FIRST-PERSON: 9 barriers to conflict resolution
GRAPEVINE, Texas (BP) – Because we are all real people with real problems, living in a world that is deeply and desperately scarred by sin, conflict is a normal part of the human experience.
FIRST-PERSON: Southern Baptists have been here before
More times than I can count over the past several weeks, I’ve heard talk of frustration and disappointment from my SBC brothers and sisters. Pastors, lay leaders, church members, denominational employees. “In all my years, I have never seen it as bad as this,” one seasoned pastor lamented.
FIRST-PERSON: Get the most out of your Bible reading
GRAPEVINE, Texas (BP) -- Daily Bible reading is life-giving. When you are in a healthy rhythm of communing with God through Bible reading and prayer, there is a prevailing grace that accompanies daily motions. But if you’re like me, honestly, sometimes regular Bible reading can feel more like a daily habit than a daily grace.
FIRST-PERSON: Evaluating Kingdom partnerships
Tony Wolfe notes that churches, in partnering with other organizations, should ask "What do they believe about the Bible?" and "How does this partnership extend and enlarge our Great Commission footprint?"
FIRST-PERSON: I’m in. Are you?
Tony Wolfe envisions something like the day of Pentecost: "I get the feeling that right now in Southern Baptist life we are gathered together in an upstairs room in prayerful expectation that any day God could breathe on us and unleash us on the world anew."
FIRST-PERSON: Preaching from God & before God
A pastor can fill the pulpit with passion and humility, Tony Wolfe writes, when his message is prepared "from God" and delivered "before God."
FIRST-PERSON: This is our time
Tony Wolfe exhorts young leaders to "pour our lives out" for the Kingdom of God. "If we waste time now, time will waste us later," he writes. "God's Gospel story is passing through our generation right now.
FIRST-PERSON: ‘New’ doesn’t always mean ‘bad’
"Embrace the new things God is doing in your church," Tony Wolfe writes. "Step into them with simple faith that the God of yesterday is also the God of tomorrow. No, you've never done it this way before. But maybe that's a good thing."
FIRST-PERSON: Strategic seniors
Senior adult ministry, Tony Wolfe notes, entails far more than "health fairs, trips to Branson or backgammon." Optimally, it can yield "an atmosphere where older men and women can be intentional about reproducing themselves in the lives of younger church members."
