MEMBERSHIP–OUR GREATEST WEALTHA small town had three churches: Presbyterian, Methodist, and Baptist. All three had a serious problem with squirrels in the church. Each church in its own fashion had a meeting to deal with the problem. The Presbyterians decided that it was predestined that squirrels be in the church and that they would just have to live with them.The Methodists decided they should deal with the squirrels lovingly in the style of Charles Wesley. They humanely trapped them and released them in a park at the edge of town. Within 3 days, they were all back in the church. The Baptists had the best solution. They voted the squirrels in as members. Now they only see them at Christmas and Easter. This humorous little anecdote raises an important question about just what a member is and what it mean to be a member? The dictionary defines a member as “a distinct part of a whole, the belonging to a group.” Unfortunately membership today seems to be looked upon very often in a negative context such as...

HAVE YOU LIKED US ON FACEBOOK YET?Have you liked us on Facebook yet? Cary Mcfadden has done an excellent job of setting up and maintaining our Facebook site. If you haven’t done it yet just go to Facebook and type in Bridgton Alliance Church. Our goal is to build up as large a following as possible so that we can post announcements there and reach potentially many folks we would not otherwise reach. For that reason Cary has set up the site with an open wall. It’s possible to post comments there and to receive notifications by E-mail when new posts have been made. We hope that this interaction will add interest in our Facebook page.I have recently become aware of the tremendous potential this type of media offers in reaching out to the surrounding community. As a Facebook user when you click on “Like” on our church page it registers with all of your Facebook contacts and broadens the number of contacts who will receive the comment or announcement that has been posted. If any of your contacts clicks on like...

STRESS LESSPRAY MORE!A woman took her husband to the doctor’s office. After his checkup, the doctor said, "Your husband is suffering from a very serious infection." The husband, who was hard of hearing said, "What did he say?" His wife said, "He says your sick". The doctor went on. "But there is hope. You just need to reduce his stress. Each morning, give him a healthy breakfast. Be pleasant, nice, and kind. For lunch and dinner make him his favorite meal. Don’t discuss your problems with him; it will only make his stress worse. Don’t yell at him or argue with him. And most importantly...just cater to your husband’s every whim. If you can do this for your husband for the next 6 months to a year, I think your husband will have a complete recovery." The husband said, "What did he say?" His wife said, "He says, you’re going to die". It goes without saying that most of us have been subjected in varying degrees to stress with the inevitable consequences. The hyperactive schedules that we live will...

ARE YOU QUALIFIED?(A tribute)A retired preacher was cleaning out the dresser when he found 5 eggs and $1K. He asked his wife and she said she saved 1 egg for every bad sermon. He thought, "5 eggs in all those years. That’s not too bad. But what’s the money for?" "Well," she said, "Every time I got a dozen eggs, I sold them."Just think, if it weren’t for marriage, men would go through life thinking they had no faults at all. Almost every church has a job profile for their pastor, assistant pastor or C E Director. While most church members have an idea of what a pastor’s wife should be like, I have yet to see a written job profile for the pastor’s wife. I would like to ask the question: would you be qualified? Let me say first of all that it’s not an easy position to fill. People’s expectations can be enormous. You may be expected to have the wisdom of Solomon, the patience of Job, the theological knowledge of the apostle Paul, the courage of Queen Esther, the leadership potential of Deborah and the grace...

JUST WHAT DOES GOD KNOW ABOUT US?Several years ago, Bette Midler came out with a beautiful song called "From a Distance". In part of that song, she sings "God is watching us, God is watching us, God is watching us from a distance." You might raise the question about that song as to whether the emphasis was on the fact that God is watching us or the fact that God isn’t anywhere nearby. But it certainly is true that God is watching us. However, we should also note that the scripture tells us that God is “Omnipresent”. That’s one of those ten-dollar words that means God is “present everywhere at the same time” Another definition of “Omnipresence” is that we are surrounded by God’s presence. That is what the Psalmist is referring to when he asks the questions in Ps. 139 7, “Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.” Closely related to God’s omnipresence is another attribute of God which David brings up...

HAPPY HOLYDAYAs I sat down to write this article, I couldn’t help but think how ironic it is that the Christmas season which should be a time of peace and joy seems so often to be anything but that. I’m not quite sure why that is. But it is all too often like that. The first Christmas was no different. The trip to Bethlehem had to be stressful. Not finding a room when Mary was about to give birth was certainly even more so. Getting dumped in a stable probably was off the charts, but God always knows best. On that cold dark night when everything seemed to be going wrong, God actually provided the perfect spot, away from the drunken tumult of an overcrowded inn. It was the perfect spot to give birth in privacy, the perfect spot to receive the outcast shepherds. It was--the perfect spot for God’s son to be born.So often we grumble and complain and look at the world through pessimistic eyes forgetting all too often that yes, God is still in charge. If we’ll just stop rushing around and start trusting Him...

What is it that really motivates us to pray? What do we pray for? Jonathan Graf in an article in Alliance Life made the following statement: “Somewhere along the line churches have lost sight of what they should be praying for. Today, most congregations’ prayers are almost exclusively for needs within the Body–that each person’s life will get back to normal. Seldom do believers cry out for the fullness of Jesus Christ to come upon the Body; for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit on a church....

A number of years ago at the leadership conference that we attended in Portsmouth, NH; Bill Hybels made an impassioned plea for the power of clarity. Among the points he made were: Get the message clear, Get the message out, and Take risks, Experiment, and Fail

A smoke screen by definition is a mass of dense artificial smoke used to conceal military areas or operations from an enemy. However, a figurative sense has come from that usage to indicate an action or a statement used to conceal actual plans or intentions. I’m sure we have all had dealings with people who used smoke screens to conceal their real feelings and it is not at all impossible that we have thrown up a few smoke screens ourselves from time to time.

Have you ever wondered if God recognizes you, when he sees you? That maybe your life is not as consistent or as godly as it used to be? Have you ever done something and when it was over thought “that’s not me” or “I don’t know why I did that.” Do you feel like you are the exact person God wants you to be? What can you do about it?