by Clarence E. Stowers | Mar 22, 2011 | Christian, Christianity, Conference/Workshops, Events, Worship
Mark my words: This weekend will forever be etched in the hearts of every true worshiper!
Why? Whenever you gather Valencia Lacy, Pastor Rose Harper, Min. Que Payne, Pastor Don Clark, and the Worship & Fine Arts Ministry Team of Mars Hill together – EXPECT the Presence of God to manifest. Don’t believe me…Check out the conference line up and see!
General Session:
Friday, March 25, 2011 7pm
I “Minister” Worship 7:30 p.m. til 8:30 p.m
Pastor Don Clark and Pastor Rose Harper
Teachings on the foundations of worship and the ministers role in supporting and advancing the Kindom as it pertains to worship and the Worship service.
The Ministry of Movement
Que Payne
Foundational teachings and bibical truths taught on Movement, the role each minister plays and recognition of who we are in the KINGDOM.
Singers That Touch The Heart of God/Heart of Worship!!
Valencia Lacy
Transition me from an ordinary singer into a singer/psalmist that touches the Heart of God!! Bring me back to fellowship, purpose, Spirit and Truth!!
The Ark of The Covenant
Pastor Don Clark
Biblical teaching on the purpose of the “Ark of the Covenant” the Glory of God and Life Beyond the Veil!! Get ready to EXPERIENCE THE GLORY!!
Wait, there’s more… (more…)
by Clarence E. Stowers | Mar 21, 2011 | Communication, Decisions, Leadership, Self-Leadership, Servant Leadership
I’m BACK!!!
Since I’ve been away, I’ve been extremely busy launching an online Bible Study, planning a Praise & Worship Concert (March 25-27, 2011) at Mars Hill Baptist Church of Chicago, pouring into our men, and leading a thriving and growing church. The greatest blessing while being away is I took time to work on creative content to share with my blog family. Thanks for your patience.
Laying hands on our men during an altar call – Sunday, March 20, 2011
It’s officially conference season and like any other industry, Christendom has plenty to offer. Before you run off and attend this year’s bevy of conferences, I suggest you spend time clearly defining and understanding the culture of your church, business, or ministry. Why? One of the deadliest mistakes leaders make is failing to understand the existing organizational culture. Often new leaders work diligently to transplant their heart and vision into people who ultimately reject it. Why…failure to take time and discern and understand the culture.
I define culture as the beliefs and behaviors of an organization. In short, every organization has a “certain way” of doing things and that way is ultimately determined by that organization’s culture. For this reason change is often difficult to embrace because it pushes against that organization’s culture.
“Culture – not vision or strategy is the most important factor in organization” according to leadership consultant Samuel Chand (Source: Cracking Your Church’s Culture). He goes on to share how “it determines the receptivity of the staff and volunteers to new ideas, unleashes or dampens creativity, builds or erodes enthusiasm, and creates a sense of pride or deep discouragement about working or being involved.”
Mars Hill is currently transitioning to a church that focuses on Worship and The Word. Consequently, as leaders we worked long and hard to discern our culture before we transitioned our church. First, we had to establish a true leadership culture of service.
What is True Leadership Culture?
Leadership culture takes on many forms. Many theories on leadership talk about natural leadership styles that are linked to your personality type. Indeed, personality does play quite a big part in leadership. Some people are simply more natural leaders than others. The question is: Is there a culture that can be adopted by leaders that will make them more efficient? Is a successful leadership culture something that can be learned and applied? The answer is yes – A Culture of Service makes a Great Leader. Stay with me for the next few days as we discover this powerful leadership principle.
Question:
When you hear words like “culture” or “a culture of service,” what comes to mind?
by Clarence E. Stowers | Mar 3, 2011 | Apple/Mac, Church Issues, Excellence, Leadership
Yesterday, Apple summoned reporters to an event in San Francisco where it unveiled a new version of its popular tablet computer – iPad 2. “Apple clearly sent a message to all of the manufactures lining up to complete with it: Just go home.” (Andy Ihnatko – Chicago Sun-Times)
Apple is a very successful company. They’re innovative, swimming in cash, and have the friendliest staff I’ve ever met. I began thinking: “What could the church learn from Apple?” Theologically, I understand the church is a body and not a business and incorporating business models is risky (some may even say it’s heretical). Whatever! I’m a believer in principles and if there’s a transferrable principle, I’m applying it.
After visiting Apple’s retail stores and buying their products, the church can learn a lot if they would open their eyes and use a little imagination. Here’s what we can learn:
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by Clarence E. Stowers | Feb 25, 2011 | Christian, Christianity, Church Issues, Leadership, Teamwork
Every now and then I run across great information that MUST BE shared with my readers. I subscribe to Church Leaders, a blog dedicated to helping leaders lead better everyday. Today’s article by Chad Missildine, Pastor with LifeChurch.tv in Fort Worth, Texas is SO GOOD that I had to share it with you.
What is a Plastic Church?
A Plastic Church is a church that looks like church from the outside: building, services, staff, etc. Who knows, there may even be a steeple! On the inside, however, the Plastic Church barely resembles a church at all. No real community of believers, no prayer, no real concern for people, no application of Scripture in real life, no transformation. These are all signs of a real, authentic church. Could you have a Plastic Church or be on your way?
A plastic church looks like church from the outside, but inside there’s no real community.
Here are 10 Ways to Become a Plastic Church:
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by Clarence E. Stowers | Feb 24, 2011 | Bible Journey, Christian, Christianity, Digging Deeper, Technology
Two weeks ago I beta tested Digging Deeper ONLINE featuring The Book of Nehemiah for over 150 people from six different states – what an exciting time! I conducted a survey to see how we could make the experience more engaging and life-changing. If you’d like to review the survey, you can click HERE.
Judging from the result of the surveys, many desire a more interactive Bible study experience. In other words, be able to engage in active participation, discussion, and ask questions (I don’t blame you one bit). In order to do this and make Digging Deeper ONLINE more meaningful, we decided to reduce the class sizes (25 or less), offer multiple sessions, and focus on quality teaching and personal interaction.
For the past two weeks, I’ve been praying about how to make our online learning experiences more meaningful. Although online learning, Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites cannot and will not replace actual face-to-face gatherings, technology is a tool to support, strengthen, and enhance live gatherings.
Therefore, I’d like to introduce our proposed schedule…
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