Counting down the days

I dont know what is better, a fall day in Vermont with friends
I miss like crazy or a fall day on the
couch watching football. While I ponder it, pass me the remote

Only days away from football season,
Uncle Tone

Churches think big by thinking small

 I found this an interesting read, I started to pull out many of the good points 
and realized I cut and pasted most of the story. so here is the link.
The one that I noticed most of all was New England and the Pacific North West
have a lot in common.

Let those who can.....do

I read a great post last night and it really got me thinking, I have come across many great men and women in the “real world” work force that could run circles around many of us Christian “leaders”. I know this could sound like Pastor bashing but it is not. Pastors are for the most part well suited for leading churches in the day-to-day operation of churches on spiritual issues but when it comes to the business side of the church operation and interaction with the community I have seen some short comings that could well be addressed by people who have been in the work force and have an understanding of how to interact with the secular community.

I often feel my thirty years in business, my thirty years of marriage, my thirty years of raising a family; my inability to go to a “formal “ Bible college or seminary has put me in a lesser position to be able to pastor a church. It has come to me over the last year or two that I am so much more qualified to Pastor a church because of my experience than some that have gone from high school to college to seminary to the pastorate with no life experience. Again, this not a slam but an observation. That I think this Barna research backs up my thought .I post this as a personal reminder that as I grow and develop His ministry that I have the sensitivity and strength to understand that I have many, much more qualified people around me that can deal with issues in which I am poorly qualified to handle, I hope I am not so macho that I can not let other more qualified people step up to the plate and take charge.

“Don't attack the culture. Don't shut down from it. Don't be afraid to learn from people outside of the church”. Thanks Michael, great post

Tone

Never would have guessed it

Shock rocker Alice Cooper's Christian nonprofit, the Solid Rock Foundation, is building a 20,000-square-foot facility — a recreation center — for teens in Phoenix, Ariz., according to Agape Press. The foundation was started 11 years ago by Cooper and a pastor at his church to provide a free haven for at-risk kids. The building, christened The Rock, is to open early next year at Grand Canyon University, a private Christian college where 58-year-old Cooper has funded scholarships for years. The Rock will include a recording studio, indoor basketball courts, a rock climbing wall, coffee house, game room and a concert hall.

Cooper says, "We're not going to beat them over the head with a Bible, but we're certainly going to be available to tell them that that's available to them."