AN UNFRIENDLY TEAM The 1992 Winter Olympics saw many changes in the traditional national teams. For the first time Lituania and other Eastern Block countries had independent representation. There no longer was a Soviet team, but rather a “Unified” team comprised of the republics that formed the new Russian Federation. Another noticeable change was a …
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GETTING OTHERS TO COME ALONG A leader is someone who knows where he’s going and can get others to come along. By Knute Larson, pastor of The Chapel, Akron, Ohio From Dave Gerbrandt of the Mennonite Brethren Church, Shafter, California
HUNCH FOR A TEAM Notre Dame had a full back, half-back, quarterback and a hunchback.
A TEAM OF THREE New Hope Community Church of Portland, Oregon uses a practical method of developing small groups. They use a team of three individuals to begin a new small group consisting of 1) a leader (LAY PASTOR), 2) an assistant leader (ASSISTANT LAY PASTOR or LAY PASTOR IN TRAINING) and 3) a host. …
ROLE OF PASTORS AND LAITY The pastor’s major role for growth is to lead. The congregation’s major role for growth is to do the work of the ministry. Although maintaining the proper relationship between the two will not solve every growth problem for every church, it will certainly help unlock tremendous opportunities for growth in …
OTHER EYES Some time ago one of our deacons, Ed, a crane-operator by trade, related the following reflection on his work experience: He told of one particular job site he was working at where he was being asked to lift very heavy loads, weighing hundreds of pounds (floor sections, I believe) into the inside of …
THREE- LEAF OR FOUR-LEAF There are some people in every generation who are born with exceptional ability. Charles R. Brown calls them “the four-leaf clovers in the field of life.” He reminds us that the clover that feeds the cows and bees and keeps the fields green is the plain three-leaf clover. There are only …
COMPLETING EACH OTHER Back in the late 40’s, just after the close of World War II, Jimmy Durante, the famous comic, got a call from Ed Sullivan, asking Durante to go with him to a veteran’s hospital to entertain the wounded and disabled vets. Durante tried to beg off since he had a couple of …
HAND IN HAND It’s nice to be needed, and do you know why? We must all depend on the other guy. You can work yourself right down to the bone, But you certainly can’t get the job done alone. If everyone realized this obvious fact And elected right then to get into the act, What …
THE MISSING STRING I ‘m the owner of a 12-string guitar. Not being a perfectionist, quite often I have tolerance for sounds that require finer tuning. One day I broke the G-string. With a 12-string guitar there’s another G-string at a different octave. I nonchalantly went on playing, neglecting to replace the broken string. Over …
NOT ALONE Encouragement is a key factor in successful venture. People who are encouraged can accomplish things beyond all expectations. An old farmer had a mule that didn’t know his own strength. As the farmer hitched up the mule to a two- horse plow, he would say, “Get up, Will. Get up, Kate. Get up, …
MUTUAL RECOGNITION My brother found an old Mize Outlook (date July 6, 1905) in a shop he has in Mize, Mississippi. Here is a story from it: A man was traveling by train to Nashville to seek employment as a newspaper reporter. When asked for his ticket, he named a prominent paper in Nashville and …
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A STRONG DEFENSE: Two boys on a bicycle built for two had a hard time climbing up a hill. When they finally reached the top, both were near exhaustion, especially the front boy who said, “I thought we would never make it!” “We wouldn’t have,” replied the other, “if I hadn’t kept my foot on …
SHARED LIGHT In a mountain village in Europe, many centuries ago there was a nobleman who wondered what legacy he might be able to leave for his townspeople. At last he decided to build a church. No one saw the plans for the building until it was finished. When the people came for the first …
PROFOUND SIMPLICITY “If all of us had the good common sense found in one of our most ancient nursery rhymes, we would be better off. Jack Sprat could eat no fat, His wife could eat no lean;/And so between them both, They licked the platter clean. Now this is an amazingly profound analysis of personality …
CLIMB TOGETHER At school a few years ago there was a summer school course in “Group and Interpersonal Relationships.” About a dozen people took the class and at the end of it they decided they wanted to do something together as a kind of closing to the class. You know, they had come to really …
MY TURN IN THE NURSERY Last Sunday was my turn in the nursery to work. My heart wasn’t in it; my feelings were hurt. A child from its mother did not want to part And it cried a lot with its broken heart. I prayed that soon the hour would end, That I could relax …
SINGING THE TUNE TOGETHER Some months ago a group of adults on retreat gathered in a big hall for a time of recreation. In one game we each drew a slip of paper with a fragment from a popular song or hymn written on it. We were to sing our respective phrases until we found …
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BUILDING THE CHURCH TOGETHER A teacher of a second grade Vacation Bible School class learned a valuable lesson. About an hour before dismissal, a new student was brought into the room. The young boy was missing an arm. Since the class was almost over, the teacher had no opportunity to learn of the background of …
NO CONFUSION ON FUSION The word “fusion” refers to a coalescence of materials, a blending of them together, so that they form a unit. It comes from a Latin word which means “to melt” and, hence, really points to what we would call welding–the heating of metals until they run together so that, when cooled, …