The Women's Ministry is changing .. we are adding more structure as more women have answered the call to leadership. Over the next few weeks we will be meeting to outline the changes and how the ministry will grow in better defined directions.
The following was written by Ron Edmonson on adding structure to organizations. If you have any suggestions we would like to hear them too!
The change should make sense with the organizational make-up and DNA - We have to be careful altering something in a way that disrupts the fiber, core, or root foundation of the organization.
The structure added should not impede progress - Structure should further enable the completion of the vision, not detract from it.
It should accommodate or encourage continued growth – Structure should not curtail growth. It’s purpose should be to help the organization continue to grow.
Hit the center of acceptance – Not everyone will agree with any change, but if the structure is universally opposed then it may need to be considered more closely before being implemented.
Make sure everyone understands the why - People are more likely to accept structure when they can identify the value to them and their area of responsibility, but at least the value to the overall organization.
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Prayer - By Jack Graham
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find;
knock, and it will be opened to you.” Matthew 7:7
Years ago I read about a lady down in Miami, Florida who wrote the editor of the Miami Herald, who had just published a study on how prayer helped heal sickness. In her letter, she talked about a hurricane that hit Miami recently. She had gotten word that the hurricane was coming and so, though she wasn’t a praying person, she tried prayer, asking God to keep the storm from hitting her home.The clouds rolled in and the storm raged. And when it was over, it destroyed her house despite her prayers. So she asked the editor, “What do you think about that? What about this God who Christians say answers prayer? I prayed and He did nothing!”
The editor responded in his editorial, “Madam, I don’t know much about prayer either. And to tell you the truth, I’m not much of a praying man so I don’t know why God didn’t answer your prayer. But I’m wondering… could it be that He was spending time with some of His regular customers?!”
Many times, I find out that when people say, “I’ve been praying about this,” what they really mean is “I prayed once about this.” But God wants more than simply our lip service. He wants our trust and our lives. So pray often, talking to God about your needs on a regular basis and most importantly, giving Him control by submitting to His will.
GOD WANTS MORE THAN LIP SERVICE WHEN IT COMES TO PRAYER.
SO PRAY FAITHFULLY AND SUBMIT YOUR WILL TO HIS.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Leadership
Leadership is tough. Here are 5 key ways to become a better leader in any circumstance.
1. Effective Leaders HUMBLE themselves and allow God to USE them as leaders! (1 Peter 5:16, Phil. 2:5-11)
2. Effective Leaders FOLLOW AFTER Jesus instead of RUNNING AHEAD on their own!
(Mark 10:43-44)
3. Effective Leaders GIVE UP selfish desires to find true satisfaction in SERVING OTHERS! (Mark 10:45)
4. Effective Leaders TRUST God with all of their life and BELIEVE that God has a PLAN for everyone to be SAVED! (Proverbs 3:5-6, Jer.29:11-13)
5. Effective Leaders FOLLOW Jesus’ example of LEADERSHIP and are willing to REACH OUT to others!
(John 13:4-5, 12-17)
As you follow the Lord, He will keep making you an effective leader that He can use to reach others!!
(Adapted from Jaye Martin)
1. Effective Leaders HUMBLE themselves and allow God to USE them as leaders! (1 Peter 5:16, Phil. 2:5-11)
2. Effective Leaders FOLLOW AFTER Jesus instead of RUNNING AHEAD on their own!
(Mark 10:43-44)
3. Effective Leaders GIVE UP selfish desires to find true satisfaction in SERVING OTHERS! (Mark 10:45)
4. Effective Leaders TRUST God with all of their life and BELIEVE that God has a PLAN for everyone to be SAVED! (Proverbs 3:5-6, Jer.29:11-13)
5. Effective Leaders FOLLOW Jesus’ example of LEADERSHIP and are willing to REACH OUT to others!
(John 13:4-5, 12-17)
As you follow the Lord, He will keep making you an effective leader that He can use to reach others!!
(Adapted from Jaye Martin)
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Connect Groups Starting in June!
We are starting our Connect Groups in June! If you would like to lead a small group Bible study please let Barbara Parker know (women@hillcrestbc.com). The following is by Rick Howerton on small group influencers:
In the small group world we often talk about those things that influence the lives of the individuals small group leaders lead. Things like family, churches people have attended in the past, past or present sins an individual has committed or is presently engaged in, etc… are all illustrations of those things that influence individual lives.
A small group leader would be wise to know about and understand four influencers that affect the way the small group they lead thinks and processes during a conversational Bible study. Four of these would be…
1. Sermons preached at the church the group members attend. If your pastor has a particular theological bent, the sermons preached will reflect that theological perspective. Intuitively small group members are hearing and accepting that perspective. Not only that, if a series of topical sermons are preached, when your group does a study on that particular topic (even if the series was preached three years ago), the thoughts and ideas portrayed in the sermon series will most likely come out during the group meeting.
2. Politics. While I wish it were not so, politics are way too meshed with the Christian faith. Some small group members spend much more time learning about and embracing the morals, standards, and arguments of a particular party (Republican or Democrat) than they do reading, learning, and embracing biblical truth. Fox News or MNBC is the place these group members gain much of their understanding and passion. Because of this, when they speak they are speaking based on a political perspective they honestly believe is biblical and, because of this, there is a hint of competitiveness in their hearts.
3. Truths instilled in Bible studies the group has done in the past. One of the reasons it is vital to choose Bible studies that are written for small groups by people who understand and instill basic evangelical theology is due to the fact that small group members will learn and hold to what they have been taught during past small group meetings. A small group leader would be wise to review past studies and see what they say concerning a particular topic when they know a discussion is soon to take place that revisits a topic or passage from past Bible studies.
4. Acceptable expectations in the congregation the group are part of. Every church has her “acceptable expectations,” unstated or stated voluntary requirements for followers of Christ. In some churches it is anticipated that every person is involved in a daily quiet time that includes Bible study, Scripture memory, meditation, elongated times of prayer, etc… These churches may also speak often of meeting with two or three others for accountability and edification. In other churches the only expectation is that people show up for weekend worship services. It would be wise for a small group leader to know what is norm in the church that they lead a group for. If a small group leader leads a group and serves a church where expectations are high, the group they lead will have a much greater chance to go deeply into Scripture, ask for group members to spend time meditating on what God is saying to them, and expecting the group members to sincerely cry out to God on behalf of one another. On the other hand, if the group leader leads a group where the expectations of those involved in the church are minimal, they must remember that they are leading mostly spiritual infants and be careful to feed them milk, not meat.
In the small group world we often talk about those things that influence the lives of the individuals small group leaders lead. Things like family, churches people have attended in the past, past or present sins an individual has committed or is presently engaged in, etc… are all illustrations of those things that influence individual lives.
A small group leader would be wise to know about and understand four influencers that affect the way the small group they lead thinks and processes during a conversational Bible study. Four of these would be…
1. Sermons preached at the church the group members attend. If your pastor has a particular theological bent, the sermons preached will reflect that theological perspective. Intuitively small group members are hearing and accepting that perspective. Not only that, if a series of topical sermons are preached, when your group does a study on that particular topic (even if the series was preached three years ago), the thoughts and ideas portrayed in the sermon series will most likely come out during the group meeting.
2. Politics. While I wish it were not so, politics are way too meshed with the Christian faith. Some small group members spend much more time learning about and embracing the morals, standards, and arguments of a particular party (Republican or Democrat) than they do reading, learning, and embracing biblical truth. Fox News or MNBC is the place these group members gain much of their understanding and passion. Because of this, when they speak they are speaking based on a political perspective they honestly believe is biblical and, because of this, there is a hint of competitiveness in their hearts.
3. Truths instilled in Bible studies the group has done in the past. One of the reasons it is vital to choose Bible studies that are written for small groups by people who understand and instill basic evangelical theology is due to the fact that small group members will learn and hold to what they have been taught during past small group meetings. A small group leader would be wise to review past studies and see what they say concerning a particular topic when they know a discussion is soon to take place that revisits a topic or passage from past Bible studies.
4. Acceptable expectations in the congregation the group are part of. Every church has her “acceptable expectations,” unstated or stated voluntary requirements for followers of Christ. In some churches it is anticipated that every person is involved in a daily quiet time that includes Bible study, Scripture memory, meditation, elongated times of prayer, etc… These churches may also speak often of meeting with two or three others for accountability and edification. In other churches the only expectation is that people show up for weekend worship services. It would be wise for a small group leader to know what is norm in the church that they lead a group for. If a small group leader leads a group and serves a church where expectations are high, the group they lead will have a much greater chance to go deeply into Scripture, ask for group members to spend time meditating on what God is saying to them, and expecting the group members to sincerely cry out to God on behalf of one another. On the other hand, if the group leader leads a group where the expectations of those involved in the church are minimal, they must remember that they are leading mostly spiritual infants and be careful to feed them milk, not meat.
Sunday, April 1, 2012
The Lamb
Mary had a little lamb
Its fleece was white as snow
Every where the blood was applied
The shadow of death could not go.
Covered by the blood of the Lamb
My sin made white as snow
Everywhere that Mary went
The Lamb was sure to go.
Not by the blood of goats and lambs
His precious blood was shed
Before the world was made, God planned
To redeem us , though spiritually dead.
Oh Gracious Savior, Lamb that was slain
You stand beside the throne
Thank you for giving your life for me
And making me your own.
Poem inspired by Beloved Disciple Bible study
~2004~
G.Harlin
Its fleece was white as snow
Every where the blood was applied
The shadow of death could not go.
Covered by the blood of the Lamb
My sin made white as snow
Everywhere that Mary went
The Lamb was sure to go.
Not by the blood of goats and lambs
His precious blood was shed
Before the world was made, God planned
To redeem us , though spiritually dead.
Oh Gracious Savior, Lamb that was slain
You stand beside the throne
Thank you for giving your life for me
And making me your own.
Poem inspired by Beloved Disciple Bible study
~2004~
G.Harlin
Jesus, Behold the Lamb*
During this Easter season, the Lord has impressed upon me the tremendous need to bathe my mind and spirit in songs based on His Word, about His Son’s sacrificial blood. So while I walk by the nearby creek, I have been drinking in songs from Glad, Shelia Walsh, Twila Paris and others, as they proclaim the majesty and cleansing of the blood of the Lamb. I am reminded that I cannot stand on my own righteous, but I must come by Jesus’ holy shed blood. My soul is glad because all my debt has been paid up in full! Oh, Lamb of God, wash me in Your precious blood.
The Lord has also brought to mind the contrast of another ceremony of shed blood that I learned about five years ago, while in Cairo on a mission trip. Before entering a factory shop, my friend pointed out “bloody” handprints on the outside of this business and explained the religious tradition/superstition of killing an innocent goat or lamb during the festival, 'Id al-Adha . This represents the day when Abraham was ready to sacrifice his son, Ishmael (as the Muslims are taught) in the name of God. This festival is celebrated after the yearly pilgrimage to Mecca and pilgrims are mandated to sacrifice an animal, at the sacrificial altar. Even those who do not make the physical trip to Mecca, still commemorate this “holy” day and the shed blood of any number of animals, including camel, is placed on anything that is precious to them (children, place of business etc.), for protection against evil spirits. Much feasting and celebration concludes this time, as they eat the sacrificed animal. Reminds you of the Jewish Passover in several ways, but misses the main point!
As I have pondered this religious “holy” day for Egyptian Muslims and all Muslims worldwide; it is once again reveals how the truths and principles of God are often twisted and distorted by the “Father of Lies”, Satan. The focus of Jesus the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, is downplayed and sidestepped. Hebrews 10:4 and 9:2 says “it is impossible for the blood of goats and lambs to take away sins; without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins.” The costly blood of the perfect Lamb, without blemish or fault, is the one who sets captives free, by covering ones sin and appeasing the wrath of God on our behalf. It is only then, that we can come into His throne room of grace and mercy. Yet another song depicts it so well, as it decrees that, only by grace can we enter, only by the blood of the Lamb.
I am so thankful, those 30 years ago during the month of April, Truth was revealed to me and I was washed by the blood of the Lamb. I have the privilege to daily come into His presence so He can cleanse me of my sins as I confess them to Him, asking for the ability to resist the temptation and flee to the arms of Jesus. Because God has promised never to leave or forsake me, it is not necessary to put the blood of a goat or lamb on those precious to me like my family, my church, workplace, possessions and numerous friends like you for protection from evil. Ps. 91:4 says that “His faithful promises are our shield and protection” and by humbling myself under the authority of God and calling on the name of Jesus, the enemy must flee. James 4:7-8.
During this 2011 Easter celebration, may all of you rest in the mysterious, yet absolutely beautiful way in which God has reconciled Himself with us, through His only Son, Jesus. What we do not deserve, He has lavishly poured out on us in the form of forgiveness, salvation, protection and peace.
Hallelujah what a Savior!
Gail
*Title of a S. Walsh song
~ Gail Harlin April 2006, revised 2011~
The Lord has also brought to mind the contrast of another ceremony of shed blood that I learned about five years ago, while in Cairo on a mission trip. Before entering a factory shop, my friend pointed out “bloody” handprints on the outside of this business and explained the religious tradition/superstition of killing an innocent goat or lamb during the festival, 'Id al-Adha . This represents the day when Abraham was ready to sacrifice his son, Ishmael (as the Muslims are taught) in the name of God. This festival is celebrated after the yearly pilgrimage to Mecca and pilgrims are mandated to sacrifice an animal, at the sacrificial altar. Even those who do not make the physical trip to Mecca, still commemorate this “holy” day and the shed blood of any number of animals, including camel, is placed on anything that is precious to them (children, place of business etc.), for protection against evil spirits. Much feasting and celebration concludes this time, as they eat the sacrificed animal. Reminds you of the Jewish Passover in several ways, but misses the main point!
As I have pondered this religious “holy” day for Egyptian Muslims and all Muslims worldwide; it is once again reveals how the truths and principles of God are often twisted and distorted by the “Father of Lies”, Satan. The focus of Jesus the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, is downplayed and sidestepped. Hebrews 10:4 and 9:2 says “it is impossible for the blood of goats and lambs to take away sins; without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins.” The costly blood of the perfect Lamb, without blemish or fault, is the one who sets captives free, by covering ones sin and appeasing the wrath of God on our behalf. It is only then, that we can come into His throne room of grace and mercy. Yet another song depicts it so well, as it decrees that, only by grace can we enter, only by the blood of the Lamb.
I am so thankful, those 30 years ago during the month of April, Truth was revealed to me and I was washed by the blood of the Lamb. I have the privilege to daily come into His presence so He can cleanse me of my sins as I confess them to Him, asking for the ability to resist the temptation and flee to the arms of Jesus. Because God has promised never to leave or forsake me, it is not necessary to put the blood of a goat or lamb on those precious to me like my family, my church, workplace, possessions and numerous friends like you for protection from evil. Ps. 91:4 says that “His faithful promises are our shield and protection” and by humbling myself under the authority of God and calling on the name of Jesus, the enemy must flee. James 4:7-8.
During this 2011 Easter celebration, may all of you rest in the mysterious, yet absolutely beautiful way in which God has reconciled Himself with us, through His only Son, Jesus. What we do not deserve, He has lavishly poured out on us in the form of forgiveness, salvation, protection and peace.
Hallelujah what a Savior!
Gail
*Title of a S. Walsh song
~ Gail Harlin April 2006, revised 2011~
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Discipleship
Biblical discipleship is a model of how Christians could and should live their lives in reflection to Jesus' example and His mission. It involves not only a personal faith with God, but sharing that faith with other people, and building up more disciples.
A Scriptural reference to biblical discipleship is found in Colossians 1:6-10: "…All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God's grace in all its truth. You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, and who also told us of your love in the Spirit. For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God."
If you study the last verse in this passage, you will find that Paul is encouraging people to walk worthy of the Lord, please Him in all respects, bear fruit in every good work, and increase in their knowledge of God. This is the heart of biblical discipleship. As Christians, we need to know who God is and be firmly established in His word. God challenges us to live lives that are pleasing to God as detailed in Romans 12.
Another aspect of biblical discipleship is that we have to show others who God is and what being a Christian is all about. Your faith cannot be kept to yourself.
A third aspect of biblical discipleship is stretching our knowledge and understanding of God, and again sharing that with others. Knowledge is not merely to be accumulated it should give us direction for living.
Examples of biblical discipleship abound in the Bible. Almost all of the disciples participated in this style of discipleship, and it is what caused the growth of the Christian faith following Jesus' departure. If you study the New Testament, you will find that all of the disciples lost their lives professing their faith, and trying to encourage and build up others. We need to understand God's will for us, gain spiritual wisdom and knowledge, please and honor God with our lives, bear good fruit, grow in the knowledge of God, be filled with God's strength and love, have great patience and endurance, and above all, give thanks.
By following the model of biblical discipleship, we should be concerned with evangelizing those who don't know God and help them fulfill God's purpose in their lives, we should be involved with discipling others encouraging their spiritual growth and development, and then equipping others, giving them the tools to make a difference in the lives of others. That is biblical discipleship, and it is a model that we should practice in our lives today.
A Scriptural reference to biblical discipleship is found in Colossians 1:6-10: "…All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God's grace in all its truth. You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, and who also told us of your love in the Spirit. For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God."
If you study the last verse in this passage, you will find that Paul is encouraging people to walk worthy of the Lord, please Him in all respects, bear fruit in every good work, and increase in their knowledge of God. This is the heart of biblical discipleship. As Christians, we need to know who God is and be firmly established in His word. God challenges us to live lives that are pleasing to God as detailed in Romans 12.
Another aspect of biblical discipleship is that we have to show others who God is and what being a Christian is all about. Your faith cannot be kept to yourself.
A third aspect of biblical discipleship is stretching our knowledge and understanding of God, and again sharing that with others. Knowledge is not merely to be accumulated it should give us direction for living.
Examples of biblical discipleship abound in the Bible. Almost all of the disciples participated in this style of discipleship, and it is what caused the growth of the Christian faith following Jesus' departure. If you study the New Testament, you will find that all of the disciples lost their lives professing their faith, and trying to encourage and build up others. We need to understand God's will for us, gain spiritual wisdom and knowledge, please and honor God with our lives, bear good fruit, grow in the knowledge of God, be filled with God's strength and love, have great patience and endurance, and above all, give thanks.
By following the model of biblical discipleship, we should be concerned with evangelizing those who don't know God and help them fulfill God's purpose in their lives, we should be involved with discipling others encouraging their spiritual growth and development, and then equipping others, giving them the tools to make a difference in the lives of others. That is biblical discipleship, and it is a model that we should practice in our lives today.
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