Intercom 3rd Quarter - 2013
Something For the Fatherless
In recent years there has been growing research done on just how important fathers are to the welfare of both sons and daughters in the family. The balanced impact of both mothers and fathers on the emerging generation is something being borne out in sociological research, even common sense had indicated that for millennia!
This research comes at a time when a fatherhood deficit is being felt across the country. According to demographers, fully 39% of all children today are growing up in fatherless homes. This is a telling statistic, as the other benchmarks of social disintegration indicate:
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Intercom 2nd Quarter - 2013
Beyond the Twittersphere!
I know I am old fashioned, yet not totally without understanding and exposure to the online realities of today. One thing I have not done yet is to venture into the world of Twitter. I have not been totally tutored on how to tweet; I only know it is a medium that limits messages sent to 140 characters…leading to pithy missiles launched from all sorts of sources. Many times these messages pack quite a punch, communicated to a wide following, even though they are in a small package.
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Intercom 1st Quarter - 2013
It's Our Ship!
On a recent vacation I had opportunity to read a business leadership book by former Commander of the USS Benfold, Captain Michael Abrashoff. This book entitled, It’s Our Ship, was a sequel to his original book, It’s Your Ship. His first book offered a range of recommendations for leaders stressing how important the role of the leader is in the organization. In the intervening time he has gotten a lot of feedback that led him to conclude that the first volume was incomplete; it did not deal with the nature of building a successful team of people working together…it centered too much on the responsibilities of leaders. Therefore, It’s Our Ship explores all the ways you can build a team that is happy and productive in accomplishing its mission.
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Intercom 4th Quarter - 2012
No Little Places!
I had the opportunity a few years ago while working with Oak Hills Fellowship in Bemidji to meet John Koessler, a professor at Moody Bible Institute and co-author of the book, No Little Places. He was an engaging personality who showed us from his own experience and research just how important small church and rural ministry is God’s scheme of things. Although the rise of the large and super-large church continues apace, there still is a majority of churches throughout the country that are not large and never will be. In fact, J. B. London states that 80% of pastors currently serving will never pastor a church larger than 200 in attendance.
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