Several years ago, EFCA West pioneered an effort to simplify local church partnership with district and national ministries. It’s called the EFCA Partnership. It is a simple way for churches to help support the work of their local district and the National office through one-check giving. We have produced a clear and concise description of our work as a district, our support role as a district, and our hope for the future as a family. Click here to read the details of EFCA Partnership. Click here for other ways EFCA and EFCA West can help.
If you want to be credentialed in EFCA or simply want to understand better this family of which you are a part, join us at Talbot Seminary in La Mirada, CA, on Friday, November 1, from 1pm-5pm and Saturday, November 2, from 8am-5pm. Once again Greg Strand, EFCA executive director of theology and credentialing, will be teaching the class. The
registration deadline is Friday, October 25. To register or for more information,
click here.
Chuck Lawless has8 Suggestions for Planning an Annual Preaching Schedulefor those responsible for sermon planning in the coming year. Not all of his suggestions may fit your situation but you may find one or two suggestions that you have not considered or of which you needed to be reminded. Suggestions include:
Pray. And then pray some more about the direction you’ll take.
Welcome the input of others who walk with Him.
Plan for regular eventsthat will likely influence your preaching choice (think holidays, special events).
"One thing I’ve frequently found is that we church leaders are often fearful of implementing what we believe to be needed changes because of our fear of what people in the church will think. So, we try to figure out ways to determine the preferences of the congregation prior to making the decision...member preferences are useful data for consideration but should not govern their decisions...A problem faced by leaders in the church is to properly answer the following question: Are our church’s leaders appointed to lead or to please? That’s something to talk about."
Bud Brown, Founder and President at Turnaround Pastors, writes: "Vision is essential...but it is not sufficient. At Turnaround Pastors we find that lack of vision is common among pastors of plateaued and declining churches. It is common but not universal. We find that many of them do have vision but lack four additional skills. Absent these four skills, vision ends up being mere aspiration and an endless source of frustration. In the presence of these four additional skills, vision becomes reality. The church moves toward a more preferable future." Read the article here.
In the September 2019 issue of Christianity Today, missiologist Jayson Georges interviewed an American-born theologian who teaches at an Asian seminary about his book Reading Romans with Eastern Eyes: Honor and Shame in Paul’s Message and Missionwhich reexamines the apostle’s letter to the church in Rome. Georges spoke with Jackson W. (a pseudonym) about the value of bringing East Asian perspectives to bear on the message of Romans.Click herefor a PDF of the Christianity Today article.
Last May Dan Reiland wrote a blog post aboutSeven "Small" Stumbles that Can Lead to a Big Fall.
He started by mentioning the "big" falls we read about in newspapers and magazines and see on television, but he then highlights that those "big" falls are most often the result of one or more smaller stumbles. "What practices can leaders themselves put in placeto stay proactive and help prevent a fall?...[There's] a common deception ofthe devil. Heloves to make things look small and harmless, like no big deal. 'What’s a tiny little slip in integrity when, after all, you are doing good ministry for the people, right?'"
