As a pastor for over 23 years, I have learned much through the School of Hard Knocks. My goal with this article is to identify some of the most common mistakes made by pastors and leaders so others would not replicate them.
Nothing Is Impossible With God!
Eversince a child, I had a severe stammering problem where I could not even speak clearly or read a simple sentence fluently. Though, I went to a speech therapist, there wasn’t much improvement. As a consequence, I was always afraid to speak in public as I did not want to be ridiculed . . . Be faith inspired as Jasbir Dhaliwal proclaims with confidence "I have come to believe that nothing is impossible with God and He makes all things beautiful in His time." Crying For No Reason At All
* How great it felt venting it all out! Really, there is nothing bothering me at all. I am not sad or upset at anything or anybody. My emotions are so alive deep within. I feel things very deeply and sometimes more deeply than the average person. I just wanted to sit alone by myself and cry. First, I felt like an emotional fool. As minutes pass, it felt like my soul is speaking to God in a strange, twisted way...expressing and pouring my heart to God. I thought about resting my head against Him and like He was cradling…
Indian Immigrant Being Enticed To Return
A recent Boston Globe article on how Indian government is trying to lure successful Indian immigrant to return to India with business opportunities. And many are responding.I think, some of the stats quoted in the story may not be accurate; but the essence of the story is true. Some Indian Americans are making the best of both world and our times.This is not only true of business, but also for Christian Ministry. God is at work in India and many Indian American are drawn to be part of Spirit’s outpouring in the land of their forefathers. God is indeed doing…
SAGC 2007 London, UK: SPREAD THE WORD AROUND
Official SAGC 2007 website www.SAGC2007.comSAGC 2007 is the 2nd International Gathering of South Asian Youth and Young Adults for Mission Mobilization Dear Friends in Christ, We personally invite you to the South Asian Global Convention 2007 (SAGC 2007) and to the beautiful city of London, UK. We will have excellent plenary speakers, dynamic seminar leaders and annointed worship teams from all around the world. But what SAGC 2007 is really about is . . . YOU – inspiring and mobilizing YOU for local and global missions. The very historic SAGC 2004 was held in Vancouver, Canada. SAGC 2007 will be in…
His Time And His Way
I wish I could begin to speak of the time I felt such feelingsSilence breeds such recompense undeniably joyfulIn heart and head, all the above makes senseIt's a joy to see, a blessing to holdA life worth living, of passion untoldI dream of better days when words can be spokenI see the clouds of time break forth unburdenedTo have and to hold, to cherish and protectI speak of a hope held dear and deepBut these words can't be saidThey must remain unspokenA whisper waiting on my tongueSo here I am waiting, not just for moreBut waiting for myself, waiting to…
A Confession
I am the prodigal son, who walked away from the inheritance I had. I left all I knew to be true to wander for years in the doubt and despair I felt. I disobeyed the Father and I left His house rebelliously. There’s not much I can really offer anyway, but I’ve finally ran back to Him. He accepted me with open arms and a tearful smile. I am back home now in the House of my Father.I am Mary Magdalene. I’ve prostituted myself before the evils of this world and given deepest parts of me away to sinful pleasures.…
Kids & Porn Exposure
According to a research report in Paedetric Journal called - ‘Taking on the Internet Porn Industry’, kids are at greater risk of being exposed to online porn than ever before, giving parents a tougher time than ever in keeping their kids safe online. See also reports on NY Times, Bloomberg or Forbes.According to the report:- The most frequent viewers of Internet porn are kids 12-17 years old.- The average age at which children are first exposed to online pornography today is 11 years old.- Certain Internet pornography producers imbed children’s words like Teletubbies and Pokemon as “meta-tags” to drive kids…
Late Saturday Night
So here I am sitting at my computer typing up useless information. It's a Saturday night--almost Sunday morning. I'm drained. Gave the KCF worship team a necessary pep talk and thanks to Simi at least I feel like a useful broken radio. Worship was great. The songs flowed great. We sounded awesome! The parents were...no comment. The Bible study Pastor Koshy started was interesting. Worship with the kids was pretty good. My message, which ended up shorter than anticipated, was okay, could've been better. But all in all, it was a pretty good night.Apparently, people are starting to notice my…
Black Bile
my creative stints are becoming fewer and farther between, i suspect it's because UBC, for the past 4 years, has been slowly and painfully drawing out of me every last drop of creativity.between trying to find a job, pining about my solitary confinement, and trying to put on an air of confidence about what is yet to come, i've lost the desire to write and try to put into words sappy tears and vengeful anger. my journal sits amidst the wasteland of books and novels which i call my bookshelf, and my pen only has ink for lecture notes. i…
Going Childless
There is a growing trend in the western world not to have children. They say, ”Two’s family, three’s a pain”. I am not talking about couples who could not coneieve or have children of their own or through adoption, but many newly married couples choosing not to have children, considering them as a interference to their lifestyle or career. It is now redefined as “childfree”, couples today are choosing not to have children says the Times.These couples are contented in opting not to become parents. One woman in five now remains childless, with nearly one degree-educated woman in three never…
Now, That's A Man Worth Admiring . . .
...That's my man, like my coffee - tall, strong and steaming hot. Just kidding. The best advice that was ever given to me was to make a list and not compromise. Here is a partial list of what kind of guys I like. There is a lot more to this but that is between me and God. I know this is not eharmony.com, match.com or shadi.com but just for fun I'll post it here. Loves God with all his heart and knows Jesus well. Ministry attitudes - I'm sick of guys who think they know-it-all and did something special to…
Lean That Shoulder
This past weekend was so awesome I can’t even begin to describe it. I was at Generation Unleashed 2007 Conference #1 with a small group from PMC and KCF and God blew us away with His presence! And dear God only knows just how much I needed this weekend!On Thursday night, God reminded me that innocence is something to be valued.On Friday morning, God totally infused my spirit with His peace and a sense of calm amidst the windstorm that is my life. Come what may, I’m ready.On Friday night, what can I say? Awesome. My shoulder leans. There was…
Excellence In Giving
Achieving excellence in everything is man's greatest struggle in life. We want to excel in everything we do—in academics, knowledge, skills, jobs, finances, possessions, business, etc. There is nothing wrong in excelling in these areas of life. In 2 Corinthians 8:7-15, Paul commends the church for their “faith, speech, knowledge, complete earnestness, and love” (v-7a). But he says, “SEE (v-7b) that you also EXCEL in the grace of GIVING.” We seldom think of excelling in the area of giving. Giving is one of the most important characteristics of a believer. When Christians learn to give, they learn to share in one of the greatest acts of God. Because God gives, we learn giving from God Himself. SAGC 2007 London, UK: SPREAD THE WORD AROUND
Official SAGC 2007 website www.SAGC2007.comSAGC 2007 is the 2nd International Gathering of South Asian Youth and Young Adults for Mission Mobilization Dear Friends in Christ, We personally invite you to the South Asian Global Convention 2007 (SAGC 2007) and to the beautiful city of London, UK. We will have excellent plenary speakers, dynamic seminar leaders and annointed worship teams from all around the world. But what SAGC 2007 is really about is . . . YOU – inspiring and mobilizing YOU for local and global missions. The very historic SAGC 2004 was held in Vancouver, Canada. SAGC 2007 will be in…
Family Members Doing Your Reviews
In corporate America performace evaluations are a common thing. But what about executives being evaluated by their spouses and children. WSJ carried this interesting development in some of the major company CEOs and senior management called Family 360. Their big finding is that strengthening personal and family relationships with immediate and extended family members, improves work effectiveness. No surprise I guess! No matter how your performace is out there, who you are matters. Your values, outlook, ethics, aspirations etc are all shaped in your home. Corporate America is finally waking up to realize the influence of home. More stable and…
My Go Point
There comes a point in life where one finally realizes it’s time to go. It’s like a shifting point in one’s life where all else that’s in the mind realizes that this is “all or nothing”. There’s no turning back and I better give everything I’ve got. It’s like a train arriving and leaving without ever stopping. You can hear the training from miles away. After a few minutes you can see the train coming from a couple hundred feet away, and finally you’re standing, waiting and thinking of what you need to do to get on that train. You…
Second Generation Giving
In this post-Christmas season of the year as our holiday shopping bills are reaching our postboxes, I want to raise a rather controversial topic in the immigrant churches. Many pastors in the Indian American churches have told me that second generation gives far less money to the church. Why is that? ‘We taught them in sunday schools, nurtured them through adolescents and even got them married, yet they are less frequently attend the church, less involved with the church and gives less money to the church. What more do we have to do win their trust?’ I have raised some…
Time Management For A Successful Life
Why manage time? We all have a choice either to live life aimlessly or live life with a purpose. To lead a life with purpose we need to prioritize and structure our lives. And what is the ultimate purpose in life? I believe the answer is to discover GOD'S plan for our lives and act upon it. And GOD has given us enough time to accomplish HIS purposes in our lives. Read on and be blessed as Junu Thomas leads you in a process in time management.
Now . . . Here Is A Man Worth Admiring
Now that I got your attention, I am talking about C.S. Lewis. I have read a biography about him and just got his book "Mere Christianity." I wanted to read that book for a long time. I admire his intellect and writing style. I have already read Chronicles of Narnia. His life is interesting. Intelligence and Christian is a good combination. Other's on my reading list are Elisabeth Elliot's "Passion and Purity" "Let me be a women" and "100 Christian Women who changed the 20th century" by Helen Kooimar Hosier. http://franticscribespeaks.blogspot.com