Thoughts on Christ and His Word

Not everyone of us is going to be fulfilling the Great Commission the same way. We know that Paul traveled and preached the gospel in various cities in the Middle East, Asia, and Europe. It seemed the longest place he stayed was Ephesus, and he only stayed there two years. On the other hand we see Philip, one of the first deacons of the Jerusalem church. After persecution came to Jerusalem he ended up in Caesarea where he seemed to grow roots. Leaving the next day, we reached Caesarea and stayed at the house of Philip the evangelist, one of the Seven. He had four unmarried daughters who prophesied. Acts 21:8-9 > Many years had passed since Philip had arrived in Caesarea (Acts 8:40). While Paul did his part to fulfill the Great Commission by traveling and preaching, Philip stayed in one place building up the church. > All of us must be involved in the Great Commission, but how we do it will depend on how God has gifted us. Our personality, gifts, talents, and passions will dete

I read the following today from John Maxwell’s book The 360 Degree Leader: “Without a Leader, Conflicts are Extended. One of the most important roles of a leader is conflict resolution. In the absence of clear leadership, conflicts always last longer and inflict more damage. Often it takes a leader to step up, step in, and bring everyone to the table to work things out. When you lead others, you should always be ready to do what it takes to help your people resolve their conflicts” > I think this is so true in our home groups, ministries and church. In Philippians 4 Paul asked the leaders of the church to help restore unity and peace between Eudia and Syntyche, two women who had labored side by side with Paul. Most of us don’t want to get involved in conflicts between brothers out of fear of rejection, fear of becoming part of the problem, or out of simple laziness. But as leaders God has called us to be peace-makers and to help reconcile fighting brothers. We must be willing to ste