Larry Stockstill has seen enough fellow ministers fall. At a
“Summit on Integrity” Tuesday in Orlando, Fla., the Louisiana pastor and a
roomful of influential Christian leaders took a stand against the American
church’s ongoing leadership crisis by pledging to walk with integrity in every
area of life.
Amid the latest ministry scandals, Stockstill, senior pastor
of Bethany World Prayer Center in Baton Rouge, La., charged pastors and church
leaders with specific ways to not only avoid moral failure, but also leave a
Billy Graham-like legacy of integrity.
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The world's
best-selling Bible is getting an upgrade. Since its debut in 1978, the New
International Version, known as the NIV, has been the Bible of choice for
evangelicals, selling more copies than any other version. But a 2002
gender-inclusive edition bombed after being condemned as too liberal.
Translators hope
their latest edition, which is available for
preview at BibleGateway.com, will avoid a similar
fate. They've retained some of the language of the 2002 edition. But they also
made changes—like going back to using words such as "mankind" and
"man" instead of "human beings" and "people"—to
appease critics.
read more
Welcome
to ministry in the age of social media, where more and more pastors nationwide
are awakening to the belief that social media is an effective way to reach not
just their own flocks but those beyond their congregations as well.
"Did
you miss Sunday service this morning?" reads a post—complete with video
link—on the Facebook page of The Potter's House, the Dallas megachurch led by
Bishop T.D. Jakes.
"Come join us for the Sunday Service Rebroadcast, we have a word just for
you." The page has more than 109,000 followers.
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Are you desperate for a more intimate prayer life? Do you
want to know how to hear God’s voice and become more passionate about Jesus?
Then join prayer leader and Bible teacher Mike Bickle for
this conference call being held Nov.
16 at 9 p.m.EST. You will have an opportunity to ask
questions—or you can just listen in as he leads an in-depth discussion on
prayer and worship.
Mike is the director of the International
House of Prayer Missions Base of Kansas City (IHOP-KC), a 24/7 prayer
ministry he launched 11 years ago that now involves more than 2,000 people. He
is also the author of several books about passion for and intimacy with Jesus.
For more, visit online at mikebickle.org
or ihop.org.
Click here to register and reserve
your spot on the call. Please do so now—only the first 1,000 people will be
able to participate.
read more
Excitement is high for the Summit on Integrity to be held
Tuesday, Nov. 16, in Lake Mary, Fla., led by pastor Larry
Stockstill of Bethany World Outreach Center in Baton Rouge, La. As
we've reported before, the purpose is to discuss personal discipleship for
ministers, steps for strengthening ministry marriages and parenting
relationships, integrity in finances and truthful disclosure, purity in sexual
morality, and being examples in our communities of influence.
There's still time to register! Click
here to register online, or you can call Nettie Parks at 800-749-6500, ext. 2410. If you're a member of Ministry21
Network the cost is $100. For non-network members the cost is $200. Spouses of
registered participants can attend for free.
read more
Excitement is high and registrations
are coming in for the Summit on Integrity to be held Tuesday, Nov.
16, in Lake Mary, Fla., led by pastor Larry Stockstill of Bethany
World Outreach Center in Baker, La. As we've reported before,
the purpose is to discuss personal discipleship for ministers, steps
for strengthening ministry marriages and parenting relationships,
integrity in finances and truthful disclosure, purity in sexual
morality, and being examples in our communities of influence.
You will be blessed by the teaching,
the interaction and the exchange of ideas. You'll be ministered to by
times of worship and prayer. You'll be able to take a stand by
participating in and signing the Statement on Integrity, which will
be released to the public. And you can personally sign the Remnant
Covenant which says, in part: “We believe that accountability in
standards of church discipline, finances, media, Internet, travel,
counseling and appearances can revolutionize the present climate of
suspicion and loss of influence presently characterizing ministry
leadership.”
read more
Every Tuesday, members of the
Ministry21 Network have a conference call with national leaders such
as Jack Hayford, pastor Rick Bezet, Dr. R.T. Kendall and others on a
wide range of topics. This week, Steve Strang, Ministry21
founder and publisher of Ministry Today magazine, will lead
the "mentoring call" about leadership principles and answer
your questions.
Steve is well-known in charismatic
circles as a journalist and businessman, as well as a Christian
leader who has spent more than three decades being a catalyst for
unity in the church. He was once nominated as "Entrepreneur
of the Year" and Time magazine listed him in 2005 as one
of the most influential Christian leaders in America.
Most conference calls will be limited
in the future to members of Ministry21 Network, but this one is open
to anyone who wants to call in at 4 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Here
are the call instructions: Dial-in number: 712-432-1000, access code:
538101107#. To learn more about Ministry21 Network and how you can
join, click
here.
read more
Since mid-August, former Brownsville
Revival pastor John Kilpatrick has seen thousands of people flock to
revival services being held four nights a week at the convention
center in Mobile, Ala., where he now leads Church of His Presence.
The blind are seeing, the lame are walking and the deaf are hearing,
he says, at what he believes may become another long-running revival.
Three of the most recent services, held
Nov. 5-7, currently are available for viewing online at global
network GOD TV's video-on-demand site, god.tv/video.
The meetings are posted in their entirety and equal more than 10
hours of viewing time.
The revival, open to the public, has
caused a craze on YouTube. Some video coverage shows people with
various ailments being healed in front of thousands of viewers.
The most celebrated miracle is that of
Delia Knox, gospel singer and wife of Bishop Levy Knox who serves on
the College of Bishops in the International Communion of Charismatic
Churches. In late August a wheelchair-bound Knox stood up and took
steps around the platform for the first time in more than 20 years. A
video of the event received more than 70,000 hits on YouTube in less
than a week and is up to 180,000 hits to date.
read more
Well-known worship leader Darlene
Zschech will soon be leaving the Australian megachurch where she has served for
25 years to become senior pastor of a nearby Pentecostal church.
Zschech, whose songs "Shout to the
Lord," "The Potter's Hand" and numerous others over the last
decade made the name of Hillsong Church in Sydney synonymous with modern
worship music worldwide, will lead Church Unlimited on Australia's Central
Coast with her husband, Mark (pictured with her, left), starting late January.
read more
Dr. Mark Chironna will
be the guest on our next Ministry21 "Mentoring" conference call on
Tuesday, Nov. 2, at 4 p.m. EDT (3 p.m. CDT, 2 p.m. MDT, 1 p.m. PDT.) Here
are the call instructions: Dial-in number: 712-432-1000, access code:
553869397#. These calls are offered as a benefit to members for belonging to
the M21 Network. But as a way to let you try them, we are opening this one to
all readers of Ministry Today Report. To find out more about joining
M21, click here.
Mark has been described as
having "the nurturing heart of an apostolic father" and has
"a veil-rending cry of a proven prophetic ministry to the
nations." One of the first members of the Ministry21 Network, he is
well-known for his television ministry and is a sought-after speaker. But
he is also very relational, and this is your chance to ask him questions and
learn from his life.
He
is uniquely gifted to train, mobilize and ignite transformation in God’s
people. As Mark's ministry bio notes, he is "a clear voice for the 21st
century that resonates throughout our global society with the cause of Christ
and the message of His Kingdom." He holds multiple advanced degrees in
theology and psychology. He and his wife, Ruth, are the proud parents of two
sons, Matthew and Daniel. Mark is the founder of The Master’s Touch
International Church in Orlando, Fla., where he also serves as senior pastor.
read more
Is the church in crisis? When it comes to
integrity among leadership, Larry Stockstill thinks so—and he wants you to do
something about it.
Larry Stockstill, pastor of Bethany
World Prayer Center in Baton Rouge, La., is calling church leaders to do
more than just talk about living right. At the Summit on Integrity, a one-day
gathering of ministry leaders, he’s urging them to commit to a lifestyle of
integrity that encompasses every area of private and public life.
Amid an increasing number of high-profile church scandals,
Stockstill is partnering with Ministry Today magazine and the new
Ministry21 Network to invite leaders to a daylong discussion on Nov. 16 in Lake
Mary, Fla., on how church leaders can combat the sliding morals found in the
ministry world and take a stand for righteousness.
read more
Jesus prayed in John 17 that the world would know His followers by
their love. Yet nearly half of evangelicals recently polled in
America cite a lack of love as one of the primary contributions U.S.
Christians have made to society.
Some 48 percent listed a lack of love for others, as well as
violence, hatred, bigotry and intolerance as Christians' greatest
negative contributions, according to a nationwide survey of American
adults released Monday by The Barna Group. By comparison, only about
25 percent of the nation listed those same items as the most
negative.
The difference reflected the survey's findings that evangelicals
are even more likely than many other Americans to acknowledge the
faults of believers. They were "the single, most critical
subgroup of all," according to the report, and least likely of
all respondents to say they were unable to identify any negative
contributions by Christians.
read more
More than 4,000 attendees from nearly 200 countries are in Cape Town, South Africa, this week to strategize how to evangelize the world for Christ in the 21st century.
The Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization opened on Sunday under the theme of 2 Corinthians 5:19, "God in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself," with the focus being how to be witnesses of Jesus Christ and His teachings in every region of the world and every level of society.
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When I turned 50, my staff surprised me with a set of golf clubs. After numerous golfing trips "plow-ing up the course," I resorted to watching videos. My game immediately improved when I learned how to deliver the perfect swing from pros. Hours of written "tips" could not compare to watching master golfers at work.
I heard a funny story about a Bible college professor who would sling his thick hair backward with a swoop when-ever he made a strong point in his preaching.
Ironically, years later his students were also "slinging their hair." Someone discovered that even a student who was bald was slinging his head!
What makes people do what they see and not what they hear?
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Think most Southerners are inherantly Christian, or that West Coasters are less likely to attend church? Although such regional stereotypes are often accepted without question, the latest study by the Barna Group proves these labels aren't far from the truth.
The findings, drawn from two reports titled Markets 2011andStates 2011, “confirmed many spiritual assumptions about various regions of the country," said David Kinnaman, who directed the seven-year research project for Barna Group. "The South hosts many of the nation’s Christians, while the West and Northeast play to more secular stereotypes."
read more
Pastor Larry Stockstill will be the guest speaker for the Summit on Integrity, a one-day intensive discussion about making integrity a key part of our personal lives and ministries. The conference will be hosted by Strang Communications in Orlando, Fla., on Nov. 16. The cost is $200 for Ministry Today readers and $100 for Ministry21 Network members. Lunch is included, and wives can attend for free. The event is limited to 200 people. For those choosing to stay over after the summit, fellowship will continue with a next-day round of golf. Register by calling Nettie Parks at 800-749-6500, ext. 2410.
read more
Pastor Larry Stockstill and his dad, retired Pastor Roy Stockstill, will address the issue of integrity in our next Ministry21 “coaching call.” Guest editor of the fall issue of Ministry Today, Larry is currently the senior pastor of Bethany World Prayer in Baton Rouge, La., which his father founded and handed over to him in 1983.
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Our next coaching conference call will be with our guest Dr. Doug Weiss. Doug is a licensed psychologist and sex therapist and the founder of Heart to Heart Counseling Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. He will be sharing secrets to a life of sexual integrity and that life without lust is the key to purity.
The call is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 28, at 4 p.m. EST, 3 p.m. CST, 2 p.m. MST and 1 p.m. PST. These are your call instructions: dial-in number: 712-432-1000, access code: 576856210#.
Dr. Weiss has appeared on many national talk shows including Oprah, Dr. Phil, Good Morning America and 20/20. He has had a made-for-television movie made about his treatment of sex addicts on Lifetime called Sex, Lies and Obsession and hosted Winning@Marriage, an international television show.
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Be sure to tune in to our next conference call on Tuesday, Sept. 21, at 4 p.m. (EDT). Robert Stearns of Eagles' Wings will discuss an important upcoming event, "Day of Prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem" being held on Oct. 3. Thousands of churches around the world will be partaking in this unified global effort to speak blessings over God's holy city. For more about this prayer initiative, click here.
Robert will also talk with us about how we can add substance to our prayers for Jerusalem by helping to feed Israel's poor. Did you know that some 1.6 million Israeli citizens (Jews and Arabs) live below the poverty line? Robert wants to feed at least 1,000 impoverished families in Israel this year through the Faith + Works = Change campaign. Click here for more information and to give a donation today. You can also read our news story about the campaign by clicking here.
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My own small accountability group of Christian CEOs is meeting the 19th to the 21st in Minneapolis. Our meeting ends at noon on Tuesday. I'm staying over for the first night of Mac Hammond's conference. So I got the idea of inviting some of our Ministry21 members (and a few potential members) to attend both.
We usually invite in an interesting speaker. This time it's one of our own "CEO group" members, Dr. Doug Weiss, a well-known psychologist. You'll enjoy hearing him give a seminar to my CEO group on Tuesday morning. His topic will be "The Miracle of Marriage," and he'll discuss:
Why marriage is a miracle
How to protect your miracle
How this is a progressive miracle
The purpose of our miracle
The seminar on Tuesday, Sept. 21, is from 9 a.m. to noon at the Welsh Company. (By the way, Dr. Weiss wrote an article "Secrets to a Life of Sexual Integrity," in the fall issue of Ministry Today, which is in the mail now.)
Then, after lunch, Ministry21 will continue with a round-table discussion similar to what we do in our CEO group and to what we did at our networking meeting in Orlando last June. You can bring the issues you're dealing with, and the group will give you their advice and wisdom and pray with you.
Then I encourage you to stay for Mac Hammond's "When Leaders Lead ... (Judges 5:2)" leadership event. Registration is $99 per person. To register, click here.
My CEO group does "cost sharing," which means we split the meeting costs among those who attend. I've decided to charge only $100 for this one-day networking meeting, plus Mac Hammond's registration, which you will handle separately.
Our meeting on Tuesday will be at the Welsh Company, 4350 Baker Road, Minnetonka, MN 55343. Jeanne Bordeau, at (952) 897-7765, will be your Welsh Company contact person. Mac Hammond's event will be at Living Word Christian Center, 9201 75th Ave. N., Brooklyn Park, MN 55428. Kristin Hammond, (763) 315-7003, will be your contact person at the church. You must find your own lodging and transportation. We need you to RSVP to bob.cruz@strang.com so we can make preparations.
By the way, I know of at least one member from Florida who is flying up. If we get a good response, we'll have these types of meetings throughout the year in various parts of the country.
