-
To Be Or Not To Be Missional
Dave Harvey is an expert church planter and an astute observer of trends in church leadership. At the Spring 2007 Leadership Conference of Sovereign Grace Ministries Harvey assessed the strengths and weakness of the missional movement in an address titled Watch Your Mission: To Be or Not to Be Missional. One observation Harvey offers is that…
-
Are We One?
The church I pastor, Walnut Hill Church, has a problem. While not uncomon, it is an unusual problem in a day when 85% of all American Churches are stagnant or in serious decline. But it is not a problem I expect will generate a lot of sympathy from the pastors or members of most other…
-
Gospel Discipling: Gospel & Adoption
World Harvest Mission was founded in 1983 under the leadership of Dr. C. John (Jack) Miller. Dr. Miller’s ministry had been revolutionized by his own rediscovery of the Gospel through studies in Galatians and the work of Martin Luther, and the results of that revolution became evident in multiple conversions in his church and subsequent interest…
-
Gospel Discipling: Romans as a Model
It would be presumptuous to claim that we can discern precisely the approach Paul and the first missionaries would have used under direct leadership of the Spirit. But I would encourage a view of his letter to the church(es) of Rome as essentially intending to take those who already believed the Gospel, and who were…
-
Beauty & Purpose of the Cross
Sadly not everyone recognizes the requisite necessity for God to be Just. Many picture him exclusively as absolute and unconditional love, thinking he will dismiss the the legal demands that result from mankind’s sin on that basis alone. This approach is offensive to God because it demeans two of the other essential facets of his…
-
10 Dumbest Things Christians Do
There is a book out there with the title: The 10 Dumbest Things Christians Do. I feel compelled to pick up a book with a title like that. I want to see how many of these 10 dumb things I am guilty of doing. I don’t know if the list the author, Mark Atteberry, compiled is right…
-
Gospel Discipling: The Crying Need of the Church
by Stephen Smallman “Thirty years of discipleship programs, and we are not discipled.” This is the startling assessment of Jim Petersen, the visionary leader of the esteemed discipleship ministry, the Navigators. Petersen goes on in the first chapter of his important book, Lifestyle Discipleship, to ask some very hard questions about the real effectiveness of…
-
Practical Difference Makers
One of the vows folks are required to affirm if they are to become a member of our church – or a member of any church in the PCA, for that matter – is: Do you promise to support the Church in its worship and work to the best of you ability? This seems simple enough.…
-
Ah!! You Just Said a BAD Word!
Tony Campolo is famous – or infamous – for a statement made at a Christian college chapel service: “The United Nations reports that over ten thousand people starve to death each day, and most of you don’t give a SH%T. However, what is even more tragic is that most of you are more concerned about…
-
Easy Chairs & Hard Words
Some time ago I posted a series of fictional discussions between a young man from a Broadly Evangelical background and a seasoned minister in a more historical theological tradition. The series is titled Easy Chairs & Hard Words. It was penned by Douglas Wilson of Christ Church of Moscow, Idaho, and first appeared in Credenda Agenda. These engaging…
-
Teen Challenges
Does this description sound familiar: Teens are unstable emotionally. One minute they feel wonderfully happy. The next minute they feel like the world has come to an end again for the third time that day. Their lives are emotional roller coasters. Solid ground is hard to find. As the parent of three, relatively well-adjusted, teenagers,…
-
Community is Identity
From Tim Chester: The church is not a building you enter. Nor is it a meeting your attend. It is not what you do on a Sunday. To be a Christian is to be part of God’s people and to express that in your life through belonging to a local Christian community. Our Belonging We…
-
Taking Pieces of Heaven to Place of Hell On Earth
Jesus says: “I will build my church and the gates of Hell will not stand up…” –Matthew 16.18 First it is important to remind ourselves that in this challenge Jesus is calling his church to take an Offensive stike, not a Defensive response. The church is to take the initiative, go, and storm the gates. This verse…
-
Subscribe
Subscribed
Have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
