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Friday Links Roundup: Retreat! Edition
The young adults from Lebanon Road are headed out for a retreat this evening. We will be going to West Tennessee for our annual retreat. I’m grateful that our elders are allowing Leah and I to go for the entire retreat, including the Sunday morning service. This will be good for us spiritually and as we continue to grow closer to this wonderful group of folks! On to the links for this week, and there are many, since we didn’t get to do a roundup last week. 1. Steve Higginbotham posts a very helpful list of reminders for congregations hosting a large event, such as a Friends and Family Day.…
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Guest Post: The Church and the Community
[Today’s post is the 5th in our “The Church and…” series. The author today is Joey Sparks. Joey is the youth minister for the Midway church of Christ near Jasper, Alabama. He started his work there in 2003. Joey is married to Amanda and they have one pet: a dog named Lucy. Joey graduated from Freed-Hardeman in 2005 with a degree in Biblical languages and a minor in history. He is currently pursuing an M. Div. from Amridge. You will want to visit Joey’s blog by clicking here.] 4 Body Parts the Church Must Use to Reach the Community I’m thinking that the word “community” was created by the Department of…
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12 Things I've Learned about Myself from Parenting Small Children
Next week, our adopted treasure (Mary Carol) will turn four years old. Her smile still lights up our world and Turner’s laugh is a sound I love to hear every day. Parenting isn’t just an exercise in helping little ones learn, though. There are so many things we learn about ourselves–some good and some not-so-good–from parenting little ones. Here are just a few of the lessons I’ve learned in the past four years. 1. I need more patience. True confession time: I want my kids to be the age they are, but have the maturity and patience of an adult. I get totally frustrated far too easily. 2. Even small…
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Listen to Lectures
One of the highlights of my year is the annual Freed-Hardeman Bible Lectureship. However, there are many other lectureships throughout the brotherhood each year. Several of these are now available on iTunes, and most in their entirety! While listening isn’t the same as attending, being able to hear these lessons is a great way to learn more of God’s Word either on your computer or iPod/iPhone. Here are a few examples. [Clicking on the links will open the blog or website for each series. You can listen to these directly from your computer or find them in iTunes. You don’t need an iPod/iPhone to hear these great lessons.] 1. Bear Valley Bible…
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Guest Post: The Church and Children
[Today’s post is the fourth in our “The Church and…” series. Paula Harington. Paula writes regularly for Forthright magazine, and also has a personal blog, “Thinking Jesus,” with uplifting articles. She is the author of Sunday Afternoon with the Preachers’ Wives, a book designed to give personal reflections for the wives of preachers and from the wives of preachers. Paula, the mother of 5, also is a regular on a podcast called A Better View, a roundtable podcast with 3 Christian ladies (search for it on iTunes). We are grateful for the time she took in writing today’s post. You may find her blog here.] Recently, I heard of an effort…
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15 Statments That Could Spell Doom for a Congregation
I love the way the Lord organized His church. I’m grateful that we have no earthly headquarters and that each congregation is autonomous. It is a joy to work with elders who see specific problems, opportunities, joys, failures, and challenges unique to each particular setting. God truly is all-wise in using this structure for His Church! That being said, there are some common themes that are nearly universal. One of those is that a congregation is not “set” to exist forever, just because it has always existed. We must pray earnestly for our local congregation and pray that we will have the wisdom to always seek the best for our…
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Meeting a Hero
We live in the “celebrity sightings” era. Magazines and websites are covered with pictures of celebrities doing everything from performing on stage to eating lunch. Personally, I feel for those who have to go to remote places to truly “get away” (even though the public still knows where they are going!). Then there are those pictures of when we meet a hero. Maybe it’s the autograph of a sports star that you’ve long admired, or a picture you post on Facebook of you and a hero. Sometimes people will go out of their way to figure out the schedule of a hero just to see him or her in the…
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Friday Links Roundup: Great Piece of Mail Edition
I check the mail every day. (Yes, I am a creature of habit, and I’m proud of it.). We don’t get a ton of mail. We get about 7 church bulletins each week, as well as a couple of magazines each month. Of course, we get our bills (yuck), but that’s about it. It’s always encouraging to get a card or note, and those come from time-to-time. Yesterday, though, we got a piece of mail that we are considering scanning in and keeping forever. It was a letter from our insurance company. It stated that they had reviewed our claim (again, for the fourth time), and were siding in our…
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Guest Post: The Church and the Pulpit
[Today’s guest post comes from Scott McCown. Scott preaches for the church of Christ in Parrish, Alabama, where he has served since 1999. He has been in the ministry for 24 years overall. In addition to preaching, Scott is also an excellent song leader. You may wish to check out his blog, “The Morning Drive,” by clicking here. We appreciate Scott’s time in writing today’s post.] Not long ago on a Religion Q&A site, one person replied to the question: “What do you expect from your minister (preacher)?” with a description of their preacher. This description is a good indication of what the Church expects from the Pulpit. He is…
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30 Encouraging Quotes
Need a midweek lift? How about some words of encouragement. (Quotes from various websites and books.) 1. “Problems are only opportunities with thorns on them.” –Hugh Miller 2. “A bend in the road is not the end of the road… unless you fail to make the turn. ” –Unknown 3. “I can do all things through Christ, who gives me strength.” –Paul 4. “Experience is not what happens to you; it is what you do with what happens to you.” –Aldous Huxley 5. “When you feel like giving up, remember why you held on for so long in the first place.” –Unknown 6. “I shall dwell in the house of…
