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Showing posts from January, 2013

If I were Satan...

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"If I were Satan and wanted to fatally stunt the growth of disciples to maturity, what would I do? I would divert the leaders from fulfilling their God-given function of equipping the saints [ Ephesians 4:11-12 ]. Instead, I would distract them with other good and high-sounding activities that have nothing to do with growing people to maturity and engaging them in ministry. This is exactly what has happened. We have shunted our spiritual leaders into being program developers, administrators, and caregivers."  —Greg Ogden Get  Cup O' Joe with Bill  in your Email Inbox! Let me encourage you and make you think 2-3x a week with a virtual  Cup O' Joe with Bill  in your email inbox.  Go here and submit your email . Then check your email inbox and click the Feedburner confirmation link. Note: You can unsubscribe anytime simply by clicking the "unsubscribe" link at the bottom of any email that comes from  Cup O' Joe with Bill .

Monday Funday: Fried Chicken

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Our teacher asked us what our favorite animal was and I said, "Fried chicken." She said I wasn't funny. But she couldn't have been right—everyone else in the class laughed. My parents told me to always be truthful and honest, and I am. Fried chicken is my favorite animal. I told my dad what happened and he said my teacher was probably a member of PETA. He said they love animals very much. I do, too. Especially chicken—and pork and beef and fish too. Anyway, my teacher sent me to the principal's office. I told him what happened, and he laughed too. Then he told me not to do it again. The next day in class my teacher asked me what my favorite live animal was. I told her it was chicken. She asked me why. So I told her it was because you could make them into fried chicken. She sent me back to the principal's office again. He laughed, and told me not to do it again. I don't understand. My parents taught me to be honest, but my teacher doesn't

All Volunteers Must Be Paid

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What? Paid volunteers? Isn't that an oxymoron... like "jumbo shrimp" or "honest politician" or "Microsoft Works"? The fact is that all volunteers must be "paid"—make no mistake about that. However, volunteers are not usually paid with money (hence the name "volunteer"). Volunteers ARE "paid" with a different—but very real—kind of capital. I think of it as emotional capital . And those who don't understand that volunteers need to be paid in emotional capital will soon find themselves lacking volunteers. It's a fact: If volunteers don't get as much—or more—out of their volunteering than they put into it—they will go where they will get a better ROI (return on investment). Sometimes this emotional capital can be connected to something tangible they receive as an act of appreciation for their service. But note well that—from the volunteer's perspective—the real value of any tangible expressions

Simple. Profound. But Not Obvious.

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A true story…. A small group of youth pastors gathered together for their monthly network meeting. The newest and youngest youth pastor asked the more experienced youth pastors, "What youth ministry resources would you recommend to me as I get started?" The must-read book suggestions came fast and furious as the more experienced youth leaders pitched their favorite ministry books to the newbie.  The young youth pastor fervently scribbled down the titles. This went on until the list was quite long. When the book suggestions finally slowed down long enough for everyone to catch a breath, one youth leader, previously quiet, simply said, "Or, you can study the Gospels, take note of how Jesus did ministry and try to do what He did." Simple. Profound. But not obvious. Our extraordinary passion for the newest, coolest books makes me wonder if we really believe the Bible is enough. There. I said it. * For a little more on Jesus-like disciplemaking, go here

A writer who moves you...

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There was once a young man who, in his youth, professed his desire to become a great writer. When asked to define "great," he said, "I want to write stuff that the whole world will read, stuff that people will react to on a truly emotional level, stuff that will make them scream in disbelief, cry in despair, howl in pain, and vent their anger in ways they've never dreamed of!" He now works for Microsoft writing error messages. You, Me, and Coffee Monday...   Let me encourage you and and make you think 1 stinking time a week (usually Monday morning) with a virtual  Cup O' Joe with Bill  in your email inbox.  Two  Simple Steps... 1.  Go here and submit your email . 2.  Go to your email and click the Feedburner confirmation link . You can unsubscribe at any time with no questions asked simply by clicking the unsubscribe link at the bottom of any email you receive from  Cup O' Joe with Bill . Honest. You got nothing to lose. Try it.

We're on a mission from God...

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Your prayers, friendship, and support are God's wind in our sails... and we feel it.  THANK YOU! Below are pictures from the last week in which we had many God moments in our ministry. Enjoy and thank God for each moment. Below—Last Thursday: Speaking to volunteer leaders at Rock Church. Below—Last  Saturday: Training volunteer youth leaders who serve at Riverside Community Church. Below—Last  Sunday: Speaking at Riverside Community Church's morning services.   Below— Last Wednesday night: Cadre's Ministry Is Relationships training experience at Riverside )1st of 4 Wednesday nights). Below— Having some fun at the training last night with Pastor John King. He's such a good sport! THANK YOU FOR PRAYING for us RIGHT NOW! Get  Cup O' Joe with Bill  in your Email Inbox! Let me encourage you and make you think 2-3x a week with a virtual  Cup O' Joe with Bill  in your email inbox.  Go here and submit your email . Then

One of Central IL's Best Kept Secrets

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You are invited to join Cadre for... Equip Ministries Christian Worker's Conference Friday and Saturday, February 21-22, 2014 Peoria Christian School in Peoria, IL. Bill Allison will be doing these four training lab experiences on both Friday and Saturday...  What Makes Volunteers Tick? Bill Allison,  www.cadreministries.com The effectiveness of your ministry—to a large degree—is dependent upon the motivation level of the volunteers.  But what makes a volunteer tick? That's exactly what we'll explore in this session. Bring your Bible, a pen and your sense of humor. Teaching with the End in Mind Bill Allison,  www.cadreministries.com We're busy teaching, no doubt about it.  But what is our teaching producing?  What is it—exactly—that you want those you teach to know and be able to do?  That's exactly the question we'll explore in this session.  Don't miss this workshop because we'll begin to wrestle down some exit go

When an 11-year-old boy takes notes on my sermon...

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I got this email from a guy whose family recently heard me preach at their church: "Bill, Our 11 yr old son feverishly took notes on your message yesterday... he filled a page. He's usually pretty detached from the Sunday morning teaching. I was so proud of him and of you. As I looked at his note sheet, I turned it over and read these words written on the back, 'I saw dust come out when he cut the cheese.' Hmmm... I guess he's still 11. " In the spirit of this note, I offer this ten second video clip: You, Me, and Coffee Monday...   Let me encourage you and make you think ONE time a week (usually Monday morning) with a virtual  Cup O' Joe with Bill  in your email inbox.  Two  Simple Steps... 1.  Go here and submit your email . 2.  Check  your email to confirm . You can unsubscribe at any time.

Training Especially for Volunteer Youth Leaders

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Click the image below to enlarge for reading... Training that comes to you... from your biggest fans at Cadre Ministries! For complete details,  go here   and scroll down to the bottom. Get  Cup O' Joe with Bill  in your Email Inbox! Let me encourage you and make you think 2-3x a week with a virtual  Cup O' Joe with Bill  in your email inbox.  Go here and submit your email . Then check your email inbox and click the Feedburner confirmation link. Note: You can unsubscribe anytime simply by clicking the "unsubscribe" link at the bottom of any email that comes from  Cup O' Joe with Bill .

Behind the Cheddar Curtain... Districts 2013

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Sometimes as Cadre missionaries, God makes it possible for us to take Jesus-like disciplemaking encouragement and training to potentially hazardous places. This is the story of how God took us… Behind the Cheddar Curtain! Last weekend, I had the honor of being a small part of a youth conference for the Evangelical Free Church in WI . (Pictured below: Rob and Nancy Weise, along with lots of well coordinated volunteers, make this student ministries conference happen… and happen well.)  [Note: Click on any image below to enlarge for viewing.] Cadre brought training and coaching to some of the 3,800 students and youth leaders who attended. Did I mention the conference was in Green Bay? Yeah, that's where the Packers play—and they were playing on Saturday night. As a Bear's fan, I felt alone… so alone behind the Cheddar Curtain ( especially after all the fun trash talking I've done with Packer fans this year ). And then the first of many miracles happened…. I found an

Monday Funday: I tell ya, I get no respect.

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I was walking around the house without a shirt the other day. (Not a pretty sight.) When I saw my wife and daughters Libby (12) and Sadey (9), I started to flex my "muscles." My wife looked at me strangely and asked, "What are you doing?" Striking another striking pose of strength and dexterity, I said, "I want my daughters to know what a strong man looks like." Libby looked disgusted and said, "No need. I'll look it up on Google." I tell ya, I get no respect. Get  Cup O' Joe with Bill  in your Email Inbox! Let me encourage you and make you think 2-3x a week with a virtual  Cup O' Joe with Bill  in your email inbox.  Go here and submit your email . Then check your email inbox and click the Feedburner confirmation link. Note: You can unsubscribe anytime simply by clicking the "unsubscribe" link at the bottom of any email that comes from  Cup O' Joe with Bill .

If you're the praying type...

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Saturday, January 9, 2021 Speaking to students and youth leaders at  Hillcrest Bible Church , Oregon, WI.   Sunday,  January 10, 2021 Preaching God's Word at  Christian Free Lutheran Church , Wheatland, IA. Thursday, January 14, 2021 A day-long gathering of the new disciplemaking cohort known as the Peoria Area Leadership Community ( PALC ). This Disciplemaking Learning Community is especially for those who  want  to study, live, and share the disciplemaking genius of Jesus via disciplemaking friendships  that  multiply.   Sunday,  January 17, 2021 Preaching God's Word at  Christian Free Lutheran Church , Wheatland, IA.   Thursday, January 21, 2020 A day-long gathering of the  Women's Disciplemaking Learning Community ( WDLC ). Sunday, January 24, 2021 Preach at the  Church of the Open Bible ,  Streator, IL   Thursday, January 28, 2021 Peoria Area Leadership Community Ongoing ( PALCO ) lunch gathering at Pizza Ranch, Morton, IL.  Join us. Let me know you're coming. Th