We want to see more and more GARBC leaders contribute posts to the Quest blog that will help accomplish the purpose of the blog: Continue reading Contribute a Post, Win Logos!

by Ryan Schildroth

I just finished a challenging book on preaching by R. Albert Mohler titled He Is Not Silent: Preaching in a Postmodern World. I initially picked it up because postmodern thought is everywhere in our society. I hoped to discover new ways to communicate God’s timeless Word to people who may or may not share my convictions about it. Continue reading Book Review: He Is Not Silent

By Daniel Hartwig

Are you dealing with someone who insists that the King James Bible is the only valid Bible translation for churches to use today? One of the most powerful arguments I have come across is the statements of the original translators of the KJV found in the original preface to the KJV Bible. These are the very men whom the KJV-only people idolize, and the translators’ own words undermine the very position that their followers support. Continue reading KJV-onlyism and the KJV Preface

This week we are featuring a series of articles by Pastor Jamie Hart on using technology in ministry.

By Jamie Hart

In a previous post, I showed you how to create a sermon template by modifying the heading styles in a Word document. As I mentioned, using the heading styles unlocks some amazing functionality. Let me show you what you can do! I need to mention that I’m again assuming you are using Office 2007. Some of these features are available in previous versions, but not all . . . just so you know. Continue reading More Fun with Sermon Templates

This week we are featuring a series of articles by Pastor Jamie Hart on using technology in ministry. 

By Jamie Hart 

Cloud Computing?

I’m a Microsoft guy for many reasons—not the least of which is the fact that, as a software instructor (I’m bi-vocational), the MS Office applications help me pay the bills! But when it comes to cloud computing, Microsoft is playing catch-up. Their cloud version of Office was just released earlier this month, where Google Docs has been around since 2006. Being curious about the cloud computing craze, I recently took a pretty drastic step. I abandoned MS Outlook and moved over to Google Apps. That was over a month ago and I can now say that the move has put me on cloud nine! 

In case you don’t know, Google Apps is Google’s collection of web-based office tools and is, in my opinion, the epitome of cloud computing. With Google Apps you can manage your e-mail, calendar, and contacts, and even create office documents with an online word processor, spreadsheet program, and presentation program. It also allows for Site creation similar to MS Sharepoint. With Google Sites, you can create document libraries, discussion pages, and project task pages, among others. Continue reading Ministry in the Cloud

This week we are featuring a series of articles by Pastor Jamie Hart on using technology in ministry.

By Jamie Hart

One of the gifts of age is the ability to gain perspective. ”Perspective” is defined as “the faculty of seeing all the relevant data in a meaningful relationship.” In other words, it is the ability to put together the big picture from the relevant details of a situation or relationship. With age comes experience, and with experience can come perspective.

George Santayana wrote, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” I like to paraphrase this quote, “Those who do not learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat it.” A wise person will seek the counsel from those who have endured, persevered, and/or experienced the lessons of history. Continue reading Why the GARBC Needs Old People, Part 4

Why does the GARBC need an intergenerational emphasis? Some reasons have already been articulated in recent Quest posts. (See “Why the GARBC Needs Old People,” Parts 1, 2, and 3.) This topic actually seems opposite of what most associations and churches discuss. Most churches and denominations discuss the need for, and plan to recruit, younger members. However, unless we are willing to respect the past and work together with more seasoned members of the association, we have no future.

I want to explore the issue of history. Our association is critically dependent upon our older members for the sake of history-giving. Continue reading Learning from History Comes through Age and Experience

I wanted to pass along this article as an opportunity to remind each us to be praying for our brothers and sisters in Christ who are being persecuted for the cause of Christ. Amazingly, this article is not from a Christian publication such as the Voice of the Martyrs, but is from the MSNBC news feed!

On Monday Nat Kealen reminded us that older people often possess wisdom that comes from having “been there, done that.” You might say that they bring a sense of perspective that is much needed in any organization, including the GARBC.

Yesterday Will Hatfield explained that older people can challenge us to watch our pace. By “pace,” Will referred to knowing the limits of our resources and energy and spending those resources wisely. He also mentioned the need to be careful to have realistic expectations and to be patient for change.

Hmm . . . first “perspective,” then “pace.” I’m tempted to build my post around another word that starts with the letter “p” (purpose? planning? priorities?), but my motto is “Always Avoid Alliteration.” So instead I’d like to talk about encouragement. Yes, another reason the GARBC needs older people is because many older people are great encouragers, and young people, especially young pastors, need encouragement. Continue reading Why the GARBC Needs Old People, Part 3

I’m pretty impatient. I’d rather get something done today than have it drag out for months. It probably comes with the territory of being young. As we consider why we need older people in our lives and we delve deeper into the concept Nat so ably illustrated, what wisdom can we gain from older people? One area of wisdom is a sense of pace. Pace, you say? Yes, pace—that sense of working hard without losing perspective and not spilling all your resources too quickly.

I teach my six-year-old’s boys’ soccer team. Six-year-olds have no sense of pace. It’s either full go or full stop. No sense of using energy appropriately. Frankly that’s not always confined to young boys. I remember training most of the summer for a local 4K run. As the race started, the adrenalin hit. I knew I needed to pace myself, but as all these people started running next to me, I tried to keep up. By the time I had run 1K I knew I was in trouble. Older people can help provide a sense of pace. Continue reading Why the GARBC Needs Old People, Part 2