Recent church history gives us an abundance of examples of men and women of God, anointed for ministry, who may or may not have been the greatest paradigm of Christian living. Some of the most anointed ministers lost their ministries, reputation, family, and influence because of a lack of personal, or ministerial, ethics. While many who stumbled were able to recover themselves and finish their course with joy, others simply ship-wrecked their purpose and calling. … 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 19:03:452020-10-22 22:51:27Consistency by David Beebe
Whether you are a senior pastor, youth pastor, or ministry leader it is essential for you to connect with those who serve with you. At Rock Family Church we are intentional about building and developing quality relationships on our leadership teams. I have found the closer knit we are as a staff the more productive we are. Acts 2:42 gives us some practical insight. … 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 19:03:442020-10-22 22:47:44Connecting with your Staff by Pastor Dean Hawk
I, this day, consecrate my entire life to glorify my Heavenly Father by my obedience to the principles of Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. All my effort from now on will be directed in an effort to demonstrate the righteousness of God in whatsoever I may be engaged. All the things earthly that I possess shall not be considered my own, but belonging to my Heavenly Father, and shall be held in trust by me to be used and directed by the wisdom of the Spirit of God, as the law of love of men as Christ loved them may dictate. … 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 19:03:442020-10-22 22:43:03My Consecration as a Christian by John G. Lake
Over the past few years, ministers and church members have become the targets of misguided and even unscrupulous investment promoters. Never have so many ministers and church members been involved in bad investments: savings accounts wiped out, children’s college funds dissipated, and retirement funds wasted. Ministers have even sold their homes to invest the equity in questionable investments. … 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 19:03:432020-10-22 22:15:01Watch Out for “Christian Con Men” by James E. Guinn, CPA
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 19:03:432020-10-22 00:24:13Condemnation vs. Conviction by Gerald Brooks
The Internet can be both a useful tool and a destructive force for a church. On one hand, the Internet allows churches to market inexpensively to potential churchgoers and to quickly and efficiently relay news and information to members and supporters. On the other hand, the Internet can bring lewd and inappropriate content into the church with a push of a button; allow for the immediate circulation of rumors and outright lies about the organization and its leadership … 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 19:03:422020-10-22 00:18:54Computer Use Guidelines Your Staff Must Know by Attorney Dan Beirute
One of the frequent questions we are asked from pastors and church administrators is how the church should record a love gift to an individual. It is not unusual for a church bookkeeper to call our office and relay a scenario similar to the following: “A guest speaker came to our church, and after the service, the pastor took him out and bought him a new suit. Can we record this as a benevolent gift?” … 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 19:03:412020-10-22 00:16:19Church Benevolence Policy by Richard D. Locke
In the course of my work as a CPA, I perform financial statement audits and reviews for dozens of churches and ministries on an annual basis. Some of the churches that I work with are debt free, but most require some sort of outside financing for building programs, improvements and other equipment purchases. One thing that all of these churches with outside financing have in common is an ever-more difficult environment with their lenders. … 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 19:03:412020-10-22 00:10:22Churches, Banks and Loans by Mark Helland
Few things will motivate an organization to take action more than having a court order it to pay someone $1.6 million for lack of security and emergency plans. An interesting lawsuit was just settled in Maryland and it would be wise for all churches to view this very closely because, even though it wasn’t a church named in the lawsuit, it very well could have been. … 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 19:03:402020-10-21 23:58:01Church Security: The Costs of Security Negligence By Jeff Hawkins
There has never been a time where the forces against the church are so strong or so well organized as now. We live in a world that is rapidly moving away from the knowledge of God. In America for example, the generation growing up now has less basic understanding of spiritual matters than any prior generation. With statistics showing that more people are being born again and discipled … 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 19:03:392020-10-21 23:43:08Strategic Church Planting by Pastor Douglas Crumbley
I had been praying about ways to get the people of our church activated in the growth and development of the church and to stir a fire in them for evangelism. When I presented this to my staff at a weekly staff meeting, we came up with the idea of a Pack The House Sunday we titled, “April 29 are you ready.” We committed finances to the campaign and bought a couple of billboards and several hundred small political-type signs you see in people’s yards and on the highways right-of-way. … 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 19:03:382020-10-21 23:36:26How One Church Impacted Its Community by Pastor John White
Let’s stop the hypnotism, the guilt manipulation and the high-pressure gimmicks. It’s time to reclaim our lost credibility. Normally I’d rather go to the dentist for a root canal than watch a telethon. But while channel surfing a few nights ago I tuned into PBS and discovered that Aretha Franklin, the legendary Queen of Soul, was hosting a fundraiser for the network. Seated at a piano, she was offering a 5-CD collection of classic rhythm and blues hits in exchange for a donation to public television. … 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 19:03:252020-10-21 23:32:05Christian TV’s All-Time Worst Fundraising Gimmicks by J. Lee Grady
Humor Section (cont) A couple had two sons, ages 8 and 10, who were very mischievous. These two were always getting into trouble and their parents knew that if any […]
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 19:03:242025-05-12 12:10:44A Couple Had Two Sons
The dictionary defines counseling as the active exchange of opinions or ideas, or the process of advising or giving guidance solicited from a knowledgeable person. The field of counseling today has a very mixed history. Counseling has been taking place for thousands of years. We know in ancient times from biblical history counseling was conducted by spiritual and religious leaders. … 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 19:03:232020-10-21 23:25:44What is Christian Counseling? by Dr. Dale Doty
The human mind is a wonderful and fascinating gift from God. While the brain is the physical organ that houses and enables the mind to operate in the body, it is through a network called the central nervous system that the mind is able to make sense of the world. The central nervous system is an intricate network of communication that transmits, receives, and interprets billions of chemical and electrical signals, which are continuously flowing between the mind and the physical world around us. … 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 19:03:222020-10-21 21:14:06Change Your Mind: Change Your Life! by John R. Carter
Over the past few years, we have seen a trend in the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) performing more audits and generally becoming much tougher in terms of its enforcement efforts—i.e. more audits, IRS notices, penalties, etc. Given the massive U.S. national debt, we fully expect this trend to continue into the future. One area where we have seen tougher enforcement, and expect to see ongoing tough standards, is in the area of documentation of charitable contributions.. … 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 19:03:222020-10-21 19:22:04Charitable Contributions Alert! by Mark Helland
A destitute woman. A sick and desperate mother. A prodigal son; these were the kind of people Jesus exercised continual compassion toward. After demonstrating his great compassion in every synagogue and village of Israel, Jesus did something else. He made it clear that he was calling His followers to live with this same compassion, bringing wholeness to every community in the 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 19:03:212020-10-21 19:18:56A Call to Compassion—Watch it Connect You with Your Community by Jim Graff
One of the hardest things for any person to do is to open oneself to the opinions, criticism and feedback of others regarding their life, their products, their projects, ideas and their creations. As a pastor, minister, ministry CEO and church leader, many of the realities within the church are there because of you, your influence, your creativity, your sweat, your hard work, your time and sacrifice. You birthed these ideas, events and services into life. … 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 19:03:202020-10-21 19:15:19Did You Just Call My Baby Ugly? by Joe Cala
Today, many Christians (and ministers) are experiencing identity issues for one reason or another. They don’t know who they are, they don’t know what to do, nor do they know where they belong. The past haunts them, the present is scary, and the future appears bleak and dismal. In 2002 Universal Pictures released a movie called The Bourne Identity, an American action thriller spy film starring Matt Damon as Jason Bourne, an amnesiac attempting to discover his true identity amidst a clandestine conspiracy within the Central Intelligence Agency. … 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 19:03:192020-10-20 23:18:25Your Born Identity by Marvin Yoder
As we have already learned, it is important to build your launch team with people who are leaders, godly, smart, talented, and exemplify great soundness and character. If you have to fudge in any of the areas, never fudge on character or their ability to lead others. Every church-planter’s top priority should be to build a great team of leaders around them. In this chapter I will show you what ingredients every great team has. … 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 19:03:192020-10-20 23:06:41Building a Great Team (An excerpt from “Church Planting 101”) by Douglas Crumbley
When you were growing up, what was a big deal in your home? What was most important? What messages were emphasized, repeated and harped on? These may not be what your parents really believed were most important in life, but it’s what they talked about the most, or what they celebrated, or what they argued most about, or what got someone in trouble. Now that you’re grown, do you think those things really are the most important things in life? … 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 19:03:182020-10-20 22:40:11Let’s Make a Big Deal Out of Kids’ Ministry! by Geni Brooks
I am convinced that Matthew must have been a “southerner.” All you have to do is read Matthew chapter 1 to prove he was concerned with genealogy. We southerners are acutely aware of “WHO ARE YOUR PEOPLE?” In small communities, which in our case involves our county, we must be clear on the genealogy factor. You must assume that everyone is related by birth, by marriage or that everyone just plain old knows each other by associations. … 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 19:03:182020-10-20 22:57:50Small Town Ministry—Big Time Heart by Pastor Rob Wynne
A few years ago, I was sitting in the bleachers at my daughter’s basketball game and the Lord asked me this question—right in the middle of a basketball game! He asked, “How deep do you want to go?” I knew what He meant. I knew God was asking me if I wanted to go “deeper” in 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 19:03:162020-10-20 22:29:25How Deep You Wanna Go by Beth Jones
The [name of church] Church, in the exercise of its religious and charitable purposes, has established a benevolence fund to assist persons in financial need. The church welcomes contributions to the fund. Donors are free to suggest beneficiaries of the fund or of their contributions to the fund. However, such suggestions shall be deemed advisory rather than mandatory in nature. The administration of the fund, including all disbursements, is subject to the exclusive control and discretion of the church board. … read more
My faith was tested like never before in June of 2008 when I received a diagnosis of stage 4 kidney cancer. When watching movies or sports events, most people have a natural tendency to root for the underdog. We love a close competition where a far under qualified competitor defies all odds to hold his own (or even win) against a much greater power. … 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 19:03:142020-10-20 22:30:38Being Ornery By Pastor Diego Mesa
Consistency by David Beebe
/in Articles by Others /by Tony CookeRecent church history gives us an abundance of examples of men and women of God, anointed for ministry, who may or may not have been the greatest paradigm of Christian living. Some of the most anointed ministers lost their ministries, reputation, family, and influence because of a lack of personal, or ministerial, ethics. While many who stumbled were able to recover themselves and finish their course with joy, others simply ship-wrecked their purpose and calling. … read more
Connecting with your Staff by Pastor Dean Hawk
/in Articles by Others /by Tony CookeWhether you are a senior pastor, youth pastor, or ministry leader it is essential for you to connect with those who serve with you. At Rock Family Church we are intentional about building and developing quality relationships on our leadership teams. I have found the closer knit we are as a staff the more productive we are. Acts 2:42 gives us some practical insight. … read more
My Consecration as a Christian by John G. Lake
/in Articles by Others /by Tony CookeI, this day, consecrate my entire life to glorify my Heavenly Father by my obedience to the principles of Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. All my effort from now on will be directed in an effort to demonstrate the righteousness of God in whatsoever I may be engaged. All the things earthly that I possess shall not be considered my own, but belonging to my Heavenly Father, and shall be held in trust by me to be used and directed by the wisdom of the Spirit of God, as the law of love of men as Christ loved them may dictate. … read more
Watch Out for “Christian Con Men” by James E. Guinn, CPA
/in Articles by Others /by Tony CookeOver the past few years, ministers and church members have become the targets of misguided and even unscrupulous investment promoters. Never have so many ministers and church members been involved in bad investments: savings accounts wiped out, children’s college funds dissipated, and retirement funds wasted. Ministers have even sold their homes to invest the equity in questionable investments. … read more
Condemnation vs. Conviction by Gerald Brooks
/in Articles by Others /by Tony CookeIn life there are two Bible words everyone eventually deals with: condemnation and conviction. … read more
Computer Use Guidelines Your Staff Must Know by Attorney Dan Beirute
/in Articles by Others /by Tony CookeThe Internet can be both a useful tool and a destructive force for a church. On one hand, the Internet allows churches to market inexpensively to potential churchgoers and to quickly and efficiently relay news and information to members and supporters. On the other hand, the Internet can bring lewd and inappropriate content into the church with a push of a button; allow for the immediate circulation of rumors and outright lies about the organization and its leadership … read more
Church Benevolence Policy by Richard D. Locke
/in Articles by Others /by Tony CookeOne of the frequent questions we are asked from pastors and church administrators is how the church should record a love gift to an individual. It is not unusual for a church bookkeeper to call our office and relay a scenario similar to the following: “A guest speaker came to our church, and after the service, the pastor took him out and bought him a new suit. Can we record this as a benevolent gift?” … read more
Churches, Banks and Loans by Mark Helland
/in Articles by Others /by Tony CookeIn the course of my work as a CPA, I perform financial statement audits and reviews for dozens of churches and ministries on an annual basis. Some of the churches that I work with are debt free, but most require some sort of outside financing for building programs, improvements and other equipment purchases. One thing that all of these churches with outside financing have in common is an ever-more difficult environment with their lenders. … read more
Church Security: The Costs of Security Negligence By Jeff Hawkins
/in Articles by Others /by Tony CookeFew things will motivate an organization to take action more than having a court order it to pay someone $1.6 million for lack of security and emergency plans. An interesting lawsuit was just settled in Maryland and it would be wise for all churches to view this very closely because, even though it wasn’t a church named in the lawsuit, it very well could have been. … read more
Strategic Church Planting by Pastor Douglas Crumbley
/in Articles by Others /by Tony CookeThere has never been a time where the forces against the church are so strong or so well organized as now. We live in a world that is rapidly moving away from the knowledge of God. In America for example, the generation growing up now has less basic understanding of spiritual matters than any prior generation. With statistics showing that more people are being born again and discipled … read more
How One Church Impacted Its Community by Pastor John White
/in Articles by Others /by Tony CookeI had been praying about ways to get the people of our church activated in the growth and development of the church and to stir a fire in them for evangelism. When I presented this to my staff at a weekly staff meeting, we came up with the idea of a Pack The House Sunday we titled, “April 29 are you ready.” We committed finances to the campaign and bought a couple of billboards and several hundred small political-type signs you see in people’s yards and on the highways right-of-way. … read more
Christian TV’s All-Time Worst Fundraising Gimmicks by J. Lee Grady
/in Articles by Others /by Tony CookeLet’s stop the hypnotism, the guilt manipulation and the high-pressure gimmicks. It’s time to reclaim our lost credibility. Normally I’d rather go to the dentist for a root canal than watch a telethon. But while channel surfing a few nights ago I tuned into PBS and discovered that Aretha Franklin, the legendary Queen of Soul, was hosting a fundraiser for the network. Seated at a piano, she was offering a 5-CD collection of classic rhythm and blues hits in exchange for a donation to public television. … read more
A Couple Had Two Sons
/in Humor Section /by Tony CookeHumor Section (cont) A couple had two sons, ages 8 and 10, who were very mischievous. These two were always getting into trouble and their parents knew that if any […]
What is Christian Counseling? by Dr. Dale Doty
/in Articles by Others /by Tony CookeThe dictionary defines counseling as the active exchange of opinions or ideas, or the process of advising or giving guidance solicited from a knowledgeable person. The field of counseling today has a very mixed history. Counseling has been taking place for thousands of years. We know in ancient times from biblical history counseling was conducted by spiritual and religious leaders. … read more
Change Your Mind: Change Your Life! by John R. Carter
/in Articles by Others /by Tony CookeThe human mind is a wonderful and fascinating gift from God. While the brain is the physical organ that houses and enables the mind to operate in the body, it is through a network called the central nervous system that the mind is able to make sense of the world. The central nervous system is an intricate network of communication that transmits, receives, and interprets billions of chemical and electrical signals, which are continuously flowing between the mind and the physical world around us. … read more
Charitable Contributions Alert! by Mark Helland
/in Articles by Others /by Tony CookeOver the past few years, we have seen a trend in the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) performing more audits and generally becoming much tougher in terms of its enforcement efforts—i.e. more audits, IRS notices, penalties, etc. Given the massive U.S. national debt, we fully expect this trend to continue into the future. One area where we have seen tougher enforcement, and expect to see ongoing tough standards, is in the area of documentation of charitable contributions.. … read more
A Call to Compassion—Watch it Connect You with Your Community by Jim Graff
/in Articles by Others /by Tony CookeA destitute woman. A sick and desperate mother. A prodigal son; these were the kind of people Jesus exercised continual compassion toward. After demonstrating his great compassion in every synagogue and village of Israel, Jesus did something else. He made it clear that he was calling His followers to live with this same compassion, bringing wholeness to every community in the world. … read more
Did You Just Call My Baby Ugly? by Joe Cala
/in Articles by Others /by Tony CookeOne of the hardest things for any person to do is to open oneself to the opinions, criticism and feedback of others regarding their life, their products, their projects, ideas and their creations. As a pastor, minister, ministry CEO and church leader, many of the realities within the church are there because of you, your influence, your creativity, your sweat, your hard work, your time and sacrifice. You birthed these ideas, events and services into life. … read more
Your Born Identity by Marvin Yoder
/in Articles by Others /by Tony CookeToday, many Christians (and ministers) are experiencing identity issues for one reason or another. They don’t know who they are, they don’t know what to do, nor do they know where they belong. The past haunts them, the present is scary, and the future appears bleak and dismal. In 2002 Universal Pictures released a movie called The Bourne Identity, an American action thriller spy film starring Matt Damon as Jason Bourne, an amnesiac attempting to discover his true identity amidst a clandestine conspiracy within the Central Intelligence Agency. … read more
Building a Great Team (An excerpt from “Church Planting 101”) by Douglas Crumbley
/in Articles by Others /by Tony CookeAs we have already learned, it is important to build your launch team with people who are leaders, godly, smart, talented, and exemplify great soundness and character. If you have to fudge in any of the areas, never fudge on character or their ability to lead others. Every church-planter’s top priority should be to build a great team of leaders around them. In this chapter I will show you what ingredients every great team has. … read more
Let’s Make a Big Deal Out of Kids’ Ministry! by Geni Brooks
/in Articles by Others /by Tony CookeWhen you were growing up, what was a big deal in your home? What was most important? What messages were emphasized, repeated and harped on? These may not be what your parents really believed were most important in life, but it’s what they talked about the most, or what they celebrated, or what they argued most about, or what got someone in trouble. Now that you’re grown, do you think those things really are the most important things in life? … read more
Small Town Ministry—Big Time Heart by Pastor Rob Wynne
/in Articles by Others /by Tony CookeI am convinced that Matthew must have been a “southerner.” All you have to do is read Matthew chapter 1 to prove he was concerned with genealogy. We southerners are acutely aware of “WHO ARE YOUR PEOPLE?” In small communities, which in our case involves our county, we must be clear on the genealogy factor. You must assume that everyone is related by birth, by marriage or that everyone just plain old knows each other by associations. … read more
How Deep You Wanna Go by Beth Jones
/in Articles by Others /by Tony CookeA few years ago, I was sitting in the bleachers at my daughter’s basketball game and the Lord asked me this question—right in the middle of a basketball game! He asked, “How deep do you want to go?” I knew what He meant. I knew God was asking me if I wanted to go “deeper” in Him. … read more
Benevolence Fund Policy
/in Articles by Others /by Tony CookeThe [name of church] Church, in the exercise of its religious and charitable purposes, has established a benevolence fund to assist persons in financial need. The church welcomes contributions to the fund. Donors are free to suggest beneficiaries of the fund or of their contributions to the fund. However, such suggestions shall be deemed advisory rather than mandatory in nature. The administration of the fund, including all disbursements, is subject to the exclusive control and discretion of the church board. … read more
Being Ornery By Pastor Diego Mesa
/in Articles by Others /by Tony CookeMy faith was tested like never before in June of 2008 when I received a diagnosis of stage 4 kidney cancer. When watching movies or sports events, most people have a natural tendency to root for the underdog. We love a close competition where a far under qualified competitor defies all odds to hold his own (or even win) against a much greater power. … read more