Lose a Wise Friend, Lose Your Mind
Wise friends are God's gift for a healthy life and a healthy ministry. When you lose a wise friend, like King Uzziah did, you just might go crazy.
From planting the seeds to watching them grow, let's discuss church multiplication.
Wise friends are God's gift for a healthy life and a healthy ministry. When you lose a wise friend, like King Uzziah did, you just might go crazy.
How many pastors wouldn't love this kind of confirmation of their calling?
What do we mean when we say that "God is Love"?
What does a non-Bible reader think of the Old Testament?
Wisdom helps us as we pursue good and godly leadership. Larry Osborne of North Coast Church in California gives timely leadership wisdom for planters and established church pastors.
How many people know your church exists? What does it take to see a good number at your first worship service as a church planter?
Is your church preaching the gospel or is it only preaching salvation?
How are you teaching the people in your congregation to tell the gospel story? What story are they telling?
Two trends are emerging in North America: the call for people to be self feeders and the move away from the church on the part of "mature" beleivers
Connecting the Bible and Culture is one of the challenges church planters and all pastors face. One great place to make the connection is music.
“The ‘As You Are Initiative’ is mobilizing thousands of willing Christ-followers just like you to start, growing and multiplying ‘come as you are’ leaders to lead ‘come as you are' churches. Is the CRC ready to be part of such a movement?
My sense is that we live in a "no" culture. We find all kinds of ways to either say "no" or to slow a process down so much that it feels like a "no."
What was it like being a parent who celebrated having a child whose stomach was full?
More Books for under the Tree . Perhaps it is an occupational hazard of being a minister, but around this time of year a lot of family and friends decide to give books as the perfect Christmas present. In the spirit of that giving and perhaps to enhance your asking here are seven more books that I’ve found helpful from a number of different genres.
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…which at my house means, “What books are doing to show up under the Christmas tree?” Perhaps it is an occupational hazard of being a minister, but
Premise: the vast majority of our church planting resources need to be invested in planting churches in Alpha Cities. If this premise is true then we need a way in the CRC to come together and discern how to create a church planting movement that focuses on Alpha Cities.
...new wine is the sign of the eschatological age.
What did it feel like? It felt like being hungry, I suppose, in a place where being hungry is shameful, and where one has no money and everyone else is full. It felt, at least sometimes, difficult and embarrassing and important to conceal.
Advertising encourages people to want things and to satisfy their desires. Education encourages people to reflect critically on their desires, to restrain or to elevate them.
As I study the book of Luke there are continuing moments of surprise. Some of the surprises come from words that I have read many times before, but failed to catch their meaning or nuance.
A couple of years ago in an article entitled, To The Praise of his Glory” in the Review and Expositor the author wrote, “Paul mentions ‘redemption,’ the great metaphor of emancipation taken from the slave market in Ephesians 1. The costliness of this act is spelled out in the term "through his (Jesus') blood," a reference to his life poured out.
And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. —Luke 5
"[T]he Bible is a masterpiece. The Bible is one of the greatest works produced in the world. Those people who only have the Bible actually are set up for life. Not only do they have a spiritual vision given to them but artistic fulfillment. They don't even recognize just the pleasure of dealing with this epic poetry and drama. Everything is in the Bible." — Atheist, Camille Paglia
Tim Keller and Planting More Churches in the CRC -- Recently Tim Keller of Redeemer Presbyterian in NYC spoke with a number of reporters at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. Today’s blog post lifts out one part of his talk on the place of church planting.