Pastor Tom's Journal

Ruth Hopin is currently discussing her book on Priscilla as author of Hebrews in the Religion Forum and in the Christian Fellowship Forum .

I now officially have a chest cold. It was a gift from my little baby grandson whom I adore. it is not the only or more contagious thing about him. More so is his infectious smile , his cheerful giggle, and his inquisitive wonder - but I definitely caught this particular viral contribution. What is catching in your life? What are you passing on? Is it primarily positive and redemptive or malignant and malevolent ? Concentrate on being a contagious joy giver.

The Theophilus Letters Letter 1 ________________________________________________________________________ LIVING THE CONNECTED LIFE - EVANGELICAL CHRISTIAN TERMINOLOGY TRANSLATED AND EXPLAINED by Tom Sims I am aware that many of the words and phrases that Christians use are a foreign language to people who have not been raised in our churches and are unfamiliar with how we speak about God. I do not believe that God wants His truth to be obscured to the average person because of words, so I have attempted here to provide a brief translation of some basic concepts. I have highlighted and underlined some key words that you may have heard often but which you may have never heard explained. Life is a great challenge. Times are difficult . At best, we live under a cloud of uncertainty. At worst, we despair. Our message is one of hope. When we say that Jesus brings hope to our lives , this is what we mean: Life in Christ is also a challenge, but it is a liberated life wher...

I thrive on "busy." I move amongst projects and big ideas and run on full steam until something intervenes. I love solitude and I love crowds. Go figure. Starbucks is my office. I like some people around me while I am working, but not too many. I am a dreamer. There are so many big pictures in my mind and heart that I must frequently stretch the canvass. I know about strategies and appreciate them. without strategies, nothing will materialize from the vague to the concrete. As the somewhat dubious Father Divine said, "The problem with most metaphysicians is that they don't know how to tangibilitate." I am working on this. However, todays lesson is also centering for me as well as sobering. Psalm 127 is my bookmark in the Psalms for today and it is very specific about the spiritual dimension of our planning: 1 - Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain. Getting lost and d...

Mosaic Alliance is a great model for transformational ministry. For that reason i will also post this at one of our sister sites. This is copied from their homepage: Mosaic Alliance Mission Serving leaders to change the world.... Create the Future The Mosaic Alliance is a global network committed to create the future by unleashing a culture of entrepreneurship, activism, innovation, authenticity, and creativity within the local church. The Alliance seeks to empower and equip churches and leaders to maximize the creative potential in the communities in which they serve. We partner with leaders from around the globe in effort to catalyze the movement of Jesus Christ. The Mosaic Alliance provides resources, training, and ongoing dialogue in effort to serve leaders and churches worldwide. One of our focus areas involves serving church planters, but the Alliance is not limited to chur...

Bluefish TV :: BLOG We will be using one of Bluefish's products starting this month when we launch our study of "Chasing Daylight" at the Fellowship of Joy. This is a great resource of sermon/teaching illustrations and other multi-media products for communicating the gospel. I commend them to you.

Chasing Daylight in Fresno Begining February 20-21 Tuesdays at Dennys (Shaw and Willow) -9:00 P.M. Wednesdays at BT (4141 n Fresno St) - 7:15 P.M. Thursdays at Starbucks (Ashlan and Cedar) - 7:00 A.M.

Christian News: In Memoriam: Dr. Gerald May 1940-2005 Thanks to you, Dave Kelly, for bringing Gerald May's life and death to my attention. I was looking for Gerald May online since it had been some time since we had corresponded and I was no longer receiving the newsletter from Shalem. I was very sad to learn that Jerry died in 2005. Shalem Institute's tribute to him includes a link to some of his writings. While he was on staff in our former sister forum, Religious Issues, many of us became friends with Jerry. It was during that time that he battled with prostate cancer. I remember his courage and grace during that time. More than anything, I have been enriched by Jerry's writing - especially " Addiction and Grace." Writing from the perspective of a psychiatrist and a man of deep faith, Jerry grasps the dynamics of addiction in all its dimensions with rare insight. Dave Kelly offers a fitting tribute in his blog as well. Jerry's own words are summarized as M...

The only problem with having so many blogs is that only one general one is likely to get the attention it deserves. I thought I'd do a quick check of who is writing what in Pastordom this week: The journal of a life in ministry 30 Jan 2007 by Chuck Warnock Anyway, our committee is doing a wonderful job of inviting former pastors , musicians, and gathering photos and other memorabilia for our 7-month long celebration. Among the artifacts, clippings, and records that we have found, ... Confessions of a Small-Church Pastor - http://chuckwarnockblog.wordpress.com I am ashamed of my ignorance. 26 Jan 2007 by tschuckman Seminaries are being held in caves to train pastors to shepherd the huge ... He accepted Christ as his Lord and Savior and he is now a pastor of a small and growing church. ... http:// journals .aol.com/tschuckman/OldSoldierTomsJournal/ ... Old Soldier Tom's Journal. - http://journals.aol.com/tschuckman/OldSoldierTomsJournal/ - Well-Intentioned Dragons (Book R...