February 2010
One of the more remarkable pieces of my 6-month sabbatical was the opportunity to visit other churches on Sunday mornings or whenever they met. In those 26 weeks, I visited 15 different churches, some of them twice.
SPECIAL VISION / LEADERSHIP / MISSION LETTER
January 2010
From Ned Berube
I’m writing this on the last day of 2009 and for the past week or so, I have been assaulted by “Top Ten Lists” on just about every subject from politics to entertainment to technology. So, I’m in that “listing” mode, and I’m curious about the books that have shaped your life in pastoral ministry. Read more »
God’s Ongoing Work Among The Sataré-Maué Tribe In The Amazon
By Tom Padley
In this twenty-first century world where love is waxing cold and the fear of global warming amplifies the age-old friction between the church and the world, one thing stands true, God’s word! God always keeps his promises! God has given his word on global warming, “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease” (Gen.8:22). God’s word also says, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come” (Matt.24:14). I am often asked the question,”What happens to those who have died before receiving Christ as Lord and Savior? Where will they spend eternity?” While no one has a solid theological answer, we know that God in His infinite love and wisdom has provided supernatural methods to reach some remote people groups with the gospel. Read more »
December 2009
My day job affords me continual opportunities to meet new people on a daily basis. There was one job we had though that I would like to share with everyone. I think it lends some insight into the topic at hand…so bear with me as I lay it all out. We were called out to a business here in Cleveland. They had some flooding and we were heading over to get them all dried up. I couldn’t believe the condition of the building. The water wasn’t that bad, but the rest of it looked like a bomb went off. Read more »
I have worked with one generation my entire 13 year ministry: Generation Y (those who are currently approximately 16 – 32 years old). What makes me unique is that I am also part of this generation.
Love and greetings from Poland. I just can’t believe that we are almost at the end of October. Time flies so fast. I just remembered that we started this year with a lot of challenges and now it is almost the end of the year. Let me share with you what we have done during the last month and some planes that we have for the next months.
We just got back from the amazon trip. It was a great success. After the conference, where Dad, Judson, Greg Handel (who was a great asset to our endeavor) Gregorio Mcnutt and I taught and ministered, we headed out to the tribal communities. Read more »
October 2009
It appears that we all agree that “passing the baton” is the next necessary step for our older generation to take. Knowing and saying that is one thing; doing it is another. It is difficult to accomplish such a task if we have not related well to the younger generation. Thus, I would personally place the bulk of this relating responsibility on the older (chronologically or more mature in the Lord) women to reach out and be available. Read more »
by: Ken Stoltzfus
September 2009
In business, ministry, or life in general, properly understanding the relationship between the past, the present and the future is essential to achieving our maximum potential for the future.
There is a way in which each is related to the other. The future is unavoidably built upon the past and the present. There is also a way in which each stands on its own.
The future may be richer or poorer, but it will always be different from the present or the past because life is dynamic, not static. Each era is unique, forcing change upon an organization and its relationship with others even if by default.
This month I started renting an art studio space in an old industrial factory building. I couldn’t afford it on my own, so I got three other artists to join me, all who have a checkered past with the Church, and now range from agnostic to Pseudo-Taoism when it comes to matters of the faith. Years ago, all of them used to be connected with our church’s youth group and now they’ve all grown up into incredibly talented, innovative and delightful friends.