Pastors.com | Encouraging pastors and church leaders

Issue #25
10/24/2001

The Church's Edifice Complex: Do You Need A Bigger Building?
by Rick Warren

I'm convinced that church buildings are a major barrier to exponential growth and that massive buildings programs are often a waste of money. Let me tell you why... [more]

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Celebrate Recovery Kit

The Purpose Driven Church Conference on DVD

Your Life Review

Funeral for Those You Barely Know
by Mark Coppenger

Is her name Carrie Mae or Carrie Lou? My stomach tensed as I stood to give the funeral message. I can't believe I left the name off my notes! My heart beat fast. I reached into my jacket pocket as discreetly as possible. Where's that obituary? It's soaking up the sweat that's spreading under my arm. It's so damp it's stuck in there. I looked at the family, seated in the first few rows. [more]

When Life and Beliefs Collide : How Knowing God Makes a Difference (Zondervan, 2001)
Carolyn Custis James
"Carolyn James has written a book that offers tremendous help in these uncertain times. She proclaims a God who is Sovereign, in control, and willing to come to our aid. Knowing these unchangeable truths is to know “theology” – and Carolyn argues with passion and logic that both men and women MUST be theologians to survive the cataclysmic clash that occurs when life and beliefs collide, as they have since September 11. Tragically, most of us have left knowing God to the professionals. But ordinary women and men face the threat of illness, divorce, financial ruin, prodigal children--even a time crunch--on a daily basis. Without a familiarity of God’s character and His ways, our circumstances will seem to overwhelm us. James argues we must become experts at knowing God." Review by Saddleback's Kay Warren

Seeking God's Hidden Face (InterVarsity, 2001)
Cecil B. Murphey
Subtitled, "When God Seems Absent," this book is not so much about tragedy; rather it's about how we respond when God just doesn't seem to be there.

"To bring people to Jesus and membership in His family, develop them to Christ-like maturity, and equip them for their ministry in the church and life mission in the world, in order to magnify God’s name." - Saddleback's Purpose Statement

"People respond to vision, not need." - Rick Warren

"I say to God, "Be my Lord!" Without you, nothing makes sense." - Psalm 16:2 (Msg)

"Yes, all the things I once thought were so important are gone from my life. Compared to the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master, firsthand, everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant—dog dung. I've dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ" - Philip. 3:8 (Msg)

Plan B - This is a career management and life planning site with some very helpful articles.
HoaxBusters - Interspersed among the junk mail and spam that fills our Internet e-mail boxes are dire warnings about devastating new viruses, Trojans that eat the heart out of your system, and malicious software that can steal the computer right off your desk. Added to that are messages about free money, children in trouble, and other items designed to grab you and get you to forward the message to everyone you know. This site helps you determine what is real and what is a hoax amongst your many email messages.
Suspicious Mail - This is a great graphic from the Washington Post on how to spot suspicious mail.
Handling Anthrax Mail - CNN reports these 12 steps for handling mail potentially contaminated by Anthrax.

Staffing a Purpose Driven Church - Glen Kreun

What's a Christian to do with Harry Potter? - Michael Ireland

According to Christian pollster George Barna, 3 out of 4 Christians cringe when the offering plate is passed. That means 75% of Christians are not financially supporting the next move of God with a glad heart. - Assist News Service

In 30 percent of churches a staff member maintains the church's website; in 41 percent, volunteers maintain it; 22 percent, the pastor; and 7 percent, outside vendors or others. - Baptist Press

Three years ago, I asked people about the 'American Dream.' Thirty-three percent said the American dream was more spiritual for them than material. It jumped to 44 percent just before the 11th [of September]. It's up to 52 percent now. - Pollster John Zogby

The war creates no absolutely new situation: it simply aggravates the permanent human situation so that we can no longer ignore it. Human life has always been lived on the edge of a precipice. Human culture has always had to exist under the shadow of something infinitely more important than itself. If men had postponed the search for knowledge and beauty until they were secure, the search would never have begun. … We are mistaken when we compare war with 'normal life'. Life has never been normal. - C. S. Lewis

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