Pastor Tom's Journal

From the Coral Ridge Ministries WebSite Time Line November 3, 1930 – Dennis James Kennedy is born to George and Ermine Kennedy in Augusta , Georgia . 1936 – The Kennedy family moves to Chicago , settling in an apartment just 50 yards from Lake Michigan . 1945 – The family relocates once more to Tampa , Florida . 1952 – Arthur Murray Dance instructor Jim Kennedy meets Anne Lewis and signs her up for six months of dance instructions. 1953 – Sleeping late on a Sunday morning, Jim Kennedy hears the Gospel for the very first time from a radio preacher. Shortly thereafter he professes faith in Christ. December 3, 1955 – After fighting God’s call to full-time ministry for nearly a year, Jim Kennedy, with great trepidation, quits his job as a dance studio manager. December 3, 1955 – Jim Kennedy and Anne Lewis become engaged . December 4, 1955 – Jim is given the chance to preach at a local Presbyterian church and, to his surprise, is employed as th

Songwriter, singer, pianist, actor, and protoblogger Steve Schalchlin responds to the recent news about Mother Teresa's prayer correspondence - actually her deepest, most personal prayers to a God she ultimately and effectively trusted with her life - and shared with her spiritual advisers. Steve makes the assertion at the end of his excellent reflection, Living In The Bonus Round: The Doubting Faith of Mother Teresa : "Faith is not belief. Faith is what you have when belief is out of reach." My take on the subject is at Mother Teresa and Faith Struggles in The Dream Factory. My conclusion there was: "This glimpse into the personal, deep, spiritual struggle within Mother Teresa makes me love and appreciate her more because she moved beyond the superficial religiosity of one who never asks and struggles with hard questions. She not only wrestled with the doubts and questions, but like Jacob, she wrestled with God himself." "For her, it always came back to

There are four keys words and three key principles. I will explore: Flee, Storm, Sleep, and Fish. The three principles are that you can choose, lose, or cruise. First, God called Jonah and Jonah fled from God. At least he attempted to FLEE. God never leaves us without choices. we can choose fight, flight, or flow with His purposes. Fight becomes less and less of an option the more we know God. Flow requires surrender of our will to His. too often, we choose to FLEE. The principle here is YOU CAN CHOOSE. F - FROM God. It is always away from Him. You can't resist His will and enjoy the same fellowship as ever. L - LUNACY - It is an absurd idea that we can run from Him. The psalmist said that even in Sheol, He was there. E - EFFECT on others. As Jonah endangered others, so do we when we disobey. E - EVIDENT - You can't really hide it. It all hangs out. There is another spelling possible that helps us understand some of what causes

Henry Neufeld is our distinguished Author of the Month in both the Religion and Christian Fellowship Forums . Pick up copies of Henry's books and join the discussion. Author of the Month What's in a Version? by Henry, E Neufeld $10.39 To the Hebrews: A Participatory Study Guide by Henry, E Neufeld $9.99 Revelation: A Participatory Study Guide by Henry E. Neufeld $9.99 Identifying Your Gifts And Service by Henry E. Neufeld $9.99 I Want to Pray! by Perry M. Dalton $7.99 Not Ashamed of the Gospel: Confessions of a... by Henry E. Neufeld $10.39 Identifying Your Gifts and Service: Small G... by Henry, E Neufeld $10.39 Discipleship: Jesus With Us by V., Riley Richardson $7.99 When People Speak for God by Henry, E Neufeld $12.23

Drink it in; be lifted, be moved; be inspired; worship! This is the start of a concert that Rich Mullins did in Lufkin Texas. Some excerpts from this concert made it to the homeless man video also available on You Tube. Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6

Inspiring video presentation of Awesome God by Rich Mullins

A Word of Encouragement from Tom Sims, The Dream Factory ... Yesterday I suggested that the very desire to make another person's day is an indicator of character and a predictor of success in that endeavor. Today, I will start to spell out how to do that by examining the word, "D-A-Y." First let us look at a proverb for today, Proverbs 19:1: "Better a poor man whose walk is blameless than a fool whose lips are perverse. " To apply that to our theme, we might paraphrase it this way: "While wealth and prosperity can open doors, create opportunities, and enable us to do much good for others, it would be better to do without it if it meant that our words wounded rather than healed, deflated people rather than inflating them, and discouraged rather than encouraged." Words are powerful and how we use words will determine much of our success in making someone else's day. And the god news is that if you make the day of enough people, it will eventua

A moving musical and video thanks to Billy Graham.

Parts 1,2,4, and 5 of Homeless Man, a tribute to Rich Mullins are found on the side panel. To view Part 3, click below: Homeless Man = Part 3

Religion Evangelicals Face New Division: Global Warming All Things Considered , March 25, 2007 · There's a growing divide among America's evangelical Christians over what to do about global warming. Host Debbie Elliot talks to Richard Cizik policy director for the National Association of Evangelicals, who's right in the middle of the debate. Related NPR Stories Jan. 21, 2007 Evangelists and Environmentalists Join Forces Dec. 19, 2006 Green Evangelist Richard Cizik Dec. 11, 2006 Religious Group's Ties to Pentagon Questioned Nov. 7, 2006 Evangelical Community Reacts to Haggard Scandal July 14, 2006 Obama Works to Win Evangelicals Back for Democrats June 23, 2006 Evangelical: Religious Right Has Distorted the Faith April 2, 2006 Evangelicals Fret Over Bush's Foreign Policy

Religion Evangelicals Face New Division: Global Warming All Things Considered , March 25, 2007 · There's a growing divide among America's evangelical Christians over what to do about global warming. Host Debbie Elliot talks to Richard Cizik policy director for the National Association of Evangelicals, who's right in the middle of the debate. Related NPR Stories Jan. 21, 2007 Evangelists and Environmentalists Join Forces Dec. 19, 2006 Green Evangelist Richard Cizik Dec. 11, 2006 Religious Group's Ties to Pentagon Questioned Nov. 7, 2006 Evangelical Community Reacts to Haggard Scandal July 14, 2006 Obama Works to Win Evangelicals Back for Democrats June 23, 2006 Evangelical: Religious Right Has Distorted the Faith April 2, 2006 Evangelicals Fret Over Bush's Foreign Policy

A Look at 3,000 Years of Sundays Sunday has traditionally been a day of rest and worship but its purpose has been widely debated. A new book examines the 3,000-year evolution of Sunday including how it is celebrated in America, England and France. Web Extra : Read an Excerpt

From "This I Believe" - NPR Series: My Personal Leap of Faith I enjoyed this essay. Maybe you will too ... or not. Either way, you can discuss it here .

H.B. London Quotes I jotted down some notes from the "Sustaining Pastoral Excellence" conference with H.B. London this week. Jesus asks Peter, in John 21, some pointed questions which can be paraphrased as: "Do you love me more than your ministry?" "Do you love me more than who you are?" "Do you love me more than what you do?" "Do you love me more than life itself?" "If you can do anything else than follow me the rest of your liufe, Peter, do it, because this is going to cost you big time." "The moment we say to Him, 'Yes, Lord, I love You,' He gives us a task and He gives us a cross."

Salvation Through Christ: A Matter of FAITH What do you think it takes for someone to get to heaven? Is it luck? Good deeds? Nothing at all? Or is there something more? The Bible has the real answer to this question. It's a matter of FAITH. F stands for FORGIVENESS. We cannot have eternal life without God's forgiveness. Ephesians 1:7a says, "In Him (Jesus Christ) we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins." A is for AVAILABLE. Forgiveness is available for all. John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." But forgiveness is not automatic. "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven," says Matthew 7:21a. I is for IMPOSSIBLE. It is impossible for God to allow sin into heaven because of who He is and because of who we are. God is loving and just, but His judgment is against

I left home at 6:30 this morning - not as early as yesterday, but I am still "at it" at 9:00 P.M. and I may not vacate this Starbucks table until they close. It was 6:00 P.M. before I could start to write. I have had a tough week and a tough day. I had to get tough and that is tough on me. And yet, I am sitting here with a very sore back, entirely energized to keep going mentally, spiritually, and emotionally.

I am trying to articulate some of the values that our Fellowship of Joy shares together and it occurred to me today that one is a sense of the holiness of the ordinary - that there is no legitimate separation of the sacred and profane dimensions of life to one who is dedicating every thought and movement to the glory of God.

Well, here they are again: Spell out the DREAM © 2006, Thomas B. Sims MORE Part 2 MORE Part 1 My First Audio Post - Rough What Are You Going to Do?

For 3 and a half days a week, I am (we are) responsible for an 11 month old boy and his six year old brother - our grandsons. They run me ragged. They wear me out. They keep me from getting my work done. And I was grateful for the break when I returned them to their mother yesterday ... but that was yesterday. Today, I really miss them. Go figure.

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

God has been speaking to my heart this week deeply, profoundly, and lovingly through my own devotional times and through the ministry of Dr. Richard Blackaby. The same messages can be heard at the Canadian Southern Baptist Seminary website under Chapel. As we were preparing for worhip today, I was remembering one of our saints who recently went home to be with Jesus. Caryl Borges lived a life that reflected God's love and that took her around the country and to Yemen in the service of the Master. As she fought cancer, she did so with valiant faith. I was honored to be with her during various stages of that disease process. While I wish I had been more of a support along the way, the greatest blessings came during the last two weeks of her life as I witnessed her slipping away, but enjoying every moment God gave her with family. At the same time, she was genuinely excited about going to Heaven. I was sitting in that seminary chapel this morning, waiting for students to arrive, prepa

For Those Who Take Life Too Seriously 1. Save the whales. Collect the whole set 2. A day without sunshine is like, night. 3. On the other hand, you have different fingers. 4. I just got lost in thought. It was unfamiliar territory. 5. 42.7 percent of all statistics are made up on the spot. 6. 99 percent of lawyers give the rest a bad name. 7. I feel like I'm diagonally parked in a parallel universe. 8. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say will be misquoted, then used against you. 9. I wonder how much deeper the ocean would be without sponges 10. Honk if you love peace and quiet. 11. Remember half the people you know are below average. 12. Despite the cost of living, have you noticed how popular it remains? 13. Nothing is fool-proof to a talented fool. 14. Atheism is a non-prophet organization. 15. He who laughs last thinks slowest. 16. Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm. 17. Eag

GROUP Ministry: Growing Reconciling Obeying Understanding Proclaiming God has called us to a lifestyle that embraces all these dimensions of being: We are expected to G ROW because that is what life generates. We will be growing until we die. We are commissioned with a word of R ECONCILIATION according to II Corinthians 5. It is God’s desire to bring people back into proper relationship with Him, A life of O BEDIENCE is how we can be most useful to God and live in His will. U NDERSTANDING is what happens as we gradually comprehend and act upon God’s will in our lives. P ROCLAMATION is the natural outflow of an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. We must grow individually and in community. Each strengthens the other. Group Ministry Materials - Copyright, 2006, Thomas B. Sims

Builders or Destroyers God has called us to be builders: Proverbs 14 1 The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down. Builders have certain characteristics. 2 He whose walk is upright fears the LORD , but he whose ways are devious despises him. B = Basis for Life (foundation). We must start with a solid foundation for our lives. 3 A fool's talk brings a rod to his back, but the lips of the wise protect them. U = Use of Tools - Words are useful and necessary tools in building toward our goals. 4 Where there are no oxen, the manger is empty, but from the strength of an ox comes an abundant harvest. I = Investment - Wise builders invest wisely in their growth. The ox pulls the plow that grows the wheat that is placed in the manger for him to eat which gives him strength to plow. 5 A truthful witness does not deceive, but a false witness pours out lies. L= Line (Plumbline - Truth)

Bruce Alderman is meditating here about the basic core issues of belief in his own life - namely why he believes in God and why, further, he embraces a belief in Jesus Christ. It Seems to Me... : " So who is right and who is wrong? Isn't that what religion is all about? In a word, no. It's not fundamentally about being more right than anyone else. It's about responding to God's call and being faithful to that call, however the call comes and wherever the call leads. " Rightness and wrongness might appear to be essential questions, but Bruce suggests that the relational question trumps them. It is what E. Stanley Jones called, "The Divine Yes." We start there with God and we can sort out the details as we go along.

Christianbook.com Home One of the timeless truths that young pastors need to grasp is the stewardship of study. Reading is at the core of our study. Reading the Bible comes first. We need to read it regularly, voraciously, and systematically. Find a process whereby you can read the Bible from cover to cover rather quickly and then, at least once a year, preferably more often. As you read this way, include a program of reading books of the Bible slowly and meditatively. This is in addition to Bible reading for specific sermon preparation. What else should leaders and preacher read? Read stories because they teach us out to flesh out truth and tell stories ourselves. They express human emotion and experience in ways that we can grasp. They also provide a source of inspiration. Read both fiction and true life stories, especially biographies. Read current events in newspapers, magazines, blogs, and other Internet sources. If you are a prophet, you must understand the times. Read current r

Saturday night - anticipation, inspiration, perspiration (It is hot in Fresno), exasperation (Andrea is preparing the church finance report), motivation (some, but not much - I'm ready for bed), temptation (Saturday Night Live really does give me a chuckle, but I should sleep and pray), elation (Andrea just finished the finance report)., aggravation (I just read this to Andrea and she walked away), termination (I'm going to save this and go to the other room), inflation, salvation, one nation under God. Good night.