Vacation Time for Pastors

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By Doug Talley Summer is rapidly approaching and that usually means vacations.  I recently had a church board ask me how much vacation time pastors should get, so I thought it might be helpful if I shared this widely.  This is really an article for church boards.  Pastors, I encourage you to share this with your board – or
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How Has The Covid Pandemic Changed You?

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By: Doug Talley Covid-19 has been a prolonged pandemic.  For over two years both the United States and the world have been dealing with significant restrictions and alterations in how we live in an attempt to limit the spread and devastating impact of the virus.  Virtually every area of our lives has been affected:  family,
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Chief Cornerstone Christian Center

By Lendell Hood The ministry of Chief Cornerstone Christian Center started in the back of my police car in Michigan City, Indiana. The police car was the pulpit and the backseat was the altar. I met people at the worst time in their lives and saw the opportunity to minister to them about the grace
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Generosity: A Mark of Discipleship

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By Jeff Matas In my experience, not many pastors intentionally teach, preach and disciple their church in generosity. Talking about money is awkward. We don’t want to alienate or anger people inside the church, and we certainly don’t want to add unnecessary barriers to Jesus for those that are unsaved. So, we don’t talk about
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Fresh Expressions

By Tom Planck Our world has changed. That statement was true in December of 2019. It is even more true in February of 2022.  The journey we have been on the past couple of years has accelerated the changing landscape of life in America. It has become painfully clear that we simply cannot hit the
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Can a Small Church Make a Difference? 

By Jeff Matas I grew up in a small church that had a lot of reasons why it could never make a difference. There were so many obstacles to kingdom impact, it is difficult to know where to begin.  The location The church was in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, a decaying, rust-belt town. You couldn’t have selected
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Getting Perspective in 2022

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The headlines about how many people are getting COVID have been disconcerting as we read about setting daily records of the number of positive cases.  One Wall Street Journal headline today reads, “Unable to Get Covid-19 Tests, Americans Carry On, Go to Work, Get on Flights.”  That headline suggests to me that the number of daily cases will
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The SHIFT is ON!

By Doug Talley One of my goals when I first came to Indiana Ministries as State Pastor was to accelerate the multiplication of churches by implementing the following shift:  From Indiana Ministries planting churches while most congregations watched to congregations owning the responsibility for planting churches while Indiana Ministries provides support and resourcing.   Full disclosure:  There have
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What I’m Thankful For

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By Doug Talley I’m wired to see problems and to anticipate what could go wrong.  I would call it being a realist or thinking ahead, but someone extremely close to me says that I can be a pessimist.  Maybe.  God has certainly wired us all a little differently, and I am thankful for that.  Imagine how boring life would
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Annual Meeting Recap

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By Doug Talley We had excellent in-person attendance at our recent annual meeting and had several people who joined us online.  I am so thankful to the Indiana Ministries staff for all their hard work on the ordination service and the annual meeting, as well as the Madison Park Church Staff for their assistance and for
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