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 "Forgiving does not erase the bitter past. A healed memory is not a deleted memory. Instead, forgiving what we cannot forget creates a new way to remember. We change the memory of our past into a hope for our future."
~ Lewis B. Smedes 
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WHAT IF ALL I GET IS THIS T-SHIRT?
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 by Pastor Kymone Hinds, Church Planter, Memphis
I got this nice t-shirt from a friend and mentor. It's his investment in Journey Fellowship, a church plant we are starting in Memphis. I am grateful for it, but it makes me think. Right now this is the most tangible thing we have to represent the dream of a new church. We have no building, no new converts, no ministries - just this website, a dream and a t-shirt.
Yet as we (my family and a few friends) have been working on it, I have realized something interesting has begun to happen. I have begun to ... read the rest and comment here
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THE HARDEST LITTLE SERMON
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 by Loren Seibold A few pastors get the privilege of working in an area of specialty, but most of us are generalists. We get called on to speak to general audiences like the congregation, but also in the nursing home, the women's group, Rotary club, the academy, the church school.
Here, a confession: one of the hardest things for me to do is to tell a story to the children. I've done it many times, of course. But if on a given Sabbath I have a sermon and a story, I'll be far less content about the story than the sermon. I love the little ones, and generally they seem to like me, too. But there's something about it that raises my anxiety. Perhaps it's all those years of Eric B. Hare stories that makes me feel the bar is very, very high. Maybe it's just that I'm a stodgy old ... read the rest and comment here.
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TAKING OVER YOUR LOCAL MOVIE THEATER
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 While local movie theaters may not be the first place you think of for evangelism several NAD pastors have recently taken over their town's theater to teach grace. Andrew Shurtliff, Marlan Knittle and Steve Allred each sponsored a limited run of Hell and Mr. Fudge in their local towns. The film is based on the true story of Edward Fudge, a young evangelical who in his personal study discovered a God of grace, mercy and love, in contrast with the teaching of a God who keeps the lost alive forever in endless, conscious torment. In every setting a number of unchurched people came out to a neutral site and watched one of the core Seventh-day Adventist teachings unfold in a dramatic narrative.
In Yuba City California Pastor Steve Allred was approached with the idea of renting a theater in the local multiplex for a two-night screening of Hell and Mr. Fudge; the church would sell tickets for the premium price of $10 and give any net income to a local non-denominational charity that provides services to homeless children and their families. The rental cost would be approximately $1000 per night.
 Allred made a straightforward appeal to the church for funds so that he could make the necessary advance payment to the theater. $1800 came in that Sabbath. Posters were put up in various places around town. Invitations were distributed. Church members were urged to bring non-member friends to the theater.
The movie played on Sunday and Monday nights. First night attendance: 200. Second night: 150. Some of the most conservative people in the church came and brought guests. No less than 75 non-Adventists attended the screenings. The church was delighted in the opportunity to present the doctrine of the state of the dead to their friends in the comm
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METHODS OF RESOLUTION FOR CHURCH CONFLICT
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Every congregation experiences conflict. In fact according to Dr. Skip Bell, every relationship experiences conflict. "Conflict is a common relational dynamic that occurs when people are in relationship and experience differing ideas, goals or purposes."
Some churches explode. Others simmer for years. Others seem to be able to work through it. Bell suggests that there are some methods of resolution that may be more effective than others. In March of 2013 he gave a presentation to the local conference ministerial directors where he shared some of his expertise on conflict resolution. The presentation was recorded and you can watch his forty minute presentation as well as download his powerpoint.
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READING FOR PASTORS
| What counts as plagiarism in a sermon? Quote: "I want to be zealous so as not to represent myself as more brilliant and original than I really am. The truth is I have had only 3 truly original ideas in my life, and they were not really that good. Almost all the others have been learned from the historic church, both ancient and modern."
"Click 'pray'": how Joel Osteen mastered social media ministry.
So you stuck your foot firmly in your mouth, and offended someone. What to do now?
Did Christ redeem unbelievers? Pope Francis sparks a debate. Quote: "The Lord has redeemed all of us, all of us, with the Blood of Christ: all of us, not just Catholics. Everyone. 'Father, the atheists?' Even the atheists. Everyone! 'But I don't believe, Father, I am an atheist!' But do good: we will meet one another there."
Bad theology in bad times? Quote: "'God never gives us more than we can handle.' I have learned to hate that cliche. As a clergy person, as a hospital chaplain intern and as a father, I have come to believe that, at best, that platitude is a classic example of meaningless bumper-sticker theology. It's easily said and only makes sense when it goes by you so fast you don't have time to think about it."
People move. Short term membership is becoming the norm. Quote: "The current church operating system must change. We can no longer anticipate that people with long years of church membership will be the only ones in leadership positions. If the current model continues, there may be no one left who qualifies!"
Do we care enough about art in the Protestant church? Quote: "Artists who have a deep Christian faith actually have an advantage, I think, over people who don't believe in God. Because - theoretically anyway - if they love God, they'll be paying closer attention to what God has made, and therefore their work will take on greater complexity and beauty, like I think it has in ages past in the work of great artists like Johann Sebastian Bach or Rembrandt."
Using your pad computer for preaching.
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ADVERTISE YOUR HEALTH PROGRAM FOR FREE
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By Katia Reinert, PhDc, Director, Adventist Health Ministries, North American Division
The NAD Health Ministries department has created a website for churches to use to advertise their heal th (physical, mental, emotional, social, financial) outreach programs. Any pastor can use the site for their advantage for free. This site is for the public and lists health programs throughout the NAD. You can send us your health event and also use the site registration function as well. In the registration function the public are able to register to attend yo ur health event and print a entrance ticket with their name, program title and time. The registration function is free and you will receive ahead of time , emails with registration updates so you can keep track of people registering. Also, you can access the database of all registered participants for future follow up. The site also offers a 'waiting list' in case your event is sold out. We hope pastors will take advantage of this free resource and use the registration function as well.
The site is www.ChooseFullLife.org . To add your event to the list you can send an email to NADHM@nad.adventist.org or use the contact page of the website. You can add flyers , videos or any advertisement to your event. To use the site Just send us:
- the program title , date, time
- address, contact person, email, website or phone
- whether you would like to use our registration function online and if so how many registrations you can take or how many seats are available before we begin a waiting list
- a flyer or any promotional
- any cost related to the program Or other detailed info.
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TO THE POINT: MEMORY
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"If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything." ~ Mark Twain"Right now I'm having amnesia and d�j� vu at the same time. I think I've forgotten this before." ~ Steven Wright "The advantage of a bad memory is that one enjoys several times the same good things for the first time." ~ Friedrich Nietzsche"A clear conscience is the sure sign of a bad memory." ~ Mark Twain"I can only note that the past is beautiful because one never realises an emotion at the time. It expands later, and thus we don't have complete emotions about the present, only about the past." ~ Virginia Woolf "It was one of those perfect English autumnal days which occur more frequently in memory than in life." ~ P.D. James"Scars have the strange power to remind us that our past is real." ~ Cormac McCarthy"I heard a definition once: Happiness is health and a short memory! I wish I'd invented it, because it is very true." ~ Audrey Hepburn "Just remember that the things you put into your head are there forever, he said. You might want to think about that. You forget some things, dont you? Yes. You forget what you want to remember and you remember what you want to forget." ~ Cormac McCarthy |
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IDEAS, EVENTS, RESOURCES, ANNOUNCEMENTS
| Just a reminder that articles from Best Practices for Adventist Ministry can be shared in your newsletter, website or Facebook page, with attribution to Best Practices and the author of the piece.
From FellowshipOne, a free e-book about 7 critical church security issues. (You have to supply your name and email.)
The NPUC Adventist Leaders newsletter is well worth receiving. Contact Marcella to get on the mailing list.
Tony Romeo is a Manhattan pastor who comes from the world of advertising. Tony has just developed a series of "branding banners" for his church, and he's willing help others. Contact him at romeo.anthonyj@gmail.com. Tony writes, "Community outreach is the continued aim of this church, and it is the single most important aspect of what Manhattan Seventh-day Adventist Church is doing, using advertising, graphic design and consistent 'branding' to make the church known to the community." See all of Tony's banners and how they're displayed here.
Women's ministries emphasis day June 8: get resources for the service here.
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Best Practices for Adventist Ministry is published by NAD Ministerial. Publisher: Ivan Williams; Managing Editor: Dave Gemmell. Copyright 2012 North American Division Corporation of Seventh-day Adventists. v(301) 680-6418
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