Winter's Last Gasp

March 4, 2015

As I sit here on my day off listening to the rain fall I know that as the temperature drops we will soon have ice.  It’s the time of the year I would like to be out in the yard working on spring time projects, but those will have to wait until another day.

This is winter’s last gasp…one more time to close down churches, schools, ball games, and other activities.  One more time to get the propane tank filled to avoid being caught in the cold.  One more time to make jokes about people running to Walmart and buying all the bread and milk like we all will be snowed in for a week.

Ah but then come spring.  The daffodils stubbornly pushing their way up through the frozen ground brings the promise that the season is upon us.  Spring is symbolic of new life in Jesus as the world we know as cold and dead becomes warm and alive.  Dead to sin, but alive to God through Jesus Christ is vividly painted by the brushes of spring.

But winter still gets its last gasp.  Sin often rears its ugly head as we are about to accomplish something good for Christ, Satan tries to get in one last blow—one more jab before he goes down for the count.

As you see things moving forward in your small church, don’t be surprised if something unexpected goes wrong near the end.  It’s only winter’s last gasp and will soon be replace by the sweet song of spring.

 

Is It Good to "Force" People into Duty?

July 13, 2014

As many of you know our church has moved to our new building recently. For several years we met in a one room facility. Now we have space for other things than just worship, notably for our children.

This blessing brings with it a dilemma…workers to take care of the kids. One night we had several kids show up with no supervision. Who would have a class for them? Would it be the lady who already tended to them on Sunday morning or the one who runs a daycare and works with children ten hours a...


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Which Andy Griffith Character Best Describes Your Leadership Style?

July 4, 2014

Something a little light for the holiday.

I love to watch old reruns of The Andy Griffith Show. The goings on in small town Mayberry keep me amused no matter how many times I may have seen an episode. The characters represent a cross section of Americana. Which one are you?

1. Andy. Andy is the star of the show—everything revolves around him. When something goes wrong the folks in the community look to him for answers. He often has good insight into a situation and is able to help everyone re...


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Weeding Out the Church--Handling Tough Members

June 27, 2014

Recently I’ve been working on my lawn. I live in the country and work on a limited budget. When we moved here my wife and I sowed several patches of bermuda grass and let nature do the rest. But as time passed, weeds also began to grow and so, using a small garden sprayer and over the counter chemicals, I try to kill the weeds for the benefit of the good grass. Here are a few lessons to learn about weeding out the church.

1. The Weeds Come Up Even Though You Didn’t Plant Them. By weeds I a...


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Is Church Size a Sign of God's Blessing?

June 20, 2014

I recently read a post by a Christian man who said it was incorrect to attribute doing well materially to the blessing of God. The premise was that if having things was a sign of God’s favor then a lack of things would have to be a sign of His disfavor. We thus would be spiritual snobs to imply the good things we have are thanks to God. Just think how bad we would make people feel who have less.

As you can probably tell by now I disagree with the author’s take on things. I absolutely belie...


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5 Reasons to Review Your Small Church Music Service

June 12, 2014

Very few things can get folks worked up like suggesting a change in their church’s song format. It has been known to cause bitter fights and even church splits. So why take on so volatile a subject? Here are five reasons.

1. Your Music may be too Familiar. Sometimes we overkill a song. We sing it so often that it loses its true meaning. This can happen with new songs as well as old. I remember when our church learned one particular song that became very popular, so much so that we sang it a ...


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Does Anyone Want to be a Healthy Small Church?

October 11, 2013

Recently Karl Vater, one of the most respected names in small church ministry, was asked to speak at a conference hosted by Rick Warren's mega church: Saddleback.  He did a great job and was able to touch a number of people with the need for small churches to be healthy before they grow (or even if they do not grow).

I think this is great!  In fact, when I saw that Karl was on the program I just about did cartwheels across the living room!  It has been my experience that most people are only i...


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Our Sad Society

September 7, 2013

I don't know what made me think about it.  For some reason I started googling some odd terms.  Christian nude, Christian porn, Christian swingers...these all had websites promoting their causes.

Really?  I mean come on, how in the world are you going to justify such rubbish as being authentic expressions of the teachings of Jesus.  The answer is of course that you can't.  These, and other so called Christian terms have nothing to do with the Bible or the author thereof.

But these sites say a lo...


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My Book Finally Published

August 25, 2013

Way back in November of 2011 I told you that I had written a book "Surviving and Thriving in the Small Church."  I said that I was working on getting it published.  Well a couple of years later the day has finally come.

I tried conventional publishers.  They would take my book, look it over, tell me how fine it was, and then let me know they were not going to print it.  After a while I just put it aside and moved on to other things.

But lately I got to thinking about it again and checked out se...


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Don't Have a Medicare Mentality

July 27, 2013
Besides my work as a small church pastor I also work in a medical supply store.  One thing that has always struck me as odd is a policy Medicare has.  It's not worded this way, but what it boils down to is that you can only get worse, not better.

Let me give an example.  If your doctor sees you getting a little feeble he can prescribe a cane and medicare will help pay.  Later on if you get worse, he can prescribe a walker.  If things keep going down he can order a wheelchair.  And if things go...

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About Me

Terry Reed
Wynne, Arkansas
Terry Reed

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