EVERY SPHERE
  • Home
  • About
  • Walking Points
  • A Far Green Country
  • Bible Studies
    • Old Testament Essentials
    • Ephesians: Growing Up in Christ
    • Sermons & Etc
    • Philippians
    • Costly Discipleship
    • Lord of All
    • Living Wisely in Turbulent Times
    • 1 Samuel
    • Gospel of John
    • A Different Gospel
    • Southside Life Group Studies
    • A Light Unto Our Path
    • The God We Worship
  • Podcast
  • Prayer Journal
    • Heidelberg Catechism
  • My Books
  • My YouTube
  • Other Resources
    • Spiritual Power
    • Spiritual Life Checkup
    • Spiritual Direction
    • Apologetics
    • Master Plan of Evangelism
    • Wesleyan Methodist Links
    • Favorites >
      • Pastoral Ministry
      • C.S. Lewis
      • Lewis and Schaeffer
      • Richard Baxter
      • The Puritans

History of Men's Ministry at Southside United Methodist Church

3/8/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
Our local church, Southside United Methodist Church, was born on Easter Sunday, 1950. It was on that day the men and women, boys and girls of Southside assembled together as an official congregation of the Methodist Church to lift their hearts, minds, and voices in worship to God for his grace and goodness in bringing them together. It was also an opportunity for them to commit themselves to the service of Christ and his kingdom.

The men’s ministry, interestingly, was actually born the day before.

It was on the preceding day, Holy Saturday, the men of Southside decided to meet together to get everything ready for the next day’s events. These faithful, servant-hearted brothers also thought it would be a good idea to meet a few hours early for the purpose of cooking breakfast and then enjoying it and fellowship together. Southside men have been meeting every Holy Saturday since then for our annual “Men’s Easter Breakfast.”

I share this bit of history to communicate that this wonderful tradition of Southside men represents how long Southside’s commitment to men has existed. It also shows how far back our men’s commitment to Christ and his local church, Southside UMC, actually goes.

Much of today’s literature that is devoted to men’s ministry is saturated with tales of woe regarding the absence of men in the church at large. Men, they tell us, have been alienated from feeling welcome or comfortable in church settings for a variety of reasons. Perhaps there’s truth to that in some churches.

Yet Southside has been blessed by the men (and, of course, the women) who have stepped up in many ways over the years to be used by God in the building up of his body. From administrative leadership to teaching Sunday school classes to serving the community, Southside men have a rich history of following Christ, which has left an enduring legacy to the Southside men of today.

I give thanks for those men of God who have gone before us. May the men of Southside in each and every generation faithfully pursue our United Methodist Church’s mission to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

Soli Deo Gloria,
Dale Tedder

(April 14, 2010)

0 Comments

The Importance of Catechesis

3/1/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
The practice of catechesis is vital for the health of both the church and family. Several years ago I came across the following two articles that do a great job of addressing this topic. Both deal with J.I. Packer’s recent book and his comments about the importance of catechesis, and when Packer talks, we all need to listen.

The first one is found at Christianity Today and is an excerpt from his book, Grounded in the Gospel: Building Believers the Old-Fashioned Way, which he cowrote with Gary A. Parrett. Here’s a snippet from that excerpt…

Historically, the church’s ministry of grounding new believers in the rudiments of Christianity has been known as catechesis—the growing of God’s people in the gospel and its implications for doctrine, devotion, duty, and delight. It is a ministry that has waxed and waned through the centuries. It flourished between the second and fifth centuries in the ancient church. Those who became Christians often moved into the faith from radically different worldviews. The churches rightly sought to ensure that these life-revolutions were processed carefully, prayerfully, and intentionally, with thorough understanding at each stage.

Click here to read the whole piece.

The other column is by Mark Earley at BreakPoint. Here’s an excerpt from it…

There is generally need for three distinct forms of catechetical ministry. They say it’s protocatechesis, which refers to teaching what many today would call “seekers” or what the ancients called “inquirers”; catechesis proper, which refers to the formal work of preparing children or adult converts for baptism or confirmation; and ongoing catechesis, which is the never-ending teaching and formation of believers.

Click here to read the whole column and make sure to see the links at the bottom of it.

Grace and Truth,
Dale


Below is an interview with J.I. Packer on the importance and need for catechesis.

0 Comments

    Categories

    All
    100 Godly Men
    Apologetics
    Books
    Boyhood
    Burning Heart
    Catechesis
    Children
    Christ & Culture
    Christian Influence
    Christianity
    Christian Living
    Church
    C.S. Lewis
    Culture
    Devotional & Encouragement
    Discipleship
    Doctrine
    Evangelicalism
    Family
    Fatherhood
    Godly Manhood
    Good Reads For Kingdom Minded Men
    Gospel
    Holiness
    Husband
    Kingdom Discipleship
    Kingdom Man
    Kingdom Of God
    Library
    Manhood
    Men
    Men's Ministry
    Mentoring
    Mercy
    Parenting
    Poverty
    Prayers
    Puritans
    Reading
    Right Path Devotions
    Sanctification
    Satan
    Social Justice
    Sons
    Southside United Methodist Church
    St. Patrick
    Study
    Theology
    Witness
    Worldview


    Archives

    September 2016
    August 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    September 2015
    August 2015


    RSS Feed

Click an image below to visit the bookstore

Picture
Picture
Picture
  • Home
  • About
  • Walking Points
  • A Far Green Country
  • Bible Studies
    • Old Testament Essentials
    • Ephesians: Growing Up in Christ
    • Sermons & Etc
    • Philippians
    • Costly Discipleship
    • Lord of All
    • Living Wisely in Turbulent Times
    • 1 Samuel
    • Gospel of John
    • A Different Gospel
    • Southside Life Group Studies
    • A Light Unto Our Path
    • The God We Worship
  • Podcast
  • Prayer Journal
    • Heidelberg Catechism
  • My Books
  • My YouTube
  • Other Resources
    • Spiritual Power
    • Spiritual Life Checkup
    • Spiritual Direction
    • Apologetics
    • Master Plan of Evangelism
    • Wesleyan Methodist Links
    • Favorites >
      • Pastoral Ministry
      • C.S. Lewis
      • Lewis and Schaeffer
      • Richard Baxter
      • The Puritans