"I can't believe it," said Andre Goncalves when he was informed that his name was drawn in the NAD Ministerial survey drawing. Goncalves pastors a two church district in Texas Conference.  He is an avid reader of Best Practices for Adventist Ministry and is looking forward to reading CALLED digital magazine for NAD Pastors. His name was drawn by Assistant to the President Ken Denslow from a pool of almost 600 people who responded to the NAD Ministerial Survey.

"I want to thank all of those pastors who took the time to fill out the survey" says Dave Gemmell, Associate Director of NAD Ministerial. "This groundbreaking survey will help us serve NAD pastors more effectively."  The survey asked NAD pastors their opinions about how best to grow the core competencies of the pastors in the NAD. Gemmell will be sharing the results of the survey in future issues of Best Practices.  

After twenty five years of equipping ministry I have come to the conclusion that "Leadership" can be summed up in one word, influence. John Maxwell puts it this way, "The true measure of leadership is influence...nothing more, nothing less.

I have found that to lead people in groups of any size it is crucial to both identify and engage the influencers among them. I find that in a congregation there are influencers both outside and inside the group. Outside influencers may consist of members' family, friends, culture and society. While all of these may play a role of influence as long as they are outside the group they are secondary sources. It is within the group that I find individuals who exercise influence in significant ways.  Read More 

In this quarter's edition of CALLED, we have chosen to focus on the preaching of the Word, and on the preachers themselves.  We are particularly excited about our video documentary that allows you to walk side by side with Pastor Randy Roberts, senior pastor at the Loma Linda University Church, as he prepares a sermon.  Read More