Tuesday's Catch: 'Overcoming Isolation During Church Revitalization" And More

Overcoming Isolation During Church Revitalization
In the church world, the epidemic of loneliness has caused pastors to suffer in silence through anxiety, depression, and other mental health challenges. This has led to high-profile instances that have grieved the church. Church revitalization is pressured packed and if a leader does not develop tools of renewal, they too will fall to the isolation that comes with leading. Here are four ways to overcome isolation in church revitalization....

Being Offended by Offensive Things Is Good, Actually
I found this article the most thoughtful of the reactions to the opening ceremonies of the Olympic games that I have read to date.These reactions have ranged from extreme outrage to near indifference. The latter was rationalized by the failure of US evangelicals to be selective in who and what offends them, focusing on the offensive behavior of a particular group while ignoring the offensive behavior of a particular individual.

A Tyranny of Normalcy
In 2015, my wife and I were struggling to raise our two young sons to know Jesus Christ. Our children are autistic, mostly non-verbal, and diagnosed with intellectual disability. One of the big challenges this presents is how to participate in worship. They are not capable of sitting still for a long time, and they make a lot of noise. We tried worshiping at numerous places unsuccessfully.

Hang on, Why Should We Read the Bible in Context?
One of the key principles in biblical interpretation is that the text doesn’t say something different to us than what it said to its first hearers. That is, there’s nothing new or hidden in the text, we just need to work hard to understand it and its context.

Monk or Missionary: These are the only options now.
Casually using social media, mindlessly scrolling through videos or tweets looking for entertainment or pretending it’s making you more informed than it actually is, is not a neutral option. If you are not in control of your social media, social media will be in control of you. And your life will be worse off for it. Why would you subject yourself to a worse life, poor mental health, weak relationships, and a number of other damaging factors just to watch a few mildly funny videos? Count the cost.

Related Article: Why your smartphone might be stopping you from following Jesus

8 Free Tools to Help Your Ministry Succeed
Have you ever tried to complete a task without the right tools?

Youth Group Games: Mini-olympic games
Our collection of olympic themed games are perfect for your "mini-olympics" parties and youth group nights. There are plenty of individual challenges and team events, including relays, competitions and time trials.Whether you're celebrating the Olympics, the Commonwealth Games, the Winter Olympics or just a straight-up olympic fanatic, these activity ideas are sure to combine to create an action-packed schedule for your event.

10 Commandments Activities for Kids: Ideas Your Children ‘Shalt’ Enjoy
For 10 Commandments activities for kids, loads of creative options exist. Ideas like the ones below supplement a kidmin lesson well. It’s a snap to make your Sunday school class, children’s church, or VBS session extra fun and memorable. Use these 10 Commandments activities for kids for a “thou shalt enjoy” adventure! Students will learn Scripture and discover why God’s followers strive to obey his laws.

5 Tensions in Missions Your Church Should Navigate
Church leaders often deal with a variety of conflicting goals and desires, both their own and those of others. Of course, this isn’t unique to domestic ministry. The task of global missions comes with its own set of tensions. Here are five that missionaries will likely encounter and that sending churches should be ready to help them navigate.

Sharing the Gospel through friendship
The Word One to One is a guided read through John's amazing Gospel. It is a brilliant resource to help you share the Gospel and tell people about the Lord Jesus. It is written specifically for cowards like me who have never done anything like reading the Bible with someone who isn't Christian in their lives before. My friend Sara and I have both downloaded it onto our phones and when we meet, we dive into the next of the "Episodes", each of which is carefully crafted so that you can read the Gospel together in small chunks which allow time for questions and discussion.