Pronounciation of Difficult Biblical Names

Have you every felt embarrassed having to read a passage of Scripture publicly when there are names which you have never heard pronounced and you, or no one you know, has any idea what the official pronunciation should be? Names can be troublesome, particularly when they represent transliterations from Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek with no equivalents in the English language.

The following link provides the reader with the capability of choosing a difficult name in the Bible (from an alphabetically arranged list) and with a click, hearing the name pronounced by a trained professional. A great tool which is free and capable of saving the oral reader from much fright and embarrassment:

http://www.netministries.org/Bbasics/BBwords.htm

Internet Evangelism Day

I have heard and read about people/churches/groups using the internet as their springboard for evangelism for several years now, but always in the context of winning people to Christ from other religions. However, I am very interested to read more recently of a much broader movement to reach otherwise unreachable people with the message of the gospel... people who would never darken the doors of a church on their own but who spend a lot of time surfing the web.

I find this an exciting prospect and am eager to learn more about this newest evangelistic tool, especially since we hear so much about the bad side of the internet. I agree that the internet has had some really bad influence on our generation. And I have felt the usual frustration of many over the terrible ways in which this technology is being used for evil purposes. BUT I find it very exciting to read of a way in which we believers can "beat the devil at his own game" so to speak!

April 27 is INTERNET EVANGELISM DAY. Check out the idea... http://ied.gospelcom.net/index.php There is no doubt someone in just about every congregation who would love the challenge of sharing their faith via the Internet... a new way of service and evangelism, the lack of both of which many churches are suffering. why not challenge those Internet-savvy believers in your congregation with a new form of evangelism and put that Internet to good use!

What happens to infants when they die?

The eternal destiny of those who die in infancy remains a difficult question to answer, though it continually and unavoidably arises in pastoral sitautions. Two books which give very helfpul biblical and theological insight on this issue are (1) R. A. Webb, The Theology of Infant Salvation (1874; reprint, Harrisonburg, Virginia: Sprinkle Publicaitons, 1981) and (2) John MacArthur, Safe in the Arms of God: Truth from Heaven About the Death of a Child (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, 2003).

Church attendance and avoidance

I was very interested to read a recent Barna report that listed the latest statistics on church participation at
http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=BarnaUpdateNarrowPreview&BarnaUpdateID=293

Of most interest to me personally was the categories of attendees/non-attendees that Barna calls the Unattached: people who had attended neither a conventional church nor a house church or some other kind of "organic faith community" in the past year. The statistics say that 1 out of every four adults is "unattached" and one-third of them have never attended any kind of church at all any time in their lifetime.

Particularly telling to me were some of the characteristics of the Unattached. They are:
*more likely to feel stressed out
*less likely to be concerned about the moral condition of the nation
*less optimistic about the future.

There are several more characteristics, but this is enough to remind me of the challenge we have to reach our world with the good news of salvation and hope. We certainly do have our work cut out for us.

Valuable documents

Tax time is right around the corner and thinking of that reminds me of an article I recently read about the things a church treasurer should have on hand. It might be helpful to look through this list for your own church and make sure you and the church board know where each item is located:
http://www.christianitytoday.com/yc/2008/001/4.12.html

Among the ten items listed in this article was one item that struck a cord with me as a layperson who has spent quite a number of hours assisting in a local church office: a list of members.

It reminded me of the day I was looking for the book that listed all the charter members of the church for use in a church history someone was attempting to write. I could not find the book although I knew it existed because I had been the one to enter the names originally.

After searching unsuccessfully for some time, I mentioned my quest to the pastor, who responded, " Oh, that book. I threw it away when I was cleaning out the office one day. I figured it was not of any value to us now."

Needless to say, the lesson here is DON'T TOSS ITEMS OF HISTORICAL VALUE!!

An Encouragement for Christian Living

The book entitled The Life of God in the Soul of Man, by Henry Scougal, was first published in 1677 but has been reprinted by Sprinkle Publicaitons (Harrisonburgh, Virginia) in 1986 through 2005. It is a sober, challenging, and very enlightening work on the life of the Christian, with both encouragements and exhortations for the pursuit of the true fear of God. The author speaks with brevity, clarity, simplicity, and power.

Free Wesleyan periodicals available online

At http://www.wesleyan.org/ME2/Audiences/Default.asp?AudID=19640CA4E3CD4E42942A9684709C4F09

There are three full-text Wesleyan Peroidicals available on line:

Pilgrim Holiness Advocate
Pentecost Herald
The True Wesleyan.

They are from the Archives and Historical Libary of the Wesleyan Church. Some of the articles available have great historical interest, being from 1843 up through the early 1900s.

Prayer is a Key

We all are very much aware of the importance of prayer in the life of a believer. I have often thought that one of the most challenging aspects of a pastor's ministry to the congregation is helping those in the pews understand the importance of prayer in their personal lives as well as in the life of the congregation and the Church in general. I am convinced that we have no idea just how important prayer really is in the spiritual realm.

Anyway, I saw this offer for a free booklet on "Pivotal Praying" from John Maxwell and the Injoy ministry that looks like a resource every pastor ought to get and read through... for the sake of your own prayer life as well as that of your congregation's.

http://www.injoystewardship.com/pivotal

Spiritual Gifts

One topic that is a recurring one for those in church leadership is that of spiritual gifts and how to help people discover what their gift(s) are and how to put them to best use in the church. After being actively involved in church ministry as a layperson for many years now, as I look back I can count on my one hand (with several fingers unused) the number of times I have heard sermons or had classes of some kind on this topic. And yet it seems vitally important for healthy church ministry that involves pastoral staff as well as laypeople.

The Fleece Library, as many other Bible college/seminary-type institutions, has a good number of print resources on this topic, which can be found through our online catalog http://www.ciu.edu/library by looking up the subject "Gifts, Spiritual." Currently we have a little over 100 items listed, most of them published prior to 2000. Fortunately, this is an ageless topic, so even items published 40 or 50 years ago will still have value.

While talking with a fellow Christian recently I was reminded of the continuing interest among lay people on this topic, and that many are looking to discover their gifts through computer-generated means. I have found several "tests" for discovering one's spiritual gift(s) online. As with anything else "online" some of the tests are better than others, but it is worth knowing about them in case another Christian comes along who is eager to find some help. Take a look at some of these and find the one that comes closest to your own opinion of what you want your parishioners to know and understand about how to be involved in meaningful lay ministry:

http://www.elmertowns.com/spiritual_gifts_test (This one is by Elmer Towns, a CIU alumnus now at Liberty University).

http://www.crossroadschurch.net/ministries/lifechange/PDFs/SpiritualGiftsTest.pdf (This is a PDF file with the answer key included)

http://www.eleventalents.com/sgtgifts2.htm

http://mintools.com/spiritual-gifts-test.htm

So... here's to better educated, better equipped lay people!

The Expositional Pattern of a Great Master

In Steven J. Lawson 's, The Expository Genius of John Calvin (Orlando: Reformation Trust, 2007), the author summarizes in an accurate, deeply appreciative, and highly readable manner the expository method of John Calvin, one of the greatest exegetes in the history of the Christian Church. The work covers Calvin's' approach to the pulpit, his preparation as the preacher, the launching of the sermon, the expounding of the text, crafting the delivery, applying the truth, and concluding the exposition. The work is challenging, informative, and suggestive.

The Pastor's Library

I recently read an interesting article about the development of the library that a pastor uses for his study and research for his ministry behind the pulpit at http://www.tms.edu/850books.asp

Along with some excellent tips on how to go about developing such a library and making it truly useful and valuable, the authors also give a list of what they consider to be the 850 most valuable books to have.

All in all, this appears to be a helpful and challenging article for a pastor to read.

Excellent Source Concerning Theological Writers

The Handbook of Evangelical Theologians, ed. by Walter A. Elwell (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1993) provides very helpful summaries of the biography, works, contribution, and overall perspective for each of 33 prominent Evangelical theologians of the twentieth century. Those chosen are representative of various denominations and theological points of view, have had a significant influence on or in the evangelical movement, and have had a major interest in theology. The authors of the articles are well-known, mostly established writers, and are from the same general tradition as the theologian they describe and are very appreciative of his contribution. This work is an excellent place to gain an overview of a prominent Evangelical theologian.

St. Arbucks

I read an interesting entry in the Out of Ur blog recently about the comparison of church with Starbucks. It would be worth thinking about further... how can the church meet the needs of people like a popular coffee shop would?
http://blog.christianitytoday.com/outofur/archives/2007/08/lessons_from_st.html#more

As I read about St. Arbucks I was reminded of the several times that my husband and I have been at another (non-Starbucks) local coffee shop and have seen various types of Christian-related activities going on, everything from Bible studies to theological discussions to silent Bible reading by individuals. Perhaps we are seeing the development of another form of silent (or not so silent) witness to an otherwise pagan world!

Articles for Church Officers

Ordained Servant: A Journal for Church Officers is sponsored by the Committee on Christian Education of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and provides brief, theologically erudite, and helpful articles which are particularly designed for elders and deacons of local churches. Though the articles originate within the Reformed context, many have much wider application and would be helpful to church leaders from all traditions. Articles encompass Servant Thoughts, Servant Realms, Servant Word, Servant Worship, Servant Heart, Servant Work, Servant World, Servant History, and Servant Reading. The journal is published monthly online and is available at www.opc.org/os.html, though a printed edition is made available annually. All of the 53 back issues from the birth of the journal through the present are available free online. Though copyright laws apply, interested parties are invited to obtain permission to reproduce material found in the publication by writing to the editor.

The English Bible in a New Format

In August of 2007 The International Bible Society (Colorado Springs, Colorado) will release a new printing of the Bible entitled The Books of The Bible. Though this edition features the text of Today’s New International Version (TNIV), it is formatted in a way designed to reflect more accurately the intentions and thought forms of the original authors and to allow more transcending of a particular reader's theological and presuppositonal baggage. In this edition all divisions of chapters and verses are removed, and instead there is a setting forth of the natural literary breaks in each biblical book. Furthermore, there are no headings, cross references, or notes included, the text is printed in a single column, and the books are presented in an order intended to give the reader more help in understanding the text. It is hoped that this format will make the Bible easier to read and encourage more reading of the text. See the following site for more information: http://thebooksofthebible.info/.

A Harmony of Reformed Confessions

The work entitled Reformed Confessions Harmonized, ed. Joel R. Beeke (President of Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary) and Sinclair B. Ferguson (noted author and pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Columbia, SC) (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1999) provides a very helpful harmony of the historic confessions used within the conservative Reformed tradition. Included are The Belgic Confession of faith (1561), the Heidelberg Catechism (1563), The Second Helvetic Confession (1566), the Canons of Dort (1618-1619), The Westminster Confession of Faith (1647), The Westminster Shorter Catechism (1647), and The Westminster Larger Catechism (1648). In addition to an index of biblical texts, the work also includes a selected annotated bibliography of Reformed doctrinal works, arranged in the systematic categories and order of the harmony.

Reforming Worship

Give Praise to God: A Vision for Reforming Worship, ed. Philip Graham Ryken, Derek W. H. Thomas, and J. Ligon Duncan, III, is a Festschrift for the late James Montgomery Boice (author, theologian, and pastor of the Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia). It contains articles on worship by such well-known authors as Edmund P. Clowney, R. Albert Mohler, Jr., J. Ligon Duncan III, Hughes Oliphant Old, Michael S. Horton, and a Foreword by R. C. Sproul. The work includes specific articles defending the Regulative Principle (an important concept on which not much has been written) from recent criticism, corporate worship as a means of grace, the place of preaching and the sacraments in worship, family worship, worship in all of life, hymnody in the modern context, and challenges and opportunities for ministry today.

Ministers and Income Tax

The work 2007 Church and Clergy Tax Guide, by Richard R. Hammar (Harvard graduate, CPA, attorney, noted author in the area of church and law, and an inductee into the church management "hall of fame" by the National Association of Church Business Administration) demonstrates how to understand the tax laws and how they apply to you, how to correctly report your federal income taxes and social security taxes, understand relevant exemptions, and reduce your tax liability as much as possible. It's designed to be a resource for ministers and also church treasurers, board members, bookkeepers, attorneys, CPA's, and tax practitioners.

Entire chapters are devoted to the items that you have the most questions about, including: Tax changes from 2006, Charitable contributions, Clergy retirement plans, Social security, Church reporting requirements, Housing allowances, and Business expense reimbursement.You'll find easy-to-understand charts and real-life illustrations, which not only make this a guide for the tax season, but also one that you can use throughout the year.

Another interesting blog to check out

Here is an interesting blog for those who preach regularly: http://blog.preachingtoday.com

I came across it today in the course of some research I was doing at my desk and even though I am not a preacher, I found the entries I read to be very challenging even for someone such as myself who is "just" a public speaker.

Risk Management

James F. Cobble, Jr. and Richard R. Hammar, Risk Management Handbook for Churches and Schools (St. Matthews, North Carolina: Christian Ministry Resources, 2001). This book provides comprehensive guidelines for preventing accidents, protecting the physical property and assets of a Christian organization, and minimizing potential litigation. It covers such matters as the handling of money, defamation, counseling, fire, crime, and vandalism, contracts, sexual misconduct and child abuse, and employment discrimination. It is a real "eye-opener" with many practical and well-considered suggestions, making it a "must read" for Christian organizations operating in the ever-increasingly hyper-litigious Western world.