All to Him I Owe

 “They are qualified servants, recognized by the congregation as men who will address the ever changing needs within a church in an effort to facilitate unity and protect priorities.”

So what is our church looking for in Deacon nominations?

1.) Men who meet the qualifications in I Timothy 3:8-13.

 2.) Men who demonstrate a love for God that is demonstrated in their love for the  good of His church.

 3.) Men who have a God-given discernment for the needs of our church and an ability to provide Biblical solutions to those needs.

 4.) Men who are currently demonstrating a servant-minded spirit within our church  (They serve regardless of a position or title).

 5.) Men whom you can trust to do God’s will rather than their own.

Exciting days in our church!!

P.Ron

Church Government

 Church polity is the term used to describe the method with which a church is governed. A quick survey of churches reveals multiple forms and methods of church polity being used. Some of those methods have proven to be successful while others have caused great harm. Surprisingly the Bible is relatively quiet on the exact details of polity. However we must not confuse the silence of details with an absence of principles that can help us establish a proper polity.

 General Principles of Polity

 1.) The New Testament church operated with a “plurality of leadership.” The responsibilities of the church did not fall to just one individual. The church grows both spiritually and numerically when it is producing new leaders and giving new leaders responsibility. (Acts 6, 20; II Timothy 2:2)

 2.) The New Testament does support the concept of a “pastor-lead leadership team.” (Acts 20:28; Hebrews 13:7, 17)

3.) The New Testament does support the concept of a “congregationally-approved leadership team.” (Acts 6:3)

4.) The New Testament emphasizes the character of individuals more than their abilities. (I Timothy 3; Titus  2)

5.) The job description of leaders within the church differs from church to church based upon the church’s needs and the leader’s gifts and talents.

 As I close this post I want to highlight this last principle. Every deacon elected in our church will come to the table of leadership with a different set of gifts and abilities. He will probably come with a very unique burden for areas within our church that he has a passion for. With these things in mind, I believe we will find the details of what are deacons do changing from person to person every time our selection of men changes.

Though they will have a general description of what they do, specifically they will have individual areas that they alone are doing.

These are exciting days.

P.Ron

The Tools of a Spiritual Leader in the Home—Prayer

Nothing of any eternal significance occurs apart from God.  John 15:5 says, “Without me ye can do nothing.” Most of us are doers. We solve problems by seeing the need and addressing it through whatever means accomplishes success. At the same time, many Christians seem to think that prayer is passive or too simplistic to be of any real significance. Taking time to pray can sometimes seem like a waste of time or something we only do if we have extra time. But spiritual leaders in the home must use the tool of prayer. They must be convinced that it is not a waste of their time but rather the greatest use of their time.

I Peter 5:7 – The stressed-out parent’s lifeline

Parents daily carry the cares of their children. Even parents whose children are out of the home give testimony to the fact that they still carry a weight of concern for them. So what should parents do with all of that concern?      I Peter 5:7 says, “Casting all your care upon Him for He careth for you.” The word casting means the act of heaving, or of thrusting a heavy load that is about to slip through your grasp. It is the final exertion of energy that you give before something falls from your hands. Are you there in parenting? Are the concerns and weights of leading in your home wearing you out? The lifeline of prayer is available to all of us parents to be used in the raising of our families.

Jeremiah 33:3 – The clueless parent’s instructor

“Call unto me and I will answer thee and shew [tell or teach] thee great and mighty things thou knowest not [clueless].” God has a way of giving instruction to the praying parent. He teaches them His ways through prayer and in turn enables them to parent in a way consistent with His character.

May each of us parents equip ourselves with the tool of prayer!

Learning,

Pastor Ron

The Tools of a Spiritual Leader in the Home

A family without problems doesn’t exist. In fact, the moment you think you have solved one problem, you immediately realize you have another one. After having our first daughter, I thought that we had parenting figured out. With our only having one child at the time, we could place all of our attention on figuring out how to deal with her problems.  But shortly after the birth of our second daughter, I realized that there were some things that worked for our first child that wouldn’t work for our second. God was intent on keeping us learning and not coasting. Parenting children keeps us learning and regularly picking up tools that enable us to do the job better within our homes.

So, what is in your toolbox?

Many parents begin the process of parenting with a small collection of tools in their toolbox. For example, many have the tool of observation—they have seen things in other parent’s lives that they have noted and desire to use in their parenting. Many parents also have the tool of experience—they parent in certain ways because that is the way they were raised. Some use the tool of manipulation, bribing their children into certain forms of behavior, while others use the tool of fear, forcing certain types of behavior. The point is that all parents have a toolbox, but do they have the right tools in the toolbox?

“The man whose only tool is a hammer finds that most of his problems look a lot like nails.”

Parents’ tools are revealed by how they view their problems. Likewise, their view of their problems is revealed by what tools they use. In the weeks ahead, we will be examining the toolbox of a parent who desires to be a spiritual leader. For now, let’s just ask ourselves if there is a tool we’re currently using that we know we shouldn’t be using.

Learning,

Pastor Ron