We were pummeled by death and then amazed by life in a space of 48 hours. Our middle daughter died after childbirth. Not “almost died.” She died. And then she died again. And then she died again. Three times dead. Coded. Pronounced. Followed by three resurrections. The details are sad, tragic, horrific, angering, and even (a couple of times) almost …
Easter Hope
Church historian Martin Marty told of a friend of his who taught Sunday School for many years. One April morning the weather had turned so warm and spring-like that the teacher knew his class needed to spend time outside. He brought plastic eggs, leftover from Easter treats, and told the eight-year-old students to look around for something that showed new …
Two Kinds of Easter Leadership Styles
“Risen” is a movie that portrays a fictional 1st century Roman Centurion named Clavius, who is charged with investigating rumors about the resurrection of Jesus Christ. A primary purpose of the film is to illustrate the impact of the resurrection upon this non-believer. The movie, however, also gives us a glimpse of the leadership style of Roman military officers of …
Jeff Elzinga
How have you seen God at work in your ministry since becoming a commissioned pastor? I have seen God bring exactly the right resources at the right time to enable our church ministry to function effectively and reach people we wouldn’t have thought of. How did your commissioned pastor training prepare you for the work God has you doing today? …
Rachel Reinink
How have you seen God at work in your ministry since becoming a commissioned pastor? I have seen God at work through the Missional Communities we were able to launch last month. Over 100 people have been to a weekly ‘MC’ – where they eat, give thanks, and pray. It has been exciting to see our church start to gather …
Nine ways to keep the Holidays Holy
Nine Ways To Keep The Holidays Holy A young girl went with her pastor father when he led a Christmas afternoon worship service at a retirement home. His exuberance while telling the story and implications of Jesus’ coming was palpable, and Christmas carols were sung with enthusiasm by a delighted crowd of residents and visiting family members. One nurse, however, …
Klayton Korver
Klayton Korver Klayton’s motivation, vision and call to become a commissioned pastor: To be honest, I never really wanted to be a pastor. I saw the long hours and couldn’t figure out why some of the members of the church were always so angry at my family or about what was going on at church. I watched those men in …
Isaac Halls
Isaac Halls Isaac’s motivation and vision to become a commissioned pastor: I see a culture that is lost without Christ. More than that, I see a church that is confused, disoriented, and ill-equipped to handle the onslaught of lies and distortions the culture is heaving at them. The sheep need protecting. They need equipping. They need encouragement. And they need …
A.T. Hargrave
A.T. Hargrave | CLC Participant A.T.’s motivation, vision and call to become a commissioned pastor. I desire to be obedient to Jesus Christ. If He decides to use me somewhere else then I will do my best to adjust, however, I feel called to serve the church for the rest of my life. My vision is to make disciples. That …
Theda Williams
How have you seen God at work in your ministry since becoming a commissioned pastor? The journey that I’ve been on since becoming a commissioned pastor has been one of deep transformation for me spiritually. I had no idea when God called me into this program, where this journey would lead and all of the things that I would be …