By: Rev. Dr Paul Raybon We live in crazy times. Not just for each of us as individuals, but for the church. And you know the old definition of insanity? “To do the same thing you’ve always done and expect different results.” The way of doing church that was perfected in the mid-20th century does […]
by Dr. Paul Raybon I went looking at the handwritten minutes of Hominy Baptist Church to see if there was more about the fire of 1923 than what was recorded in the official histories. (Yes, histories, when you’re 210 years old, every generation gets a swipe at telling your story). The simple entry above captured
Larry Glover-Wetherington This blog refers to the November E-ncourager article on “Five Spiritual Practices for Congregations.” The first spiritual practice was Listening. Listening to God, to one another, and to our neighborhood. Baptist congregations typically make decisions using Roberts Rules of Order, which are good as a structure for order of business, but in several
Having Difficult Congregational Conversations Read More »
We are in the relationship business. From the beginning God created us for relationship. Jesus became man to build relationships with us. He had compassion on the people. Everywhere he went he clashed with the Temple elite because he put people ahead of the rules. Some people are easy to love and these are probably
People are the Most Important Read More »
In response to my earlier article, I would like to clarify some concepts of vacation. I have been on vacation before when the entire time was spent in go! go! go! and spend! spend! spend! modes. Potential problems with that are that upon return you are tired rather than refreshed and perhaps in debt or
Problematic Vacations? Read More »
In last month’s article I shared four ways to go about planting new seeds in your church’s ministry. The last point of partnering, “partnering with other churches”, is generating good feedback in Barnabas Partnership discussions with ministers. There are at least three benefits to taking this approach. The first win is that you get to
Plant a new partnership with other churches in your community Read More »
One of the issues that churches fail to consider when building or renovating new space is the future cost of operating that space. A new space presents potential increases in utilities, cleaning supplies, janitorial services, insurance premiums and maintenance costs even if it is never used! 75% of the lifetime cost of a building is
After the Keys Are Yours Read More »
From infancy, babies learn trust. When a baby cries, they are soothed; when they are hungry, someone makes sure they are fed; when a baby has a wet diaper, their diaper is changed and they are made comfortable again. When children are left with competent, loving leaders for a period of time, they learn their
From the Very Beginning…… Read More »
