Security in Troubled Times

Security in Troubled Times

Jul 24, 2014 | on Faith

The call went straight to voice mail. I was on my way home from an overseas trip and I tried to call my husband at his office, but I couldn’t reach him. Normally the receptionist would have answered; it was the middle of the day after all. Instinctively, I knew something unusual was going on.

When I finally reached my husband, he told me the whole story. The partners of his firm had arrived at the office unexpectedly that morning and announced that the firm would be closing its doors. He and a few other employees would be offered transfers to California, but the rest would be offered severance pay.

Weighing, Studying, and Arranging Wise Words

Weighing, Studying, and Arranging Wise Words

Jul 22, 2014 | on Small Group Ministry

I learned the hard way that preparing to teach was work. Today, when I’m preparing a new lecture for a university class, I allow myself about three hours of prep for every one hour in the classroom. And this is for content that I’ve already studied in school myself.

The prep time is not necessarily spent re-learning the material, though that naturally happens too. Rather, the prep time is spent determining what to include, how to order the key points, and what examples will illustrate best.

Solomon did something similar.
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Building Community in Small Groups

Jul 15, 2014 | on Small Group Ministry

Small groups build community. Your Sunday morning worship service may be warm and welcoming, and yet nothing brings people closer than sharing in a small group.

In this video, women’s minister Julie Woodruff of Long Hollow Baptist Church describes why small groups are so important to our spiritual health.

The Relay Hand-Off

The Relay Hand-Off

Jul 10, 2014 | on Small Group Ministry

In my younger and lighter years, I ran track. Two of my races were the 440 and 880 relay. There were four legs in the 440 relay race, and each leg was 110 yards. The 880 had four varying length legs. As a sprinter, I was given the shortest leg.

To finish the race correctly without being disqualified, each runner had to hand off the baton smoothly and efficiently in the zone provided. If we were not trained and effective in the art of handing off the baton, we cost our team precious seconds, and often the race.

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