The Good Book Blog

Lessons on Leadership, Pt. 4: Plurality Vs. Singularity

By Ben Shin Sep. 29, 2011 9:05 p.m. Biblical Exposition, Church Life, Culture, Ministry and Leadership, New Testament, Old Testament

One the trickiest situations within leadership, has to do with how many people should be leading the church. Many people and cultures would strongly suggest a singular or monarchial type leader for the church while others would suggest a plurality of leaders. Which one is correct? Which model is the wisest? And what does the Word of God says about this? This entry will suggest that the Scriptures prescribe a plurality of leadership as being the wisest and most widely practiced model for leadership for the church.

The Trellises Out Back

By Mick Boersma Sep. 29, 2011 3:16 p.m. Ministry and Leadership, Spiritual Formation

When we moved into our house several years ago the backyard was a mess. The previous owners had large dogs, which had torn up whatever grass had survived from the late 50’s, when the neighborhood was built. And there was that ugly wall separating us from the folks next door. One of the first outdoor projects involved building trellises next to this wall and planting vines that would, according to our plan, climb up and hide that eyesore. For those of you who are landscape challenged, a trellis is a framework of light wood or metal bars used mainly as a support for climbing plants.

Well, it’s been 20 years since I built those trellises, and I hadn’t given them much thought – until about a year ago. Wandering through Rolane’s delightful collection of flowers and plants, I noticed that one section of my handiwork was rotting and falling apart. But the vine was doing well. In fact, it was now holding up the trellis! That made me think about the nature of the trellis, and how it reflects the realities of what we do in ministry. Let me elaborate.

Reading Divine Providence

By Rob Price Sep. 27, 2011 7:49 a.m. Historical Theology, Apologetics, Spiritual Formation

In A.D. 410, the eternal and (so it was thought) invincible city of Rome was invaded by a foreign army. How could this have happened? Many pagans thought they knew who was to blame: the Christians.

Illogic at Midnight (just for fun)

By Ken Berding Sep. 26, 2011 8:57 a.m. Church Life

Henrietta: Pastor Bob said he’d be here before midnight.

Mildred: My watch says it’s before midnight.

Henrietta: So Pastor Bob is here. Right?

Mildred: Right.

Four Thoughts on Christian Prayer

By Rob Lister Sep. 22, 2011 6:00 a.m. Spiritual Formation

Recently, the church I attend concluded a summer sermon series on prayer that encouraged my prayer life. Now that the series is over, I thought it might be useful to jot a brief reflection on several of the key points that have stuck with me throughout this series.

Teaching Deeper, Part VIII: How to Pray for Your Teaching

By Kevin Lawson Sep. 20, 2011 9:01 a.m. Christian Education

One of the more important areas of preparing to teach for deeper impact that we all acknowledge is the need to pray about our teaching. I believe that all of us affirm this, but when it comes down to what and how to pray we are a bit vague and unsure what to do. Asking God to “bless” our teaching efforts is important, but not enough. In this month’s blog I suggest some ways we can be praying as we prepare to teach.