Friday, January 18, 2013

Mission 2013 # 14. Families Under Siege



Do you believe that families are under more stress today than in the past?

Do you see families stressed to the point of conflict and even divorce?

Do you think it is a great challenge to rear children in today's culture?

Do you have a strong commitment to assist families who struggle with serious stresses?

Do you think churches ought to have programs to teach couples how to have a great marriage? 

Do you think churches ought to teach parents how to rear children and discipline them?

What programs does your church have for families?

Program Name-------------When?--------------------------What?

Pre-Marital Preparation

Marriage Enrichment

Communication

Conflict Management

Planning

Parenting and Nurture of Children

Developmental Stages of Children

Spiritual Development in the Family

Healing the Family Tree

Other

The person nominating a church with the most dynamic family ministries will get a free book.

Friday, November 11, 2011

Campus Ministries

Since I was converted and started being deeply involved in ministry several great things have happened to advance the cause of Christ. Many of these advances arrived as a direct result of campus ministries in high schools and colleges.

I am amazed at how we take these active ministries for granted today but they are relatively young in terms of the history of Christianity.

If you came to Christ or were strongly influenced by Campus Crusade, IV, Young Life, etc write a comment and tell your story.

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Is the Church or Business Better?


As Seasoned Believers, many of us are pretty hard on the American churches. After living the Christian life for decades we think we understand what the world needs now and it is desperately needing love, sweet love. But how can we teach people to love?

We don't see as much compassion, understanding, mercy or grace as we think the Bible call us to show. We read that the way we can judge a Believer's faith is by their fruit of the Holy Spirit. We are certainly pretty upset with the lack of relational skills most churches teach their people when the last think Jesus said before rising into heaven was, "Go teach people to DO everything that I did".

But, I am feeling better because many companies large and small are doing even worse than the church. It is probably a fleshly thing to be prideful, but, so what. It may be good to pat ourselves on the back occasionally when we are really outdoing the secularists who run America.

An article in the Wall Street Journal suggests that companies are by and large just catching on to the fact that they must train their people to get along. Sure, many companies have talked a lot about customer service and places like Nordstrom's has been given awards because they take clothes back from disgruntled customers, but all in all the workplace resembles The Office on TV rather than following Jesus.

I have trained several thousands of Pastors, Lay Leaders and The Laity all about how to get along better at home and work. Listening without rudely interrupting another person is, for example, widely accepted and the most crucial skill one can learn and develop in management, sales, leadership and customer service. Yet, listening is rarely if ever taught in any college or business school. Even many Counseling Programs fail to teach their students how to listen.

In 1975 I did a Doctoral Dissertation on the Core Skills of Healthy Relationships. Since then we have trained numerous people how to listen and I have written several books on interpersonal skills.

Do you want to be a better husband?
Do you want to be a better wife?
Do you want to be a better parent?
Do you want to be a better child?
Do you want to be a better manager?
Do you want to be a better Sales person?
Do you want to be a better leader?
Do you want to be a better Pastor?
Do you want to be a better _________?


Learn to Listen

Friday, May 13, 2011

The Big Shift



Malcolm Muggeridge in Ministry at Age Eighty

I have lots of friends who are "legally" and "officially" retired but who are busier than ever. Several years ago our ministry saw what was happening with people who in the past had busied themselves with little more than golf and drinking but now ere energetically involved in numerous worthwhile activities. We said we wanted to recruit, network and facilitate these "Seasoned Believers or Seasoned Citizens" into a lifetime of service for God, families and country.

As I began to look into what is happening demographically and spiritually with many Seniors, it became apparent to me that I was not the first to see a huge shift was occurring right before my eyes. In fact, I was in the center of the shift and nobody even asked if it was OK to be involved.

One of the men who was prescient about the deeper meaning of the age changes was Marc Freedman. Although much younger than most of the people he is focusing upon, Marc began to read articles about the different kinds of people and different implications of Age Waves that were impacting every part of our culture. Marc is the founder and entrepreneurial energy behind several organizations and annual celebrations and prizes for what we used to call, "The Gohttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.giflden Age".

Marc is best known for founding an organization called Civic Ventures. It is designed to help people over fifty find meaningful ways to contribute to themselves and others. Civic Ventures is having a terrifically positive impact on the way we seniors think and act. His book is The Big Shift It documents with stats, historical information and personal stories how the new ideas are radically changing the face of America and many other nations.

Look around you and see how many people who fifty years ago, would have been considered old, decrepit, useless and over the hill but who are energetically going about their business. I contend that we are living in an era of people who have the greatest aggregate amount of knowledge, talent, skills and wisdom in history. And, with 75 million Baby Boomers graduating into "retirement" over the next few years the abundance of potential will reach heights unimagined by anyone in history.

Mr. Freedman talks a great deal about how these people can be unleashed to give the nation and the world the benefit of their abilities. And, as he notes, at this age, giving is much more important to many people. Think not only of the transfer of wealth but also the transfer of wisdom, skills, gifts, spiritual insights and depth of experience. WOW!!!

What churches, community organizations or government agencies are recruiting these people? Doe you know of any that welcome and mobilize Seasoned Citizens? Let me know who they are and I will list them.

Friday, October 8, 2010

Families Care for a Person with a Disability


If you have been watching, listening and paying attention to what is happening in the world of medicine, health care, education, counseling and modern stress you probably already know what I am about to say. The Western World of Europe and the USA are in the midst of an epidemic. It is not an epidemic like the Black Plague that killed off some 1/3 of Europe or the Spanish Flu Epidemic that killed as many as 20 to 30 million mostly young men and women. No, the casualties are still living and the health care, interpersonal and family life costs are astronomical.

The current epidemic has to do with such things as Autism, Asthma, Anxiety, Depression, Learning Disabilities, Sensory Confusion, and so forth. It is estimated that Autism affected one in one thousand people at the turn of the 20 the century and now touches one in 100 children. This is an astronomical increase and so are so many other problems and sensitivities that children face, and none has a good diagnosis or treatment.

What can we who follow "The Great Physician" do to help these people? We could ignore the problems and when the families facing these overwhelming problems stop attending our church move on to other potential members. In the research we recently completed as a result of a grant from The Hatton Foundation found, parents who have a child with special needs experience two things when it comes to spiritual support.

1. Their desire for spiritual support, insights and action go way up! These folks desperately want and need Christians to come to their assistance. They want prayer, teaching on how to pray for their child, someone to listen to them, practical help and so much more.

2. The availability of spiritual support falls dramatically. In fact, several of our parents indicated that they had not received a single Pastoral call since the birth of a child with special needs. Many churches may pretend to be interested in outreach, missions, justice and the other fad buzz words but almost none do anything to help their own members who are in a crisis. Why reach out to people who are not interested and neglect those desperately wanting your fellowship?


If you want to understand what parents and their children want and need, go to the web for Sweeten Life and read about our upcoming Fall Family Gathering. Your life can be enriched by getting involved.

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Good News

I am posting some great articles about positive testimonies on my new blog, Spiritual Healing and Growth. Take a look.

Sunday, August 22, 2010

We Need Your Help

With your help, Sweeten Life Systems can win $25,000.00 plus other great prizes. We need your help to win. We have kicked off a new aspect of our ministry that falls squarely within our mission of "Building a lifetime of great relationships"(R)

We received a generous grant to do an in depth research study on the concerns, stresses, insights and conflicts of families with Special Needs kids. The research interviews are completed as is our grant so we need more money to carry out the Action Steps.

We have entered a great contest sponsored by Cincinnati Innovates. One of the ways they judge an entry is by "Fan Voting". Will you be our fan? You can go to their web and vote daily for us. So, please log in and vote for our entry tight now as well as tomorrow and Tuesday, and Wednesday, etc.

After you log into Cincinnati Innovates, look for Special Life Skills and read all about our project. Then, vote YES for Sweeten Life-Special Life Skills!

Monday, May 31, 2010

The Tea Party and The Fourth Great Awakening

I have mentioned several times on this blog that Nobel Prize winner Robert Fogel predicted in 1993 that the USA was going to experience an Awakening soon. Is it here now> Was he correct in his predictions and we are seeing The Fourth Great Awakening arise now? Is it seen partially, at least, in the Tea Party?

I think he was right and we are seeing an Awakening in American society. Remember, an Awakening does NOT mean that things in society are good or even getting better. In fact, every Awakening in American history has occurred because we were in a social, financial, moral crisis.

The Revival that preceded Awakening #1. came in the 1750's and ended in a war against the largest, most powerful and until then unbeatable army in the world. Great Britain. The Revolutionary War that we celebrate today was initiated by sons and daughters of those touched by the Revivals in New England.

The Awakening today will, I believe, enroll Seasoned Believers in the army of godly men and women who will touch American society. If you are over 45 contact me.

Read Fogel's book The Fourth Great Awakening if you want to learn more.

See my web if you want to know more about our work.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

This is a Great Day For Low Taxes

Almost nobody likes tax day, but people may look back nostalgically on tax day 2010 and those of earlier years because, almost certainly, taxes are going up in the future, and they may go up a lot. With hindsight, tax day 2010 may seem almost dreamy. Why? For starters, almost half of U.S. households aren't paying any income taxes on their 2009 earnings.

PHOTOS
The exact figure is 47 percent!
So that's pressure for higher taxes. But it's peanuts compared to the real threat: an aging America. As almost everyone knows, the huge baby-boom generation is edging—or collapsing—into retirement. Its first members, born in 1946, turn 65 in 2011, when they will qualify for Medicare. Some have already taken Social Security as early as 62 at a reduced rate.

Boomers collecting benefits, combined with uncontrolled health costs, are the underlying engine for rising federal spending and endless budget deficits.





Prevent Alzheimer's


My dad died after struggling with Alzheimer's disease. It was terrible to see and I have some anxiety that the problem is genetic. Is there anything I can do to keep me safe or at least safer? Well, maybe there is.

A new research study indicates that we can partially, at least, prevent Alzheimer's disease through eating a wise diet.

A team of medical researchers from Columbia University Medical Center has identified a "protective diet" that lowers the risk of Alzheimer's disease, according to research released Monday in the Archives of Neurology, a publication of the American Medical Association.

"We identified a dietary pattern that was strongly protective against the development of Alzheimer's disease," the researchers said.There is a link to this story at the Washington Times.

Take care of yourself. God's work with you is not finished.


See my web page www.Sweetenlife.com for more ideas.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Many Seasoned Believers Attend Seminar

Steven Hayner, President of Columbia Seminary spoke at the "21st Century Evangelism Event" held at Lebanon Presbyterian Church last Saturday. Some 180 persons, mostly Seasoned believers, attended with great gusto and excitement. I taught two workshops and the enthusiasm was palpable among the folks who came. They asked good questions and were animated in their responses.

I am posting the slides from my presentations plus additional slides that I think you will enjoy on my web at www.sweetenlife.com. You will also be interested in my new blog at
http://spiritualhealingand growth.blogspot.com

Here is my question: Why do so many churches have no graded adult discipleship classes? All churches have graded classes for children. None of us would think of mixing four year old kids with fourth grade or fourteen year old kids but we do that all the time with adults. Not on age but on the age of their spiritual life.

It would be easy to do and most Christians would welcome it.

Monday, February 1, 2010

Missionaries in Haiti

How many of the 100,000 Christians in Haiti who are there to help the people suffering are ordained Clergy from seminaries? I do not know but almost all the people I know about are ordinary people with an extra ordinary God and an extra ordinary amount of love and compassion.

God is love and those who abide in love abide in Him.

I am thankful that so many brothers and sisters are willing and able to minister in Haiti in my stead and in the name of my Master.

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Kurt Warner World Impact


Kurt Warner just announced his retirement from professional football. He did not, however, retire from life. he is 38 years old and has a lot of years to live for the Lord. But, we might ask, other than a famous name and seven kids, what does Kurt Warner have to offer to the Lord's work?

Kurt, to my knowledge, has not been to seminary or Bible school and he is not a great orator or a skilled teacher, the talents we usually look for in Christian Ministers. Many clergy would look at Kurt and ask what one asked me: "How can you call yourself a minister when you never even went to seminary?"

Yes, this man of the cloth tried to insult me by saying I was not prepared to be useful to the Lord's work because I had not attended graduate school in theology. I was not offended much. Just a little bit. I did not reply that I had a Bachelor's degree in Education and a Master's in Higher Education both critically important to Christian Discipleship, the key to church growth and health. Nor did I let him know that I had a Doctorate in Counseling which is critical to Pastoral Care. Nor did I add that I had served Jesus for thirty years in a variety of ways.


I simply responded that I was similar to a guy named John Calvin, the guy who my clergy friend most admired. He was offended and said, "But he was different." I replied, "And so were Peter, James and John, I suppose." Everyone I mentioned plus millions of other men and women had significant Christian influence as what we now call "Laity" and entered their "ministry stage" after years of what is considered "secular" work or did "Christian work" in "secular" areas.

Kurt Warner's career life has been experienced mostly in "secular" fields but that enhances his credibility with the public whose identification is with non-theological people like themselves. Even Kurt's sports' life, as unique as it is, is closer to the common sports player or sports fan than a clergy person.

Perhaps the greatest thing a man like Kurt Warner has to offer to Christ is his genuineness, care and concern. He and his wife Brenda and their seven kids are genuinely nice, compassionate Christian people. It is exciting to see another Seasoned Believer use his talents, gifts and experiences to touch the world in the name of Christ.

Go to my web page www.sweetenlife.com for ways to get involved.

Friday, January 15, 2010

The Most Talented and Gifted People


It is usually stated that the hope of a nation's future is found in its youth. That is true on its face because older people will be outlived by the young ones. However, it is not true if those who are coming up lack the education, skills, wisdom and insight to lead the nation into a better future than we had in the past.


One of the motivating factors of past generations was hope that one's children would be better off than the current adult generation. That may no longer be true for financial growth. The Builder and Baby Boomer Generations have done remarkably well financially. However, in some areas the world we leave our offspring may not be in better shape than we found it.


In the areas of morals, spirituality and family values we seem to have fallen behind other generations and are leaving our kids a mess. But God is still in heaven and He has not decided to send another flood to wipe us out. I believe that instead He will send revival after revival and awakening after awakening to keep the number of sold out Christians in the world increasing.


There are easily some 100 million Seasoned Citizens in America. Just think 100 million people with years of experience and insights. It is the best educated and richest group in history. This is a group that desperately needs something to do. When will church leaders stop trying to build their ministries on a bunch of kids and take advantage of these people who have disposable income, disposable time and disposable love and want to share all of them?


Two of my friends have given up on the organized churches and their myopic leaders. Even the churches, like the Vineyard, that at one time were on the cutting edge of recruiting lay men and women have shut Seasoned Believers out. No wonder they are in so much financial trouble.

I know of several bright, articulate teachers who are not allowed to share their gifts

at the churches they have supported for decades. What a tragedy.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Gift Discovery for Seasoned Citizens

For many years I have coached men and women about finding a career they love. Most of these folks were young and just beginning their careers. Last Sunday I met a young woman who wants to counsel children and families. She asked me about graduate schools and majors. I was happy to give her my experience and advice.

Although I still meet younger people who are wondering how to decide on a career, I am now talking with a lot of men and women in their Fifties who are trying to discern what to do about a second half career or ministry. As a result I have developed a check list process designed to facilitate self understanding of gifts, talents, skills and how they interact with personal experiences.

Over the next few months we will be having some workshops and classes where Seasoned Believers can gather and do some easy self analysis to see what God is saying to them for the next stage of development. Stay tuned for an announcement.

Friday, January 1, 2010

Services to Seniors

I ate this morning at Chick-fi-a. Their chicken sandwich cannot be beat. I love it. And, it is a company run by Christians with solid Christian values and support of Christian ministries.

I noted that every Monday they will host, "Senior Nights" with special prices and events just for people my age. (I wonder if they will "card" me. I have not been carded for a long time.)

I certainly appreciate the desire of Chick-fil-a and other companies to do some special things for the oldsters. We can use it. However!!! These kinds of activities mirror the churches that sponsor "Hand Holding Activities" for their Seniors. Most of us want places to serve others and to use our time, talents and gifts for God. We are educated in the Bible and know for sure that the following passages of scripture are real and true.



"It is better to give than receive."

"Give and it shall be given unto you; pressed down, shaken together and placed into your lap."

The person who buries his/her talents will lose what they have but those who "invest" their talents will receive many more.

I am greedy! I want to use my talents so I get more. This is why I call this blog, "SEASONED BELIEVERS not Senior Believers". We are seasoned and some of us are marinated and ready to serve. Just give us a chance.

We have time, lots of time.

We have money.

We have experience at work and at church.

We have wisdom.

We have desire to minister.



All we need is an opportunity.

Monday, December 21, 2009

Dems Dislike Health Bill but Hate GOP Worse

BILL MOYERS:

Welcome to the JOURNAL. Something's not right here. One year after the great collapse of our financial system, Wall Street is back on top while our politicians dither. As for health care reform, you're about to be forced to buy insurance from companies whose stock is soaring, and that's just dandy with the White House.

Truth is, our capitol's being looted, republicans are acting like the town rowdies, the sheriff is firing blanks, and powerful Democrats in Congress are in cahoots with the gang that's pulling the heist. This is not capitalism at work. It's capital. Raw money, mounds of it, buying politicians and policy as if they were futures on the hog market.

Here to talk about all this are two journalists who don't pull their punches. Robert Kuttner is an economist who helped create and now co-edits the progressive magazine THE AMERICAN PROSPECT, and the author of the book OBAMA'S CHALLENGE, among others. Also with me is Matt Taibbi, who covers politics for ROLLING STONE magazine where he is a contributing editor. He's made a name for himself writing in a no-holds-barred, often profane, but always informative and stimulating style that gets under the skin of the powerful. His most recent article is "Obama's Big Sellout," about the President's team of economic advisers and their Wall Street connections. It's been burning up the blogosphere. Welcome to both of you.

BILL MOYERS: Let's start with some news. Some of the big insurance companies, Well Point, Cigna, United Health, all surged to a 52 week high in their share prices this week when it was clear there'd be no public option in the health care bill going through Congress right now. What does that tell you, Matt?

MATT TAIBBI: Well, I think what most people should take away from this is that the massive subsidies for health insurance companies have been preserved while it's also expanded their customer base because there's an individual mandate in the bill that's going to provide all these companies with the, you know, 25 or 30 million new people who are going to be paying for health insurance. So, it's, obviously, a huge boon to that industry. And I think Wall Street correctly read what the health care effort is all about.

ROBERT KUTTNER: Rahm Emanuel, the President's Chief of Staff, was Bill Clinton's Political Director. And Rahm Emanuel's take away from Bill Clinton's failure to get health insurance passed was 'don't get on the wrong side of the insurance companies.' So their strategy was cut a deal with the insurance companies, the drug industry going in. And the deal was, we're not going to attack your customer base, we're going to subsidize a new customer base. And that script was pre-cooked so it's not surprising that this is what comes out the other side.

BILL MOYERS: So are you saying that this, what some call a sweetheart deal between the pharmaceutical industry and the White House, done many months ago before this fight really began, was because the drug company money in the Democratic Party?

ROBERT KUTTNER: Well, it's two things. Part of it was we need to do whatever it takes to get a bill. Never mind whether it's a really good bill, let's get a bill passed so we can claim that we solved health insurance. Secondly, let's get the drug industry and the insurance industry either supporting us or not actively opposing us. So that there was some skirmishing around the details, but the deal going in was that the administration, drug companies, insurance companies are on the same team. Now, that's one way to get legislation, it's not a way to transform the health system. Once the White House made this deal with the insurance companies, the public option was never going to be anything more than a fig leaf. And over the summer and the fall, it got whittled down, whittled down, whittled down to almost nothing and now it's really nothing.

MATT TAIBBI: Yeah, and this was Howard Dean's point this week was that this individual mandate that's going to force people to become customers of private health insurance companies, the Democrats are going to end up owning that policy and it's going to be extremely unpopular and it's going to be theirs for a generation. It's going to be an albatross around the neck of this party.

ROBERT KUTTNER: Think about it, the difference between social insurance and an individual mandate is this. Social insurance everybody pays for it through their taxes, so you don't think of Social Security as a compulsory individual mandate. You think of it as a benefit, as a protection that your government provides. But an individual mandate is an order to you to go out and buy some product from some private profit-making company, that in the case of a lot of moderate income people, you can't afford to buy. And the shell game here is that the affordable policies are either very high deductibles and co-pays, so you can afford the monthly premiums but then when you get sick, you have to pay a small fortune out of pocket before the coverage kicks in. Or if the coverage is decent, the premiums are unaffordable. And so here's the government doing the bidding of the private industry coercing people to buy profit-making products that maybe they can't afford and they call it health reform.

Kuttner: Well, it's so far from what I think is necessary that I don't think it's a it's a good bill. But I think if it goes down, just because of the optics of the situation and the way the Republicans have framed this as a make-or-break moment for President Obama, it will make it easier for the Republicans to take control of Congress in 2010. It will make Obama even more gun-shy about promoting reform. It will create even more political paralysis. It will embolden the Republicans to block what this president is trying to do, some of which is good, at every turn. So I would hold my nose and vote for it. . . .

Moyers: Aren't you saying that in order to save the Democratic president and the Democratic Party in 2010 and 2012 you have to have a really rotten health insurance bill?
Kuttner: Well, when you come down to one pivotal moment where a bill is before Congress and the administration has staked the entire presidency on this bill and you're a progressive Democrat are you going to vote for it or not? Let me put it this way, if I were literally in the position that Joe Lieberman is in and it was up to me to determine whether this bill live or die, I would hold my nose and vote for it even though I have been a fierce critic of the path this administration has taken. . . .

The Democrats are really between a rock and a hard place here, because if it loses, there's one set of ways the Republicans gain. If it wins, there could be another set of ways that the Republicans gain. And this is all because of the deal that our friend, Rahm Emanuel struck back in the spring of passing a bill that's a pro-industry bill that doesn't really get at the structural problems. . . .

But now we're down to a moment of final passage. And maybe my views are very ambivalent. But I would still vote for it because I think the defeat would be absolutely crushing in terms of the way the press played it, in terms of the way it would give encouragement to the far right in this country that we can block this guy if we just fight hard enough, if we just demagogue it.

Taibbi: But couldn't that defeat turn into--that crushing defeat, couldn't that be good for the Democrats? Couldn't it teach them a lesson that, you know, maybe they have to pursue a different course in the future?

Kuttner: Well, you're younger than I am.

Saturday, December 5, 2009

Seniors Lead the Way Forward


Seasoned Believers in Significant Ministries


We live in an exciting time. Although many Believers are frustrated with the ways society and culture are on a terrible downturn, God has a plan. The passage that comes to mind at such times says, “When the enemy comes in like a flood God will raise up a standard against it.”

As western society began to fall apart in the sixties and seventies God poured out His Holy Spirit on millions of people in a massive world wide revival. Young men and old along with women and children had supernatural experiences of redemption and found their hearts burning with a fire that was unquenchable.

Those people, most of whom were called Baby Boomers, went out into various professions and brought dramatic changes to every profession, institution, organization and ministry. Some went to seminary thinking that the best way to pass their burning hearts to the world was professional church work service.

Most did not become professional clerics but chose professions and careers that in times past were considered secular”. Now we know that there is no such thing as secular work for God’s people. These Spirit filled kids attended colleges, got married and reared children, worked all over the world and studied the Bible in small groups to develop a level of practical spiritual maturity rarely ever seen before in history. What now?

It is forty years later and those Baby Boomer Kids are now grand parents, retired executives and wondering what is next. Back in the early days of the Jesus Movement Revival they were all asking, “What challenge is next for me to accomplish in the power of God’s love?” Now they are asking, “What’s next for me; a retirement home?”

We have a population of Seasoned Believers with the best education, the best Christian training, the best professional experiences and the best financial condition in history. Despite these amazing facts there are few places open to the leadership of these gifted, talented and experienced men and women. Why?

The sacred secular split in Christian thinking. Ever since Constantine decided to merge the church and state the western world has seen life split between some activities that were “holy, pure and godly” and others that are “Unholy, impure and ungodly”. This evil lie from the pit of hell has always been a severe block to expanding God’s Kingdom but is presently so pernicious that it must be attacked and defeated.
A lack of leadership who understand how to recruit, mobilize and encourage Seasoned Believers to grab the gusto in any and all areas of life. The men and women who dominate “sacred” organizations are severely biased against mature persons as well as those who have been successful in other careers. Many church leaders do not have the self confidence or ability to recruit and release people who are smarter, wealthier and more experienced than they. They are essentially digging holes and burying their talents.


It takes wisdom, creativity, skills and knowledge to understand how to unleash Seasoned Believers in non traditional ways.


Seasoned Believers are anxious and unsure how they can minister in a secular world. Wise leaders will have to open the doors for these talented, mature and gifted men and women.

Sweeten Life Systems is searching for ways to open doors for Seasoned Believers. In 2008 we held a kick off to cast a vision for a Significance Center, a movement not a place that will gather Seasoned Believers and inspire them about ways they can overcome the blocks to full engagement at this most important time in life. If you are interested in joining up with us leave a cooent.

Does God Answer our Prayers?


The following story illustrates why it is so hard to serve God in today's world. Those who truly believe in God will suffer from persecution.


In a small Texas town, ( Mt. Vernon ) Drummond's bar began construction on a new building to increase their business. The local Baptist church started a campaign to block the bar from opening with petitions and prayers..

Work progressed right up till the week before opening when lightning struck the bar and it burned to the ground.


The church folks were rather smug in their outlook after that, until the bar owner sued the church on the grounds that the church was ultimately responsible for the demise of his building, either through direct or indirect actions or means. The church vehemently denied all responsibility or any connection to the building's demise in its reply to the court.

As the case made its way into court, the judge looked over the paperwork. At the hearing he commented,"I don't know how I'm going to decide this, but as it appears from the paperwork, we have a bar owner who believes in the power of prayer, and an entire church congregation that does not."

G

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Obama is a Great Communicator



Chancellor Merkle of Germany looks askance at Mr. Obama

Senator Obama became President Obama because he was able to communicate well in speeches. The talks were well written, well delivered and well received. They had almost no content and many people loved the fact that he said so little. He did it in a way that allowed them to fill in the blanks about hope and change with their own projections about hope and change.

Now, however, President Obama must talk about and act on actual events and so far he has not fared well. He loves to talk and he is giving a lecture almost every day to some group or another. It is as though he won the race by talking well so he thinks he can govern the same way. Most people disagree.

His base of Left Wing radicals are not happy because they thought he would disavow everything Bush did and said but he has not. They are ticked off that he promised to close Gitmo and release the prisoners but he discovered to is chagrin that those people are dangerous terrorists. (Gasp!)

Now Obama is expected to take a stand for freedom and democracy. He took a trip to China recently and spoke to college students. Here was his chance to really show his ability to challenge the Chinese leaders to open up the Internet, radio and TV to honest reporting. But he struck out by swinging like a little girl rather than with the power of the leader of the strongest and greatest nation on earth.

His wishy, washy manner came out during the town hall and were directed at China's Internet controls.

"I'm a big supporter of non-censorship. I recognize that different countries have different traditions. I can tell you that in the United States, the fact that we have free Internet--or unrestricted Internet access--is a source of strength, and I think should be encouraged."

Chinese bloggers who saw it were grateful that he addressed censorship, but many zeroed in on what they considered Obama's waffling language. Wang Pei, a writer based in eastern China's Hangzhou, twittered, "Learn English from Obama: Instead of saying 'I want to eat,' say 'I am a big supporter of non-hunger."

Where is the cheese? Obama wants more than anything to be liked and affirmed by Europeans and Europeans hate strong directive Americans. They call us "Cowboys". Ronald Reagan was a cowboy and so was George W. Bush and they could not stand either of them. Europe loves the passive voice and the passive politician and Obama is fitting right in with their preferences. Unfortunately, for him, he is not President of Europe but of the USA and Americans like strong leaders.

What do you think about this kind of mushy mouthed speech?

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Growing up in Christ

As I reviewed this blog I grew to like it a lot. This topic, helping people grow in maturity and use their God given gifts more effectively, has been my focus for decades. I think we did a very good job of it back at College Hill Presbyterian Church in the late Seventies and all the Eighties.

I am biased, of course, but there are many people who were never at CHPC who agree with my assessment because they have seen the fruit of our ministry all over Greater Cincinnati and the the world. In fact, just this morning I heard from another Seasoned Believer that CHPC was unique in training and releasing lay men and women into all kind of ministries. They went on to say that we were still a model for a lot of churches today.

What was it we did that worked? First, we had a balanced ministry of preaching, teaching and practicing the ministry of Jesus. Before the Ascension, Jesus told His followers to "Go into the world and teach everything He taught and do everything He did. Well, we tried.

There are four things that every successful congregation covers if it wants to have balanced ministry.

1. God's truth in scripture and in the world

2. Practice and teach the fruit of the Spirit

3. Facilitate understanding of and the universal practice of the gifts of the Spirit

4. Promote the understanding and release of God's power in every way possible

We clearly attempted to not only practice these four aspects of Christianity but we also told our members what we were attempting to do. We made our intentions clear. We did not skip the "hard teachings" or water down the controversial aspects of our approach. Additionally, we asked people to go to another church if they disagreed with our stands.

Go to my other active blog
Brave Heart
http://garysweetenblogspotcom.blogspot.com for additional information on my ideas.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Taking Every Thought Captive

I am again teaching the classic course, Rational Christian Thinking, that I first developed and wrote back in the eighties. Pastor Brad Rosenberg asked me to train his staff and Lay leaders how to live in the freedom of Christ and I agreed.

Because his wife Angie had gotten so much out of the training before she asked Brad to let everyone attend so young mothers like her could benefit from the training and rear their children free of fear and anxiety. So, we are teaching over 100 adults each Wednesday evening at Tri County Assembly of God in Fair field, Ohio north of Cincinnati.

It is a thrill to be able to "Equip the saints to DO the work of ministry" and I love training them in ways to "Renew their minds" according to the Bible. The students are eagerly lapping up the information and responding with great interactions in the class.

Over the next few posts I will write some of the basic principles of biblically renewing the mind so the readers can start getting free from cultural, social and devilish ideas. I am amazed at how many Spirit filled Christians are ensnared in old fleshly ways to thinking, feeling and acting yet believe they "Have the mind of Christ."

A mind of Christ is a peaceful mind. It is Free from worry, free from anxiety and free from letting others put them down. They could care less what others think because they know what Jesus thinks.

So, read and reflect on how Gos can set us free from the "Stinking Thinking" that keeps us in bondage.

Monday, June 9, 2008

On Vacation

I have placed this blog on hold and will be posting to the Brave Heart Blog at http://garysweetenblogspotcom.blogspot.com So, move on over to my oldest blog and post til your heart's content.

I have a new web at www.sweetenlife.com and may put up a blog with the sweetenlife moniker. We shall see what the future holds.