“Take heed to thyself. Your own soul is your first and greatest care. You know a sound body alone can work with power; much more a healthy soul. Keep a clear conscience through the blood of the Lamb. Keep up close communion with God. Study likeness to Him in all things. Read the Bible for... Continue Reading

The Ecumenical movement is not ecumenical at all.  It will allow diversity of views on such ‘unimportant’ issues as whether Jesus was born of a virgin, rose from the dead or is the Son of God, but it cannot allow people to deviate from the current social liberal ethos which dominates the established churches.  ... Continue Reading

…feelings are running so high that the three most powerful leaders, the Archbishops of Nigeria, Kenya and Uganda, were last week on the brink of snubbing the meeting altogether, but were persuaded to attend by colleagues still hoping to force concessions from Welby. Sources said they have lost patience with the Archbishop’s refusal to discipline... Continue Reading

“The Daily Telegraph has learnt that a formal agreement between the two churches – which emerged separately from the Reformation in the 16th Century – is set to be put before their governing bodies, the General Synod and General Assembly, early next year.”   The Church of England and Church of Scotland are preparing a... Continue Reading

We should be clear that the authors of the confession are not being overconfident about these questions, and they aren’t ignorant of them either, but rather the confession states outright that the scriptures are not plain in the same way across the board. Taken as a whole, the scriptures are clear in regards to what... Continue Reading

“The Bible was taken and used as a manuscript for conformity and we want to turn it into a manifesto of creativity,” he said after a recent sermon. “We want, whenever someone hears the name Jesus, to go: ‘Oh. Creativity, beauty, imagination, wonder,’ instead of, ‘Rules, laws, conformity, judgment.’” LOS ANGELES — Just before 10... Continue Reading

“This is a fundamental shift in strategy,” said John Fea, a history professor at Christian Messiah College, who is nevertheless skeptical the effort will produce the desired results. “Rather than forcing this from the top down, this is about a grassroots approach to changing the culture by embedding ministers in local politics from the ground... Continue Reading

“In many ways, I see 2016 as a pivotal year for thousands of congregations. Unfortunately, many church leaders and church members will elect not to change anything. Those congregations will be among the 100,000 rapidly declining churches.”   In my previous post, I shared trends 1 to 8. Today, I conclude with trends 9 to... Continue Reading

“After going through the correct process of discernment, voting and obtaining enough yes votes to leave the PC (U.S.A.) the session of Journey Church in Folsom received an e-mail with an attachment telling us that the church buildings and name would be given to those who voted against leaving.”   We live in a time... Continue Reading

When pastors begin ministry in a church, they are the newest people at their respective churches. Relationships are already established among the members. That is why I’ve heard from many church members that a pastor did not seem like “their pastor” until about five years passed.   “I wish I had stayed.” I’ve heard that... Continue Reading