I think we can say factually that we are in a crisis of leadership in this country and the world. It is not just political government. Leadership is also suffering in education, business, city governments, families and in the Churches. Today I want to take a practical look at this issue of leadership. It’s not so much a discussion of leadership principles but more about the whole concept of leadership, the nature of leadership. First, I want to look at leadership from a worldly … [Read more...] about The True Nature of Leadership
Church
God Is with His People
One way that we can make sense of the Church today is to look at the blueprint of how God built up a people to be His people. Since Christ doesn’t change, His consistency will be evident in how He dealt with ancient Israel and how He deals with the Church today. As Moses prepared the children of Israel to enter the land of Canaan, he wrote the words of the law in a book and placed that book in the Ark of the Covenant. Then God through Moses addressed the people of Israel … [Read more...] about God Is with His People
Predestination
Many are working very hard to build a closer relationship with God. We all have ideas and concepts that are not exactly where they need to be. One small step further in this relationship building is to understand better God’s personal plan for each of us. As individuals we tend to plan out our lives in advance. As we plan, questions arise: Were we, as individuals, chosen before the foundation of the world? Does God plan our life in advance? Has God predetermined our future? We need some … [Read more...] about Predestination
Our Old Man
In assessing the many aspects of the body of Christ, the thing that stands out to me is that we have a personal responsibility to the body. We cannot sidestep that. We could summarize that responsibility as: “But the manifestation of the Spirit (or the fruit or the expression of the Spirit) is given to each one for the profit of all:” (1 Corinthians 12:7). To be able to express the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), obviously one must first have it. This is where our individual … [Read more...] about Our Old Man
Equality, Equity, and Justice
There are growing trends and attitudes in society towards authority, and I began to explore how it might be affecting the young adults within the Christian community. Besides the fact that authority is increasingly disregarded and disrespected, it’s still expected to provide some semblance of justice. We can lament the fact that any kind of standard on which to base justice is quickly being dismantled. But regardless, people in general want justice, whatever that means to them. … [Read more...] about Equality, Equity, and Justice
The Times of the Gentiles
The prophet Amos informed us that “God doesn’t do anything without first revealing His secrets to His servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7). Since God’s plan of salvation is central to messages of prophecy, it is important to look at the writings of the prophets within the context of any section of scripture. Doing so tells us why a particular thing was said. The knowledge imparted by prophecy is meant to be very motivational to those who are or who will be in a relationship … [Read more...] about The Times of the Gentiles
Artificial Intelligence: Words or Wisdom?
I know just enough computer code to sort of copy and paste sections from the internet to do any programming that I need to do. When I get stuck, I ask my son for some help and the two of us have this joke about how the code ‘feels’ right to me. It feels like it should work but it doesn’t. Terry’s very firm, very analytical and he tells me that code does not care how I feel. It’s computer code. It simply works, or it does not. Here is the interesting … [Read more...] about Artificial Intelligence: Words or Wisdom?