The post Andrew Wommack Devotional 15 July 2019 – Stewards of God’s Grace appeared first on Flatimes.
DCLM Daily Manna 15 July 2019 – Look Up To Heaven
The post DCLM Daily Manna 15 July 2019 – Look Up To Heaven appeared first on Flatimes.
Seven Thoughts on Pastoral Attire in Worship Services
Podcast Episode #553
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Pastoral attire has changed dramatically over the past few decades. Today, we examine why that has happened and how to adapt to this change.
Some highlights from today’s episode include:
- When preaching in a new or unfamiliar place, be sure to ask about the expected attire.
- Bow ties have replaced regular ties as the hot fashion for dress attire. But bow ties aren’t for everyone.
- Sometimes, fighting the “expected pastoral dress code” isn’t worth the battle, and you put the greater good of the church above your personal preferences.
- The church plant culture we have in the US doesn’t have the same expectations for pastoral attire as the established church culture does.
The seven things you need to understand regarding pastoral attire are:
- Understand the demographic context
- Understand the reasonableness of the church’s expectations
- Understand the changes in fashion
- Understand the community
- Understand the principles of change leadership
- Understand the issue of love over preference
- Understand the members’ emotional attachments
Resources mentioned in today’s podcast
Rainer on Leadership is a member of the LifeWay Leadership Podcast Network
Episode Sponsors
The mission at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ by equipping students to serve the church and fulfill the Great Commission. The school offers more than 40 different…
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Click here to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Thom Rainer.
Pastor Sues Federal Government for Alleged Unlawful Detainment, Monitored over Ministering to Migrants
A pastor in New York City is suing the federal government, claiming the government unlawfully detained and monitored her because of her charity work with immigrants.
Rev. Kaji Douša, senior pastor of The Park Avenue Christian Church, filed the suit Monday in United States District Court for the Southern District of California. The Park Avenue Christian Church is affiliated with both the United Church of Christ and the Disciples of Christ.
According to the Christian Post, Douša named the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement department and other government officials in her suit.
On Tuesday, the pastor released a statement detailing her lawsuit.
“My country has decided to punish me. But I will not look away,” Douša proclaimed. “I will continue to look closely—to listen, to imagine, and to call us into a better way. Free me and my colleagues to do our work with migrants and we will find that better way,” she added.
According to the Christian Post, Douša says she was unlawfully detained and interrogated by border security in January while she worked at a mobile clinic in Tijuana, Mexico.
She also said that the government tracked her activities in New York, including events supporting immigration. The suit also alleges that she was added to a covert government database of…
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Click here to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Christian Headlines.
‘Soft-story’ structures threaten half a million people: Why crisis reveals character
If a structural engineer in Southern California is right, half a million people in his state are living in buildings that are likely to collapse if an earthquake strikes.
Called “soft-story” structures, they are apartment buildings with a parking lot underneath. They were a popular way to combine housing and parking in California’s post-war boom. But the posts that carry the building’s weight were often designed to maximize parking space, not to withstand the side-to-side shifting of an earthquake.
A powerful tremblor can collapse these posts and the structures they support. Some owners are taking steps to retrofit their buildings, but many more properties are at risk.
“Soft-story” buildings are a metaphor for our times. There is peril in our world we cannot see on the surface. All seems fine today, but when a crisis strikes tomorrow, the hidden danger becomes all too apparent and devastating.
“I only did what I had to do”
Crisis reveals character. Consider two examples.
A man ran into a burning building in Aberdeen, Washington, last Thursday to save his eight-year-old niece. When a fire broke out in their home, he rushed inside, grabbed her, and took his shirt off to wrap around her face so she would not inhale smoke.
Derrick Byrd, age twenty, is recovering in a Seattle hospital from burns on his face, neck, arms, and back. He said, “I don’t care if I was burning. I just wanted to make sure I got her out.”
On the other side of the world: you may not remember Filippo Magnini, the Italian swimmer who won a bronze medal in the 2004 Olympics. But the man he saved from drowning will not forget him.
Off the Mediterranean island of Sardinia, the man was chasing a float that had been carried by the wind into the ocean. He began to struggle in the water, so lifeguards rushed to deploy a rescue boat.
However, Magnini was closer. He…
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Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Denison Forum.
Bishop’s charity accused of funding terrorism
The freedom charity Assyrian Church of the East Relief Organisation (ACERO) had its funds frozen following concerns that the charity had been involved in financing terrorist activity, after labelling account payments of £147,689 for “Iraq Hostages”.
The organisations records have been seized by the National Terrorist Investigation Unit.
The Bishop of Syria, Mar Afrram Athneil is the charity’s chairman and helped to free 226 Christians, kidnapped from northern Syria in 2015, by raising millions in ransom money.
Since the launch of the investigation, Bishop Athneil has sought to distance his actions from the British charity, claiming that they were made in his role as a Bishop, to protect his country’s “flock”.
Speaking to the Sunday Times he said: “This had nothing to do with ACERO UK. What happened in this situation is between me and God.”
ACERO have insisted the money was not sent to Syria and was for humanitarian relief in Iraq, sent after the hostages had been released.
Secretary of ACERO, Mr Andy Darmoo has argued that the authorities have no evidence of money being sent to Syria from the organisation and has demanded any apology.
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Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Premier Christianity News.
Notable Voices and the Week in Review: July 13, 2019
Should Pastors Pay Off Their Mortgage? — Art Rainer
Purchasing a home is a longterm strategy to free up future cash flow. For most, paying off their mortgage is a no-brainer. But not for ministers, as defined by the IRS. For ministers, there is an additional factor that must be considered called a “housing allowance.”
Secret Thoughts of a First-Time Church Visitor — Facts & Trends
Did you see me on Sunday? I walked into your church and looked around, wondering where to go. I saw lots of people eating donuts and drinking coffee, but no one greeted me. I stood there not knowing where to go or what to do until finally one of the pastors came up to me. He asked me to do the usual. By “the usual” I mean what every church has asked me to do when I visited them: Fill out a piece of paper with all of my information and hand me a “gift” from the church. Then I’m directed to the sanctuary where I can sit anywhere. All by myself.
Six Reasons Some People Miss Hymns — Chuck Lawless
Let me first, though, put all my “cards on the table” for this post. I like various styles of worship music, provided they’re done well. I don’t like any worship style that’s done poorly. I also prefer contemporary worship to more traditional worship. I enjoy praise choruses that echo with the Word of God, and I appreciate the freedom of worship I often find in more contemporary worship services. With that said, I miss singing hymns. I realize some hymns could use theological refining…
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Click here to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Thom Rainer.
