Tag: Church
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Blessed Are the Peacemakers
Jeff Purswell writes: Who dreamed that their church participation was so significant? Giving the world a glimpse of the consummated kingdom of God! Does such a grand vision govern our attitude toward our local churches? If it does, our participation will no doubt reflect it. We will love, serve, sacrifice, forgive, forbear, employ our gifts,…
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Radical Reformission
Long ago I shamelessly pilferred the word “Reformissional” from Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill Church and Acts 29 Network. The word seemed to encapsulate what I was about. The word is a hybrid of both Reformed and Missional, two parallel tracks that both decribe and shape my philosophy of ministry – and even, to a large degree, my…
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Pastors & REAL People
My friend Nathan Lewis has written a profoundly heartfelt, insightful post titled: Why So Many Pastors Don’t Get Close to Church Members. Nathan is an excellent writer, and has a broad spectrum of interests, so that he has written a good post is no surprise. But the theme he dares to address treads into sensitive territory: the…
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Tips That Change the Taste of Worship
As a pastor I have come to understand that some people have difficulty concentrating throughout the Sunday message. Sometimes it’s just me people can’t follow. But sometimes it is them. It may be a short attentioon span, external distractions, or just the overwhelming wealth of insight being offered. (That last one is my favorite.) If you’ve ever…
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Mapping Out Missions in Your Church
It was theirs for the taking. So Moses, at God’s prompting, sent a dozen spies into the Canaan to explore the land God promised to give to Israel. But God never promised Moses that taking the land would be easy. Canaan was filled with powerful people and fortified cities. Ten of the spies weighed the risk and…
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Odyssey of Church Outreach
Outreach and evangelism are among the most important responsibilites the Christian has to his/her community. They are also perhaps the most intimidating. A friend of mine, who is not a pastor, took over the the outreach ministry of his church. He was aware at the outset that this ministry was in need of an ovehaul. During the ‘heydays’ in this congregation most…
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A Team Approach to Effective Church Ministry
As a Presbyterian minister I am keenly familiar with committees. While committees are a familiar staple in churches of almost any flavor, we Presbyterians especially like to have everything done ‘decently and in order’. This makes the committee structure seem almost inherently appealing to our ecclesiastical DNA. But to be honest, from time to time I find myself…
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Making a World of Difference
“What will it take to change the world – to really change it for the better?” Ron Sider asks that question in the Introduction to his book, Living Like Jesus. And his question resonates with me. It has for a long time – long before I heard Sider aksing it. I grow bored and frustrated…
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Pastors Near Pastures
The following words, along with Francis Schaeffer’s No Little People, were helpful to me when last year we accpted the opportunity to return to East Tennessee rather than pursue opportunities with churches in larger cities: “Few men have the courage to seek obscurity for the sake of its advantages, but there can be no doubt of…
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Emergent & Reformed Coming Together?
Sometimes listening in to others’ conversation is unavoidable – like when you are standing between two aquaintances at the Kroger’s check out line. But sometimes eavesdropping is highly informative – especially when a conversation is in print. Such an informative, though seemingly improbable, dialogue has been taking place at Christianity Today. Tony Jones, of Emergent Village, and Collin…
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Building a House of Prayer
As the officers of our church and I work through our vision and philosophy of ministry process, there are two simple and fundamental truths that serve as a foundation and shape my thinking. First, Jesus says: “I will build my church.” (Matthew 16:18) And the psalmist says: “Unless the Lord builds the house the laborers…
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Love: The Sixth Mark of the Church
by James M. Boice What is the greatest mark of the Church? I do not mean by this: What is the first mark of the Church, or even, What is the mark that we perhaps most lack? I mean: What is the greatest mark, the one that holds the others together? What is the one…
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Unity: The Fifth Mark of the Church
by James M. Boice The divisions that exist today are too obvious to need comment. They lie both on the surface and within. Battles rage. Even highly praised church mergers not only fail to heal these divisions but also usually lead to further breakups involving those who do not like the new union. So far…
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Mission: The Fourth Mark of the Church
A number of years ago, when the well-known conference speaker Ralph L. Keiper was preaching at a missions conference in Deerfield Street, New Jersey, he told about a little girl who had come to see him early in his ministry. She was about eight years old. She had been to the church’s daily vacation Bible…
