Deceptive Fruit - Ryan Freeman

Deceptive Fruit - Ryan Freeman:

My nephew, Ryan (he of many secret blogs!) has a great post here on how easily we are deceived even by our own hearts. Read the whole thing or enjoy this outtake...

"Approximately three hours and three large and heavy bundles later, I had a different perspective. What had appeared to be a reasonably healthy tree was in fact mostly dead (but not all dead - no looking for loose change yet!) and heavily infested. In working on the tree I clipped off all the dead branches I could reach, pulled many large weeds and small trees from around the base, removed several large branches that had snuck through the fence from neighbouring trees, and washed out all the accumulated sawdust and soil from the ant infestations. The remainder is a barely recognizable trunk and a few branches that still bear green leaves.

How had I been so fooled? How did I not see the tree was so close to death? The reasons are many, and they spoke directly to my heart:

* The decay happened gradually
* My expectations were lowered
* The rot was hidden
* The damage was camoflauged"

Toronto Pastors Fellowship

Toronto Pastors Fellowship

For over 25 years a group of pastors has gathered once a month for a remarkable meeting. These meetings were not your average "ministerial," nor denominational strategy session. Rather, they were a time of personal development, prayer, networking and growth in the Gospel used of God in the lives of many men.

That meeting has grown and beginning this year taken on a new name, a new location and a new feel - without losing any of its great value.

I am pleased to introduce you to the Toronto Pastors Fellowship (TPF). The TPF exists to bring glory to God by challenging, equipping, and developing relationships among pastors in the Greater Toronto Area. As a young pastor in a country church 3 hours north of Toronto, I rarely missed a meeting. And through the years I can testify how influential and helpful these times have been to me personally.

Thus, it is my delight to invite you to join us. If you are serving a local church in pastoral ministry, training for ministry or just have a delight in studying the Word of God, we want you to be a part of this meeting. The schedule of speakers and topics for this year is remarkable (except for the first meeting)! Every meeting will begin at 10AM and include worship in song, instruction, discussion and prayer. And of course there will be some coffee! In fact, if you are one of our first 60 registrants this year, you will receive a free gift -- a pretty decent one, too!

So, whether you have been a long-standing participant or never heard of TPF before -- welcome! Follow the links on this page to free audio and print files of past and present speakers; information on location and times; a full calendar of speakers and topics; and even a little information on our annual pastors' conference in May.

Looking forward to seeing you on September 22!