Submitted by Sunset Alumni on Fri, 02/10/2012 - 12:24 from Zack Blaisdell, View Original Posting
Some time ago I read some from a book called Like A Shepherd Lead Us. It was a book on spiritual growth and the elders.
I have thought about spiritual growth. All of God’s children should be growing spiritually. It is the church leadership’s job to help the church to do that.
But where do church leaders go to grow spiritually themselves?
I like reading my Bibles and try to keep a prayer journal. I also have some books I like to read.
What resources out there do you find useful to grow spiritually? I would love to have dialogue about this. Spiritual growth is so important.
Comments, thoughts, questions, etc are always welcomed and encouraged.
Submitted by Sunset Alumni on Fri, 02/03/2012 - 15:05 from Zack Blaisdell, View Original Posting
Greetings everyone! I want to say something, if that’s OK.
I’ve been reading a lot the past few days of friends who are indebted to Dr Charles Siburt. He’s been sick for a long time. He could be near the end of his life. His family and friends have picked today to pray and fast for him, to plead with the Great Physician God to heal him.
I have heard him speak at least once and read a book or two that he wrote or edited. This man is a great servant of God, teacher, and mentor. Dr Siburt and his wife live in Abilene. They have two sons, both of whom have families of their own now.
Submitted by Sunset Alumni on Thu, 02/02/2012 - 20:28 from Zack Blaisdell, View Original Posting
Greetings everyone! I just read a story earlier today about a couple who are in the process of adopting a child overseas. That is just amazing to me. My family and I have friends who have adopted children from the same country as this couple.
These couples (and lots of others as well) have physically adopted children. Some are from overseas and some are from the United States. This touches my heart in a tremendous way. Definitely praying for these families.
While these adoptions are physical in nature, our heavenly Father, God has also adopted us spiritually speaking. The apostle Paul told his readers (and us also) in Romans and Galatians that God has spiritually adopted us, that we have this adoption as His sons and daughters.
These families who have adopted these children have granted a father to the orphaned and abandoned. That is such a beautiful thing! God also has given all who follow Jesus a Father and an advocate.
Submitted by Sunset Alumni on Tue, 01/31/2012 - 20:14 from Zack Blaisdell, View Original Posting
Greetings everyone! I was just reading something that caught my eye and wanted to relay it to everyone. I was reading a fellow blogger’s blog and he was writing about his mentor from his study time at Abilene Christian University. This friend was writing about the reasons why this man is his mentor.
You can read my friend’s blog at http://jordanhubboard.wordpress.com. Especially please read his blog on his mentor who means so much to him.
It all got me thinking about those in the Bible who inspired people in their own day and many of whom still inspire us to this very day. People like Moses, Elijah, Daniel, Gideon, Ezekiel, and others in the Old Testament. And people like each of the twelve disciples, Paul, Timothy, Titus, and of course Jesus, and others in the New Testament. These men meant a lot to the people they were around when they were alive. They still inspire me in my Christian life. And I bet they each inspire all of God’s people.
Submitted by Sunset Alumni on Sat, 01/28/2012 - 15:10 from Zack Blaisdell, View Original Posting
Greetings everyone! So sorry for not so many posts this week. I’ll write more next week.
I finished reading You Lost Me by David Kinnaman yesterday. Really good read! Also a little disturbing at times. But I think that was the intent. And besides, if it gets us to change the things we can change about church, evangelism, and discipleship; then that’s a good thing.
The book is about Christian teens and twenty-somethings and why some are leaving the church, and rethinking faith. Basically the book highlights three different kinds of teens and twenty-somethings: nomads, prodigals, and exiles.
Nomads are those who wonder away from active involvement with the church. They typically think of themselves as Christians, but they disconnect from the church.
Prodigals completely disengage from Christianity. They stop active involvement in the church and step away from Christianity, and no longer call themselves Christians.
Submitted by Sunset Alumni on Wed, 01/25/2012 - 15:14 from Zack Blaisdell, View Original Posting
Greetings one and all! I figured I better get back to my blog series I’ve been working on.
I am now considering The Missional Church series closed now. We’ll continue with the others.
In Major Themes in the Minor Prophets, we’ll next look at Jonah. I have blogged about the book of Jonah in the past. So what I’m about to say may or may not have been said before.
Jonah was a prophet. God comes to him and commands him to go to Nineveh and speak against them. Nineveh??!! Nineveh was the capital city of Assyria, the chief enemy of Israel. Jonah didn’t want to go there.
So he boards a ship going in the opposite direction. He got on a ship going to Tarshish to try to escape from Jehovah (as if that was ever possible).
As they were going, Jonah goes to the bottom of the ship and goes to sleep. In the mean time, Jehovah sends a serious storm. The other men sailing with Jonah begin calling on their deities to deliver them from this storm. They go and get Jonah to call upon his deity. Nothing is working.
Submitted by Sunset Alumni on Tue, 01/24/2012 - 22:21 from Zack Blaisdell, View Original Posting
Greetings everyone!
One of the biggest news items from the sports world is the passing of Joe Paterno, the fired long time coach at Penn State. A lot of people on ESPN have been debating on what Paterno’s legacy will be. He coached at the school for forty-six years. But no doubt the child sex abuse scandal that was going on during Paterno’s coaching tenure will be there too. And that’s all so sad to me.
I would hope that people will remember his long tenure, that he won the right way, he made sure his players graduated, and more. But this scandal will be a cloud over his legacy.
I’ve said this before, but will say it again. I think Paterno should have been fired when he did, because all of that happened during his watch. But all the other things that were done to him and said of him is, in my opinion, completely unwarranted.
Submitted by Sunset Alumni on Wed, 01/18/2012 - 19:24 from Zack Blaisdell, View Original Posting
Greetings everyone! I just watched an amazing video on the internet and wanted tell my readers about it.
Many in the youth ministry world know who Doug Fields is. He has been in ministry for a while. Most of his ministry experience is in family and youth ministry. I was just on his website (dougfields.com). Back in January he had a video that is also on a website called notwhatithought.com. This video is definitely a must see.
It is a video that calls the church to care for and minister to those who are wearied and broken down by the world. This video calls us to bring them to Jesus.
Please go see this video and let me know what you think of it.
Submitted by Sunset Alumni on Mon, 01/16/2012 - 22:03 from Zack Blaisdell, View Original Posting
Greetings everyone!
You probably know today is Martin Luther King Jr Day. Do you remember his “I have a dream” speech? It was a dream saying he hoped, prayed, and dreamed a day would come where there would be racial equality. He dreamed of a time when no one would be judged by the color of their skin, but by their character. That is a great dream!
My question for myself and for all of us is, how are we doing at accomplishing that dream of his.
I hope and pray I would never judge someone just because of a person’s skin color. I don’t want to be a kind of person who would do that. I suspect no one would.
