On Sunday morning we worshipped with the Native Fellowship church in Hobema. Attending, was a lady who had been struggling with witchcraft and wicca. She come through it by the strength of the Lord. She shared her testimony with us and publicly renounced the practice of these things. The missionary pastor prayed and shared this passage from Acts with us:
"And many of those who practiced magic brought their books together and began burning them in the sight of everyone; and they counted up the price of them and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver." ~Acts 19:19
As a public symbol, we went out of the church and witnessed as she and the pastor burned the books of witchcraft that she had in her home. It was a very special opportunity to see the Lord working in her life as we were able to celebrate with her, a new life in Christ!
Yesterday was our first day of seminars with Dr. Tom Steffen, author of "Passing the Baton". He is working with us through a series of seminars dealing with the five stage church planting strategy. It has been quite interesting so far, and I've found that the discussions have clearly tied together all of the Worldview training seminars that we've been a part of to this point. And as always it's a pleasure to hear from Mike Matthews and share with everyone here in fellowship.
Kevin and I are staying in the men's dorm at the Bible School and today we acquired a new roommate. Jonathan Yeo drove in from Fort Liard, NWT, to take part in the seminars, so we've been having a great time catching up with him.
Watch for a video blog at some point this week. I've been asked to take a few shots of happenings at these sessions for the NCEM Facebook page, so I'll post them here as well in the form of a vlog for anyone who is interested in seeing where we are and what we're up to.
Showing posts with label Passing The Baton. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Passing The Baton. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
book reports..
I just thought I'd take a couple of minutes and share about a couple of books that Liz and I have been reading. I feel like we have so much to learn, and although at the end of the day a book is just a book and doesn't hold a candle to shared practical experience, never the less I've found some of what I've been reading lately to be very insightful.
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team
by Patrick Lencioni
Skillfully written. Not only does the author incorporate his entire process of team evaluation into the narrative in a practical and completely readable way, but he does it with attention grabbing flare. I feel, after reading this narrative, that I have a much better understanding of team management and operation.
It's not that this was written for dim witted people or the slow of learning. But the presentation of it as a narrative seems to be a great mechanism to reach those who are perhaps unteachable. There are a lot of people in management who are far less concerned with the team and far too concerned with controlling the team. Often they have no interest in learning, in fact they seem too often to feel that they have nothing to learn.
Kevin, Marcia, Elizabeth and I will all be reading this book and going through some exercises outlined in the book to help build us as a team and give us the tools for effective communication.
Passing the Baton: Church Planting That Empowers
by Tom A. Steffan
Reading this book, it is clear that it is written from vast experience and study. Steffan elaborates on the vital importance of relationship building and working as a learner when involved in long term ministries. Throughout the book, the necessity of planning and focused approach that is both practical and appropriate to the target audience is outlined in great detail.
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team
by Patrick Lencioni
Skillfully written. Not only does the author incorporate his entire process of team evaluation into the narrative in a practical and completely readable way, but he does it with attention grabbing flare. I feel, after reading this narrative, that I have a much better understanding of team management and operation.
It's not that this was written for dim witted people or the slow of learning. But the presentation of it as a narrative seems to be a great mechanism to reach those who are perhaps unteachable. There are a lot of people in management who are far less concerned with the team and far too concerned with controlling the team. Often they have no interest in learning, in fact they seem too often to feel that they have nothing to learn.
Kevin, Marcia, Elizabeth and I will all be reading this book and going through some exercises outlined in the book to help build us as a team and give us the tools for effective communication.
Passing the Baton: Church Planting That Empowers
by Tom A. Steffan
Reading this book, it is clear that it is written from vast experience and study. Steffan elaborates on the vital importance of relationship building and working as a learner when involved in long term ministries. Throughout the book, the necessity of planning and focused approach that is both practical and appropriate to the target audience is outlined in great detail.
Although the book is subtitled: "Church Planting that Empowers", it is far from limited to those involved in direct church planting ministries. I would strongly recommend that anyone involved in ministry take the time to read this. There are some wonderful insights and experiential illustrations that we can (and should) all learn from. Steffen touches on a great deal of areas in ministry that can be, and often are, stumbling blocks. The importance of clear and culturally relevant communication is so often overshadowed by our own agendas and cultural self-interest.
This book we were asked to read prior to our first meetings at NCEM headquarters in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan next month. From what I understand, we will be discussing the implications of the methods outlined in Steffan's book and how they can be applied to our ministries here among Canada's First peoples.
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