by Clarence E. Stowers | Aug 17, 2009 | Current Affairs, Decisions, Events, Family, Fun Stuff, Parenting, Travel
Recently, I had a chance to take an extended vacation (hard to pull off for pastors) and drive to the Cooperstown Dreams Park National Invitational Tournament in Cooperstown, NY.
Much like the National Baseball Hall of Fame for Major League baseball players, each participant, upon induction, receives the coveted American Youth Baseball Hall of Fame ring and officially becomes one of the Cooperstown Dreams Park Little Majors. The Kodak photo of each player with his teammates is affixed to the Commemorative Induction Plaque for future enshrinement on the walls of the American Youth Baseball Hall of Fame. Our family will cherish this moment for the rest of our lives!
(Congratulations to Indians for finishing 10th out of 104 teams)
While away, I had a chance to reflect on life in general and the Lord revealed several foundational shattering truths that I plan to share in subsequent blog posts. These truths challenged me to think about life in a different way and challenged long held beliefs that have become TRADITIONS.
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by Clarence E. Stowers | Jul 20, 2009 | Current Affairs, Leadership, Politics, President Obama
Mr. President,
Congratulations on making history as the first African-American President of the United States of America! I admire you for your courage, passion, and tenacity. Additionally, you have proven that you are an effective leader because you assumed leadership when our country was on the brink of collapse. However, with these achievements, there is also some not so good news.
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by Clarence E. Stowers | Jun 26, 2009 | Current Affairs, Music, Television
Michael Jackson, one of the most widely beloved entertainers and profoundly influential artists of all-time, leaves an indelible imprint on popular music and culture. He is the King of Pop and we’ll forever remember you!
THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES & MUSIC MICHAEL!
1958-2009
by Clarence E. Stowers | May 26, 2009 | Christian, Christianity, Church Issues, Communication, Conference/Workshops, Current Affairs, Decisions, Empowerment, Leadership, Other Stuff, Politics, Vision
The North American Church is in decline and there are plenty of conferences offering their latest & greatest pitch to stop the church’s decline.
Each year we’re invited to hear “celebrity” pastors share God’s plan for the church and how we ought to adopt it and be large and successful like them. Frankly, I’m surprised that there hasn’t been a venue to really address how and why churches grow. Many pastors & church leaders make their annual pilgrimage to Saddleback, Willowcreek, North Point, Fellowship, New Birth, Greater St. Steven FGBC, The Potter’s House, etc. and come away excited and delusional with unrealistic expectations. Ed Stetzer of Lifeway calls it ministry pornography. According to Ed Stetzer:
“Ministry pornography is an unrealistic expectation of an experience you’re never going to have which distracts you from the real thing.”
God used these churches and their pastors for a specific time and in a specific place. Unfortunately, that experience is rarely duplicated. If you were to take the aforementioned churches and transplant them in other areas, the results would be drastically different. Can you imagine Bill Hybels, Rick Warren, or Andy Stanley leading an inner-city urban church? Or, can you see Bishop T.D. Jakes screaming “Get Ready…Get Ready…Get, Get, Ready” at Saddleback or North Point Church? Simply put, God rarely does the same thing twice.
May I Offer You A Few Suggestions to break your addiction to ministry porn:
- Confess your addiction to ministry pornography & repent!
- Do not attend any conferences for one year
- Get alone with your Bible, pen, & paper and discover God’s purpose for the church (read Matt. 22-37-40; 28:19-20, The Book of Acts)
- Get a demographic breakdown of your community (US Census Bureau or your local Chamber of Commerce).
- After discovering the purpose of the church, write down how your church plans to reach that community (this is the hard part). Make sure it’s less than a paragraph because people don’t like to read long statements.
- Preach/teach a series on God’s vision for the church and how you plan to fulfill it.
- Reorganize your church’s leaders, staff, volunteers, and structure (in that order)
- Evaluate & tweak your plan/strategy
So, what’s your next step? I’d love to hear it!
by Clarence E. Stowers | May 22, 2009 | Current Affairs, Decisions, Empowerment, Other Stuff, Relationships, Success
Everyone has made poor choices or done something in their past that could possibly be coined as “regrettable.” It’s easy to play the blame game, pointing fingers at someone else or circumstances as to why you have stumbled or why your life is difficult. Taking personal ownership that your past actions resulted in bringing about your currently reality is the first step to moving past regrets and moving toward a brighter future.
Here’s what I’d like for you to do:
ACKNOWLEDGE A MISTAKE HAS BEEN MADE
If your past actions or words have harmed another person an apology may be in order. Nobody is perfect and we all make mistakes. Continually berating yourself for past actions is self-defeating. Righting a wrong is not always feasible. If you feel badly about a past action, forgive yourself, others, and let it go and move on!
by Clarence E. Stowers | May 19, 2009 | College Life, Communication, Current Affairs, Decisions, Success
If you had a chance to go back and time redo life, would you? Everyone has made poor choices or done something in their past that could possibly be labeled as regrettable. But, think about it. The fact that you are now able to look back and realize that a mistake or mis-step occurred means you have learned a valuable lesson. Some of my choices may have landed me in unpleasant circumstances, but experiencing these things certainly built my current character. I wouldn’t be where I am today if it weren’t for those character-building situations.
Mistakes are stepping stones to an evolving life.
If I had to live my life over again, I’d try to make more mistakes. Why? Mistakes give us experience which, in turn, makes us wiser.
If you had to live your life over again what 3 things would you change?
