Twenty-Two Problems With Multi-Site Churches
To the extent that a multi-site church relies on brand identity to reach unbelievers, to that same extent they risk building Christianity on their brand identity
“Multi-site churches are the current trend in evangelicalism. The great question is, will they be able to make a generational transition? Will they be able to hold together when the main preaching pastor—who is usually in himself the center of gravity for the whole enterprise—goes off the scene? And how much institutional and spiritual fall-out will... Continue Reading
50 Shades of Grey Areas in the Church
Whether we like it or not, as single Christians living in a Hook-Up culture, we must acknowledge and obey God’s commandments regarding sexuality
But let me remind us all, that preserving sex for marriage is not something “conservative Christians” invented to be strict, oppressive to women, or used to point fingers and embarrass those, like me, who have crossed boundaries in the past. Sexuality in marriage between a man and a woman is something God Himself invented. ... Continue Reading
So You Think I’m a Homemaker?
Some days are more about survival than homemaking
We don’t run away, so we get points for that. We are here, day and night, surviving the spills and the vomit, and sometimes even cleaning it up. Sure, we may not have chore charts that accomplish anything positive, or chore charts at all, or chores at all. We might just throw things into the... Continue Reading
Is Your Church Worship More Pagan than Christian?
Many Christians tend to grant music a sacramental power which Scripture never bestows upon it.
If we associate God’s presence with a particular experience or emotion, what happens when we no longer feel it? We search for churches whose praise band, orchestra, or pipe organ produce in us the feelings we are chasing. But the reality of God in our lives depends on the mediation of Christ not on subjective... Continue Reading
Domestic Violence and the Stories that Hide Behind Closed Doors
If someone in your church shared with you her story of abuse, would you know what to say or what to do?
As the Church, the Body of Christ, we should be especially aware of the problem of domestic violence. Not only should we care about the problem at large but we should also be sensitive and alert to those in our Body who have been or who are being hurt and abused. For as Paul said, we are... Continue Reading
College Girls: Education, Imago Dei, and the Gospel
We educate girls and women for the same reason we educate boys and men. We educate our daughters because they are made in God’s image.
The doctrine of imago Dei teaches that every human being, every man and woman, every boy and, yes, every girl is made in God’s image, destined to reflect His character and to represent Him on this earth. Our core identity comes from God’s identity. Pay attention: imago Dei is not simply a starting point for other... Continue Reading
3 Ways to Avoid the “Children’s Church” Ditch
Finding balance between the Biblical ideal of children being under the ministry of the Word in public worship and the practical reality of our cultural perceptions and expectations.
If we want to have all the children in our worship services, we must make it accessible–even desirable–for young children to be in the service instead of children’s church. We must help our congregation to be welcoming and thankful for the presence of children–rather than being bothered by them. The pastor must be the cheerleader for... Continue Reading
Thoughts on Baptism, Communion, and Reformation21
By all means let us debate the merits of our baptismal and communal systems, but let us do so as true catholics.
I am fully aware of the logic of the closed communion position. It has a certain force of moral clarity to it. If we believe that baptism is only the immersion of believers, then let’s act like it! However, in this matter I choose to give clear expression to catholicity. If I believe that my... Continue Reading
10 Historical Myths About World Christianity
Brian Stanley presented what he perceives as the top ten historical myths about World Christianity.
Indigenous cultures were not static entities: to suggest that they were is characteristic of western modernity. Missionaries often displayed what we would term cultural blindness, but their message, once translated into the vernacular, acquired indigenous cultural overtones. Missionary contributions to the inscription and study of indigenous languages have helped to preserve or enrich such cultures.... Continue Reading
Princeton Professor: Cultural Elite Can No Longer Tolerate Christians
“Christians, and those rejecting the me-generation liberal dogma of ‘if it feels good do it,’ are no longer tolerable by the intellectual and cultural elite.”
Offering advice to parents with children in college right now, George discusses the weakening intellectual rigor and moral decay dominating most American campuses. In this interview, he asks parents to be vigilant and says, “no credential is worth having your child indoctrinated into some secular liberal ideology and away from the faith of his family.”... Continue Reading