Posts with the category “jamie-tickel”

We are well into our PSummer in the Psalms preaching series and I wanted to offer you another little resource that you may find helpful in getting the most out of your time in the book of Psalms this Summer.  The Psalms are a collection of writings that were often used as worship songs for God's people.  It was the hymn book of the da...  Read More

I recently saw a video of a scary hang gliding incident. The video was being recorded by a camera mounted at the back side of the glider. The video begins with the instructor and passenger running with the glider and jumping from the slope of the huge hill and immediately the student realizes he is dangling from the glider because the instructor forgot to strap him in. It didn't take long for the instructor to realize what he had done (or not done) and the very serious situation his passenger was in.   Read More

The weather is changing, days are shorter, leaves are turning and pumpkin spice madness is back and that could only mean one thing...It's Fall. The craziness of Summer has passed and most churches have settled into their regular rhythms of ministry.  Read More

Summer is behind us and Fall is right around the corner.  That means a lot of things for a lot of people.  For some, this season represents a little rest from a hectic and fast-paced Summer.  For others, they are gearing up for football and hunting.  For most, however, it represents a return to a somewhat predictable schedule and routine that includes finding a church home or settling back into th...  Read More

Every day is a good day to talk about Jesus but the Easter season is especially easy to introduce others to Jesus because most everybody is already thinking about the season. The conversation starter can be as simple as "Do you have any Easter plans? How do you and your family celebrate during the Easter season?" Their answer can provide you with a wealth of information to continue the conversation and point it to Jesus.   Read More

A lot of what I learned about leadership development was because I fell into it. It was accidental, if I could call it that. I would have a young man in the church talk about the call of God on their life and before long we were meeting together and talking through things. We didn't have a curriculum or anything. After a season they would be given more responsibilities and then BOOM! they were on their own.   Read More

I love it that we have an opportunity to see the Apostle Paul's itinerary of ministry work included in his letter to the Corinthian church. As He is closing out this first letter he is giving them an update on when they could expect him to stop in and stay with them. But placed within this itinerary is a very important description of Ephesus. He says, "I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost" and then tells us why.   Read More

I know you know the statistics reveal that very few born-again Christians share their faith personally with others and some of that may be the result of feelings of inadequacy or fear. But regardless of the feelings we have, we have a wonderful privilege and responsibility to personally share the good news of Jesus. Here are a few great ideas for conversation starters to have with others that are perfect for this season.   Read More

We are all bargain shoppers at heart. We want to get the best possible deal on almost everything. It's true with our groceries, cars and clothing to name a few. Don't get me wrong, that's definitely a part of being a good steward of what God has entrusted us with. But I think it carries over into our faith walk with Jesus. We want to get the maximum amount of good while paying out the least amount of effort. (It's a good thing our salvation was offered free to us, am I right?) To put it another way, we are tempted to become bargain-hunting disciples. We are tempted to follow Jesus to the extent that He disrupts my plans. This is a far cry from Romans 12:1-2.   Read More

I'm a pastor. And because I'm a pastor I spend most of my time and Sundays in my church but when I take a vacation or spend time away on a twelve-week sabbatical as I had recently I visit other churches. I want to be challenged with strong preaching, be lifted up by powerful worship and be encouraged by other brothers and sisters in Christ. I enjoy looking around and seeing what other churches are doing and possibly get some ideas for my church context. That's what I did when I visited thirteen churches over the course of 12 weeks.   Read More

As some of you may know, an investigative report was released yesterday detailing incidents of sexual abuse and accusations of attempted cover-ups in the Southern Baptist Convention. The investigation and report were sanctioned by the SBC’s own Executive Committee and is nearly 300 pages. Click here for a news article. As you can imagine, news of a scandal of this sort among the largest protestant denomination is traveling far and wide. Please be discerning as you consume stories.   Read More

As many of you probably know, I will be beginning my 12-week sabbatical after Easter. This is definitely a new season for me and I have never experienced a sabbatical in my 24 years of ministry. Of course, I've been thinking a lot about it, and here are a few thoughts I want to share with you.   Read More