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The Antidote for Fear
Are you ever afraid? I am. We may fear noises in the night, but there are other fears more likely to haunt us. Whether we see ourselves as ministry leaders, parents, or people who influence others, fear can ruin our effectiveness. If we don’t find an antidote, the disease of fear will destroy the abundant life and prevent us from fulfilling God’s great purposes for us. Isn’t fear really at the heart of stress and worry? We fear the worst case scenario and become anxious and tense. So we work harder to earn money, fix the problem, take control, prevent the disease, or please others. Fear can paralyze us, preventing…
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Job, Suffering is Part of the Job
This study aims to understand the role of suffering in a Christian’s life. We will study the classic case of suffering in the Book of Job. Realize, God describes the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10); therefore, we will start at the end of the story and work our way to the beginning.
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Broken Leadership – What Works?
What works is a desperate question. Or it often is. It can be a legitimate question, of course, the valid inquiry of a leader who seeks new ideas to meet challenging needs. But often it is the question of a desperate leader who has tried everything he knows to do and he’s run out of ideas but not out of needs. What he’s run out of is leadership. He doesn’t know what to do, but he has to do something. So he asks, his friends, “What works?” He goes to conferences asking, “What works? He reads books and watches videos and listens to podcasts asking what works? Finally he…
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Broken Leadership – Why is Leadership Broken?
Leadership is broken today. The evidence abounds all around us. *Leaders search for solutions only to discover bigger problems than ever. *Followers seek for leaders of integrity only to find pursuers of self-interest. *Organizations long for leaders who unify only to find controllers who divide. *Staff members hope for leaders who value them only to find ambitious men and women who use them. *Wives hope for strong men to lead them only to find passive men who avoid them. *Children crave fathers who will nurture them only to find selfish men who ignore them. Perhaps the greatest evidence of broken leadership in our world is the number of books that…
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Tough Hope
The Communists said there is no God. The people of Biserica Baptista Speranta (Hope Baptist Church) thought differently no matter what the Communists said. For months during the Communist era the people of Hope Baptist Church worked to renovate an unused building on a main street in downtown Arad, one of the major evangelical centers of Romania. They labored out of love for the Lord because the building they were in was old and small and the Repenters had outgrown it despite Communist opposition to their message. The label "Repenter" was given to Christians in mockery of their message. In an Orthodox culture where everyone is thought to be…
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Blast Off Into A New Galaxy With Extraordinary Leadership Ideas – Part Two
Part two…
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Empathy! Can we succeed in politics or ministry without it?
The culture is changing. Fast. Modern to Postmodern. And so is the way we connect with people, whether in politics or ministry. If we want people to trust and follow Mitt, Barak or Jesus it's no longer sufficient, in most cases, to simply present information/truth claims. People. Want. Empathy. What does that mean and how do we deliver?
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Blast Off Into A New Galaxy With Extraordinary Leadership Ideas – Part One
Is your leadership style blah and somewhat boring? Could you use some rocket power ideas to blast into your children’s ministry this fall? Do you desire for your leadership to reach out into a new galaxy full of energy, lighting up your children’s ministry with the love of Jesus. Do you seek to lead your volunteers to shine like stars and sparkle brightly in the classroom where children grow into a deeper relationship with Jesus? Then it’s time to blast off and take your volunteers to new heights as they experience God’s grace through your leadership.