LifeResource Ministries
LifeResource Ministries
Post Office Box 66540
Albuquerque, NM 87193
Phone/fax: (505) 890-6806
http://www.liferesource.org/index.html
Taking a Different Path
We give away all our materials at no charge to those who ask for them, believing that our message of family and congregational health will help strengthen the Church. By extension, we also believe those who help us will be helping the Church become a healthier place for God's people to glorify God in their lives and relationships.
Is it possible to give everything away and still continue long term without becoming depleted? It is a complicated issue. Jesus said "Freely you have received, freely give." The Bible also says that the laborer is worthy of his hire. We know too that always seeking to get something for nothing is not a godly approach to life. The Scriptures tell us that we are supposed to give full measure.
LifeResource Ministries started with a leap of faith. After counsel, thought, and prayer, we have concluded that this ministry must continue to be a daily leap into God's arms. Since we want as many people to hear our message as possible, we can't do anything except provide materials without charge.
Our materials are expensive to produce and distribute. We hope those who receive them will support our efforts to the extent that they have been blessed by them and as they are able.
Contributions to LifeResource Ministries are tax deductible
Notes from Bill Jacob:
July 3, 2008
I once saw a Tim Conway routine on TV where he was playing an inept dentist. He was about to give a patient a shot of painkiller when the hypodermic rotated in his hand and he ended up giving himself a shot of lidocaine in the head. It was one of the most hilarious events I have ever seen on TV.
I am reminded of that funny episode when I think about my past experience in the Church. When I finally extricated myself from the organized aspect of the Church, it felt like I was coming out from under anesthesia – like waking up after a long sleep. I suddenly woke up to people, ideas, and responsibilities to which I had been oblivious just a few months before. It was sobering and exhilarating all at once. I felt alive again.
Pondering this experience, my thoughts turn to the effect the controlling organization has on the human mind. That type of organization tends to take control out of the hands of the local group and the individual and draw it to the center of the organization. If you are at the center, where the power is, it feels good. You have a sense of purpose. But if you are on the extremities, it feels like anesthesia.
Why is that? Humans, as social creatures, are designed by God to be involved. When people are involved in every aspect of the Church (including the decision making aspect of it) they are much more likely to come alive with enthusiasm and passion. To be deprived of this human necessity is to be spiritually anesthetized.
When a person is put under anesthesia, they are suspended between life and death. They have lost consciousness. Just a bit further and they die. Don’t let any man do this to you spiritually!
Jesus inspired Paul to record his will for the Church. The ministry’s job is to prepare the members for works of service. All of us are to be fully active in the work of the Church. Each of us has been given a gift and a responsibility to produce for Jesus Christ.
Are we passionate about that responsibility? Do we even know what it is? To further consider the need for spiritual passion, order or download our new presentation God’s Kind of Spirituality #20000703.
Until next time,
July 17, 2008
You’ve probably heard me talk and write about Bruce Perry, the brain researcher. This past week I received a paper he has written containing some amazing information about the nature of a child’s attac
In this paper he asked the question, “What does it say about our society when we have huge government agencies with budgets in the billions whose sole purpose is to protect children from their parents?”
His findings prove that our society is not family friendly, and that a large proportion of children in our culture do not get what they need early on to relate to others normally.
Dr. Perry also espoused the need to get away from thinking about these problems from a medical point of view and start thinking about them from a relational perspective. The medical model leads us to “illness” and medication. What we really need to be thinking about is healing relationships. Because it takes a lot of courage to stand up to the drug company juggernaut I applaud His efforts.
Along this line, I was thinking about all the children I have known over the years who have left the faith. Usually, we can attribute their departure to broken relationships or a poverty of relationship within the family or congregation. If we want to reverse the trend, we need to think more specifically about how to do that.
At LifeResource Ministries we have been doing just that – thinking more specifically about how to help our children develop a healthy relationship with God.
Our current effort is a series on Church Health. Did you know that there is a lot of hard data to support what God has told us to do in the Church to make it, our congregations, and our families spiritually healthy – free of strife, full of love, caring and growing?
We are over half way through the series, but it’s never too late to jump on board. If a congregation would follow the points of this series, that congregation would become a healthier group. And that’s not because we said it. It’s because the material is founded in scripture.
The current offering is titled Prayer and Passionate Spirituality #20080717. To download or order it, follow this link.
Until Next time,
Bill Jacobs
Date: Friday, September 26, 2008, 7:44 AM
Hi, Friends,
Jesus said to his disciples, "See the lilies, how they grow." When he said this he was talking about the need for trust in God.We can also learn by considering how a lily grows.
I never stopped to think about it until I attended a Natural Church Development training. Lilies grow in stages. They are "organ-ized." That is, they have organs or parts serving various functions.
Jesus also tells us that the kingdom of God is organized as well, that it grows in stages like a plant. "First the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head." (Mark 4:28)
We learn from this that the church is also to be organized, that it is to have various parts that are organized for various functions.
How did Jesus intend the Church to be organized? Should it be like a business or the military or a nation, with a pyramid with a few at the top with a broad base of membership?
Or should it be more like a temple or a living organism? I should say that how it's organized has a powerful effect on everyone in it. So the structure is an important aspect of the Church. Could the structure of you group or congregation be impeding it's growth?
As we march through our massive series on Church Health, we have come to the topic Functional Structures. We have now available a presentation by that name. If you want to hear it, you may download an mp3 file or transcript. We also offer DVD's for group viewing on our website as well.
Until next time,
Bill Jacobs
P. S. Please don't forget to help us with this vital ministry. Our children need strong families and congregations if they are to become strong spiritually. As with all other elments of our society that have no power, children always get the short end of the stick. Jesus warns us not to do this, but we do it anyway. Don't be like the rest. Support our church's children through this ministry.
LifeResource Ministries
P.O. Box 66540
Albuquerque, NM 87193
http://us.mc1105.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=bjacobs@liferesource.org
505.890.6806