Revitalize Your Church

"I often think of the Holy Spirit as a mighty river, but a river dammed and held back by obstacles of one kind or another.  Fancy a man standing on the dam and pleading in prayer with the river to flow on.  How absurd! 'Why,' the river would answer, 'That is just what I want to do.  Don't waste your energy in such vain repetitions. It is my nature to flow.  I am more anxious to flow than you are to see me flow.'" -- Oswald Smith

A Holy Saturday poem by John Keble.  Be sure to read the first lines of the last stanza: AT length the worst is o’er, and Thou art laid Deep in thy darksome bed; All still and cold beneath you dreary stone Thy sacred form is gone; Around those lips where power and mercy hung, The dews of death have clung; The dull earth o’er Thee, and thy foes around, Thou sleep’st a silent corse, in funeral fetters wound. Sleep’st Thou indeed? or is thy spirit fled, At large among the dead? Whether in Eden bowers thy welcome voice Wake Abraham to rejoice, Or in some drearier scene thine eye controuls The thronging band of souls; That, as thy blood won earth, thine agony Might set the shadowy realm from sin and sorrow free. Where’er Thou roam’st, one happy soul, we know, Seen at thy side in woe, Waits on thy triumph—even as all the blest With him and thee shall rest. Each on his cross, by Thee we hang a while, Watching thy patient smile, Till we have...

“We can use all the right techniques and methods, we can have the best possible liturgy, but we have not worshiped the Lord until Spirit touches spirit” -- Richard Foster

1. Never slap a man who's chewing tobacco. 2. Never kick a cow chip on a hot day. 3. There are two theories to arguing with a woman . . Neither works. 4. Never miss a good chance to shut up. 5. Always drink upstream from the herd. 6. If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging. 7. The quickest way to double your money is to fold it and put it back into your pocket. 8. There are three kinds of men: The ones that learn by reading. The few who learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence and find out for themselves. 9. Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment. 10. If you're riding' ahead of the herd, take a look back every now and then to make sure it's still there. 11. Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier'n puttin' it back. 12. After eating an entire bull, a mountain lion felt so good he started roaring. He kept it up until a hunter came along and shot him. The moral: When y...

Innovative cultures are generally depicted as pretty fun. They’re characterized by a tolerance for failure and a willingness to experiment. They’re seen as being psychologically safe, highly collaborative, and nonhierarchical. And research suggests that these behaviors translate into better innovative performance.  But despite the fact that innovative cultures are desirable, and that most leaders claim to understand what they entail, they are hard to create and sustain. That’s because the easy-to-like behaviors that get so much attention are only one side of the coin. They must be counterbalanced by some tougher and frankly less fun behaviors: an intolerance for incompetence, rigorous discipline, brutal candor, a high level of individual accountability, and strong leadership.  Unless the tensions created by this paradox are carefully managed, attempts to create an innovative culture will fail. --  Gary Pisano, The Hard Truth About Innovative Cultures , Harv...

All around us worlds are dying and new worlds are being born; all around us life is dying and life is being born.  The fruit ripens on the tree, the roots are silently at work in the darkness of the earth against a time when there shall be new lives, fresh blossoms, green fruit. Such is the growing edge!  It is the extra breath from the exhausted lung, the one more thing to try when all else has failed, the upward reach of life when weariness closes in upon all endeavor.  This is the basis of hope in moments of despair, the incentive to carry on when times are out of joint and men have lost their reason, the source of confidence when worlds crash and dreams whiten into ash.  The birth of a child — life’s most dramatic answer to death — this is the growing edge incarnate. Look well to the growing edge! —Howard Thurman

Come Let Us Reason Together , by J. A. Ludwig, of New Brunswick,    is a delightful 10 week Bible study guide to help Christians with practical dimensions of their faith.  Filled with great stories and creative lessons, this book is a great resource for small group leaders who want the Gospel in shoe-leather.  It includes helpful study guide questions and a spiritual gifts assessment.  Purchase Here at Christian Books .