Our Church’s Journey to Reach Families with Disabilities
Jesus saw people with disabilities. He did more than notice them; he filled his house with them. He instructs us to do the same.
Another way to begin to consider disability in the context of the church is through the parable of the great banquet in Luke 14. Jesus prefaces the parable with an instruction: “But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay... Continue Reading
Is Domesticity a Bad Word?
The true woman does not compartmentalize domesticity, nor does she reduce it to a set of behaviors.
“When you think of home, what place do you think about?” he asked. Without missing a beat Jessica replied, “Heaven.” When a woman is gripped by this perspective, she will sacrificially care for her own family and the family of God. She will do all she can to put them under the protective, cleansing blood... Continue Reading
Five Bad Reasons to Go to Church
Why do we even go to church at all? To worship God? To be entertained? To have all of our preferences met?
Jesus reminds the Israelites that they went to the wilderness to hear John speak. They did not sit in plush auditoriums with fresh brewed coffee to hear God’s word at their convenience. They were willing to endure discomfort to hear from God. Would we go into the wilderness, sit in uncomfortable chairs, suffer through less than professional... Continue Reading
Gay Christian?
To accept another name for ourselves other than “image of God” is to seek to redefine reality, setting boundaries and developing a culture that is in opposition to our creation.
Names tells us who we are. They tell us our cultural boundaries at macro and micro levels. As humans (or “man”) our name is “image of God.” That name sets the boundaries of our relationship to God, to one another, and the world around us. “Image of God” establishes the God-ordained culture in which we... Continue Reading
How Expository Preaching Helps Set the Churches Agenda
Sometimes, I’d rather preach something different. But I don’t.
I believe it is absolutely vital that the Spirit of God direct the church. I want the Lord to set the agenda and not myself or anyone else. I believe going through books at a time will do this. No matter how much I think I know a text and what I’ll be preaching on... Continue Reading
The Allure of Whatever Makes My Life Easier
Guilt has a nasty habit of not making my life easier.
If I serve in something that is easy enough for me, that I can put in my diary and then tell myself I have fulfilled my service duties, I can keep my guilt at bay. So I serve, and am happy to do so, because it stops me feeling guilty that I’m not. But what... Continue Reading
Why Churches Should Ditch The Projector Screens And Bring Back Hymnals
Christians need to understand that relying on screens and other technology is not leading to better worship, it’s ruining it.
Perhaps we no longer hear about the worship debate because everyone is simply tired of fighting. Positions have calcified. No matter how well-intentioned, few minds are being changed. Bringing up the subject only tears open wounds that haven’t quite healed. A couple of decades ago, churches split in a grand debate over worship. Contentious... Continue Reading
Grumpy Old Men, “A Ministry Of Condemnation,” And The Church
In my years as a pastor, I have been shocked over how much antipathy there has been toward the visible church.
The sad reality is that many people have witnessed fighting, church splits, abuses, hatred, contentions, jealousies, all undergirded by a hard kind of legalism within the confines of a closed community that demonstrates little of the joy of Christ. What are we to think of these things? Are there legitimate criticisms of Reformed theology, piety, and... Continue Reading
How to Survive an Intense Season of Ministry
This wasn’t just being busy; this was a series of simultaneous responsibilities with a major price tag, and a lot of grieving people.
I’m writing this because that season feels like it’s over. There was a sense of overlapping, simultaneous tragedies, where wherever we turned, all we could see was someone crying. This morning, it feels that life has moved back into a more normal season, where pastoral issues come singly. They will come again, but probably not... Continue Reading
Why Do We Need Creeds, Confessions, and Catechisms?
Creeds, confessions, and catechisms, then, are vital for upholding, teaching, defending, and maintaining the word of God.
The creeds, confessions, and catechisms of the church form the core curriculum for teaching Christians the faith. Catechesis is a word that simply means teaching. Catechisms, however, are usually a specific format of teaching through questions and answers. Children learn catechisms at an age where memorization is easy. Later in life, when young people ask lots... Continue Reading
