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Embrace the Common Good for the Sake of Others and Our Faith I often write about the importance of Christian unity. I even covered it in my dissertation. Yet I live in a society that celebrates the individual. These two ideas stand in conflict with each other. We can’t achieve the unity of believers when […]
Seek Faith Connections to Form Spiritual Affinity God lives in community, as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is why he created us to be in community, just like him. This means living in relationship with him and living in relationship with others. That’s why we must embraced Christian community. Why We Need Christian Community […]
The Summer Church Schedule Just down the road from the congregation that cancelled their service because of their summer church schedule is Church #8. We enjoyed our visit there but later realized it was solely because of one significant interaction we had after the service. The rest of the congregation ignored us, and little else […]
A Holiday Weekend, Light Attendance, and a Great Time I volunteer twice a month at our local food pantry. Staffed with people from area churches and service organizations, we serve those in need in our community. One Saturday, between clients, I have an opportunity to talk with a man who attends Church #2. I ask […]
The Church Opposed Martin Luther and Eventually Excommunicated Him Longing for unity, Martin Luther didn’t want to see the church divided. But when reconciliation didn’t happen and he was excommunicated, he had no choice but to form a new church practice aligned with what the Bible taught and apart from the Church he loved. A […]
We Glorify God and Serve as the Most Effective Witness When We Get Along I write a lot about the importance of Christian unity. This is because Jesus prayed that we would be one, and I embrace his request and vision as imperative. If we profess to following Jesus, we need to all get along. […]
Shun Division, Disunity, and Denominations in the Name of Jesus Just as church member status divides the church body into two groups, so does our doctrine. Instead of obeying Jesus’s instruction to love God and love others, we make a lengthy list of what we should do and shouldn’t do. We judge others according to […]
I meet a woman at a writers conference. In addition to being an author, she is also a pastor. She’s launching a new church in an underserved downtown urban area. The Vision Her dream is a church for people of all ages, races, and backgrounds—a colorful mosaic of folks who seek to grow together in […]
In Jesus We Are the Same Paul writes that when we follow Jesus there’s no real difference between being Jewish or Greek, slave or free, male or female, circumcised, uncircumcised, barbarian, or uncivilized (Colossians 3:11). He’s advocating Christian unity. Stop to think about this, to really contemplate the ramifications. He tells us to break down […]
Follow Jesus’s Example to Live in Community and Be Missional I often talk about the importance of being in a spiritual community. Though this community can happen anywhere, when it comes to church, forming meaningful spiritual connections is more important than the music or message of the Sunday service. Another critical element of our faith […]