Click through a collection of leadership and ministry blog posts!
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Who is at the Door?
By Doug Bing, Washington Conference president Do you have an alarm system? Some folks have cameras pointed at each of their doors that sense movement and send an alert to your phone. We have a few cameras at our house, and the alerts get annoying as the phone goes off, and you review the footage…
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Last Words
By Doug Bing, Washington Conference president Have you noticed that we cling to words? Back in the days before email and text messages, people would write letters. Those letters may be the only communication you would have with loved ones. I still have the letters my wife wrote to me when we were dating. Those…
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Is Your Life “Questionable” Enough?
By Dustin Serns, Washington Conference church planting coordinator The Seattle metro area has recently been ranked the least religious large city in the United States. Around 64% of residents never attend religious services or go less than once per year. How can we reach people who have no interest in church or desire to know…
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Six Seconds
By Doug Bing, Washington Conference president Relationship experts such as John Gottman have recommended for years that couples should do more than just a slight peck when they kiss. Of course, a slight peck is okay, but the experts recommend a kiss that lasts at least 6 to 7 seconds. Those 6 to 7…
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Please Forget!
By Doug Bing, Washington Conference president Did you know that four percent of adults over the age of 65 have a dementia diagnosis? Did you also know that by 2060, dementia cases are expected to double, reaching one million new cases per year? The lifetime risk of dementia is 35% for men and 48% for…
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Whose Stuff Is It Anyway?
By José Jerez, Washington Conference planned giving director The idea that God grants us talents and blessings to be used for the benefit of others is central to our faith. He calls us not only to recognize the gifts we’ve been given but to use them for the good of those around us, rather than…
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I’ve Fallen and I Can’t Get Up
By Doug Bing, Washington Conference president In 1989, a company called LifeCall began running commercials that featured a scene where an older lady had fallen down. The lady who is called Mrs. Fletcher in the commercial uses a pendant that is around her neck to communicate with a dispatcher. She has fallen in the bathroom…
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Wrestling Match
By Doug Bing, Washington Conference president My grandfather died when I was quite young. Several years later, before such things as online dating, my grandmother answered a lonely hearts advertisement in the back of the newspaper. This lonely Kansas woman started corresponding with a man in Vancouver, Washington. They met a couple of times. Eventually,…
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Laundry Day
By Doug Bing, Washington Conference president It happens almost every laundry day. It is frustrating. It is a mystery that has never been solved in our house. It is the mystery of the lost socks. If you can explain to me how it happens, I would welcome your theories. How is it when you faithfully…
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The Gift
By Randy Maxwell, Washington Conference vice president for administration For his 6th birthday, I bought my grandson, Jayden, a football helmet and jersey. Our daughter, Candi, Facetimed us so we could see him open his present. I put on my helmet and jersey so he and his “papa” could be just alike. Jesus gave us…
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Personal Trainer
By Doug Bing, Washington Conference president Our oldest son worked as a personal trainer for a period of time. Each day he would go to the gym to meet his clients. Some of his clients were quite fit and just needed some extra coaching on how to do certain exercises. Some of them just needed…
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The Mountain is Out
By Doug Bing, Washington Conference president Those of us who live in western Washington know what the phrase, “The mountain is out” means. We instinctively know that we are talking about a nice day when we can look toward the east and see Mt. Rainer. It is a majestic sight that can be seen from…
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The Sign
By Doug Bing, Washington Conference president There it was beside the highway. A big pile of trash bags filled with garbage that the environmental cleanup volunteers had collected. No doubt inside those piles of bags were candy wrappers that once adorned a store shelf calling out to someone to purchase them for an afternoon snack.…
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Out of This World
By Doug Bing, Washington Conference president Have you heard of Butch Wilmore? While you may not know him by his name, you most likely have heard of him. He was one of the astronauts who went on a test flight to the International Space Station and was only supposed to stay in space for a…
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Developing a Tolerance for Sin
By Bill Roberts, ministerial director As a boy in Sabbath School, I was told going into a movie theater would make my guardian angel wait outside. Later I read Judges 16:1-3, Now Samson went to Gaza and saw a harlot there, and went in to her. When the Gazites were told, ‘Samson has come here!’…
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Against the Odds
By Doug Bing, Washington Conference president 400 to 1. Not great odds, is it? There are so many in the world who like to play the odds. Oddsmakers will let a gambler place bets on almost anything. I have read about oddsmakers taking bets on what royal parents will name their children. There are odds…
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The Needle Vs The Nail
By Doug Bing, Washington Conference president James Harrison was called the man with the golden arm. Harrison, who hailed from Australia, died on February 17, 2025. When he was 14 years of age, he received a lifesaving transfusion when he had a major operation. When his life was saved, he promised at the age of…
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What Altar Do You Need To Build?
By Doug Bing, president Remodeling is not something I enjoy at all. It is very depressing to me when something wears out in our house, and it is obvious that it needs to be replaced, rebuilt, or remodeled. I don’t like the mess or the work of having to remodel anything. Last year, we went…
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Learning to Walk Again
By David Yeagley, Young Adult Ministries director When my grandson was 14 months old, my wife and I had the joy of watching him for a few days. During that time, we witnessed his first steps. For days, he had been doing all the typical pre-walking activities: pulling himself up using furniture, cruising along the…
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Not Spoiled
By Doug Bing, Washington Conference president Over the years, I have been accused of many things. Sometimes, those accusations have been true. Other times, they have been a far stretch of people’s imagination. Recently, another accusation was thrown my way. I was accused of spoiling my one and only granddaughter. I’m pretty sure that accusation…