I have seen it up close in the Christian publishing industry. Publishers, readers, and talk show hosts tell writers how wonderful they are and in time these authors begin to believe their own press reports. Accountability goes out the door along with humility. Whether or not we are successful or famous, each of us needs Christian brothers and sisters to stand alongside us, challenge us, and keep us accountable for the ways in which we live our lives, care for our marriage, pare not our kids, spend our money, deal with our own sexuality, and relate to our
clients.
Christian counselors also need the church for the support and spiritual encouragement of our clients. I know a counselor who makes three requirements for all of his counselees. They need to see him for their weekly counseling sessions, be involved in some kind of small group, and attend at least one worship service a week. My friend believes that his counseling is more effective and long lasting when his clients are anchored in a local church. For some counselors this may not be feasible, but the churches impact for good in the lives of clients cannot be overemphasized. Here is therapist directory for your help.
*Winds of Change*
Our profession has come a long way since I took the freshman psychology course that eventually got me into Christian counseling. We still have a long way to go but the winds of change are blowing. Christians are recognizing that Christian counselors do serve a purpose especially when problems arise that common sense care giving does not seem to help. Counselors, in turn, are realizing that we need the church, desperately. Churches and counselors are in partnership like never before. This is the way it should be. I suspect this is Gods way.
Wilma Johannsen
Monday, May 24, 2010
Why Great Women of God Abroad?
MISSION: To be a haven of accommodations for Women of God where Kingdom principles reign.
VISION: Provide genuine care, comfort and servant hood of Women of God as they journey the nations and serve the Kingdom!
TOP 5 Reasons to Join:
*Women leaders who believe in Kingdom principles understand the value of true support;
*GWGA is the visionary result of a Christian leader destined to serve other leaders; *You will value and actually benefit from our membership benefits;
*We will support you nationwide;
*You are not reading this by chance, but by HIS choosing...so RECEIVE your blessing!
VISION: Provide genuine care, comfort and servant hood of Women of God as they journey the nations and serve the Kingdom!
TOP 5 Reasons to Join:
*Women leaders who believe in Kingdom principles understand the value of true support;
*GWGA is the visionary result of a Christian leader destined to serve other leaders; *You will value and actually benefit from our membership benefits;
*We will support you nationwide;
*You are not reading this by chance, but by HIS choosing...so RECEIVE your blessing!
Monday, May 10, 2010
Friday, May 7, 2010
Recent conversation with a Blogger....
In a recent blog twist one reader left the following comments:
"The passion of a woman leader is like none other, it’s like that ministry becomes her child and the well-being of the ministry is on her heart. The only thing I would say is to make sure there is a balance, that yes the ministry is yours to grow & care for but not yours to own, it’s yours to serve and God’s to own".
Are we squeezing the life out of ministry so others can not share in and benefit from what God has placed upon us to do in service? We must be strong in service and not lose focus on why we perform in ministry in the first place...which is simply God's call to benefit others! Allow God to be exalted in ministry and all we do.
"The passion of a woman leader is like none other, it’s like that ministry becomes her child and the well-being of the ministry is on her heart. The only thing I would say is to make sure there is a balance, that yes the ministry is yours to grow & care for but not yours to own, it’s yours to serve and God’s to own".
Are we squeezing the life out of ministry so others can not share in and benefit from what God has placed upon us to do in service? We must be strong in service and not lose focus on why we perform in ministry in the first place...which is simply God's call to benefit others! Allow God to be exalted in ministry and all we do.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Great Women of God Abroad Welcome Teleconference
Attend This Event
Listen in on our next teleconference to learn about us! We hope to acknowledge your presence on the call on April 28, 2010!
Listen in on our next teleconference to learn about us! We hope to acknowledge your presence on the call on April 28, 2010!
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Affirming Women's Call to Lead | Christian Leadership Alliance
Affirming Women's Call to Lead | Christian Leadership Alliance
A woman's Call to Lead in ministry is rewarding and challenging at the same time. How do women in these positions answer the questions necessary to move forward with such a task?
A woman's Call to Lead in ministry is rewarding and challenging at the same time. How do women in these positions answer the questions necessary to move forward with such a task?
Monday, April 12, 2010
The Five Types of Smart Women
Below is an excerpt from Sheri McConnell's upcoming book, Smart Women Know Why. Sheri once the owner of five membership-based organizations, now focuses on two of those as President/Founder. Sheri was once a child of a mentally ill, abusive mother and now a successful Mompreneur, Author and Association expert. Read what good information Sheri has to offer below.
The Five Types of Smart Women by Sheri McConnell
Creating the Five Types of Smart Women is important and personal work to me because as women, we each have a huge responsibility to inspire younger generations to “practice awareness”. As you read through the five types of smart women below, hopefully you will see a little or even a lot of yourself in each type. My goal with the Smart Women Types is twofold: one, you can use them as a tool for self growth and two, you can use them to have a better understanding of how to market to each of these types of women in your own businesses.
Type One “Encourager”
The first type of Smart Woman is the encourager. She spends most of her time helping others accomplish their goals. She loves to share resources and actually refuels the more she shares them. The encourager also feels validated each time someone experiences growth from her help. She needs to be cautious of burn out and propping others up too much.
Type Two “The Big Thinker”
The second type of Smart Woman is the big thinker. She spends most of her time thinking and planning the big picture. She offers inspiration to those who are detail oriented and loves to be part of a movement. She is extremely productive when she takes time to see the moving parts. She needs to be cautious of overwhelm and not following through on her ideas.
Type Three “The Manager”
The third type of Smart Woman is the manager. She spends most of her time managing projects and people. She is in the zone when she can pull all the right resources together to complete a project on time and in an efficient manner. She needs to be cautious of micromanaging her team and not empowering them to come up with better solutions on their own. She should also be cautious of burnout.
Type Four “The Implementor”
The fourth type of Smart Woman is the implementer. The implementer is at her best when she can hop from one project to another and be a part of the end results. She would rather be in the fast moving thick of things than in start up. She needs to be cautious of not forgetting about low hanging fruit in her business before moving onto next project. She also needs to make sure she enjoys the journey.
Type Five “The Connector”
The fifth type of Smart Woman is the connector. The connector is at her best when she can bring people together and match strengths with other peoples weaknesses. She thrives when she is able to be social and resourceful at the same time. She is often looked at as the go to “people” person. She, like the encourager needs to be cautious that the majority of her time is not spent propping others up. She struggles when others disapprove of her.
To read about the five types in detail including all the red flags to look out for and how to grow into balancing all the types within yourself, make sure to pick up a copy of Smart Women Know Their Why in June when it is released.
Sheri McConnell is the CEO of Sheri McConnell Companies, Inc. and the president and founder of two national organizations, the National Association of Women Writers-NAWW and the Global Institute of Associations-GIA. You can visit Sheri, access her free article archive, and find out more about all four of her companies at www.sherimcconnell.com. Sheri lives in San Antonio, Texas with her husband, their four children, a weenie dog, and two cats.
The Five Types of Smart Women by Sheri McConnell
Creating the Five Types of Smart Women is important and personal work to me because as women, we each have a huge responsibility to inspire younger generations to “practice awareness”. As you read through the five types of smart women below, hopefully you will see a little or even a lot of yourself in each type. My goal with the Smart Women Types is twofold: one, you can use them as a tool for self growth and two, you can use them to have a better understanding of how to market to each of these types of women in your own businesses.
Type One “Encourager”
The first type of Smart Woman is the encourager. She spends most of her time helping others accomplish their goals. She loves to share resources and actually refuels the more she shares them. The encourager also feels validated each time someone experiences growth from her help. She needs to be cautious of burn out and propping others up too much.
Type Two “The Big Thinker”
The second type of Smart Woman is the big thinker. She spends most of her time thinking and planning the big picture. She offers inspiration to those who are detail oriented and loves to be part of a movement. She is extremely productive when she takes time to see the moving parts. She needs to be cautious of overwhelm and not following through on her ideas.
Type Three “The Manager”
The third type of Smart Woman is the manager. She spends most of her time managing projects and people. She is in the zone when she can pull all the right resources together to complete a project on time and in an efficient manner. She needs to be cautious of micromanaging her team and not empowering them to come up with better solutions on their own. She should also be cautious of burnout.
Type Four “The Implementor”
The fourth type of Smart Woman is the implementer. The implementer is at her best when she can hop from one project to another and be a part of the end results. She would rather be in the fast moving thick of things than in start up. She needs to be cautious of not forgetting about low hanging fruit in her business before moving onto next project. She also needs to make sure she enjoys the journey.
Type Five “The Connector”
The fifth type of Smart Woman is the connector. The connector is at her best when she can bring people together and match strengths with other peoples weaknesses. She thrives when she is able to be social and resourceful at the same time. She is often looked at as the go to “people” person. She, like the encourager needs to be cautious that the majority of her time is not spent propping others up. She struggles when others disapprove of her.
To read about the five types in detail including all the red flags to look out for and how to grow into balancing all the types within yourself, make sure to pick up a copy of Smart Women Know Their Why in June when it is released.
Sheri McConnell is the CEO of Sheri McConnell Companies, Inc. and the president and founder of two national organizations, the National Association of Women Writers-NAWW and the Global Institute of Associations-GIA. You can visit Sheri, access her free article archive, and find out more about all four of her companies at www.sherimcconnell.com. Sheri lives in San Antonio, Texas with her husband, their four children, a weenie dog, and two cats.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
There is No Grace in the Marketplace
There is No Grace in the Marketplace
Check this article out. This writer has some valid points. Business owners must always self assess and know your strengths and weaknesses because regulatory systems and furthermore, the competiton will have no problem pointing them out to you. On the other hand, we all have at least one gift and some many, know what they are and use them to the Glory of God. God's Best to all....
Check this article out. This writer has some valid points. Business owners must always self assess and know your strengths and weaknesses because regulatory systems and furthermore, the competiton will have no problem pointing them out to you. On the other hand, we all have at least one gift and some many, know what they are and use them to the Glory of God. God's Best to all....
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Thursday, March 11, 2010
CAST Your Vote TODAY by 5 pm
CAST YOUR VOTE TODAY!: Which blog site/title do you prefer? We are leaving it up to you, OUR AUDIENCE to decide....http://chroniclesofabrokenspirit.blogspot.com/2010/03/diary-or-journal-whats-difference.html OR http://journalentries4.wordpress.com/2010/03/06/diary-or-journ…the-difference/ DEADLINE:TODAY- March 11, 2010 by 5 pm. For the first 10 people to respond, we have a special gift for you that will be announced TONIGHT @ 8 pm.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Servanthood: A Leader's Valued Asset
The commercialization of our society has left little imagery of the basic fundamental characteristics of a great leader. The way we do business, meet and communicate with others has slowly changed over the years, which has changed how we relate to others. Automated systems, email and communication systems save us time and effort, without a doubt. Yet, one thing many people often mention is how we have lost good customer service. Think about it, we have a tendency to go to places that we have formed relationships with and who serve us personally. Statistics over time, still show that people prefer good customer service even over lower prices!
One thing the emerging entrepreneur has to do is provide an intimate, personal service to consumers that bigger companies, can not. They must build a brand around serving others that separates them. Servanthood, or the act of service towards another is the key component that people look for in leaders. A phrase often used is , "We don't care how much you know, until we know how much you care". That phrase is still very truthful when we choose to shop, look for medical providers, build friendships, open bank accounts, seek daycare and nursing home providers for our loved ones and the list goes on. On a personal note, there is a small doughnut shop that I really like to patronize. The shop is not within walking distance, nor is it in a nearby area that is close by. Aside from the fresh doughnuts, I love the superb service I receive from the owners and its staff. They always greet me with a smile, offer me alternative or new items to try, remember my coffee order without giving further detail and have even suggested that I call them first and check for my purchase availability before driving to the location to save me time and gas! Yes, I could purchase doughnuts from a closer location but the people who run the establishment really care. The products are fresh and the customer service is even BETTER! Yes, I could save gas and time going somewhere else but would the product be fresh or even more, would the customer service be of top quality? I go to these people because they have shown they care and want to serve me whenever I arrive.
I would say, this same quality is what makes a group or crowd want to follow certain leaders. The leader has indicated to that group/crowd that they are knowledgeable, capable, able and WILLING. There is a difference in receiving from someone who wants to serve vs. someone who serves out of obligation. There is a freshness and vigor from the person who enjoys serving. They are in no rush and want to do things just right.
Let the value of servanthood, be renewed in our hearts and minds. Remember how rewarding it is to receive great service and allow that to be the fuel that allows us to serve others with passion. When we have less to offer, our servanthood is what heightens our appearance to others and gives us true value. A leader's value is established through our servanthood to others!
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Friday, February 12, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Friday, January 15, 2010
Volunteer for Fun
www.GiveADayGetADisneyDay.com
Why not take a day to give back and recieve a one-day Disney World theme park voucher for your efforts? Sow seeds of kindness and you shall be rewarded openly for your efforts!
Why not take a day to give back and recieve a one-day Disney World theme park voucher for your efforts? Sow seeds of kindness and you shall be rewarded openly for your efforts!
Scripture Searching: Getting What we Need at that Time
Have you ever wondered how some people just memorize, verbatim the very words, location and context(s) of the Holy Bible? There are so many parables, instances, references, characters and time frames that occur within one book that would totally keep any one man flustered. It truly is a Book of many books! But what happens when our need is specific? Christians have been told that the Word (Holy Bible) is our resource or handbook for living. Then that time arrives, where we just need a word (or few) that focuses on our specific need at that specific time. How would one approach this? Well, we all know if all else fails just "google" it. But there are biblical word and scripture searches out there available to Christians through various sites. The internet has become our best friend and alley when it comes to availability. We can find a multitude of information, but its validity (source of information, where it comes from) comes into question. Yet, there are sites known for their quality and valid information of the Holy Bible from the various versions such as the NIV (New International Version, (KJV)the King James Version, the(NASV) New American Standard Version, the (NET) New English Translation, the (AMP)Amplied Bible and so on.
I often use Biblegateway.com-a searchable online Bible in over 100 versions, with keyword and phrase search applications; there is also a smaller version called o-bible.com with keyword search availability and downloads; at the Christianity Today magazine site they offer a search engine at http://www.christianitytoday.com/global/scripture/redirect.html, which has become somewhat recognizable; there is also, UnBound Bible, which can be found at http://unbound.biola.edu/.
Point is, there are available resources so we are not alone, as we learn the most popular book of our time, The Holy Bible. More importantly,there are tools available to assist us as we read, gain meaning and understanding from it, when we are going through life's struggles or during our own study time in the Word. 2 Timothy 2:15 tells us, "to be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth".
Take one hour daily to read God's Word and pray for understanding from it. Everything we experience in life, has been mentioned, referenced to or has a related situation...YES, within the Bible. The problems and answers ALL lie within.
Stay informed, but evenmoreso, stay encouraged for the Word of the Lord never lies!
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