Bare Trees and Ministry

During these winter days, the deciduous trees are barren. Their trunks and branches are on display. When we observe them closely, especially against a clear blue sky, we cannot help notice the limbs continually dividing off into smaller and more delicate branches, creating an intricate tapestry. This image causes me to pause and think about the [...]

Prophets & Angels–a free devotion to beginfor this week’s meetings

The prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the [...]

How to Orient New Staff & Volunteers–It’s One Way to Keep Them!

Editor’s note: This blog first appeared on this website in August, 2011. We’re reprinting it now, in case you missed it. Many churches will welcome a new group of volunteers next month. How will you help them feel needed and welcome? Can you believe your eyes? Maybe. Maybe not. Pilots flying in fog, for example, [...]

Team Work

I was trying hard to get a project done in my office at church. I’d been trying all week, but it wasn’t going well. I kept getting interrupted by E-mails, phone calls, and people who dropped in. All needed a response. My frustration level rose, so I tried to figure out the reason behind all [...]

Thanking God & Your Volunteers

You’ve sent notes, delivered candy bars, and even purchased gift cards. How else can you express your heartfelt thankfulness to the volunteers in your church or Christian organization who hit the ground running and don’t stop until the work is done? Maybe the best way to honor your faithful volunteers is to think like a volunteer. [...]

A Motley Crew–a free devotion for this week’s meetings

Consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and [...]

3 Ways to Identify Potential Volunteers

“Get over it.” I still remember hearing those words on a Monday morning decades ago. I had just begun student teaching in a small Christian school. My supervising teacher asked, “How many parents did you meet at church yesterday.” “Two!” I proudly proclaimed. He wasn’t impressed. “Only two?” he inquired. “I’m shy!” I protested. “Get [...]

Shaped by the Word–a free devotion for this week’s meetings

LP records. Slide rules. Typewriters. Technological advances made each of these inventions passé almost overnight. Global positioning systems (GPS) have all but done the same for road maps. The technology boasts pinpoint accuracy—and you don’t have to fold it! Getting lost should soon be a thing of the past. Spiritually speaking, straying off the “Highway [...]

One Amazing Key to Working with Staff & Volunteers

That key? Saying thank you—in words and actions. Perhaps as June nears an end, many of your programs break for the summer. Some volunteers and staff will return next fall, but some likely will not. While you say “thank you” every day, the end of these activities stand as no-miss milestones! As a servant leader [...]

Seeking Oholiab

God’s mighty power is on dazzling display in the book of Exodus: the 10 plagues, the crossing of the Red Sea; the billowing smoke, thunder and lightning on Mt. Sinai. But in Exodus God also displays his interest and involvement in life’s small details. For example, when the Lord commands the building of the Tabernacle [...]