Manage Your Church for Financial Success by Dale Marples Dale Marples and his wife, Betty Jo, are ordained through Rhema Bible Training Center and had been pastors for 24 years before retiring in 2010. They pioneered 3 churches during that time. Dale has a degree from the University of Nebraska in Business Administration and Finance. […]
https://tonycooke.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/TCMLogo2022-300x138.png00Tony Cookehttps://tonycooke.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/TCMLogo2022-300x138.pngTony Cooke2014-11-14 19:37:492014-11-14 19:37:49Manage Your Church for Financial Success by Dave Marples
Spiritual Surgery Rick Renner This is an excerpt from Rick Renner’s soon-to-be-released second volume of his Light in Darkness series, No Room for Compromise: Christ’s Message to Today’s Church. This excerpt comes from Chapter Three: Jesus’ Message to the Church of Pergamum. The “sharp sword with two edges” in Revelation 2:12 represents Christ’s ultimate authority […]
https://tonycooke.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/TCMLogo2022-300x138.png00Tony Cookehttps://tonycooke.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/TCMLogo2022-300x138.pngTony Cooke2014-11-06 07:37:572014-11-06 07:37:57Spiritual Surgery by Rick Renner
Pastor and Spouse: What Do You Do When the Pain Thresholds Don’t Match? Gerald Brooks Gerald Brooks is the founding pastor of Grace Outreach Center, an interdenominational church in Plano, Texas. The church began in 1982 and has grown to a weekend attendance of over 5,000. Pastor Brooks is well-known for his passionate heart to […]
https://tonycooke.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/TCMLogo2022-300x138.png00Tony Cookehttps://tonycooke.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/TCMLogo2022-300x138.pngTony Cooke2014-11-06 07:35:552014-11-06 07:35:55Pastor and Spouse: What Do You Do When the Pain Thresholds Don’t Match? by Gerald Brooks
I learned that law enforcement chaplaincy is generally like a two-sided coin, with one side being of service to men and women of law enforcement – local, county, state, and federal – and their support staff and family members, and the second side of the coin being victims of both crime and tragedy. …read more
https://tonycooke.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/TCMLogo2022-300x138.png00Tony Cookehttps://tonycooke.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/TCMLogo2022-300x138.pngTony Cooke2014-11-06 07:24:132014-11-06 07:24:13Law Enforcement Chaplaincy by Mark Clements
How to Increase Year-End Giving with Tax-Saving Strategies Mark Helland Mark Helland, CPA is a partner with the public accounting firm of Elliott, Dozier and Helland, PC (www.edhcpa.com) which is located in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Mark specializes in audit, outsourced accounting and tax related issues for church and ministry clients across the United States. To obtain additional information […]
https://tonycooke.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/TCMLogo2022-300x138.png00Tony Cookehttps://tonycooke.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/TCMLogo2022-300x138.pngTony Cooke2014-11-06 07:24:122014-11-06 07:24:12How to Increase Year-End Giving with Tax-Saving Strategies by Mark Helland
I had never lived on my own before marriage and quite frankly I had a lot of growing up to do. Here in America my issues were easily skirted. Even with fast food, washers and dryers, prepackaged meals and microwaves I struggled with the daily demands of motherhood and marriage. We moved over to the former Soviet Union in 1993 to do mission work. …read more
https://tonycooke.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/TCMLogo2022-300x138.png00Tony Cookehttps://tonycooke.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/TCMLogo2022-300x138.pngTony Cooke2014-10-15 19:06:262014-10-15 19:06:26Surviving the Pressure Cooker: How One Couple Overcame Ministry Stress to Create a Successful Marriage by Maria Foslien
Back in early 90’s my wife, Kim, and I faced a family crisis. We were crushed, gasping to catch our emotional breath, and wounded by an attack of the enemy. What we faced is irrelevant. Sorry, no juicy details. However, you can probably fill in the blank with any number of difficult situations or tragedies which have rocked your own world. …read more
https://tonycooke.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/TCMLogo2022-300x138.png00Tony Cookehttps://tonycooke.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/TCMLogo2022-300x138.pngTony Cooke2014-10-15 19:06:252014-10-15 19:06:25Facing Personal Crisis While Maintaining Public Ministry by Rev. Dean Hawk
How My Worst Moment Produced New Ministry in Our Church Tony Rea Tony Rea and his wife, Terese, are the founding pastors of Community Christian Church in Sterling Heights, Michigan. The church was launched with a handful of people in a rented school building in February 1992 and just celebrated 22 years of ministry. Community Christian […]
https://tonycooke.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/TCMLogo2022-300x138.png00Tony Cookehttps://tonycooke.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/TCMLogo2022-300x138.pngTony Cooke2014-10-15 19:06:062014-10-15 19:06:06How My Worst Moment Produced New Ministry in Our Church by Tony Rea
Hold on to your hat! You may be sick and not even know it. Most workaholics are just like many of the other addicts who live in denial of the obvious symptoms and claim to be “normal.” In Philippians chapter two Paul references a man named Epaphroditus who became sick and almost died due to his work in the ministry. Even today in our culture we see the same patterns repeated by people in every occupation but especially those who serve in full time ministry. …read more
https://tonycooke.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/TCMLogo2022-300x138.png00Tony Cookehttps://tonycooke.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/TCMLogo2022-300x138.pngTony Cooke2014-10-15 19:06:052014-10-15 19:06:05Are You a Workaholic? by Rev. Dean Hawk
Its aim was to build a new man in Christ Jesus, and to this inspired manhood was left the utmost liberty in respect to externals. This view is corroborated by the whole testimony of history. The modern Church is totally different from the assemblies of the first Christians. The civil state has been revolutionised since the time of Christ. …read more
https://tonycooke.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/TCMLogo2022-300x138.png00Tony Cookehttps://tonycooke.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/TCMLogo2022-300x138.pngTony Cooke2014-10-15 19:06:042023-04-07 10:03:58Do the Scriptures Forbid Women to Preach?
First of all, I would like to qualify the content of the following paragraph by saying that my comments are not meant to be a criticism but are merely an observation. As I look around today in our modern Christianity, I am acutely aware of the fact that something is missing in our spiritual leadership and subsequently in the members of a new generation of believers that sit under our influence. …read more
https://tonycooke.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/TCMLogo2022-300x138.png00Tony Cookehttps://tonycooke.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/TCMLogo2022-300x138.pngTony Cooke2014-10-15 19:06:042014-10-15 19:06:04A Word to the Wise Rev. Marty Blackwelder
I was raised as a Roman Catholic; our church leaders were priests and nuns—and the option of being a nun was never on my radar. When I became a born-again Christian, it was dramatic. Jesus radically changed my life! I loved Him. I loved following Him. …read more
https://tonycooke.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/TCMLogo2022-300x138.png00Tony Cookehttps://tonycooke.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/TCMLogo2022-300x138.pngTony Cooke2014-10-15 19:06:032014-10-15 19:06:03The Role of Women in the Ministry, Part 1 by Beth Jones
Every one of us maintain multiple relationships. Some of them are great, some are good, some are bad, and a few may be downright ugly! Regardless of the state of our relationships, understanding and applying God’s Word to our life and relationships will help us find a higher degree of personal peace and fulfillment. …read more
https://tonycooke.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/TCMLogo2022-300x138.png00Tony Cookehttps://tonycooke.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/TCMLogo2022-300x138.pngTony Cooke2014-10-15 19:06:022014-10-15 19:06:02Wired for Relationships By Pastor Jim Herring
If you want to start a fight in church, initiate a conversation about women preachers and within 45 minutes, you can split that church four ways! As every woman in a high profile role in the church knows, there are many different views on this subject. Those views often carry strong emotions. …read more
https://tonycooke.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/TCMLogo2022-300x138.png00Tony Cookehttps://tonycooke.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/TCMLogo2022-300x138.pngTony Cooke2014-10-15 19:06:022014-10-15 19:06:02The Role of Women in the Ministry Part 2 by Beth Jones
The Cross is always the path for believers who have decided to walk the straight path with Jesus. The Cross is never enjoyable, but it always results in resurrection. Therefore, believers today must be willing to face the Cross and believe for resurrection power to flow through them — even if it means they have to suffer the brunt of a changing society that has no tolerance for people who hold to an exclusionary faith or to fixed moral absolutes. …read more
https://tonycooke.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/TCMLogo2022-300x138.png00Tony Cookehttps://tonycooke.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/TCMLogo2022-300x138.pngTony Cooke2014-10-15 19:06:012014-10-15 19:06:01The Winds of Change by Rick Renner | Excerpt from A Light in Darkness, Volume 2
Have you ever noticed that there are those in life, athletics and even business, that seem to have a fragrance of victory about them? It is as if they walk in an atmosphere and with the mindset of a perpetual winner. There is an air, a confidence and an expectation of success that seems to surround all that they do. We, as Christians, should have this kind of confidence. When you are part of a team that has a tradition of winning, you expect to win. …read more
https://tonycooke.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/TCMLogo2022-300x138.png00Tony Cookehttps://tonycooke.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/TCMLogo2022-300x138.pngTony Cooke2014-10-15 19:06:012014-10-15 19:06:01A Winning Tradition by Mark Bintliff
It goes without saying that there is much that needs improvement in churches. Those of us who lead certainly need to be receptive to those needed changes. However, we live in a time when people are often looking for what they want, rather than what God has given. Chuck Colson said; “We live in a therapeutic age where everything is measured by how much I get out of it. …read more
Just like a seed that is planted in the ground, the devil wants to uproot truths of God’s Word before they bear fruit in us. So don’t be surprised by the challenges that come. Don’t let the difficulties conquer you. Don’t give your place of authority in Christ Jesus over to the devil by surrendering to the circumstances. In the midst of the raging storm, refuse to let go of God’s Word, for He will not relax His hold on you. …read more
https://tonycooke.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/TCMLogo2022-300x138.png00Tony Cookehttps://tonycooke.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/TCMLogo2022-300x138.pngTony Cooke2014-10-15 19:05:592014-10-15 19:05:59Weathering the Storm Without Being Weathered
Unfortunately, this question has arisen in the both the tax-exempt and for-profit world too many times in the last few years as large, respectable audit firms have failed to serve their function to fully inform the financial statement users about the activities of the organizations audited. Large publicly traded companies have failed under the shadow of accusations of audit failures. …read more
https://tonycooke.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/TCMLogo2022-300x138.png00Tony Cookehttps://tonycooke.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/TCMLogo2022-300x138.pngTony Cooke2014-10-15 19:05:592014-10-15 19:05:59Where Was the Auditor?
Vocational Callings in the Body of Christ Jen Tringale Jen ministers with a specific anointing to bring clarity and focus to the purpose of God in people’s hearts, and she heavily emphasizes how everyone can impact the culture around them through their vocational callings. She shares relevant and time-proven strategies for expanding the Kingdom of […]
https://tonycooke.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/TCMLogo2022-300x138.png00Tony Cookehttps://tonycooke.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/TCMLogo2022-300x138.pngTony Cooke2014-10-15 19:05:582014-10-15 19:05:58Vocational Callings in the Body of Christ by Jen Tringale
Agricola knew of 40 soldiers who were devout Christians and skilled in battle. In an attempt to force them to renounce their faith, Agricola said to the 40 men, “Either offer sacrifice to the gods and earn great honors, or, in the event of your disobedience, be stripped of your military rank and fall into disgrace.” The soldiers were thrown into prison to think about what Agricola had said. They encouraged themselves that night by singing psalms and praying. …read more
On a recent trip with my family to Disneyland, I was surprised to find several fresh fruit stands inside the park. Among the French fries, burgers, ice cream, and churros are these wonderful stands serving up fresh juice and sliced fruits. Fresh fruit stands may not bring visitors to the park, but the lines of people willing to pay $5.50 for a few slices of pineapple show me that they’re excited to have a healthy option. …read more
https://tonycooke.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/TCMLogo2022-300x138.png00Tony Cookehttps://tonycooke.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/TCMLogo2022-300x138.pngTony Cooke2014-10-15 19:05:572014-10-15 19:05:57From Visitor to Member: Strategies to Keep First-Timers Coming Back By Don Burns
In many churches, visitors will attend church for the first time this week having the opportunity to make a decision on a number of things. Although they will not ask these questions, these questions will be the basis of their reason for visiting the church. …read more
https://tonycooke.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/TCMLogo2022-300x138.png00Tony Cookehttps://tonycooke.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/TCMLogo2022-300x138.pngTony Cooke2014-10-15 19:05:562014-10-15 19:05:56Have You Looked at Your Visitor Cards Lately? by Joe Cala
So many Pastors live week-to-week, month to month and year to year just waiting to see where they’ll be in regards to church growth. In talking to many Pastor’s they truly have a desire to see numerical growth in their churches but just sit back and see how it all turns out without putting together a plan. How many would you like to increase by? …read more
https://tonycooke.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/TCMLogo2022-300x138.png00Tony Cookehttps://tonycooke.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/TCMLogo2022-300x138.pngTony Cooke2014-10-15 19:05:562014-10-15 19:05:56Visitor Follow-up by Joe Cala
Several years ago I taught a series to our church entitled “The Power of Vision.” I went into great detail about the importance of having a clear and concise vision for every aspect of life and committing it to writing. I explained that after your vision has been written, there would be times that you would need to do a vision revision. …read more
https://tonycooke.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/TCMLogo2022-300x138.png00Tony Cookehttps://tonycooke.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/TCMLogo2022-300x138.pngTony Cooke2014-10-15 19:05:552014-10-15 19:05:55Vision Revision – What Are You Doing with What You Have? Pastor Mark Cowart
Manage Your Church for Financial Success by Dave Marples
/in Articles by Others /by Tony CookeManage Your Church for Financial Success by Dale Marples Dale Marples and his wife, Betty Jo, are ordained through Rhema Bible Training Center and had been pastors for 24 years before retiring in 2010. They pioneered 3 churches during that time. Dale has a degree from the University of Nebraska in Business Administration and Finance. […]
Spiritual Surgery by Rick Renner
/in Articles by Others /by Tony CookeSpiritual Surgery Rick Renner This is an excerpt from Rick Renner’s soon-to-be-released second volume of his Light in Darkness series, No Room for Compromise: Christ’s Message to Today’s Church. This excerpt comes from Chapter Three: Jesus’ Message to the Church of Pergamum. The “sharp sword with two edges” in Revelation 2:12 represents Christ’s ultimate authority […]
Pastor and Spouse: What Do You Do When the Pain Thresholds Don’t Match? by Gerald Brooks
/in Articles by Others /by Tony CookePastor and Spouse: What Do You Do When the Pain Thresholds Don’t Match? Gerald Brooks Gerald Brooks is the founding pastor of Grace Outreach Center, an interdenominational church in Plano, Texas. The church began in 1982 and has grown to a weekend attendance of over 5,000. Pastor Brooks is well-known for his passionate heart to […]
Law Enforcement Chaplaincy by Mark Clements
/in Articles by Others /by Tony CookeI learned that law enforcement chaplaincy is generally like a two-sided coin, with one side being of service to men and women of law enforcement – local, county, state, and federal – and their support staff and family members, and the second side of the coin being victims of both crime and tragedy. …read more
How to Increase Year-End Giving with Tax-Saving Strategies by Mark Helland
/in Articles by Others /by Tony CookeHow to Increase Year-End Giving with Tax-Saving Strategies Mark Helland Mark Helland, CPA is a partner with the public accounting firm of Elliott, Dozier and Helland, PC (www.edhcpa.com) which is located in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Mark specializes in audit, outsourced accounting and tax related issues for church and ministry clients across the United States. To obtain additional information […]
Surviving the Pressure Cooker: How One Couple Overcame Ministry Stress to Create a Successful Marriage by Maria Foslien
/in Articles by Others /by Tony CookeI had never lived on my own before marriage and quite frankly I had a lot of growing up to do. Here in America my issues were easily skirted. Even with fast food, washers and dryers, prepackaged meals and microwaves I struggled with the daily demands of motherhood and marriage. We moved over to the former Soviet Union in 1993 to do mission work. …read more
Facing Personal Crisis While Maintaining Public Ministry by Rev. Dean Hawk
/in Articles by Others /by Tony CookeBack in early 90’s my wife, Kim, and I faced a family crisis. We were crushed, gasping to catch our emotional breath, and wounded by an attack of the enemy. What we faced is irrelevant. Sorry, no juicy details. However, you can probably fill in the blank with any number of difficult situations or tragedies which have rocked your own world. …read more
How My Worst Moment Produced New Ministry in Our Church by Tony Rea
/in Articles by Others /by Tony CookeHow My Worst Moment Produced New Ministry in Our Church Tony Rea Tony Rea and his wife, Terese, are the founding pastors of Community Christian Church in Sterling Heights, Michigan. The church was launched with a handful of people in a rented school building in February 1992 and just celebrated 22 years of ministry. Community Christian […]
Are You a Workaholic? by Rev. Dean Hawk
/in Articles by Others /by Tony CookeHold on to your hat! You may be sick and not even know it. Most workaholics are just like many of the other addicts who live in denial of the obvious symptoms and claim to be “normal.” In Philippians chapter two Paul references a man named Epaphroditus who became sick and almost died due to his work in the ministry. Even today in our culture we see the same patterns repeated by people in every occupation but especially those who serve in full time ministry. …read more
Do the Scriptures Forbid Women to Preach?
/in Articles by Others /by Tony CookeIts aim was to build a new man in Christ Jesus, and to this inspired manhood was left the utmost liberty in respect to externals. This view is corroborated by the whole testimony of history. The modern Church is totally different from the assemblies of the first Christians. The civil state has been revolutionised since the time of Christ. …read more
A Word to the Wise Rev. Marty Blackwelder
/in Articles by Others /by Tony CookeFirst of all, I would like to qualify the content of the following paragraph by saying that my comments are not meant to be a criticism but are merely an observation. As I look around today in our modern Christianity, I am acutely aware of the fact that something is missing in our spiritual leadership and subsequently in the members of a new generation of believers that sit under our influence. …read more
The Role of Women in the Ministry, Part 1 by Beth Jones
/in Articles by Others /by Tony CookeI was raised as a Roman Catholic; our church leaders were priests and nuns—and the option of being a nun was never on my radar. When I became a born-again Christian, it was dramatic. Jesus radically changed my life! I loved Him. I loved following Him. …read more
Wired for Relationships By Pastor Jim Herring
/in Articles by Others /by Tony CookeEvery one of us maintain multiple relationships. Some of them are great, some are good, some are bad, and a few may be downright ugly! Regardless of the state of our relationships, understanding and applying God’s Word to our life and relationships will help us find a higher degree of personal peace and fulfillment. …read more
The Role of Women in the Ministry Part 2 by Beth Jones
/in Articles by Others /by Tony CookeIf you want to start a fight in church, initiate a conversation about women preachers and within 45 minutes, you can split that church four ways! As every woman in a high profile role in the church knows, there are many different views on this subject. Those views often carry strong emotions. …read more
The Winds of Change by Rick Renner | Excerpt from A Light in Darkness, Volume 2
/in Articles by Others /by Tony CookeThe Cross is always the path for believers who have decided to walk the straight path with Jesus. The Cross is never enjoyable, but it always results in resurrection. Therefore, believers today must be willing to face the Cross and believe for resurrection power to flow through them — even if it means they have to suffer the brunt of a changing society that has no tolerance for people who hold to an exclusionary faith or to fixed moral absolutes. …read more
A Winning Tradition by Mark Bintliff
/in Articles by Others /by Tony CookeHave you ever noticed that there are those in life, athletics and even business, that seem to have a fragrance of victory about them? It is as if they walk in an atmosphere and with the mindset of a perpetual winner. There is an air, a confidence and an expectation of success that seems to surround all that they do. We, as Christians, should have this kind of confidence. When you are part of a team that has a tradition of winning, you expect to win. …read more
Why Church? by Rich Huston
/in Articles by Others /by Tony CookeIt goes without saying that there is much that needs improvement in churches. Those of us who lead certainly need to be receptive to those needed changes. However, we live in a time when people are often looking for what they want, rather than what God has given. Chuck Colson said; “We live in a therapeutic age where everything is measured by how much I get out of it. …read more
Weathering the Storm Without Being Weathered
/in Articles by Others /by Tony CookeJust like a seed that is planted in the ground, the devil wants to uproot truths of God’s Word before they bear fruit in us. So don’t be surprised by the challenges that come. Don’t let the difficulties conquer you. Don’t give your place of authority in Christ Jesus over to the devil by surrendering to the circumstances. In the midst of the raging storm, refuse to let go of God’s Word, for He will not relax His hold on you. …read more
Where Was the Auditor?
/in Articles by Others /by Tony CookeUnfortunately, this question has arisen in the both the tax-exempt and for-profit world too many times in the last few years as large, respectable audit firms have failed to serve their function to fully inform the financial statement users about the activities of the organizations audited. Large publicly traded companies have failed under the shadow of accusations of audit failures. …read more
Vocational Callings in the Body of Christ by Jen Tringale
/in Articles by Others /by Tony CookeVocational Callings in the Body of Christ Jen Tringale Jen ministers with a specific anointing to bring clarity and focus to the purpose of God in people’s hearts, and she heavily emphasizes how everyone can impact the culture around them through their vocational callings. She shares relevant and time-proven strategies for expanding the Kingdom of […]
The 40 Martyrs of Sebaste
/in Articles by Others /by Tony CookeAgricola knew of 40 soldiers who were devout Christians and skilled in battle. In an attempt to force them to renounce their faith, Agricola said to the 40 men, “Either offer sacrifice to the gods and earn great honors, or, in the event of your disobedience, be stripped of your military rank and fall into disgrace.” The soldiers were thrown into prison to think about what Agricola had said. They encouraged themselves that night by singing psalms and praying. …read more
From Visitor to Member: Strategies to Keep First-Timers Coming Back By Don Burns
/in Articles by Others /by Tony CookeOn a recent trip with my family to Disneyland, I was surprised to find several fresh fruit stands inside the park. Among the French fries, burgers, ice cream, and churros are these wonderful stands serving up fresh juice and sliced fruits. Fresh fruit stands may not bring visitors to the park, but the lines of people willing to pay $5.50 for a few slices of pineapple show me that they’re excited to have a healthy option. …read more
Have You Looked at Your Visitor Cards Lately? by Joe Cala
/in Articles by Others /by Tony CookeIn many churches, visitors will attend church for the first time this week having the opportunity to make a decision on a number of things. Although they will not ask these questions, these questions will be the basis of their reason for visiting the church. …read more
Visitor Follow-up by Joe Cala
/in Articles by Others /by Tony CookeSo many Pastors live week-to-week, month to month and year to year just waiting to see where they’ll be in regards to church growth. In talking to many Pastor’s they truly have a desire to see numerical growth in their churches but just sit back and see how it all turns out without putting together a plan. How many would you like to increase by? …read more
Vision Revision – What Are You Doing with What You Have? Pastor Mark Cowart
/in Articles by Others /by Tony CookeSeveral years ago I taught a series to our church entitled “The Power of Vision.” I went into great detail about the importance of having a clear and concise vision for every aspect of life and committing it to writing. I explained that after your vision has been written, there would be times that you would need to do a vision revision. …read more