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Yearly Archives: 2020
Planning with Mind & Heart
This is chapter one from the second edition of my book Strategic Planning for Christian Organizations. You can find the book on Amazon: https://www.amazon.ca/Strategic-Planning-Christian-Organizations-Direction/dp/B08C94SL7J/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=saffold+planning&qid=1596930738&s=books&sr=1-1.
“All this is in writing,” David said, “because the hand of the Lord was upon me, and he gave me understanding in all the details of the plan.
(more…)God Sets the Race Course
Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith (Hebrews 12:1-2).
My son is a runner. Recently he completed a race through the Canadian mountains, finishing the course after 22 hours. What a course! It took him from mountain tops with beautiful vistas through deep valleys that required slogging through mud and muck – in the dark! “The organizers set the course,” he said as he painfully limped home, “we just had to run it.”
(more…)Leadership: Accepting Responsibility
“What is leadership?” It’s a simple question but very difficult to answer.
“Leadership is one of the most observed and least understood phenomena on earth,” was the observation of James MacGregor Burns. It is most observed because we encounter it everywhere in large and small forms. It is least understood partly because it is a many-sided and complex. We know it when we see it–or at least think we do–but its essence is hard to describe. It’s a question that has many answers.
(more…)A Ministry of Comfort and Joy
For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17)
Whose ministry has touched your life most deeply?
A wonderful friend, now more alive in the Lord’s presence, was a man of great peace and joy. Some of my warmest memories are of travelling together, sharing in ministry. We prayed often, talked endlessly, and laughed constantly. I often wondered how he found so much joy in living. No doubt his emotional “thermostat” tended toward a “high” setting, but the real secret was his close walk with Christ in the Holy Spirit.
There is confusion today about the Holy Spirit and much unhealthy fascination with dramatic manifestations. To be sure, he can work powerfully. “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you,” said the angel to Mary. The birth of Jesus soon followed. Sometimes the Spirit changes the course of events and even entire lives.
(more…)Guy Saffold
