June 2017 Blog Posts (9)

I was recently at a gathering of disciple-making leaders, and one of the leaders said this; “Many of our churches are doing addition, when we need to be thinking about multiplication when it comes to making disciples.”  What he was saying is that we add people to our church, but we don’t expect them to reproduce themselves. Why? Do we communicate the expectation of reproduction to the people in our churches?  For many I believe this is a foreign concept, and if we want to see healthy…

Worthwhile Worship

© by Pastor Johnny R. Almond

The next morning the same thing happened—

the idol had fallen face down before the Ark of the Lord again.

This time his head and hands had broken…

G – In 2010 LifeWay Research set out to discover what were the essentials in churches that were seeing Spiritual Transformation take place.  One thing that consistently showed up was the importance of living in a healthy Christian community.  Churches that are intentional about seeing people get connected to other believers (LifeWay termed this as relational Intentionality) were also seeing believers maturing and growing in their faith.  A few years later, Ed…

Every day, every minute, every second, we make choices, and because we live in a time where there are so many choices, it can be hard at times to decide what’s important and how to best use our time and resources. We all face this challenge, at home, in school, at work, wherever and whoever we are.  That’s why setting priorities is so important.

I want to be clear up front, I am not an expert on this topic, in fact, I am a fellow struggler just like many of you.  So, the words that…

Reciprocal Honor

© by Johnny R. Almond

I will honor only those who honor me.

1 Samuel 2:30 NLT

I have established a proportionate relationship between consecration and celebration—the nearer…

Not all the lessons from my recent sabbatical in New Zealand and California would be relevant to your life, and some things are probably too personal to share. But I wanted to at least offer a few insights I think you’ll find beneficial.

There’s no place like home. Even though New Zealand and San Diego are two of the most beautiful places in the world, sometimes I could relate to Dorothy’s experience in “The Wizard of Oz.” Despite the dazzling colors and fascinating…

“Praying Hands” by Albrecht Dürer

A Good Listener

By Pastor Johnny R. Almond

Hannah was in deep anguish, crying bitterly as she prayed to the Lord.…

Reveling in Redemption

By Pastor Johnny R. Almond

Praise the Lord who has given you a family redeemer today!

Ruth 4:14 NLT

Rejoice in…

As a workaholic, I never cared much for solitude.  Oh, I knew about it and my need for it, but I just never made time for much of it.  I could quote Psalm 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God” and even learned the NASV translation, “Cease striving and know that I am God.” Even when I taught this as a part of discipleship, I quickly added, “Do as I say, not as I do.”  Workaholics think very little of solitude and workaholics who are also perfectionist think even less. But we who are…