Month: January 2013

Assemblies of God, MinistryLeave a comment

`When Weakness Becomes Sinfulness’ by Michael Goldsmith

georgepwood

I’m at a conference for Assemblies of God district leaders. I just heard Michael Goldsmith talk about how God deals with our weakness and sinfulness. He had a lot of good things to say, especially to ministers, so I thought I’d share what he said. Here are my notes: ********** Proverbs 4:23, 1 Timothy 4:16, 1 Corinthians 10:12 Pastors often operate on the principle of never let them see you sweat, but everybody sees you when you fall. 8 OBSERVATIONS: 1. We all have weaknesses that can become sinful. Matthew 26:41, Acts 10:26, Genesis 4:7, Luke 4:13 See Jack Hayford, … Continue reading `When Weakness Becomes Sinfulness’ by Michael Goldsmith

1 John, The Daily WordLeave a comment

Competing Spiritualities (1 John 2:26-27)

georgepwood

Is there any way to judge between competing spiritualities? Since the 1960s, there has been a significant growth of “alternative spiritualities” in America, including traditional eastern religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism, as well as nontraditional New Age and metaphysical practices. These alternative spiritualities have not been silent about Jesus. Traditional Christianity teaches that Jesus is God’s unique Son (John 1:14, 18); alternative spiritualities that we can become God’s sons and daughters in the same sense as Jesus is. Christianity teaches that Jesus is the exclusive means by which God saves the world (John 14:6); alternative spiritualities that he is … Continue reading Competing Spiritualities (1 John 2:26-27)

1 John, The Daily WordLeave a comment

Keep the Faith! (1 John 2:24-25)

georgepwood

Is faith in Jesus a one-time event or an ongoing commitment? In my ministry as a pastor, I have seen people’s faith wax and wane. I know of one young man, for example, who gave his heart to Jesus, became actively involved in church, and even participated in summer-long missions projects, only to reject Christianity in his college years. I could multiply stories like his, but I think you get the point. You also probably know people who at one point in their lives professed faith in Christ but now do not. Their faith, which once waxed, has now waned … Continue reading Keep the Faith! (1 John 2:24-25)

Book ReviewsLeave a comment

Improving Your Church’s Ministry System: A Review of ‘Connect’ by Nelson Searcy

georgepwood

 Searcy, Nelson, and Jennifer Dykes Henson. 2012. Connect: How to Double Your Number of Volunteers. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books. When it comes to a church’s volunteer ministries, the Pareto Principle seems to apply: 20 percent of church members do 80 percent of the work. This unbalanced ratio is both unbiblical, because all church members should be ministers, and inefficient, fostering burnout among the few and passivity and consumerism among the many. Pastors and other church leaders who teach every-member ministry have solved the first problem, but the second problem often goes unsolved (or badly solved) because they don’t have … Continue reading Improving Your Church’s Ministry System: A Review of ‘Connect’ by Nelson Searcy

1 John, The Daily WordLeave a comment

The Real Jesus (1 John 2:20-23)

georgepwood

Who is the real Jesus? Last year [this was written in 2007], just in time for Easter, the National Geographic Society published its translation of The Gospel of Judas, a second century Gnostic writing that makes a hero out of Judas Iscariot. According to this so-called gospel, Judas betrayed Jesus at Jesus’ behest, in order to liberate the divine spark of Jesus’ soul from its imprisonment in Jesus’ body. No reputable scholar that I know of thinks The Gospel of Judas is historically accurate.[1] But some scholars—not to mention many ordinary readers—think that historically accurate information about Jesus is hard … Continue reading The Real Jesus (1 John 2:20-23)

Book ReviewsLeave a comment

Time, Talent, Treasure, Talk, and Testimony for the Benefit of Others: A Review of ‘The Greatness Principle’ by Nelson Searcy

georgepwood

 Searcy, Nelson. 2012. The Greatness Principle: Finding Singificance and Joy by Serving Others. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books. “When you bless others, God blesses you.” That is how Nelson Searcy defines “The Greatness Principle.” At first glance, I worried that he was entering prosperity gospel territory, where our financial generosity becomes a quasi-legal obligation on God’s part to make us rich. But that is not Searcy’s point. Instead, building on Mark 9:33–35 and other New Testament passages, he encourages us to use our time, talent, treasure, talk, and testimony to benefit others. As we live out this multiform love for … Continue reading Time, Talent, Treasure, Talk, and Testimony for the Benefit of Others: A Review of ‘The Greatness Principle’ by Nelson Searcy

1 John, The Daily WordLeave a comment

Love Jesus, Love His Church (1 John 2:19)

georgepwood

Is it ever okay to leave your church? When my father pastored a church in the 1970s and 80s, he calculated that 25-30% of the church left it every year. It had nothing to do with his preaching, which was excellent. Instead, the area in which he ministered was full of young, upwardly mobile families, whose jobs moved them around quite a bit. The other churches in the area had a similar rate of turnover. Recently, an email correspondent of mine shared the story of why she left her mainline Protestant church. Although she had a long history in the … Continue reading Love Jesus, Love His Church (1 John 2:19)

Book Reviews1 Comment

Pentecostals Making Sense of the Workaday World: A Review of ‘Flourishing Churches and Communities’ by Charlie Self

georgepwood

Self, Charlie. 2013. Flourishing Churches and Communities: A Pentecostal Primer on Faith, Work, and Economics for Spirit-Empowered People. Grand Rapids, MI: Christian’s Library Press. For two years in the late 1990s, I left full-time ministry and went to work in the human resources department of an international automobile manufacturer. There, I saw trained professionals doing their jobs well and enjoying them in the process. When I returned to full-time ministry in 1999, I took a second look at my own profession and asked myself: How am I spiritually preparing my church’s members for their work in the world? This question … Continue reading Pentecostals Making Sense of the Workaday World: A Review of ‘Flourishing Churches and Communities’ by Charlie Self

1 John, The Daily WordLeave a comment

Under an Eternal Deadline (1 John 2:18)

georgepwood

As a writer, I am asked occasionally to submit an article for publication. Attached to these requests is a deadline, usually not far off. Having a deadline helps me focus my research and writing so that I can turn out a good article in a short time. According to 1 John 2:18, we all live under the deadline of eternity. Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know that it is the last hour. Let’s interpret this verse one phrase … Continue reading Under an Eternal Deadline (1 John 2:18)

1 John, The Daily WordLeave a comment

If God Loves the World, Why Can’t We? (1 John 2:15-17)

georgepwood

According to John 3:16, God “loved the world” enough to give his Son for its salvation. But according to 1 John 2:15, Christians are forbidden to “love the world or anything in the world.” If God loves the world, why can’t we? In his commentary on 1 John, Colin G. Kruse helps us answer this question by teasing out four different senses of the word world in 1 John: The word kosmos occurs 23 times in 1 John, and its meaning varies according to context. In one place it means the natural world (3:17), in several places it bears a … Continue reading If God Loves the World, Why Can’t We? (1 John 2:15-17)