29Oct 2009 by Nigel Ring

Biblical Administration part 2 – The Gift of Administration

Administration in the Church, Biblical Administration, Christian ministry, Equipping, Leadership
1Co 12:28  And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. As we can see from this verse administration is placed alongside spiritual gifts which build up the church and demonstrate the Lord’s power and glory. It is more than being highly skilled e.g. having an MBA or a degree in economics, valuable additions though they may be to the exercise of the gift. It is a serving gift, an enabling, equipping and facilitating gift for the body of Christ. In 1 Cor 14:12 Paul tells us that we should seek the gifts of the Spirit as they edify or build up the church. They are like a tool-kit to get the job…
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29Oct 2009 by Nigel Ring

Biblical Administration part 2 – The Gift of Administration

Administration in the Church, Biblical Administration, Christian ministry, Equipping, Leadership
1Co 12:28  And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. As we can see from this verse administration is placed alongside spiritual gifts which build up the church and demonstrate the Lord’s power and glory. It is more than being highly skilled e.g. having an MBA or a degree in economics, valuable additions though they may be to the exercise of the gift. It is a serving gift, an enabling, equipping and facilitating gift for the body of Christ. In 1 Cor 14:12 Paul tells us that we should seek the gifts of the Spirit as they edify or build up the church. They are like a tool-kit to get the job…
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26Oct 2009 by Nigel Ring

Biblical Administration – part 1 – My Personal Story

Administration in the Church, Administrative Skills, Biblical Administration, Christian ministry, Conference Administration, Equipping, General
As I move into a series on my understanding of Biblical Administration I feel that my personal testimony may be helpful. Being an Armour Bearer At the Newfrontiers TOAM Conference in July I felt God prompt me to testify at the end of Joel Virgo’s talk on Jonathan and his armour bearer about my being an ‘armour bearer’ to Terry Virgo. Several have generously said this was helpful and Adrian Warnock kindly invited me to contribute to his blog (http://adrianwarnock.com/) so here is what I wrote. First meeting with Terry Virgo [caption id="attachment_525" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Terry Virgo"][/caption] In 1968 Janita and I wanted to start a Bible Study group in our Sussex village with another young couple. This couple knew of a good visiting speaker to open our first meeting –…
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22Oct 2009 by Nigel Ring

The Poor deserve the Best – part 13 – Summary of Key Indicators of Good Practice

Administration in the Church, Administrative Skills, Biblical Administration, Christian ministry, Equipping, Good Practice, Planning, Poor, Relief and Development, Training
Since the start of September we have been considering the principle of having Key Indicators of Good Practice to guide our thinking in planning a ministry among the Poor or to use as a plumbline against which we can monitor how we are performing. This is part of the desire of the Task Team of the Newfrontiers family of churches to help churches worldwide to pursue excellence in all they do and thus bring glory to God while uplifting those who are in some way disadvantaged. For reasons of combining Indicators with similar qualities in one blog I have handled these in a slightly different order from the one I originally presented. To aid you with referencing this body of material I have listed below the particular dates on which…
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19Oct 2009 by Nigel Ring

The Poor deserve the Best – part 12 – Sustainability

Christian ministry, Equipping, Ghana, Good Practice, Planning, Poor, Relief and Development, Training, Zimbabwe
We have been considering Key Indicators of Good Practice under the title The Poor deserve the Best and now come to the final 2 of 20. 11. Sustainability Much charitable work relies on continual fund raising. Called Donor Dependency this makes a ministry very vulnerable. However, Donor Dependency introduces a measure of insecurity and puts the permanence of the ministry in doubt. It can also lead to the compromise of values in order to obtain funding. Further, Donor dependency may diminish the dignity of the ministry, but sometimes is a necessity. To mitigate against this a thorough assessment should be made of the reliance on outside funding and how this may be reduced. Appropriate practice should then be implemented to make the ministry as self-sustainable as possible. Clearly certain ministries…
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16Oct 2009 by Nigel Ring

The Poor deserve the Best pt 11 – Engaging with the local context

Christian ministry, Equipping, Good Practice, India, Poor, Relief and Development
In this penultimate posting on Key Indicators to Good Practice we shall consider two Indicators related to the context and environment in which a ministry is being carried out. 9. Local community ownership Some ministries are contained within the local church whereas others intentionally impact a local community. Where the latter is the case the active endorsement and cooperation of the local community may be key contributors to success. It can be tempting to feel that the church has the knowledge to carry out the ministry independently of any outside influence. But often community representatives will have a better understanding of the culture you may be trying to impact than is readily available within your local church. In the development world there are various participatory techniques for involving the Community…
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