May 2005

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Pastor found 'purpose' in spreading God's Word

This article originally appeared in The Dallas Morning News May 16, 2005. Used by permission. The Rev. Rick Warren muses on his ministry, best-selling book The Rev. Rick Warren, author of the best-selling book The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth...

Published Tue, May 31 2005 7:24 PM by MTBEditor

Filed under: Ministry Library
Do volunteers own the ministry of your church?

If there's one consistent theme I've heard from pastors across the country it's that they never seem to have enough staff to accomplish all the ministry of a growing church. Whether it's a church of 200 or a church of 2,000, it could always...

Published Tue, May 31 2005 2:29 PM by MTBEditor

Filed under: Ministry Library
New fathers: Building ministry relationships with young-adult men

Stephen James and David Thomas As church leaders, perhaps one of the toughest demographics to engage with spiritual development issues is young-adult men like us. We're in our early thirties; we've both been married a few years; and we have young...

Published Tue, May 31 2005 2:20 PM by MTBEditor

Filed under: Ministry Library
Harvard students urge action on Darfur genocide

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (MNN)--Muslim-on-Muslim violence in Darfur, Sudan, has killed nearly 200,000 people, and top government leaders around the world are calling it a genocide. Christian university students in the United States are speaking out against this...

Published Tue, May 31 2005 1:38 PM by MTBEditor

Filed under: Ministry Library
Spirits soar as inmates receive seminary degrees

ANGOLA, La. (BP)--Joy, hope and anticipation marked the faces of the 66 graduates participating in New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary's May 17 commencement services behind the bars of the Louisiana State Penitentiary. The drab surroundings of...

Published Tue, May 31 2005 12:15 PM by MTBEditor

Filed under: Ministry Library
How to shape purpose driven Lutherans

LAKE FOREST, Calif. (PD)--How do you introduce the concept of accountability to a congregation that has spent years sitting and soaking up grace-based messages? That's one of the questions pastor Chris Nelson of Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Minneapolis...

Published Tue, May 31 2005 9:16 AM by MTBEditor

Filed under: Ministry Library
A process for restoration after moral failure

Pastor Jim Lyon helped Sandi Patty find forgiveness and restoration after her highly publicized moral failure. Excerpted from Broken on the Back Row . Used by special permission of Howard Publishing. Moral failure among God's people is nothing...

Published Tue, May 31 2005 8:16 AM by MTBEditor

Filed under: Ministry Library
Addiction proofing: A strategy for spiritual renewal

At any one time, 10% of our congregations are addicted (involved in damaging behaviors), 30% are compulsive (hearts preoccupied with pleasure), and all are eventually tempted. If someone tells me they do not experience temptation, compulsion or addiction...

Published Tue, May 31 2005 8:02 AM by MTBEditor

Filed under: Ministry Library
Issue #208:
What a purpose driven church is not

We devote a great deal of time and effort to helping people understand the biblical vision of the purpose driven church, but some myths seem determined to persist. As you lead your church into greater health and effectiveness, you're going to encounter these myths.

Let me spell out seven things a purpose driven church is not ...
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Published Wed, May 25 2005 12:00 AM by MTBEditor

Filed under: Issue Archives
Building a successful family: Remember your audience

"Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: 'Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.' Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Give her...

Published Tue, May 24 2005 8:59 PM by MTBEditor

Filed under: Ministry Library
Photo of the week: P.E.A.C.E. Plan parade

Welcome parade Believers in India welcome a team of volunteers from Saddleback Church who had come to conduct a project connected to the global P.E.A.C.E. Plan .

Published Tue, May 24 2005 8:58 PM by MTBEditor

Filed under: Ministry Library
Church music must encourage participation, songwriter says

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--Kim Noblitt is no stranger to Christian music. The music minister from First Baptist Church, Euless, Texas, is a 25-year veteran of music ministry since graduating from Azusa Pacific University in Azusa, Calif. He toured eight of...

Published Tue, May 24 2005 8:57 PM by MTBEditor

Filed under: Ministry Library
Appeals court rules for 'In God We Trust'

WASHINGTON (BP)--A federal appeals court has ruled that the phrase "In God We Trust" on a government building does not violate the separation of church and state. The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Richmond, Va., ruled May 13 the...

Published Tue, May 24 2005 8:56 PM by MTBEditor

Filed under: Ministry Library
Worldview institute taking shape at N. Greenville College for '05

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP)--After 13 years in pastoral ministry, one thing became abundantly clear to Tony Beam: Christians often do not know much about what they profess to believe. Beam is taking direct aim at this eclipse of the Christian mind through his...

Published Tue, May 24 2005 8:55 PM by MTBEditor

Filed under: Ministry Library
Papua: Christian leader fears genocide

In Papua (formerly Irian Jaya), Eastern Indonesia, a quiet, hidden, atrocious campaign of ethnic cleansing is in progress. Unless there is radical policy change and reform, Papua will soon become majority Javanese and majority Muslim through the genocide...

Published Tue, May 24 2005 8:53 PM by MTBEditor

Filed under: Ministry Library