Brand Awareness in the Church
We are not in the church to make much of ourselves.
All too often, brand awareness becomes less about commending the gospel and more about commending our particular church or organisation. Far too quickly it becomes less centred on Christ and more directly centred on a particular personality (often the pastor of the church, or director of the organisation). Brand awareness in the church so often... Continue Reading
My Suffering Has Not Defined Me
I wonder if some of these Christian women are longing for security and significance that’s more touchable than a faith whose substance is merely hoped for and frustratingly unseen.
Although they would never discount their Savior, they want something more tangible than their name written in an invisible book of life: Who am I? My backdrop is a Christian, but I’m a warrior, a cancer survivor. Know and respect me by that. A strange thing happened when word first spread that I had stage... Continue Reading
I Would Rather be Treated by a Smart Turk than an Untrained Christian
The idea of a comprehensive understanding of salvation that traces the influence of redemption (which is different from creation) to all positive developments in human society and culture is nonsense.
The statement doesn’t say, but the implication is that Christians by virtue of faith, regeneration, the Bible, trust in Christ, are somehow competent to conduct scientific investigations, perform medicine, and write laws and public policy simply by virtue of their faith. These writers may assume that to work in medicine or science you need to... Continue Reading
A Plea for Pastors to Get Outdoors
As with children, so with pastors: it’s essential to our well-being to delight ourselves in God’s creation.
Known for our love of learning and study, pastors—particularly Reformed pastors—can easily spend successive days in sermon preparation, meetings, and pastoral counseling with our skin never feeling the sun and our eyes rarely beholding the spectacle of God’s creation. What free time we do have, we often spend watching TV shows and sports or engaging... Continue Reading
Chinese Pastors Make Public Declaration in Face of Persecution
“We believe and are obligated to teach all believers that all true churches in China that belong to Christ must hold to the principle of the separation of church and state and must proclaim Christ as the sole head of the church.”
But we are even more obligated to proclaim good news to the authorities and to all of society: Jesus, the only begotten Son of God, the Savior and King of mankind, in order to save us sinners was killed, was buried, and rose from the dead by the power of God, destroying the power of... Continue Reading
Should Christians Abandon Christmas?
I think there is a biblical response to the objection, and also an answer to the question “What would be lost?”
Many Old Testament passages look forward to the coming of our Lord, conceived in a virgin’s womb, born in Bethlehem. Matthew devotes almost two chapters to describing and explaining the event; Luke does the same. John takes us right back into eternity when he invites us to reflect on its significance. There are other passages... Continue Reading
Living on Mission Means Living on Purpose
Like most things in life, evangelism requires personal effort, endurance through difficulty, and the regular repetition of basic (unglamorous) tasks.
It doesn’t just happen; nobody falls into evangelistic faithfulness. Living on mission means living on purpose. It looks like an embracing of a biblical identity and responding with biblical urgency. Evangelism is something that we know we are called to do but often struggle doing. In a 2012 Lifeway study, 80 percent of those surveyed... Continue Reading
Worship in Redemptive History
The ‘wars’ that have raged around ‘worship’ are anything but new
“Although it is undoubtedly true that God is glorified through his people ministering to one another when they gather, if the worship of God on earth is meant to mirror that of heaven, then there has to be an occasion for all eyes – both individually and corporately – to be directed towards God. The... Continue Reading
Quarter of Churchgoers Don’t Take Day of Rest
Females (26 percent) are more likely than males to say they don’t take a Sabbath rest (18 percent)
“Almost half of church attendees aren’t sure if one of the Ten Commandments still applies today,” said McConnell. “Perhaps the most important biblical teaching on the Sabbath came when Jesus said, ‘The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.’ According to Genesis, God created everything in six days before resting on... Continue Reading
Boards of Christian Organizations Back SOGI Compromise
Major Christian groups endorse framework to expand LGBT rights in exchange for religious protections.
Two major evangelical organizations have formally endorsed principles that would add sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) to federal nondiscrimination law. The boards of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) and the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) quietly passed similar motions in recent months, advancing a multiyear effort they say is necessary to preserve... Continue Reading
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