Ministry work and family is a lot to care for and pray about. I hope these podcasts can help you to stay strong in your relationships and balanced in your work for the Lord.
1. MIP NJ Meeting and Podcast:
If anyone is interested there will be a MIP New Jersey meeting on Saturday, 9/24. Information flyer is attached. Please pray about attending to be inspired by their special guests. Please let’s also pray that many NJ moms will attend. Additionally, here is a link to MIP podcast. They added more interviews. I am always blessed by their sharing and hearing their stories. I like to listen when I am driving, cleaning, cooking, grocery shopping, etc. It makes my time go faster and nicer. 🙂
2. Johnson Brothers Podcast:
If you have not listened to the Johnson brothers’ podcasts, please do. I am so blessed to hear them and their guests. Their backgrounds are an eclectic mixture of charismatic and certified family therapy. It is a very interesting blend of two theologies that I’d never thought could be blended together. Their focus is on marriage, family, and ministry. I am learning a lot from these two Millennial pastors. I just realized that I mostly learn from Boomer and Gen X pastors and teachers. I think we need to be open-minded and hear from the new, younger leaders. I look forward to hearing from Gen Z (currently teenagers and early 20s) evangelists, pastors and teachers that God is raising up today. They sure are being prayed for A LOT!!
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/marked-for-eternity/id1617114424?i=1000577091374
3. Carey Nieuwhof Podcast:
I subscribe to this Canadian pastor’s newsletter. He is an ex-lawyer, and shares very honestly about his mistakes, personal and ministry troubles. His wife is still a family lawyer. Their marriage came very close to divorcing in the height of their church growth and popularity. I love that they talk candidly about it today so that other couples will not make their painful mistakes and suffer. He has a free podcast where he shares all these things and his guests are all great too. –https://careynieuwhof.com/mypodcast/
If you want to check out his new offering about leadership and change, please take a look at his message. (Quotes by the pastors made me chuckle.)
“A few weeks ago, I asked a group of pastors what they saw as their greatest challenge in ministry. Here are a few of their responses:
- “How to get church members to get over a “This is how we’ve always done it” mentality.
- “Most of the folks are over fifty and just want things to go back to how they were in the 80s.”
- “Working with people to help them realize that the world has changed around them and the church needs to change as well.”
- “Getting change to STICK.”
Notice a theme? Change.
In The Art of Leading Change, I share the principles that helped me effectively lead our church through:
- A 180º pivot in music style, preaching style, and ministry model.
- A complete shift in vision to become a church that unchurched people love.
- A full overhaul and redesign of all church governance and a new constitution.
- Rapid growth (from a handful of people to thousands of people) and the construction of two new facilities.
- A shift in emphasis to online ministry long before the pandemic.
- And much more
4. King Saul and the Witch:
If you don’t know about Israel’s King Saul in the Old Testament books, I highly suggest you read his story. Pastor Tim DiLena does a great job summarizing his great struggle as a king with jealousy, insecurity and popularity. Long story short, when God became silent because of his sins and non-repentance, King Saul panicked and sought a medium witch who conjured up the dead for advice and fortune telling. King Saul reminded me of Shakespeare’s tragic play “MacBeth”. It was fun to hear Pastor Tim of TSC teach about King Saul. Fortune telling is very big in Asian countries and so I take the warnings from the Bible very seriously. Please do not go near this stuff. Run! Also pray for the fortune-telling, medium witch too. He/she needs Jesus!
http://sermons.tsc.nyc/the-witch-is-back/
Good summary of King Saul in the Bible: https://www.gotquestions.org/life-Saul.html
Happy studying! With love and prayer from your librarian.
Journal of Faith 