Jesusgreek

I love James McDonlad. That guy is full of so much wisdom and insight it amazes me. In a recent article that a friend sent me he discusses how to handle fools in your church. If you've been a pastor for any length of time you know every church has their fair share. Here is the article. I hope it's as helpful for you as it was for me. How to Handle a Fool by James McDonald There are seasons of incredible joy in ministry, and there are inevitably seasons where conflict rears its ugly head and needs to be dealt with. I have come to believe that failure in the season of conflict—failure to deal with it, failure to learn from it, failure to move beyond it—prevents entrance into a new season of joy. For that reason alone, I have tried to handle conflict in the best possible way. Two verses tucked away in Proverbs 26 have been very helpful to me, and I have been reminded about them again just recently. On the page they look like a contradiction, but in real life they wo...

How did I not know about this? I mean sure I had heard of Disc Golf, it's even been thrown out on occasion as a possible fun activity from a couple of my friends. But outside of throwing around a cheap give-away Frisbee in the back yard I had never played a real game of Disc Golf until yesterday. My buddy Vargas plays 2-3 times a week and at church this past Sunday invited me to join him at a local course ( http://www.dgcoursereview.com/course.php?id=694) My ignorance of the sport was obvious early on as I had no idea there were actually drivers, fairway disc and even putters. Vargas went on to explain there were different weights and even disc that would curve to specific directions. Evidently there is a disc for every type of possible throw you could have in Disc Golf. There are even special bags (much like “club” golf) that hold your disc. After a few warm-up throws to get use to the disc, we began our 18 hole adventure. On the 2nd hole I got a disc stuck in a tree. A...

The 2012 Academy Awards were announced today so I figured why not get a jump on everyone and pick my list of winners. I did win our Oscar pick-em party last year! (Winners in bold) Best Picture The Artist The Descendants Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close The Help Hugo Midnight in Paris Moneyball The Tree of Life War Horse Best Supporting Actor Kenneth Branagh , My Week with Marilyn Jonah Hill, Moneyball Nick Nolte, Warrior Christopher Plummer, Beginners Max Von Sydow, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close Best Supporting Actress Berenice Bejo, The Artist Jessica Chastain, The Help Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs Octavia Spencer, The Help Best Actress Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs Viola Davis, The Help Rooney Mara, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Meryl Streep , The Iron Lady Michelle Williams , My Week with Marilyn Best Actor Demian Bichir, A Better Life George Clooney, The Descendants Jean Dujardin, The Artist Gary Oldm...

In the 16 years that I have been in full time local church ministry as a lead pastor, associate pastor, youth or children's pastor, I have seen a lot of people come and a lot of people go. Honestly in some exits I have rejoiced their leaving and prayed for the next church/pastor they will land at. In others it broke my heart to see them go. Of the ones I found most saddening and heartbreaking, they were always people I had let in to my very private circle of trust and considered very close friends. Their exits were for numerous reasons such as relocation, fall out from a disagreement with a fellow church member, or simply from a leading from God as an end to a season of their life. In all but one instance (a recent relocation) the leaving has left our relationship fractured and even non existent. Some of those relationships have since been restored but none are the way they once were. I've really struggled at why that is. Maybe because in some way there is ...

I had a conversation with a friend recently about this very question. In 16 years of full time ministry I had never been asked or faced that question. The question arose because the family wanted to go to one church for worship and another for children's ministry events. I've done some research and this is what I have discovered (which falls in line with what my inital thoughts and gut feeling was). It basically boils down to do you see the "Body of Christ" as collection of people, picking a choosing where they want to give and take from, like a buffet bar? Or do you see the "Body of Christ" as a collection of churches, each seperate in function but collectively working together for the Kingdom of God? Do you know anyone that attends two churches? Someone who goes to one church to get one thing and another church to get something else. Maybe, it's the teaching at one and the community at another. Maybe, there's obligation to attend one and bu...

Isaiah 58 (from The Message) Your Prayers Won't Get Off the Ground 1-3 "Shout! A full-throated shout! Hold nothing back—a trumpet-blast shout! Tell my people what's wrong with their lives, face my family Jacob with their sins! They're busy, busy, busy at worship, and love studying all about me. To all appearances they're a nation of right-living people— law-abiding, God-honoring. They ask me, 'What's the right thing to do?' and love having me on their side. But they also complain, 'Why do we fast and you don't look our way? Why do we humble ourselves and you don't even notice?' 3-5"Well, here's why: "The bottom line on your 'fast days' is profit. You drive your employees much too hard. You fast, but at the same time you bicker and fight. You fast, but you swing a mean fist. The kind of fasting you do won't get your prayers off the ground. Do you think this is the kind of fast day I...

As a fellow introverted pastor, I found this article by Ron Edmondson hit the nail on the head with how I feel... I am an introvert. With all my public appearances on Sunday mornings, this surprises many people. But in my private life and with those closest to me, there is no questioning that fact. If anything, the larger our church has grown, the more introverted I have become. I wish I were otherwise, but this is how I am wired. Here are 7 pitfalls of being an introverted pastor: 1. People often think I’m arrogant, aloof, or unfriendly. Now, I may be a lot of negative things, but those are not really the main three. I sometimes have to go back and apologize once I hear someone thinks I avoided them. This happens especially with extremely extroverted people. 2. I sometimes hesitate to make the connections I should and miss opportunities to build my network. 3. I’m worn out after a long day of talking and need time alone to rejuvenate, which can impact my fami...