2005 Blog Entries
-
Top 10 Christmas Movies at the Murrell House
For those who are afraid to go to the crowded malls and are stuck at home watching TV, here's the list you've been waiting for...»Thu., December 22, 2005
-
Victory in the Big Dome
In my twenty-one years in Manila, I have attended many events in Araneta Coliseum - Bocelli in Concert, Disney on Ice, PBA finals, Jesus Rev to name a few - but the December 11 Victory Convergence was the best by far...»Tue., December 20, 2005
-
New Paintings and New Photos
Jonathan, our 15-year-old, recently finished painting Uncle David's House from a photo I took a couple of summers ago. All of you who are dedicated readers of this blog will remember that David is my youngest brother who took in a family...»Fri., December 16, 2005
-
The Purple Book and The Purple Bible
I just sent my final edit of the new and improved Purple Book to Zondervan. We have been working for six months with a Zondervan editor to make the Purple Book a little more user friendly for the non-religious...»Fri., December 09, 2005
-
Brave Missionaries in Scary Places
Following is part of an email I recently received from our team leader in Bangladesh: " Yesterday, while everybody was busy at work, the nation was rocked by several bombs again. Islamic militants bombed Chittagong and Dhaka together....»Mon., December 05, 2005
-
Are We Bringing People to Our Church or to Our God?
Last night was our annual "E412 Awards" honoring some of our 3000+ small group leaders who are making disciples in offices, homes, and coffee shops all over Metro Manila....»Thu., December 01, 2005
-
Highlights from Singapore
It is one of my favorite ministry events of the year. Several leaders have said that if they could only participate in one conference, it would be this one. This annual time of prayer, fellowship, training, and strategic planning in Asia...»Tue., November 29, 2005
-
Biblical Foundations Officially Becomes The Purple Book
Check out the new cover of what used to be our Biblical Foundations Bible study book on Zondervan's website. Same format, same topics. New title, new cover. The plan is to distribute a million copies...»Fri., November 25, 2005
-
Rice Broocks Online and in Manila
RiceBroocks.com is now up and running. Tell your friends. The site will soon have audio and video of Rice's messages and a travel journal of his worldwide ministry trips....»Wed., November 23, 2005
-
Suffering, Weakness, and Leadership
Author Stephen Mansfield writes that he was once asked to comment on the common denominator of greatness among famous leaders. Here is his answer...»Mon., November 21, 2005
-
New Bloggers
My friend, Pastor Ron Miller from Every Nation Tallahassee, has started blogging....»Thu., November 10, 2005
-
Our Daily Blog
Because of the popularity of Jim Laffoon's blog on newsboys.com, Zondervan has published a book version...»Mon., November 07, 2005
-
Every Nation Growing Pains & Re-org
Because of the explosive growth of Every Nation Churches & Ministries the past twelve years (from twelve churches in three nations to 400+ churches in 40+ nations), we have been experiencing some serious...»Mon., October 31, 2005
-
Recent Reads
Years ago, when I was a fledgling pastor, I heard that good leaders must be readers, so I added books to my puny personal budget. Every time I wanted to drop books from my budget, I would remember that...»Wed., October 26, 2005
-
New Paintings
Jonathan, our fifteen-year-old son, has been busy painting lately....»Tue., October 11, 2005
-
History Makers
For everyone interested in church history, and especially for those ignorant of church history, I highly recommend "The One Year Book of Christian History" by Michael & Sharon Rusten (Tyndale)...»Sun., October 09, 2005
-
Living the Gospel
In the preface of John Piper's new book, God is the Gospel, while thanking people for making the book a reality, John thanked his family for "LIVING THE GOSPEL WITH ME."...»Sun., October 02, 2005
-
My Current Top 10 Church Growth Tips for Pastors and Church Leaders
1. Focus on people, not programs. 2. Build disciples, not crowds. 3. Work hard (many are just too lazy to be successful). ...»Wed., September 28, 2005
-
Murrell Family Update
For those who keep asking, William, our first son, is now a freshman at Lipscomb University in Nashville. He is studying journalism and French and seems to be enjoying every minute of it...»Mon., September 26, 2005
-
Update From My Brother in Mississippi
As I mentioned last week, my brother, David, is hosting a family from the New Orleans area who lost everything in the hurricane and flood. He is keeping them in the Murrell family lake-house near Canton...»Fri., September 16, 2005
-
How Can Every Nation Churches Help?
Many Every Nation pastors, leaders, and church members have asked how they can get involved in the relief effort. I suggest you visit the "Pastors Resource Council (PRC) Compassion" website...»Thu., September 08, 2005
-
A Tearful Phone Call
Here is the latest email from my brother, David, in Canton, Mississippi: "A lot of you have asked, so here is latest on the family staying at the farm. They are from...»Wed., September 07, 2005
-
Hurricane Katrina Recovery Update from Mississippi
...»Tue., September 06, 2005
-
Hurricane Katrina
I have received a number of text messages and emails asking if my family survived Hurricane Katrina. I appreciate all the inquiries and especially the prayers. Here is the news so far...»Thu., September 01, 2005
-
People, with a Capital P
Here is a good quote from Colleen Barnett, president of Southwest Airlines: “I’ve often said that others can copy our business plan but they can’t copy our People.� You may have noticed that Colleen capitalized...»Sat., August 27, 2005
-
Big Decisions are People Decisions
Here is a quote from a recent Fortune magazine interview with Jim Collins (of Good to Great fame) followed by my comments. ...»Tue., August 23, 2005
-
Joseph B Update
On behalf of Pastor Joey and Marie, I want to thank everyone who prayed for their son, Joseph, this past week. We praise God that Joe survived brain surgery, six days in ICU, and 37 staples in the head. He is now home...»Mon., August 15, 2005
-
Faith in the ICU
Several hours ago I received the following text message from Marie Bonifacio: Joe is now sitting up and eating on his own. Later he will try standing up....»Thu., December 08, 2005
-
Real Worship is More than Good Music
While I enjoy the songs we sing at our Sunday morning worship services, real worship is more than music in a church building on Sunday. Real worship also takes place at our offices, in our homes, and on our campuses...»Mon., August 08, 2005
-
Around the World in 40 Days
It's great to be back in Manila after an exciting trip around the world that included stops in Krakow, Budapest, New York City, Nashville and the SF Bay area. Here are some highlights....»Mon., July 25, 2005
-
Death Threats and Prayer Requests
Last month my good friend, Bishop Ef Tendero, received a series of threats from "Abdul," who claims to represent Allah. Bishop Tendero is the President of the Philippine Council for Evangelical Churches and the editor of...»Thu., June 09, 2005