Skip to main content
Pulse

Improving Your Ministry Skills

By February 3, 2020No Comments

MIKE’S PICKS: RESOURCES FOR MINISTRY
Mike Hess, GARBC national representative, suggests the following resources for your ministry toolbox.

  • Journal: “Complementarianism: A Moment of Reckoning,” a new journal issue by 9Marks. This is a tremendous resource that tackles the sensitive subject of complementarianism with Biblical clarity using Scriptural precision. I strongly recommend that you take the time in the coming months to read this issue.
  • Article: “First-Time Discoveries” by Greg Linscott. Use the popularity of electronic media to give your church a greater web presence.
  • Article: “Perspective: Finding Contentment in an Age of Cynicism and Comparison.” Our perspective on where God has placed us in ministry sometimes needs an adjustment. The 2020 GARBC Conference will refocus our perspective.
  • Article: “A Hermeneutical Evaluation of the Christocentric Hermeneutic” by Abner Chao. One of the most popular ideas trending among influential writers in the evangelical world is that we need to find Jesus in every text, an idea known as the Christ-centered hermeneutic. Abner Chao of The Master’s Seminary provides a helpful and necessary critique of this trend.

GARBC CONFERENCE HELPS YOU GROW IN MINISTRY
In addition to facilitating sweet fellowship in a lovely setting, the GARBC Conference offers many well-honed tools to assist you in ministry. Speakers at this summer’s conference will encourage and edify you as they center on the theme of “Perspective: Finding Contentment in an Age of Cynicism and Comparison.” Glean from the teaching of Steve DeWitt, pastor of Bethel Church, Crown Point, Indiana; George Gunn, chair of the Department of Bible and Theology, Shasta Bible College; David Strope, pastor of Ankeny Baptist Church, Ankeny, Iowa; David King, pastor of CrossPoint Fellowship, Jasper, Indiana; and Mike Hess, GARBC national representative. Plan now to attend this year’s conference in Sacramento, California, Monday, June 29– Thursday, May 2. See you there!

BAPTIST BULLETIN ADDRESSES PASTORS’ COMMUNICATION
Gracious. This word covers a lot: kindness, courtesy, good taste, tact, compassion. Today, churches need to be gracious in every avenue of communication. The January/February Baptist Bulletin addresses a pastor’s communication, a church’s first impression, and communicating with a new generation. See the lineup of valuable articles below, and better yet, read this latest Baptist Bulletin issue.

Print

  • First-Time Discoveries (by Greg Linscott)
  • Perspective: A Preview of the 2020 GARBC Conference
  • Pastoral Tone (by Mike Hess)
  • It’s Time to Plant a Church! (by Darrell Goemaat)
  • Gen Z Is Changing Everything (by Mel Walker)
  • Quid Pro Quo: The Arrangement We Make with God (by Daryl A. Neipp)
  • Why Originalism? Part 2 (by David Gunn)

Bb+ Digital
All the content of the print magazine, plus the following articles:

  • Photo Feature: The Engage Church Planting Network (by Darrell Goemaat)
  • Could Jesus Christ Come Today? Part 2 (by Robert Gromacki)
  • A Few Good Men (by Matthew Postiff)
  • How to Leave Your Church Well (by Bob Stevenson)
  • The Ten Commandments for Today? Part 3 (by Hermann J. Austel)
  • Pastors: Pastoral Ethics and Decorum, Part 1 (by Tim Jordan)
  • Kids’ Ministry: Preparing Students for Life in a Secular World (by Alex Bauman)
  • Implications for Pastoral Ministry Based on Paul’s Prayer in 1 Thessalonians 3:9–13 (by Wayne Slusser)

Subscribe to the Baptist Bulletin as an individual or in a group plan for members of your church. Questions? Contact Lynne Goemaat: 847.585.0833.

CLARKS SUMMIT UNIVERSITY EXPANDS ONLINE INSTRUCTION
In its pursuit to serve online students, Clarks Summit University has hired Erica Young, formerly lead instructional designer for digital initiatives at Purdue University, as executive director of online education. CSU continues to grow its fully online degree options. An Accelerated Master of Divinity program, through which students earn both a bachelor’s degree and master of divinity in five years, is now attainable online. For adults who want to reach new goals through earning a degree or taking a class for professional development, online learning provides flexible options. CSU’s fully accredited, online options include 14 undergraduate programs; master’s degrees focused on Bible, counseling, literature, organizational leadership, and education; and seminary master’s degrees. Two Baptist Bible Seminary doctoral degrees feature a web-enhanced format. Registration is open for students to begin as early as March 9, 2020.

MEN OF GOD CONFERENCE
“For the Greater Kingdom” will be the theme of the Men of God Conference Feb. 29 at Calvary Baptist Church, Bellefontaine, Ohio. The conference will address believers’ calling as citizens of Heaven though also citizens of earth. Keynote speakers Dr. Mark Smith, Dr. Jeff Haymond, and Dr. Bert Wheeler, professors from Cedarville University, will address the questions “How do the two intersect, especially in a culture polarized by political agendas? “and “What should the response of the Christian man be in these tumultuous days?”

MAN UP CONFERENCE
First Baptist Church, Medina, Ohio, will host a Man Up Conference March 7, designed to encourage and inspire men in the fight for Biblical manhood. Jeremy Kimble, associate professor of theology at Cedarville University, will be the guest speaker.