What Else Do You Have On In The Week?
Sometimes they’re asking: How can I be involved? Often they’re asking: How can I belong?
If someone’s life is already full of unwitting cultural liturgical practices, then why would our default be to offer a pick-and-mix set of other liturgical practices to slot into the increasingly narrow timeframes? That’s a recipe for frustration and busy-ness for churches. That is the #1 question newcomers ask when wondering if they should... Continue Reading
ELCA Hits Bottom
There is no going back to Christian orthodoxy once churches have become liberal Protestant; the forces unleashed in those first steps to heterodoxy will be pressed onward toThere is a slippery slope: There is no going back to Christian orthodoxy once churches have become liberal; forces unleashed in those first steps to heterodoxy will be pressed to unforeseen extremities. unforeseen extremities.
After watching these recent proofs that the ELCA is pretty much both “in the world” and “of the world,” however, I want to write this as a warning. First, to those orthodox souls who remain in “evolving” churches. They belong to and support churches that increasingly depart from right teaching. Indeed, those churches suppress it.... Continue Reading
The Nashville Statement Confronts Heresy, and That’s Why we Needed It
Today Christianity is facing a conflict with the zeitgeist over sexual morality, and there are no shortage of attempts to “reconcile” the faith with a revolution in sexual mores that is inherently incompatible with the faith once for all delivered to the saints.
McGrath reveals what is an ironic truth about heresy. It is often propagated by those who appear to have good motives. It is advanced by those who think they are doing the Lord’s work by reconciling the Christian faith with some perceived conflict with the age. The problem with such efforts at reconciliation is that they can... Continue Reading
The Slow Killing of Congregational Singing
Evidence suggests that most worship teams are performers, and the needs of the congregation they are meant to be ministering to are forgotten.
A few years ago I wrote an article entitled, ‘The Slow Death of Congregational Singing’ (The Briefing, April 2nd, 2008). I now believe my title was too generous. In fact, what we are witnessing in our churches is ‘The Slow Killing of Congregational Singing’. I’ve just returned from another National Christian conference. Never have so many people complained to... Continue Reading
China Bans Zion, Beijing’s Biggest House Church
Shut down after Sunday services, influential congregation had refused orders to install government surveillance cameras.
Zion had received a letter from city authorities in April, asking the church to install 24 closed-circuit video cameras in the building for “security reasons,” Reuters previously reported. “The church decided this was not appropriate,” Jin told the agency. “… Our services are a sacred time.” After services on Sunday, officials delivered on their... Continue Reading
Nationwide and Arkansas Class Certified in Gospel for Asia RICO Case
A major development in the RICO lawsuit filed against Gospel for Asia.
In a major development in the RICO lawsuit filed against Gospel for Asia in the Western District of Arkansas, Judge Timothy Brooks certified a nationwide class of people eligible to pursue a RICO claim against Gospel for Asia. He also certified a subclass of Arkansas donors. The judge gave GFA until October 10, 2018 to... Continue Reading
Church Leaders: Realistic Idealists
If the ideal for the disciple of Jesus is to be like Christ, the reality is that we will never be perfectly like Jesus in this life.
Ministry is hard, slow and long-term. Change takes time. To go in guns blazing, mowing down every single person who stands in your way, expecting everyone to instantly jump on board, does not help build the body of Christ’s maturity.4 I know a brother who charged in like this, in light of his biblical ideals. Problem... Continue Reading
Out in the Light
Why expose the church’s most shameful sins?
The world watches. It watches when we sin—and it watches more closely how we respond to sin. Even though the world may deride our faith and morals, it still expects us to be different. Publicly responding to sin with integrity is a greater testimony to the gospel than is sweeping sin into the dungeons of... Continue Reading
No Excuses for Preaching Bad Sermons
Just as the modern era has given us such good tools that we have no excuse for taking bad photos, it’s given us tools that leave us no excuse for preparing bad sermons.
Let me be clear: There are few guarantees in preaching. I recently spent all week prepping a sermon that I believe was fundamentally solid. Sunday morning came and I was so excited to preach it to the people I love. But as soon as I got to the front of the room, I experienced a... Continue Reading
Ministering Without R.C. Sproul
“R.C. Sproul’s life gave me the picture of a man striving to be faithful with the stewardship that God had entrusted to him.”
There are many fine men that God has raised up, but there was something about R.C. When I heard him and read him, I thought, “I believe this guy. He’s the real thing. He doesn’t care at the end of the day if he offends men, so long as he honors the Lord.” He cared... Continue Reading
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