All Like Sheep

Isaiah 53:6 says, “We all have wandered away like sheep; each of us has gone his own way.” You wouldn’t think sheep would be obstinate. Of all God’s animals, the sheep is the least able to take care of himself. Sheep are dumb. Have you ever met a sheep trainer? Ever seen sheep tricks? Know anyone who’s taught his sheep to roll over? No. Sheep are just too dumb.

When David said in Psalm 23, “The Lord is my Shepherd,” couldn’t he have come up with a better metaphor than a Shepherd for sheep? When David, who was a warrior and ambassador for God, searched for an illustration of God, he remembered his days as a shepherd. He remembered how he lavished attention on the sheep. How he watched over them. David rejoiced to say, “The Lord is my Shepherd” and in doing so, he proudly proclaimed, “I am His sheep!”From Traveling Light

Is Your Church Alive?

Written by John Grant 

“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12 

Seeing the commissioning of a new naval vessel is a wonderful sight and experience. Amidst all the pomp and circumstance dockside, the ship is moored at the dock, quiet as a church mouse and not a sight of a single person aboard.

Then at the appointed time someone says: “Officers and crew of the (name of vessel), you may board and bring the ship to life.” Then the crew comes running from behind the audience and boards the ship. It literally comes to life, as the crew scurries to their assigned duty stations. Smoke pours from the stacks, lights come on and sailors man the rails.

Mormons and Baptists compete for converts

Posted on 20 July 2012

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (RNS) Jake Pulsipher’s first day as a working missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints began at 6:30 a.m. with prayer and exercise, followed by breakfast and study.

Then he put on a black suit, white shirt, and red tie, along with his official name tag, and headed out to knock on doors and tell people about Jesus.

In doing so, he became the latest of 20,000 Mormon missionaries in the United States.

In Knoxville, Tenn., Southern Baptists Kevin and Kristi Cabe quit their jobs and sold their cars and most of their belongings. They’re moving to Brooklyn, N.Y., where they’ll spend their two years as — two of the 4,000 who the Southern Baptist Convention’s North American Mission Board placed nationwide.

Churches shifting summer worship from Sunday to Wednesday nights

SALEM, N.H. (RNS) As New England sweltered in early July, Sunday mornings came and went without a single soul showing up for worship in the hot, stuffy sanctuary of First Congregational Church of Salem, N.H. Even the pastor stayed home.

But God wasn’t forgotten. Worship just waited until Wednesday evenings, when the cool comfort of the basement fellowship hall drew as many as 40 to sing and pray. That’s 50 percent more than the church attracted when it met on summer Sundays.


Merri Carlson, far right, sings during worship in the comfortably cool basement of First Congregational Church of Salem, NH.
RNS photo by G. Jeffrey MacDonald

“If people take a break from worshipping, they sometimes don’t pick that habit back up,” said Owen Williams, a longtime deacon at First Congregational, a United Church of Christ congregation.

The Stigma of the Anointing

Rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. —1 Peter 4:13

At the end of the day the anointing will have a stigma. It will offend. John Wesley was offended by George Whitefield's preaching because it was done in the fields instead of in a regular church building.

My congregation at Westminster Chapel was offended when I started our Pilot Light witnessing program on Saturday mornings. I had no idea of ever being a witness on the streets. I was always glad for somebody else to do that. It just wasn't my anointing—or so I thought!

But my thinking changed when I invited Arthur Blessitt to preach at Westminster Chapel in May 1982. The plan was for us to take pamphlets and questionnaires to nearby Page Street, knock on doors, and talk to people about the Lord. But we never made it. Arthur began witnessing to some youth who were standing in front of the chapel, and within a short time, several of them got saved.

Guiding Stepfamilies Through Wilderness Wanderings

Stepfamily ministry is about preventing the pressures and pecularities of the stepfamily home from holding people back from their Lord.


by Ron L. Deal


"I'm sorry. Your background and past might infect everyone else so we can't have you at our church."

How defeating! But that's exactly what the preacher said once he discovered John and Diane were remarried. Apparently the church they had been attending didn't have room for persons in need of healing, persons with a less-than-perfect history. And John and Diane were, indeed, less than perfect. Each had experienced the devastation of divorce and for a while turned their backs on the Lord. But now, while attempting to combine a new stepfamily, they were once again trying to accept the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Only their church wouldn't accept them.

"I'm sorry. I wish I could help. Why don't you try Southwest?"

So they did. But this time, they found a church ready to serve. They discovered a stepfamily ministry that taught them how to deal with their unique day-to-day struggles, and a body of believers willing to extend hands of mercy and forgiveness. Today, John and Diane are faithful followers of Jesus Christ and leaders in a dynamic stepfamily support group that is touching lives every day. "The Step-by-Step group has meant a great deal to my family and me," says John, "more than I could ever describe to you in words."

"We don't want you here."

For nearly three decades America has suffered under a plague of divorce and out-of-wedlock births. Later, when these same individuals marry and bring children with them, a stepfamily is born. Currently, one out of every three Americans is a stepparent, stepchild, a stepsibling, or some other member of a stepfamily.¹ And while soon there will be more stepfamilies in America than any other family type,² it's not uncommon to find local churches with a population of just 6 percent or less.³