Tag: Christian Community
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Authentic Church: Road to a Re-newed Reality
I have been mulling on something the late Francis Schaeffer said: “There are four things which are absolutely necessary if we as Christians are going to meet the need of our age and the overwhelming pressure we are increasingly facing.” No doubt that the Church, in our culture as well as other cultures, faces increasing…
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In Spirit Produced Corporateness
As I reflect upon the need of our church to constantly cultivate community among those within our congregation, as well as between those already part of the congregation and those who have newly arrived, I am pondering the poignancy of this statement by Stanley Grenz, from his book Theology for the Community of God: “Only…
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Fellowship of Jesus’ Followers
Stanley Grenz wrote, in Theology for the Community of God: “The fellowship of Jesus’ followers is not merely a loose coalition of individuals who acknowledge Jesus. Rather, it is a community of disciples who seek to walk together in accordance with the principles of the kingdom. As Christ’s church, we desire to live out in…
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Messy Christian Communities
As our church makes the slow but intentional shift toward Missional Communities, I found this illustration to be a good picture of the contrast between common perception and ideal reality of what such communities, or small groups, and even church is like. On the left side, “What People Think It Looks Like“, we see the…
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Qualities of Christian Community
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, in his classic book, Life Together, makes this observation that should be pondered by many in the church, especially those discontented with the relational dynamic in their particular congregation: “The people most in love with community are in danger of destroying community.” In other words, there are people who have made such an…
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Loving Not Wisely But Too Well
Shakespeare’s Othello bellows: “I have loved not wisely but too well.” What he means is that his passions consumed him, and now he had destroyed what he loved. If you know the story, you will remember he had strangled his wife out of the mistaken fear that she had not been faithful to him. Similarly,…
