Some People Blindly Accept Church Rhetoric, but They Risk Going Down a Dangerous Path We’ve all heard stories of people taken in and indoctrinated by cults. Though some stories end happily after they extricate themselves from the control the cult, too many situations end badly. There are many common characteristics to help us identify cults […]
I recently visited a church that upheld Acts 2:42-47 as their model for church. Shocked, I checked the passage to make sure I remembered it correctly. Here is what the Acts 2 church looks like: Their Four Keys The church in Acts 2 has four priorities: studying good teaching, hanging out, sharing meals, and praying […]
Jesus Welcomed and Embraced Everyone, Especially Those on the Fringes Have you ever gone to a new place where people warmly welcomed and embraced you? A place where people warmly welcomed and embraced everyone? It’s not the location that matters. It’s the people. I’ve been in groups like this. Everyone’s accepted as they are. They […]
We Honor God and Obey the Bible When We Share Our Prayer Requests with Others Prayer is an important part of my life. It’s part of my daily practice and essential for my work and relationships. I daily pray for God’s blessings and provision for my family and close friends. I also regularly pray for […]
Jesus Didn’t Come for the Righteous but for Sinners As Jesus walks along he sees a tax collector, Levi. He says to Levi, “Follow me.” Levi gets up, leaves everything, and follows Jesus. Then Levi throws a party for his tax-collector friends. Jesus is there hanging out with them. As often the case, the religious […]
Try This Counter-Cultural Approach When It’s Time to Select a New Church There’s an astute saying, “If you find the perfect church, don’t join it—because then it will no longer be perfect.” The reality is that as long as a church has members, it will never be perfect. That’s because we’re imperfect, so the churches […]
Technology May Keep Us Connected but It Can Leave Us Empty As a society, we’re more connected than ever before. But many people also feel lonelier than ever. With all our connection opportunities, why is this? Our smart phones and social media allow us to communicate and stay in touch with more people than we […]
When It Comes Time to Change Churches, Attitude Is Everything Last week we talked about when not to change churches, instead of looking to find a new church. Too often people treat their church as a commodity and behave as a consumer, switching their loyalty over trivial things. Most of the time, however, the best […]
When We Go Church Shopping We Behave as Consumers and Don’t Honor God In today’s practice of retail religion, we pursue faith has a consumer and miss the purpose of church. We’re quick to change churches over the smallest of issues. Yet, usually the best action to take is no action: Don’t change churches. Often […]
Awakening the Faithful, Reaching the Lost, and Making Church Matter By Michael White and Tom Corcoran Reviewed by Peter DeHaan Are things not working at your church? Is your congregation aging and attendance dwindling? Are people just going through the motions and not engaged? Do folks arrive at the last minute and scurry off as […]