It's almost 2013! Many great things happened during 2012, and even though we faced hardships and trials, which are to be expected in life, we survived and even laughed a lot more than we had in previous years. How can we smile, have joy, and even get excited when we are faced with so much evil and darkness? Well, let's look at a few things before we travel together to the mountain in Israel and hear the Word of the Lord on Dec. 31.

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Abortionists Offer 'Black Friday' Discounts in Demonic Marketing Scheme
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Good Grief! Atheist Group Disgruntled With 'A Charlie Brown Christmas'
Does Paraguay's 12-Year Prayer Marathon Indicate Revival?
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11:51AM EST 11/27/2012

Imagine a new communion of multiethnic churches committed to discipleship and church planting

Some days in your life will forever rest in your memory. I think back to August 2004 in London. I was sitting at a table as a guest of one of my gospel heroes, pastor Matthew Ashimolowo, a church planter, author and major student of church growth worldwide. He had invited me to participate in Europe's largest Christian conference.
During those years the BBC, The Times of London and every national media outlet had "discovered" this faithful servant of God; as a result, Pastor Matthew had become something of a celebrity in the cultural landscape there. I'll never forget reading the headline "African missionary to England leads U.K.'s largest church."
He and I talked about the fact that at the time, only 5 percent of England's population was committed to both faithful church attendance and a biblical worldview. We marveled at the idea that a nation, which had been mightily used to take the gospel to the ends of the known world during its "heyday," would now not allow the preaching of the gospel and Spirit-led ministry to be aired on regular television.
In fact, it was more acceptable for Britain's government to give deference to non-Christian faiths than to Christians. Within a few years of that discussion, my friend would be wrongly persecuted by Britain's version of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service and his church would be forced to sell its primary facilities. 9:43AM EDT 7/1/2012

Honoring God’s covenant with Israel is foundational to successful apostolic leadership

 

We are considering what God’s ancient covenant with Israel means for tomorrow’s church. In short, covenant means everything for effective leadership. 

When believers choose to bind themselves in covenant with God, they are also bound covenantally to one another. This godly unification is the basis for the apostolic church, which I believe is the model we must return to if we are to see a successful church in the 21st century. 

In order to maintain a biblical apostolic structure, there must be an apostolic vision. The apostolic leader is one who has a vision from God so great there is no way for him to see it fulfilled on his own—or even within his own lifetime. This is where apostolic team leadership and apostolic succession come in.

12:20PM EST 3/1/2012

A successful marriage ministry program needs more than a ‘one size fits all’ approach

 

Ministering to marriages in the local church for me has been both exhilarating and exasperating. It is exhilarating in that the need is obvious and great in today’s society. It is exasperating because it often feels like swimming upstream, and casualties continue regardless of how many good things are made available to people. 

My attitude is let’s keep swimming. Having the right philosophy and elements can make the difference in a successful marriage ministry program.

First, there are two ends of the spectrum when approaching marriage ministry: preventive vs. crisis-oriented. The preventive side attempts to equip individuals and couples with good information, skills and resources that can keep a marriage from ever getting to a crisis stage.

8:43AM EDT 10/26/2011

Why you need to stay focused on the dream God has given you

 

Human beings are mysterious creatures who are powerfully affected by vision. We are designed in such a way that we will move in the direction of what we see. Your vision is your future, and your vision is your imagination. You need an imagination inspired by the promises of God. You need the eye of the eagle. The eagle builds its nest high atop a mountain or tall rock. From there, “it spies out the prey; its eyes observe from afar” (Job 39:27-29).

God has not called you to be a chicken pecking around in the barnyard of the status quo, never seeing anything but the dust of Old MacDonald’s farm. God has called you to mount up on eagles’ wings of faith and soar above the storms (Is. 40:30-31). 

I have found that I remain excited about life as long as I hold on to the vision that hope can create. As I live in the realm of hopeful vision, I find I can begin each new day with fresh energy and enthusiasm. 

4:09PM EDT 6/17/2011

Your staff has God-given gifts you need to identify (and affirm)

 

 

Doing more with less might be one of the most common buzz phrases in the marketplace and church-ministry world today—and most frightening. In this unstable economy, everyone wants to know how to improve results while using fewer people and spending less money but still achieving or maintaining the same level of excellence. More and more churches are having to operate on smaller budgets and with smaller staffs. But, it is possible to achieve greater results from fewer resources while maintaining your organization’s integrity and budget, as well as your staff’s sanity and happiness.

The Statistics Aren’t Pretty. Last year, according to the government figures, worker productivity climbed 3.5 percent as companies shed millions of employees and figured out ways to get more work from those who remained. It was the biggest increase in six years—and it was great for corporate profits.

2:21PM EST 1/26/2011

Six steps to casting a God-ordained (and risky) vision for your church 3:17PM EDT 4/17/2009

These days, everyone knows someone who's hit rock bottom after losing a job, home, life savings, marriage, family, etc. Whether that's you or someone else, Brian Zahnd's book What to Do on the Worst Day of Your Life can be the perfect lifeline for overcoming the toughest of times. And one of the key elements to this is simply a matter of perspective ...


10:59AM EST 2/17/2009

How Jesus’ discipleship model applies to the local church

5:25PM EST 2/12/2009

Ministry calls you to be good, but God has placed something better in you
8:00PM EDT 10/31/2008

Many gifted church leaders make the foolish mistake of staying in their jobs too long. Prepare your church for the future by training a successor.
8:00PM EDT 6/30/2007

A challenge: Dream a dream so big only God can fulfill it.
7:00PM EST 2/28/2005

Distractions can be more than a nuisance. They can kill your ministry.
8:00PM EDT 6/30/2002

In brokenness we discover the depths of our pastoral calling.
7:00PM EST 10/31/2001

What is on the horizon for the church in the new millennium? Ministries Today interviewed one of Christianity's top thinkers, Dr. C. Peter Wagner, about critical ministry trends in the 21st century. 8:00PM EDT 6/30/2000