David Edgell

Ancient Fishing and Leadership

 Th   Principles of fishing in the Ancient Near East are transferable to leadership and provide a model for what it means to be a leader: 

• A leader navigates the seasons much like an ancient fisherman.  The times and the seasons must be known in order to be effective.  The fisherman must be able to see the signs of the times and know when it is time to act.
• He must have knowledge of the body of water from which he must rely for sustenance.  He must know the terrain and the places that are effective in which to invest time and energy.  His knowledge of the terrain will determine his effectiveness, and also his failures. 
  
• He must work with others in teams in order to accomplish is work.  Ancient fishermen fished with nets and multiple boats.  Each boat and each fisherman had to work together in order to accomplish an effective day of fishing. 
• Fishermen were trained and mentored by others.  Often fisherman came from a lineage others who had fished, and fathers understood the responsibility of training the next generation regard the skill of fishing. 
• Each fisherman understood the responsibility of teaching others the art of fishing. 
• Fishermen were willing to work extended hours to bring in the catch of the day.  When the fish were running, they had to work to accomplish their task. 
• Often these men worked unnoticed by others and worked in an environment that was humble and basic.
• Fishermen understood the role of preparation.  When not fishing, hours would be spent to repair items that were worn or damaged.  Days could be spent repairing nets and weeks waiting for an opportunity to fish.  The fisherman had to be prepared and to be ready when the time to fish was upon him. 
• A fisherman understood the value of solitude and the lessons that it taught one regarding patience.  Days and weeks could be spent working with little success.  Patience was necessary in order to persevere for when the time of the catch would arrive. 
• The exercising of faith in fishing was balanced with the skill of fishing.  A master fisherman was humble enough to realize his dependence upon God for success, but wise enough to understand the necessity of skill in carrying out his trade. 
• He could always learn from others, and never asked someone to do something he had not done himself.  He was willing to do the work of fishing while he taught others as well.

Finding Success in Fishing for Men

We all want to be a success when it comes to …

Relationships, marriage, education, spiritual life, serving in Christian ministry, sharing our faith.

Click here ...Download Luke 5 - Finding Success in Fishing for Men

Discipleship and Spiritual Formation

Discipleship is a life long journey of obedience to Christ which transforms a person’s values and behavior, and results in ministry in one’s home, church and the world.   Discipleship should focus on Biblical content and its application toward life change.

Download this Adobe document to lean more about how Scripture shapes your values and behaviors                    Click here ...

Characteristics of an Excellent Teacher

Teachers are held to a standard of truth and they have a higher accountability.  This study examines the characteristics of a teacher from 1 Timothy 4: 6-16.

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Worldviews and Discipleship

 George Barna in his book, Transforming Children into Spiritual Champions, states a concern held by many in the evangelical community regarding the battle of worldviews:

Simply put, if you want to win a war, you must control the battlefront.  In the complexity of the world these days, we sometimes lose sight of the fact that life is ultimately a spiritual battle and that each of us is a spiritual being who must declare a side in the war and then fight to the end for what we believe is truth.  In that process, we must identify the boundaries of the battlefront before we can take command of it.

The battlefront is emerging in the area of worldviews regarding what Christians believe, the values that govern their lives, and the behaviors that characterize their lifestyles.  In short, the worldview battleground must be defined, clarified, and strategies implemented that work toward spiritual victory.  Each Christian must be influenced and developed toward a Christian worldview, more specifically a Biblical worldview, which transforms their values, beliefs, and behaviors as a result of a life long pursuit of obedience to Christ.

Download this Adobe document to lean more about how your worldview affects your values, beliefs, behaviors. Download worldviews_and_discipleship

Learn more about the worldview series called Truth Factor by listening to the following podcast:              Click here ...

Living together is a statitical risk

For years I have been concerned about young couples who live together before they get married.  Their stories are often as follows: They often introduce themselves as fiance and fiancee, yet keep the same address.  Sometimes they are apologetic, yet often they are not.  They usually seek to get married, especially when children begin to be born.  It is not uncommon for them to come to the church looking for someone to perform their ceremony.  In marriage counseling they are shocked that person's cohabitating are at higher risk for divorce.  Yet, they rarely seem convinced that living apart for a season would be a reasonable option. 

I have seen many of these marriages end in divorce.  In fact, most have ended in divorce.  I have always looked for a study that would confirm what I was seeing intuitively.  This week I came across a study that confirms what I have known intuitively. 

Between 50 and 60 percent of all marriages begin with the two partners cohabitating, and many of those couples no doubt believe they are making a wise move up front. But living together before marriage actually increases the chances of divorce in a first marriage -- 67 percent of cohabitating couples eventually divorce, compared to the normal 45 percent for first marriages.

To see this article, click on the link below:

  Download living_together_a_statistical_risk.pdf

Subsitues for Effective Ministry

We are a nation of substitutes.  Substitutes are viewed as an alternative to another product. Yet, the substitutes is rarely perfect.  Several examples can be seen:

•  Food: Artificial sweetener vs sugar, plastic vs. paper, plastic vs. glass
•  Industry:  Stainless steel vs. steel, Alt. fuel vs. petroleum fuel, Computer vs. human workforce,
•  Relationships:  New definitions of family, Alternative rel. vs. traditional family, Cyber dating, virtual relationships vs. face to face,  fantasy vs. the hard work of relationships.

Some substitutes give benefits, while others are less than ideal.  At times, the substitute can be dangerous, or even lead to disastrous consequences.

The sermon below looks at how we are often tempted to accept substitutes for effective ministry.

Sermon: Resisting the Temptation of Substitutes for Effective Ministry

Equipping Ministry in Virginia

 

Historic Gloucester, Virginia is located on the York River and is filled with history and faith. Gloucester Point (Tyndalls Point) was key in the revolutionary victory at Yorktown.  God has called us to this part of the US to equip believers and to reach people with the message of Christ.

Our place of service is Petsworth Baptist Church.  It is a historic church established in the 1880's for the purpose of proclaiming the gospel in a rural part of Virginia close to the York River.  The church has grown in recent years under the leadership of Dr. Dennis Hollandsworth.  We are privileged to serve this great church and to be a catalyst for growth as we serve along side of God's people.

Understanding Faith

Why do persons struggle with overcoming the world?  The key may be found in 1 John 5:4 -5. It is faith that allows a person to overcome the world.  Belief in Jesus Christ is what helps us overcome the world. The object of our faith is more important than the sincerity of our belief.  The man who thinks he is right but is not sure may be far better off than the one who is “sure” but absolutely wrong.  The credibility of our faith begins with objective truth and ends with internal trust.

Six types of faith describe the believer’s relationship to God: Click here..

I began reading Pagan Christianity by George Barna and Frank Viola, after a leader stated it had affected the way they were viewing the church.  Their reading the book was impacting how they were operating within traditional circles.

I have read many books by George Barna over the years.  Many have challenged me to be more innovative or to work toward change within the church, but none had significantly affected the way I viewed the church.  My interest was peaked.

Upon beginning to read the book, it was quickly apparent that George Barna had added his name to a book that clearly had an agenda.  (Frank Viola has published the same book under the same title in the past) Frank Viola is a proponent of the Organic Church (house church movement).  His desire is for the church to function under an ecclesiology based on 1 Corinthians 14.  Simply stated:

An organic church is simply a church that is born out of spiritual life instead of constructed by human institutions and held together by religious programs.  Organic churches are characterized by Spirit-led, open-participatory meetings and nonhierarchical leadership.  This is a stark contrast to a clergy-led institution-driven church (Quote from Trevin Wax book review)

Pagan Christianity is a open assault on western Christianity and seeks to identify most forms and functions in the church as pagan and unbiblical.  It is filled with historical quotes and facts from early Christianity that seek to accomplish one purpose, to convince the reader that everything in the church is pagan and move them toward an Organic church model.  Trevin Wax has written a great review on the book that is a worthy read.  Click below:

Download pagan_christianity_book_review.pdf