Pastor General
Joseph Tkach reviews three principles of worship in this month's Personal.Pastor General
Joseph Tkach reviews three principles of worship in this month's Personal.
First, God does want us to worship him. Worship is one of the reasons we are called: to declare his praises. In Scripture, we see a wide variety in the way worship can be done.
Second, despite the great variety in worship styles, we see a simple constant throughout Scripture: Only God is to be worshiped. God requires all our love, all our allegiance. We cannot serve two Gods.
The third constant is that worship must be sincere. It does no good to sing the right songs, meet on the right days and say the right words, if we don't love God in our hearts. Pages 6 and 7.
The WCG appreciates the job its pastors do in the service of the people of God, writes Dan Rogers, superintendent of ministers.
Because a pastor is a servant-shepherd to his parishioners, and because he is an ordained minister of the WCG, many expectations are placed on him.
To help each pastor better fulfill his duties and meet expectations, the following items will help him be aware of some of the criteria by which his job performance is judged by his supervisors.
Pastors are expected to model and teach spiritual formation; preach and teach the gospel; provide inspiring worship services; be a transformational leader; model and teach stewardship; promote small group ministry; prepare congregations for relational evangelism; participate in continuing education; serve the congregation faithfully; identify, develop, mentor and empower leaders; and be faithful to the Statement of Beliefs and the policies, practices and procedures of the denomination. Pages 8 and 9.
Ninety elders' wives met Sept. 4 to 6 in Los Angeles, California, for the first elders' wives conference.
The conference, organized by Jannice May, included six women from England, five from Canada and four from the Caribbean. They learned about living the role of a minister's wife.
The theme of "bonding and connecting in the presence of God" was expanded by several guest speakers. Pages 12 and 13.
The Worldwide Church of God in the Caribbean looks quite different
than it did a decade or so ago, writes Patrick Fearon in this month's Regional Snapshot.
The new look includes a more intimate walk with Jesus, more meaningful inreach and outreach, smaller church size and a more hands-on involvement on the part of members who are actively making a difference for the kingdom of God.
It is an encouraging picture of new spiritual life and vitality--in spite of the fact that the region has experienced its share of birth pangs during our passage from where we were, to where we are now. Pages 14 and 15.
Our late summer
income has taken another downturn.
August ended with a daily average income of just $97,420.
Our budget is $110,000 a day. The year-to-date income is $106,704.
Bernie Schnippert, director of Finance & Planning, writes that Ron Kelly has assumed the functions of controller for the church, so he can devote his time to the sale of the Pasadena campus and a pension plan for church employees. Pages 22 and 23.
Copyright © Worldwide Church of God, 1998