Reflection Of A Faith Based Organization

The Church I selected to evaluate is called Parkview Christian Church. Furthermore, both Churches before their inception the founder's sort guidance from God above to reach people for Christ. The concept of the Tinley Park Church of Christ (currently name Parkview Christian Church) originated in 1948 with two women on a train headed to Chicago. These two women discussed and prayed about how they could be a part of God’s plan to implement the lords work in their community. Later, after they arrive at their destination started a prayer assembly that kept expanding. Consequently, due to their increase in membership on “April 15, 1951” they formed a storefront church called Tinley Park Church of Christ (currently Parkview Christian Church). Moreover,

Billingsley lists seven characteristics of churches that make a difference when it comes to outreach ministry. “These are denomination, church age, size, membership composition, ownership of church building, number of clergy, and other paid staff. (Billingsley95).” He believes that more characteristics a church possesses the more valuable the outreach they provide. A separate 15 year study of the black church is outlined in Lessons Learned: Conducting Culturally Competent Research and Providing Interventions with Black Churches. In terms of research to determine the true effectiveness of the black church several researchers conducted the study to determine how social workers can play a central role in church outreach. At the conclusion of their research they “experienced a number of challenges and barriers. These challenges and barriers that impacted the research process are communication, cultural insensitivity, theology and branding, gender, position of the pastor,

The purpose of this paper is to summarize Module 5 of the AOL program, specifically group 226, through the evaluation of a contemporary Christian leader. In this paper I will discuss the contemporary Christian leader I have selected, analyze their effectiveness in business performance, and discuss how they have inspired me. I will also talk about what I have learned from this module that most benefited me. My hope is that through this paper, my readers will have a broadened scope of Christianity in our contemporary world.

Dr. Anthony Jordan is the Executive Director-Treasurer of the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma (BGCO). The BGCO is a convention of 1813 Southern Baptist churches comprising of about 614,000 members. This organization’s purpose is to help the churches that are members of the convention spiritually, financially, and structurally. They provide a number of camps and conventions for people to attend and use. They also provide assistance in handling the business and professional aspect of a church’s ministry. One of the most popular camps that the BGCO puts on is Falls Creek Youth Camp where around 50,000 students attend over an 8 week period. Dr. Anthony Jordan has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Southwest Baptist University and a Master of Divinity and a Doctor of Divinity from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (BGCO.com). He has been the Executive Director- Treasurer for the last nineteen years. Before he became the Executive Director-Treasurer, Dr. Jordan served as the lead pastor at Northwest Baptist Church in Oklahoma City from 1982-1996 (ohbc.org). The members of the BGCO have been very positive about the way Dr. Jordan leads and structures the convention. In the rest of this paper, I will inform you of how Dr. Jordan handles ethical dilemmas, how the convention is structured and the culture surrounding it, and the leadership style and qualities that Dr. Jordan uses and exemplifies as he holds the position of Executive Director-Treasurer of the

One of the most shocking statistics noted in Kingdom Calling: Vocational Stewardship for the Common Good by Amy Sherman is that if one attends church on a weekly basis, they spend 5 percent at most of their waking hours at church. The other 95 percent are spent out in the world. This illustrates the importance of why this book matters. Sherman starts off by setting the tone for readers – she gives a background as to why she found it necessary that she write this book – and how she read a book by Michael Lindsey in which he discussed research of prominent evangelical business leaders and how their faith impacts their behaviors and decisions at work. A few stood out, while the rest stated they kept a Christian plaque in their office or wore a cross around their neck. They did not fulfill their religious identity in conjunction with their careers. There was a complete disconnect between the two sectors of their lives, and Sherman recognized that. Kingdom Calling is a guidebook for anyone who has ever been concerned about living a divided life – especially for pastors and religious leaders, but for lay people and congregation members as well. In Kingdom Calling, Sherman sets up a three-part framework on how to grow and empower a congregation, a specific group in the church, or a single member.

There are many challenges to ministry in today’s world and having a vital and relevant ministry is even harder. Churches across all denominations face drastic declines in both attendees and financial giving. With this as the background, it is imperative that vital ministries seek out opportunities to grow and engage groups and communities that have previously been overlooked, missed or not involved for other reasons including some theological reasons. With this idea and goal in mind, this essay sets out to examine and design a process by which the Churches of Cherokee, Oklahoma can successfully connect with and minster to the new Hispanic community in Cherokee. Using the pastoral cycle method, a process will be designed in this essay to

Pastor Renfro, as he is known by those who have had the pleasure to meet him, defines servant leadership as “one of the many models of ministry, each of which describes how a particular minister understands his/her role and approach to ministry as a vocation, and a way of life.” Dr. John Renfro is currently senior chaplain at Conway Medical Center in Conway, South Carolina. He grew up in simple, rural South Carolina in Spartanburg County, and he benefitted from a family who had a personal deep connection with God. His simplistic beginning provides the anchor of stability in a turbulent world for his family and those whom he offers ministry. Pastor Renfro has felt that “ministry grows out of life, the life of an

In the book “The Making of a Leader” Clinton discusses what it means to be a leader. He gives us the formula of what it takes to become a leader. Clinton does a wonderful job at revealing the process, and the cost of what it means to be a leader. He makes it very clear, throughout the book that effective ministry flows from who we are and not just what we do.

Information from chapter one comprised of a summary of my assignments reports from the various ministries served and class discussions post. Moving forward to chapter two talks more of the vast amount of lessons learned through the five goals and the effectiveness of actual hands-on application: the practice of communication, pastoral-spiritual care, the practice of leadership, engaging diversity, and handling conflict. There were target events in each goal setting subject. For example, in communication, my target events were in small groups, classes, writings of creative activities curriculum, and counseling. In this process, my practice skills supported an audience of women, youth both boys and girls, and children. The area of pastoral-spiritual care involved Bible studies, home visits, hospital and nursing homes visits, grieving family visits, and prison ministry visits with the Children of Inmates Program. The practice of leadership comprises of attending events, training, and assisting in various ministries in need. Engaging diversity involved observing other ministry leaders engaging in a large church congregation, speaking at women's breakfast or functions, speaking at funeral services, and assisting in the planning of funeral with family members. Handling conflict dealt with counseling of premarital sessions, marriage counseling sessions, counseling child abuse sessions, counseling drug addiction session, counseling depression with childhood sexual abuse sessions and assisting with crisis individuals seeking assistance through the resources at our church Peacemakers office. Consequently, chapter three describes the most life changing events causing major setbacks in this journey of my calling and the solutions involved. Chapter four detailed some specifics on the results of my self-analysis test. Some of the shared data comprised of personal

Comprised of fourteen chapters, the authors are explicit in readers comprehending this as a guide rather than a fix-all in turning around their churches. One chapter or section will not facilitate a change, rather a sequence of habits and efforts. Comprised of a large volume of statistical data, the facts remain constant; declining or plateaued churches can rebound. However, it will require change, change from the pulpit to the pews. Beginning with “0” or foundation, there are six criteria that should exist in all biblical churches, and are prominently and frequently mentioned in Scripture [2]: (1) Scriptural authority; (2) Biblical leadership; (3) Preaching and teaching; (4) Ordinances; (5) Covenant community; and (6) Mission. Additionally, the foundation emphasizes the need of becoming a

The Lazarus Project and Grace Ministries: The Role of Religious Nonprofits in Addressing Personal and Social Problems

A sentiment common to almost any organization is that the one fact that remains constant is change. As society changes, and human understanding grows, any organization that maintains a static posture, assures its demise. Churches and Christian organizations are no exception. The gospel may remain the same, but the method for communicating it must speak to the audience to assure understanding. The Christian leader must be prepared to meet this challenge by incorporating an effective model for change into his theology of leadership in order to keep the ministry relevant and effective. Searching for such a change agent can prove to be challenging as well. To aid in this search, four

What is a serving society and does that concept embrace spirituality? Does the fact of incorporating spirituality into an organization or a workplace provide healthier and more effective employees? How does the concept of a serving society and an organization that incorporates spirituality into its mission relate to Robert Greenleaf's servant leadership model? These questions and issues are reviewed and critiqued in this paper.

An organization guided by Christian principles will build a structural solid foundation. As a follower of Christ, “communication” is [essentially] required to fulfill the responsibility of advocating Christianity. In a business setting the benefit of applying Christian values to provide guidance that will affirm the foundations of an organization. The philosophy of promoting growth and sustainability with any establishment is to follow the organization's vision and mission. Smith (2011) expresses the importance of fulfilling one’s purpose with God by building interpersonal relationships, “Indeed we can only hope to fulfill our vocations if we learn the grace and strength of working with others in

In this paper, the student-writer will discuss the methods that are taught in In Effective biblical counseling: A model for helping caring Christians become capable counselors by Crabb (1977). The student-writer will also use what is taught in this book with the skills that are expressed in Creating a Healthier Church; Family Systems Theory, Leadership, and congregational life by Richardson (1996) and Blessed Connections: Relationships that sustain vital ministry, by Schwanz (2008). The student-writer will compare and contrast the skills that are mentioned in these books to establish a well maintained way in which to ministry to clients, and meet their needs as a counselor.