Archive for Ministry
Regent University to Hold 3rd Annual Reel Dreams Competition
Originally posted on Christian Newswire by Judy Black
Regent University’s Reel Dreams Film Competition is back and looking to showcase fresh, new, and talented filmmakers who aspire to make the world a better place through redemptive storytelling.
Sponsored by Regent’s School of Communication & the Arts, Reel Dreams is an annual competition that gives independent filmmakers the opportunity to have their redemptive films reviewed by industry professionals, showcase their work on the Internet and compete for scholarships.
Additional information about this year’s competition can be found on the http://www.reeldreamsfilmfest.com/.
“The mission of the Reel Dreams Film Competition is to empower aspiring film artists to use their talents and abilities to bring creative, redemptive films to the entertainment industry,” explains Michael Patrick, dean of Regent’s School of Communication & the Arts.
Redemptive films are those whose stories portray a carefully-crafted protagonist facing a moral dilemma that leads to good or bad consequences. Through grippingly overt or subtle stories, these films convey positive messages of hope, love and redemption that transform the minds of audiences worldwide.
Films are required to be between three and five minutes in length. Additional rules and submission information can be found on the Reel Dreams website. The submission period for films opens on Jan. 4 and runs until Mar. 9.
Once films are submitted, they will enter the first of three rounds of judging. Initial entries will be narrowed down to the top 25. Those 25 films will then be narrowed down to seven. The top seven finalists will receive an all-expense paid weekend in Virginia Beach, VA for the final event, April 17, 2010, where the grand prize winner will be announced.
Regent University’s School of Communication and the Arts offers degrees in Cinema-Television, Journalism, Theatre, Digital Media, Animation and Communication Studies. Students have won more than 230 awards for their films, publications and theatre performances. On-campus and online degrees are available. Further information can be found at www.regent.edu/communication.
North American Children’s Ministries Conference Clarity
Originally posted on Assemblies of God News by Patti Chapman
There are many choices for children’s leaders when it comes to conferences – some big and some small. The Children’s Ministries Agency (CMA) of the Assemblies of God believes they have the answer to this dilemma with the North American Children’s Ministries Conference.
“The 2010 North American Children’s Ministries Conference is one of the best yet most affordable conferences available,” states Jason Noble, CMA national director. “In light of the current economic situation, we realize how vitally important affordability coupled with quality training and spiritual refreshing is to the local church. Join us for the 2010 NACM Conference where you will absolutely get the most bang for your buck. We guarantee it!”
In a comparison of major children’s ministries conferences being hosted by various entities across the nation, the 2010 NACMC has a similar length (three and one-half days) and number of general sessions (five). The 2010 NACMC offers seven workshop tracks, while others offer four to six.
However, according to Noble, although the conferences have great similarities, when it comes to cost, the 2010 NACMC advantage quickly becomes evident.
Noble says that other conferences’ base average registration fee is about $335 per person where as NACMC is $189. The 2010 NACMC also offers two discounts: if staying at the conference hotel, attendees may deduct $20 from their registration price, and if they have attended any previous CMA events, they may take an additional $20 off for a final total of $149.00.
In addition, Noble says, the NACMC 2010 pre-conference event is priced significantly less than the average of other conferences ($50 vs. $84).
“The bottom line,” Noble says, “is a person can go to another conference and pay on average $911, which includes the cost of staying at the conference hotel. However, if someone decides to attend the 2010 North American Children’s Ministries Conference including the Pre-Conference Leader Labs with a four-night hotel stay (not including meals or travel) the approximate cost is only $639 – a savings of nearly $300!”
Noble adds that the price can be even further reduced if a group of five or more registers and/or two to four individuals share a room.
The 2010 North American Children’s Ministries Conference will be he held March 1-5 at the Millennium Hotel in St. Louis, Missouri. However, Noble cautions that the conference hotel room block is nearly sold out and that registrations will need to be submitted by February 2, 2010, deadline in order to avoid a price increase.
Billy Joe Daugherty: ‘His life is still with us’
An estimated 12,000 people pack Oral Roberts University's Mabee Center on Monday for the memorial service for the Rev. Billy Joe Daugherty.
The Rev. Sharon Daugherty embraces Dodie Osteen (in gray) during the memorial service for the Rev. Billy Joe Daugherty on Monday at the Mabee Center at Oral Roberts University. SHERRY BROWN / Tulsa World
Oral Roberts University board Chairman Mart Green speaks of the Rev. Billy Joe Daugherty during Monday's memorial service for the Tulsa minister at the Mabee Center. SHERRY BROWN / Tulsa World
Originally posted on Tulsa World by Bill Sherman
An estimated 12,000 people packed Oral Roberts University’s Mabee Center for the memorial service, characterized by worship, preaching, a few tears, laughter and many personal stories about Daugherty, one of the country’s best-known charismatic ministers.
Among the attendees were well-known national preachers, numerous Tulsa-area ministers, representatives of the Tulsa Jewish community and political leaders such as U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe and U.S. Rep. John Sullivan.
Oral Roberts appeared in a video from California, saying, “I don’t think I’ve been touched by any human being as I was touched by Billy Joe.
“His going is a great loss for us on a personal level, but his life is still with us,” Roberts said. “I loved him next to my son, Richard.”
Associate Pastor Bruce Edwards called Daugherty an incredible man of faith and vision.
“I’m forever grateful for his vision and his impact on my life,” he said.
Besides founding Tulsa’s largest church, Daugherty was the founder of Victory Christian School; International Victory Bible Institute, with more than 900 campuses in about 93 countries; Victory World Missions Training Center; and the Dream Center.
Daugherty was the premier Oral Roberts University graduate, ORU board Chairman Mart Green said. “We’re so proud of what he’s done,” he said.
“He made you feel like you were something.”
Sharon Daugherty, who co-founded and co-pastored the church with her husband, said the central theme of his life was reaching people with the message of Christ.
“What was in his heart was the harvest, all the time,” she said.
She described meeting him in high school in 1969 in Magnolia, Ark., when they were part of a “move of the Holy Spirit, bunches of kids getting radically saved,” which they later learned was going on all over the country, the Jesus Movement.
The Rev. Ron McIntosh, director of Victory Bible Institute, said Daugherty wore his titles “loosely.” Many people didn’t know he held an earned doctoral degree.
McIntosh said the two words that best describe Daugherty are humility and integrity, adding that he ” just wanted to glorify God.
” The Rev. Bob Green of Arrow Heights Baptist Church in Broken Arrow said he worked with Daugherty on joint projects over the years, and the two shared a bond that existed because “Jesus Christ is lord of our lives.”
“It’s been a privilege to call Billy Joe a friend,” he said. Itai Lavi, the Israeli “shaliach,” or ambassador, to Tulsa, called Daugherty “my friend, my brother, my mentor.”
In the Jewish tradition of speaking to the deceased, he said to Daugherty, “You opened the door, you opened your heart, you opened your arms. You helped create new friendship, new bonds with the Jewish community. Tulsa is a better community thanks to you.”
Bishop David Oyedepo of Faith Tabernacle in Canaanland, Nigeria, called Daugherty a priceless jewel who is gone but not lost.
The Rev. Kenneth Copeland of Fort Worth, Texas, urged the family and others to resist grief and sorrow, which deny the reality that they will see him again.
Daugherty’s son Paul said his father’s last words to him were: “You are valuable. Your life is valuable. So spend it wisely.”
The Soul Factory THEATRE Presents Deron Cloud’s “2 Angry People in Love Goin’ Thru Hell” – Recession Free Show!
FINAL SHOWS OF 2009 !!!
The demand for Deron Cloud’s hit stage play “2 Angry People In Love Goin Thru Hell” requires that we do it one more time…Just two more shows. Saturday, December 5th at 7:30pm & Sunday, December 6th at 6:30pm …it’s totally FREE!!! @ The Soul Factory Theatre 7702 Marlboro Pike Forestville, MD 20747
Two people met, the chemistry caused such a rush of good feelings. They became inseparable. They were madly in love. They felt marriage was the way to show the world their love for each other. Within 3 years the things that attracted them to each other began to drive them crazy! The couple who used to talk all the time could not talk about anything without arguing. Their relationship has turned into complete hell. They know that they love each other, but right now they can’t stand each other. What happened? Is the love really gone? Can they get it back? Does she want it back?
3 ways to get FREE tickets!!! 1. Have FREE tickets e-mailed to you, send your request to: deroncloud@msn.com 2. Download FREE tickets from our online store: www.thesoulfactory.com/store 3.
Pick up your FREE ticket at these locations.
The Soul Factory Office 7770 Marlboro Pike Forestville, MD 20747
Jesus Book Store 4823 Alletown Rd. Suitland, MD. 20746 301-735-1100
Kemp Mills 3742 Branch Ave. Temple Hills, MD. 20747 301-899-2300
Lillian’s Nails 8311 Annapolis Rd. New Carrollton, MD. 20784 301-918-3156
John 3:16 Book Store 7953 Annapolis Road Lanham, MD 20706 301-459-5999
To ALL friends, families, and partners of Deron Cloud’s Productions and The Soul Factory Theatre: We are looking for business owners and entrepreneurs in the Atlanta Metro area, Maryland, Virginia and the Washington, DC Metro Area to help distribute FREE tickets to our productions.
If you are interested, please send your information to: thesoulfactorytheatrechurch@gmail.com
Tonight, On Praise The Lord
Host: Wintley Phipps
Guests: CeCe Winans, John Stoddart, Elial Barrial, Kirk Whalum and Kim Burrell.
Praise The Lord airs at 7:00 PM Pacific Time (GMT -8:00) on a TBN!
Christians Should Laugh More!
Originally posted on CBN.com by Dennis Swanberg
I love to laugh, and I love to make other people laugh. But I’ve discovered in my travels across the country that an inordinate number of church folks are afflicted with sour-puss-itis—the disheartening disease that manifests itself in furrowed frowns and stiff arms folded across chests. It’s almost as if those folks think, “If I’m not suffering, I’m not doing this Christian thing right. I’d better not ever look like I’m having fun.”
Well, I couldn’t disagree more.
A big part of my ministry is making people laugh. When I deliver messages to groups across the country, I intentionally add humor to my presentations, and one of my favorite kinds of humor is impersonations. I’ve found that one of the best cures for sour-puss-itis is to break out in the voices of some of our all-time favorite characters like Barney Fife, Jimmy Stewart, or Billy Graham. When I’m speaking, these characters are likely to show up anywhere that has been infected by the deadly sour-puss-itis.
The other night I had a vision featuring one of my favorite characters. Did you know that eating Mexican food after 9:00 p.m. can cause you to have visions you know not of? Well, it can. And on this particular night, I sat straight up in bed at 3:00 a.m. with a salsa-inspired vision of Jonah. Now you may not know this, but Jonah is a distant ancestor of Forrest Gump. And in my vision Jonah stood and said, “This is my testimony: I was running from God, and I got in my Bubba Gump shrimp boat and sailed away as fast as I could. But a big storm came up, and I fell overboard. I surely would have drowned were it not for the giant fish that swallowed me up. I stayed in that stinky belly for three days and three nights, and then that giant fish spit me out on shore, sort of bit me on the buttocks. God told me to preach to the Ninevites, so that’s what I finally did. And that’s all I’m going to say about that. Stupid is as stupid does.”
Some of the best humor comes from taking an on-the-spot situation and finding the laughter in it. Now you need to know that I got my preacher training from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. In that seminary, I learned how to preach! I knew when to be loud and forceful, and I knew when to talk soft and low. I even knew how to cry when the occasion required, like during a building campaign. Once, as a young, overly confident preacher—right out of seminary—I was preaching for a little country church. And I was feeling pretty good about myself.
I’d developed the habit of making my grand entrance right behind the choir. Being the last one out made quite an impressive entry. Well, on this particular Sunday I had to visit the “little room” before services started. This little country church had only one little room—it was “coed” before that word was popular. Not only was it little, it was right next to the choir room, and it didn’t have any insulation. No insulation meant the choir knew I was in the little room, and I knew the choir was in the choir room. As I was completing my little-room tasks, I heard the choir leaving. Could they not wait on me? Didn’t they know how important it was that I bring up the rear of their procession?
So I hurried as fast as I could and hooked up with them just in time—just as the last ones were entering the sanctuary. I made my grand entrance—all calm, cool, and collected—and marched right up on the platform. But when I turned to face the audience, I noticed several people poking each other in the ribs, pointing at me, and giggling behind their hands. Within seconds the whole group had broken into full laughter. Well, I didn’t know what to think.
I checked my zipper—but it was up and in the locked position. I finally looked down and saw that a six-foot piece of toilet paper had stuck to my shoe in my haste to catch up with the thoughtless choir. Well, what do you do in a situation like that? You turn it into laughter. I just took hold of that toilet paper and wrapped it around my leg. The little old ladies in the back were just dying laughing. I almost titled that message, “Don’t squeeze the Charmin.” What a great service we had that morning!
People laughed when they didn’t expect to laugh. They started their day in laughter and continued it in joy. While there surely are times when you need to be serious, don’t fall into the trap of taking yourself too seriously. In fact, the Bible reminds us in Proverbs 17:22 that “a cheerful heart is good medicine.” That toilet paper wrapped around my foot probably did more good than the Geritol those ladies took that morning!
Healthy relationships include laughter. Every relationship, whether it is with your spouse or your children, can be filled with joy. Laughter puts a spark in your relationships and keeps your everyday routines from creating boring ruts in your life. Because you invest humor in your relationships does not mean they lack emotional depth. In fact, the opposite is true. Humor adds new and intense emotions to your relationship. Sometimes an aversion to laughter may be a cover-up for some deep-seated fear. Being able to laugh at yourself and at situations that aren’t supposed to be funny are signs of emotional security and emotional good health.
I guess that makes ol’ Swan one of the most secure and healthy guys around. Because I love to laugh, I love to make Lauree and Chad and Dusty laugh. Laughter is one of the fuels that keeps my relationships going. Our homes don’t have to be tombs of drudgery and gloom. Instead, they should overflow with laughter and joy. If you want your children to come home for holidays and reunions, make it a place worth coming home to. Make it a happy place to live and then a happy place to visit. You don’t have to be a stand-up comedian to accomplish this task. Just create a climate and circumstance where laughter becomes a part of your daily life.
You’ve heard the saying, “Life is what you make it.” That means we have a choice. We can choose to have a life full of frustration and fear, but we can just as easily choose one of joy and contentment.
Show your family that it’s OK—no, it’s better than OK—it’s essential to laugh. Fill up your family’s love tank with a generous supply of laughter.
Fill up on the Word—
1 Corinthians 13
Pride and anger are enemies of humor, and Paul addresses both of these menaces in the Love Chapter. “Love is . . . not proud . . . it is not easily angered.” One of the basic ingredients of a healthy sense of humor is the ability to laugh at yourself. When we’re puffed up with pride, we don’t laugh at ourselves; rather we get angry and huffy when things go wrong. If you want people to feel comfortable around you, to enjoy being with you, then learn to laugh at yourself and find humor in life’s little mishaps. Laughter oils the squeeky parts of life and keeps your engine hummin’.Check Your Gauge
1. How do you react when you make a silly mistake—like tripping over the carpet or saying something really stupid. Do you get defensive and huffy, or do you laugh?
2. When was the last time your family had a good laugh together? What did you laugh about? How did it affect the atmosphere in your home?
3. What’s the difference in laughing at your own mistakes and making fun of someone else’s? Why is one OK and the other not?
4. How does laughter benefit you?
Ready, Set, Go!
Make a conscious effort this week to bring laughter and joy into your home. Set a goal to bring a smile to the lips of everyone in your home at least once a day.
