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Staff Evaluation and Coaching
As a pastor, I regularly observe the performance of my staff members and leaders. I don't want to be a perfectionist or a micro-manager, but I want to see everyone given to excellence, thoroughness, and attention to detail. How do I instill these values in my leaders? How can I give them feedback (which sometimes involves correction) without making them feel that I'm always "riding them?" They do alright much of the time, but I get frustrated when they just don't seem to "get it" and miss obvious things that should be done. How do I coach, give feedback, and help our church staff embrace a sense of excellence in all that we do? Read the responses.
One Who Went
Tony Cooke
At the conclusion of World War II, General Douglas MacArthur recognized the spiritual vacuum that existed in the war-torn nation and asked evangelical leaders who were visiting Tokyo to send him 1,000 missionaries. MacArthur also requested U.S. missionary organizations to send “Bibles, Bibles, and more Bibles” to Japan. One of the missionaries who responded (not just to MacArthur’s request, but to the Lord’s call) was a man named Jacob Daniel “Jake” DeShazer. Read this article by Tony Cooke.
Grace: The DNA of God
Pre-Release Orders Now Being Taken
With an expected release date in June, you may now order your copy of Tony’s newest book, Grace: The DNA of God.
Order your copy of Grace: The DNA of God.
Read what Christian Leaders are saying about Tony’s newest book.
What’s at Your Core?
Pastor Steve Smotherman
Your very core has been transformed. You now have the ability to overlook injury or insult—to rise above pettiness. No longer do you retaliate when someone offends you. Why, because you have the virtue and character that allows you to rise above unreasonable people. You practice forgiveness and shower them with favor and blessing. A generous core will allow you to stand against whatever the enemy—or life—throws at you. Read this article by Pastor Steve Smotherman.
Everyone Needs a Slack Tide
Pastor Dennis Cummins
When I was diving commercially in the San Juan Islands, we didn’t have the luxury of only diving during slack tides. Many times we would have to go into the water no matter what the current or tide exchange was like. We would put on extra weight, sometimes up to 140 pounds to compensate for a four or five knot current. We needed that much weight to get our footing so we could work. Even still, with some of those currents, we would be completely incapacitated and would have to come up. Some of the divers never made it back. Read this article by Pastor Dennis Cummins.
U.S. Health Care Reform & Tax Credits for Churches and Ministries
Mark Helland, CPA
After months of partisan debate, the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act” became law last year on March 24, 2010. The Act is widely considered to be the most significant piece of medical insurance reform legislation in the past thirty years. Known generally as “health care reform” or “Obama care” it is also highly complex and controversial, with major implications for the U.S. economy. The Act is not an easy read by any means, being over 2,400 pages in size and therefore the components of the Act will take a while for everyone to absorb. Read this article by Mark Helland.
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BIBLE
"There are four things that we ought to do with the Word of God - admit it as the Word of God, commit it to our hearts and minds, submit to it, and transmit it to the world."
- William Wilberforce
CONTENTMENT
“You can in no manner be satisfied with temporal goods, for you were not created to find your rest in them.”
- Thomas a' Kempis
REST
“He who cannot rest, cannot work; he who cannot let go, cannot hold on; he who cannot find footing, cannot go forward.”
Harry Emerson Fosdick
BIBLE
"Ninety-nine Christians in every hundred are merely playing at Bible study; and therefore ninety-nine Christians in every hundred are mere weaklings, when they might be giants."
R.A. Torrey
UNBELIEF
"The way to war with all other sins is to war with unbelief, for the life of every sin is hid in unbelief, and if you slay this last you slay all."
George Bowen