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Question Your thoughts please on elders taking every decision (financial) made before the men of the congregation before it’s actually made.I know and understand this isn’t being realistic. however; when you have one or two that wants everything brought before the men of the congregation before a decision is made and at the same time…
A few months ago, a preacher-friend told me he hated the selection process. He felt uncomfortable and intimidated in a room with several people asking him questions, knowing that his selection depended on what he said, how he said it, how he looked, and how his wife and children acted before, during, and after Sunday…
The first post in this blog was on January 6, 2015. I use this date as the day I started liking to write. I was approaching seventy years old and had been preaching for more than fifty years. I wrote bulletin articles each week and a weekly newspaper article when I lived in Dalton, Georgia….
When I receive a call from someone about conflict in a congregation, I know something about that church. They have a lot of gossip in that church. I’m not that smart. I believe the Bible. Where there is no wood, the fire goes out;And where there is no talebearer, strife ceases. — Proverbs 26:20 Peter…
A question I received: Tell me what you think about this statement: “Elders appointing an additional elder or more, without discussion with or consulting the congregation, is dictatorial and shows little if any respect for or trust in the church as a whole.” First, there should be a selection before the appointment. I used to…
Fairlane Church of Christ in Shelbyville, Tennessee, participated in its third New Shepherds Orientation Workshop from August 9 to 11. This is my first time leading three New Shepherds Orientation Workshops for the same congregation. But this was the design of this workshop. Henry Wilhoit called me in the fall of 2013. He told me,…
12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos, by Jordan B. Peterson, Copyright © 2018 Dr. Jordan B. Peterson, Random House Canada, Toronto; eBook ISBN 9780345816047 On the fifth Tuesday of each quarter of the year, I share a book I’ve read recently. I highlighted “mustard seeds,” which impressed me. I hope you find one…
Ethics Beyond Rules: How Christ’s Call to Love Informs our Moral Choices, by Keith D. Stanglin; Copyright © 2021 by Keith D. Stanglin; Zondervan, Grand Rapids; ISBN 978-0-310-12091-9Vacation I share a book I’ve read recently on the fifth Tuesday of each quarter of the year. I highlighted “mustard seeds,” which impressed me. I hope you…
What They Didn’t Teach You in Seminary: 25 lessons for successful ministry in your church, by James Emery White, © 2011 by James Emery White, Published by Baker Books, Grand Rapids, ISBN 987-4412-3219-9 On the fifth Tuesday of each quarter of the year, I share a book I’ve read recently. I highlighted “mustard seeds,” which…
Frequently, I hear and read people making statements that members of the Church of Christ do things that those in other religious groups don’t do. Some have left the church to go to other groups to escape this treatment. People (elders, preachers) in the Church of Christ always…” In many, if not most Churches of…