Recruiting your Core Team Part I by Cris Cazarine Dutra
In this video, Cris Cazarine discusses the steps to take when recruiting members for a church-plant core team. She emphasizes that leaders should identify the type of church they plan to plant before recruiting, and she answers two important questions: When to start the recruiting process, and how to find the right people for your team. Watch the full video here.
Cris Cazarine is the Associate Director of Youth, Young Adult & Campus Ministries at Carolina Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
Time to Retake that Cultural Intelligence Quiz?
Gabriela Phillips, coordinator for Adventist Muslim Relations in the North American Division, and Carmelo Mercado, Lake Union’s general vice president, have written a number of articles on Cultural Intelligence. While you may think of yourself as culturally aware and intentional, these articles are worth reading and reflecting on, reminding us of the world beyond our quotidian encounters.
If you’ve already read them, it’s time to retake the CQ self-assessment.
Click the links. Take what you need. Share with a friend.
Cruise Control Off: Cultural intelligence for engaging “them” who are not like “me”
Tools for Decoding Cross-cultural Communication: Mazhar and Islam as a Blanket
Culture, Cultural Intelligence, and the Gospel
After the Earthquake: Ministering to People in Crisis Cross-Culturally
Justice and Mercy—The Culturally Intelligent Way
Power Distance: Neither Distance nor Powerlessness
Culture, Cultural Intelligence, and the Gospel
Answers
Reading Scripture Through CQ Lenses
Adventist Identity in the Context of Communicating with Muslims
A Cultural Intelligence: Emotional Intelligence Approach to Cross Cultural Conflict
NAD Women Clergy Retreat
Currently serving in the North American Division are 339 women clergy. These clergy serve as pastors, chaplains, administrators, professors, departmental leaders and other roles. Currently, every union in the North American Division has women clergy serving and sharing Jesus within their borders.
In recognition of the call God placed in these clergy's life, the Ministerial Association is hosting a division-wide women clergy retreat Monday, October 9 through Thursday, October 12, 2023. With a theme “Connected: Together in Ministry”, this time of refreshing and connection will take place at the Gaithersburg Marriott Washingtonian in Gaithersburg, MD. Currently accepting registration at the link below, add your name to the list of 58 who are already planning to attend. Registration fee is low because this is a gift to our women clergy, but it goes up on May 31.
Featured speakers are our NAD President Elder G. Alexander Bryant who will speak on connected to the Word of God. Expanding on this topic will be Dr. Elizabeth Talbot, Speaker/Director of Jesus 101. With a focus on Connected to our past, Dr. Michael Campbell, Director of NAD Archives, Research and Statistics will share stories of women clergy in Adventist history. Dr. Karen Cress, President of Culture Shift will provide coaches training in order for us to serve as coaches to one another in our ministry roles.
Register today.
Heather Crews is an associate ministerial director for the North American Division. Dr. Crews’ primary responsibilities include women clergy, pastor recruitment and leadership training.
10 Articles on Money that You’ll Be Glad You Didn’t Miss
From January through May of this year, we’ve shared 10 articles written by Dave Gemmell. They are from his research on pastoral wealth, a topic we don’t always discuss in public. But we should. One thing about these articles that make them so relevant to you and me is that the research they’re based on is 100% focused on Adventist pastors.
The articles are all conveniently linked below. Take what you need. Share with friends.
Why Some Adventist Pastors May Retire as Millionaires
Avoid Tax by Contributing to a Church Retirement Account
Financial Mentor
Deferred Gratification
Avoiding Consumer Debt
Charitable Contributions
Financial Literacy
Spousal Income
Owning Your Own Home
Bonus for Living in a High Cost Area
These articles are condensed from the full report of the study that was presented at the 2022 CALLED Pastors’ Family Convention and can be downloaded here. If you would like to dialogue with the author you can email him at davegemmell@gmail.com.
Connecting and Reclaiming Former Members by Joanne Cortes, Marshall McKenzie, & Hector Caban
Connecting and Reclaiming Former Members by Joanne Cortes, Marshall McKenzie, & Hector Caban
Four Types of Churches by Jose Cortes, Jr. & Brian Ford
There are different types of churches. Some of them are successful, while others are not. What type of church do you have? Watch this video to find out. Learn how to identify different types of churches and ways to help refine or maintain your current type.
Jose Cortes Jr. is Associate Director of the North American Division Ministerial Association. He leads in the association's areas of Evangelism, Church Planting, Global Mission, Church Growth, and Mission to the Cities for the Adventist Church in North America.
Brian Ford is Director of the North American Division eAdventist Membership Services and eAdventist Membership Services
Portfolio Careers in Music and Ministry: A Conversation with Anwar Ottley
“The traditional path of a student specializing in music studies has aligned itself with a few key areas—performance, pedagogy, and education. However, as a society evolves, so do the needs of its people, and this has posed a broader pool of professional opportunities for those seeking a career under the umbrella of music.”
Worship and Healing: An Interview with Richard Hickam
“The core of the social practice of music is connectedness. God is triune and also desires a relationship with His creation. We are also wired this way, and the arts in worship contribute with wide-ranging benefits, including healing our spirit. When we come together and worship God through music, we participate in a way that is physical, mental, and spiritual—the trifecta experience!”
Learning and Worshiping Together: An Interview with Adriana Perera
“What I am most excited to share with the community who will be coming to the Worship Leadership Certificate in August is the extraordinary opportunity to engage with music resources, training, inspiring worship experiences, and a network of nationally and internationally prominent worship scholars and leaders.”
Remembering the “Why” of Worship
“We seek holistic transformation and pursue “best practices” in our lives and ministries—including worship. But we do this not so that God will love and accept us but because God already does.”
A Cultural Intelligence-Emotional Intelligence Approach to Cross Cultural Conflict
As the pastor you are facing an accusation that there’s discrimination taking place in the church. What do you do?
To handle this problem, it’s important that the apostles not react in attack mode but instead exhibit some of the recognized qualities of high emotional intelligence
The Bible says the apostles gathered, which means they chose the culturally intelligent low power collaborative approach that sought an immediate outcome.
Bonus for Living in a High Cost Area
If you own a home in a high cost of living area, you are more likely to have a greater net worth.
Blacks, Hispanics, and Women have a higher net worth than White Men, likely because they tend to live in a high cost of living area.
While pastors can’t change their race/ethnicity or gender they can change their zip code.
Forgiveness and Loving Well in Cases of Abuse: a Brief Interview with the Authors
There remains a deep misunderstanding in religious communities that conflates forgiveness with immediate reintegration.
Unfortunately, in these situations, pastors very often get it wrong and end up supporting the manipulative abuser who presents like a victim.
A place where pastors can help mitigate the effects of abuse is by not contributing to double abuse.
NAD Women Clergy Retreat
339 women clergy currently serve in the North American Division.
The Ministerial Association is hosting a division-wide women clergy retreat October 9 through October 12, 2023.
Registration fee is low because this is a gift to our women clergy, but it goes up on May 31.
The Volunteer Lay Pastors Program by Walter Castro
Walter Castro talks about the Volunteer Lay Pastors Program in this Church Planters Bootcamp 2021 presentation. He says that the Volunteer Lay Pastors Program is a new trend that is moving fast across the North American Division and how much the laity is needed for churches to be planted, grow, and multiply.
Walter Castro is the Volunteer Lay Pastors Director for the Florida Conference of SDA
The Lifebridge Church by Dustin Serns
In this video, Dustin Serns presents the process of planting the LifeBridge Church during the 2020 pandemic. Serns talks about following the PLANT acronym as he started his church: P - Pray and recruit. L - Layout a vision. A - Activate ministry. N - Navigate worship. T - Train and send. Today the LifeBridge Church is a thriving community of believers that reaches the unchurched, and the young families and young professionals in University Place, Washington. Watch the full story here.
Dustin Serns is the Senior Pastor of LifeBridge Church in Washington
Adventist Identity in the Context of Communicating with Muslims
How can we best identify ourselves when talking with someone who is Muslim?
The answer is to “hear” what the other person is hearing.
Note four possible options to share and their implications.
Leading Your Church Through a Renovation: Tithing
Building or renovating a church can be daunting.
Read one experience of tithing while fundraising.
Have tips from your own experience to share with other pastors?
Owning Your Own Home
Owning your own home is the most influential factor in a pastoral family’s net worth.
Over half of pastors’ anticipated net worth will come from home equity.
Pastors who haven’t yet purchased their own home should discuss it with their future selves.
How Our Church Attendance Tripled After Covid
Read about the moving of the Holy Spirit in this Adventist church during and after the pandemic.
Their children’s ministries department grew from 5 to 70 children.
Seven specific areas made such growth possible.