Pursuing a holistic expression of Christian faith that is true to the Bible and applicable for today’s world.
Examine Your Answer Carefully Jesus asks his disciples, who do people say that I am? The disciples reel off some common answers. He could be John the Baptist, others say he’s Elijah, and some think of Jeremiah. Or he could be anyone of the other prophets. Then the teacher brings the question into focus. “What […]
Be Accessible but Not Accommodating The idea of having seeker sensitive services at church has been around for a few decades. The vision is retooling church services to make them more attractive—that is, less intimidating—to the unchurched. While this was an admirable goal and did achieve results, it also created other problems, which may be […]
5 Perspectives We Need to Change We’ve come to accept what happens at church as normal. It’s what most churches do, and what most attendees expect. Yet we’ll do well to consider our church practices and contrast them with a more critical perspective of church priorities. Here are five considerations of present realities compared to […]
If We’re to Influence the World, We Can’t Let the World Influence Us I’ve written a lot about personal influence, but not so much about church influence. As followers of Jesus, we should seek to influence others, to have a positive impact on them. This means we must seek positive influences for our lives and […]
As Followers of Jesus, We Are All Priests The priesthood of believers says that as followers of Jesus we are all priests—every one of us. It’s time we start acting like it. Let’s discover what this means. Though the Bible never mentions the phrase priesthood of believers, we find the idea of us all being […]
Consider Giving Ten Percent of Your Time Some churches talk a lot about tithing, of the need for us to give them ten percent of our income. In addition, I’ve heard a sermon or two about applying this ten percent guideline to volunteering at church, to tithe your time. It’s an interesting concept that we […]
Who Makes Things Happen at Your Church? When something needs to be done at your church, who does it? Many people would say it’s the pastor. They view their clergy as paid employees who are supposed to do the work of the church and serve them. But should they? Paid Staff The idea of having […]
Proclaim Love Through Action and Not Reaction Most people think of love as a feeling. They fall in love, and they fall out of love. They get married because they feel in love, and they divorce when the feeling goes away. We’d be better off viewing love as action and not reaction. Instead, love is […]
To Get the Right Results, Choose the Best Source A worldview is a person’s beliefs about life and living that shapes how they see the world. We all have a worldview. It forms from the earliest moments of our lives and comes from various sources, such as parents, schools, and friends. As we grow older, […]
Discover What to Do on Sunday When it comes to what we do and don’t do on Sunday, there are different interpretations of what’s permissible and what’s not. These range from Sunday being a set apart day to being a day like any other, with the freedom to do whatever we want. Here are some […]