Four Ways to Stay Fresh in Your Ministry

What do we do when standing face-to-face with a teenager who suffers the crushing blow of not fulfilling a dream or with an employee who cannot seem to settle in on a job? What may we say to someone who looks at life and wonders, "What is the sense of it all?" How do we witness one more couple become man and wife without questioning if they are going to make it one year or ten years? Is "'till death do you part" a pipe dream?

John Powers gives us four ways to stay fresh during dark days of the soul?

1. Keep on Abiding

2. Stay Accountable

3. Remain Faithful, Teachable and Available

4. Rest in the Lord

Five Ways to Recharge Your Emotional Batteries

In ministry, an emotional quick charge resembles a complement for preaching on Sunday morning. Thriving on one affirmation to the next is a dangerous way to minister in this culture. An emotional quick charge occurs when we watch a movie just to escape from reality. In the end, an emotional quick charge may or may not be there when we need it most. A better way is to provide emotional trickle charges.

Here are five emotional "trickle charges":

1. Read, read, read.

2. Find a task you can finish.

3. Prioritize your schedule.

4. Expand your heart.

5. Develop a "dream day."

Read the complete article by John Powers.

Five Guidelines for a Successful Sabbatical

Too many clergy are running on empty. Burdened with almost unbelievable loads of duties, they are running out of both physical and spiritual gas. Consequently, congregations suffer from ministry by ministers who are experiencing stress, burnout, and possibly compassion fatigue. However, one solution has saved the ministry of many pastors and staff. Churches are beginning to realize how important it is for congregations to set aside time and funds to allow their ministers extended rest and study.

1. Establish time parameters for the Sabbatical

2. Plan the way you will spend your Sabbatical

3. Make financial arrangements

4. Develop a realistic plan to achieve the goals.

5. Plan your reentry

Read the complete article by Charles Dickson.

A Numbers Game

If you had to choose between starting 10 churches that only grow to 100 in a year or starting one church that grows to 1,000 in a year, why should you prefer the former?

The reason "why" is nothing new—it may look like high-tech new math, but it’s really a picture of what Jesus set in motion 2,000 years ago. In this example, many of those ten churches will surpass 1,000 in attendance over time. Read the complete post by following this link.

Source of large churches' growth: Faith or marketing?

Experts say new 'mega-churches' appeal to large crowds with targeted marketing and modern messages.

While membership in mainline churches is holding or declining, participation in "mega-churches" and churches with such characteristics is increasing dramatically, according to Scott Thumma of the Institute for Religious Research at the Hartford (Conn.) Seminary, a nondenominational theological institution.

The churches tend to attribute their rapid growth to the work of God.

"We prayed that more people would have a spiritual understanding" is how Building Committee Chairman Vince Staiger explained the rapid growth at Alliance Bible Church in Warren, which has grown from 92 to more than 500 worshippers in six years.

But academics such as Thumma attribute it to skilled marketing. The churches, in many cases newly established, are able to identify their markets and develop ways in which to serve them, he said. They are more organizationally nimble than mainline churches, which have more established traditions and practices. Finish this article from the Courier News Online.

Some Churches Taking Heat for Closing Doors Christmas Sunday

Is it the specter of consumerism or the ghost of Christmas past shuttering megachurches this December 25?

The media frenzy over the decision of megachurches throughout the country to close their doors on Christmas Day doesn't seem to be dying down, and numerous articles are framing the action as unprecedented. But is that accurate? Although likely unaware of it, megachurches such as Willow Creek and Mars Hill may actually be more in line with church tradition by not conducting worship services on December 25th than those who choose to keep their doors open.

Few seem to remember that America's Puritan ancestors were stridently opposed to the celebration of Christmas. They saw no biblical support for the holiday, and believed the festival was a pagan ritual masquerading as Christian. Even as late as 1855, newspapers in New York reported that Methodist, Baptist, and Presbyterian churches would be closed on Christmas Day because "they do not accept the day as a Holy One."

Follow this link to read this article from Leadership Journal and also this news story from Agapepress and the Faith News Network.