I rarely hear God described as ‘persistent,’ but I’ve lately learned just how persistent he is. On several occasions over the past two years, circumstances have caused me to recall a difficult time from when I was in college. ThoseRead more…
What is a Discipling Relationship and Why You Might Actually Want One
Who has been a mentor to you? Is there a teacher who made a major impact on you? Do you try to model your life after a certain family member or friend? If you are a person of faith, whoRead more…
Review: But Now I See. . .
Sometimes life throws us a curve — health or job changes, a world-wide pandemic, a midlife crisis. They often cause us to wonder if and how it all fits into God’s plan for us. In But Now I See: FindingRead more…
Add a Little Jesus to Your Serving
“I never thought of that as serving Jesus!” I hear this a lot. We all tend to equate ‘serving Jesus’ with volunteering that is at church or that is specifically religious. But St. Paul says, “. . . whatever youRead more…
Get Off the Couch!
Is it time to get up and get moving? To start giving back? To spend a little more time helping others? We all need time to rest and refresh, and to care for ourselves and immediate family. But it’s easyRead more…
God Himself Milks the Cows
This fall we celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, a time in history when Martin Luther shook up the church as he proclaimed the Biblical truth of salvation by grace alone. He also shook up the church, and theRead more…
Good Stuff: Do We Overspiritualize Calling?
In “Stop Overspiritualizing Calling,” Bethany Jenkins uses her own experience as a pianist to question some aspects of the way we talk about calling. It’s a great starter for helpful and important discussions on calling. Here are some quotes andRead more…
Good Stuff: God’s bookkeeping = All Grace!
Do you set goals? Do you track your progress in reaching them? About 5 years ago, our senior pastor began working with staff who report to him create annual goals and regularly review progress on those goals. It’s been aRead more…
A Question: Where’s the Joy?
I’ve got a question. “Do you have any articles about serving with joy? I feel some of our teams around here are in a slump.” — from Carolyn at a church in Wisconsin Response Thanks for asking, Carolyn. It’s anRead more…
Good Stuff: Work as Worship
We don’t often think of an ex-con as a role model, but this one is: “How an Ex-Convict Learned to Worship Through His Work.” Great sermon illustration and discussion starter for vocation, calling in daily life, work as service.
Good stuff: Little Things
We serve God in little things, too. What if we challenged each other to six random acts of kindness this coming week. A medical professional documents the health benefits we’d each receive, here. And we know Jesus’ words, “. .Read more…
Sample slides: “Job Descriptions” and “Training Volunteers” toolkits
Here are some sample slides from the presentations in the Toolkits available in The Equipper store. The toolkit contains two presentations, with supporting materials. Both toolkits together are $12.00. From the “Why Write Job Descriptions?” presentation in the Job DescriptionRead more…
In the Store: Job Descriptions, a Presentation Toolkit
Job Descriptions A presentation tool kit for improving church volunteerism health The toolkit includes two PowerPoint presentations with supporting tools for enabling your church to create job descriptions for all volunteer positions. Job descriptions are an important part of healthyRead more…
In the Store: Putting Spiritual Gifts to Work
Putting Spiritual Gifts to Work: Equipping Saints for Service is a short book (80 pages) by Karen Kogler. It’s available in The Equipper store in two versions: Electronic version: as a download; $8.00 Print version: mailed to you, with aRead more…
A Culture of Serving: Immanuel, Macomb, MI
“There’s no magic bullet.” Dr. Gary Pawlitz, Minister of Fellowship and Service at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Macomb, Michigan, doesn’t mince words when talking about how churches help their people serve. “No system is perfect. And what works in oneRead more…
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