Seattle First Presbyterian’s Breakaway Vote Spurs Real-Estate Fight
Seattle First Presbyterian’s decision to disaffiliate from its denomination sets the stage for a battle over valuable downtown real estate.
On Sunday, Seattle First Presbyterian church members voted to split from its liberal-leaning denomination, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). In doing so, the 125-member congregation formed a corporation that now claims full control of its assets, according to documents distributed Tuesday night at a meeting of the Seattle Presbytery, the denomination’s regional authority. A real-estate battle is... Continue Reading
Why Is The Charismatic Movement Thriving In Africa?
I have in mind the current extreme form that is mushrooming literally under every shrub and tree
“How can one explain this phenomenon? I think that one reason why the charismatic movement in Africa has been like a wild bushfire is because it has not challenged the African religious worldview but has instead adopted it. It has simply baptised it with Bible verses and Christian words that previously meant something totally different.”... Continue Reading
Help For Hurting Churches Dealing With Apostasy
Some Christians will be shaken by the apostasy of another professing Christian
“The whole Old Testament is a story of Israel’s apostasy. In the New Testament, we have individual apostates such as Judas and Demas. Some in Corinth denied the resurrection, and some in Galatia went back to the law as a way of salvation.” What would you say to a church where two of its... Continue Reading
A Refuge And Refugees: A Pastoral Perspective on the Current Refugee Crisis
How the Church can respond pastorally to the refugee issue.
(1) The Government should implement a refugee policy that allows flexibility for the current refugee crisis with a focus upon its primary responsibility to protect its citizens…(2) The Christian church should initiate a biblically framed refugee ministry while encouraging and supporting a thoughtful and compassionate national refugee policy. (3) The Christian family should prayerfully encourage... Continue Reading
Elevation Church – The Good, The Bad and the Ugly
Can we in the UK stop copying churches like Elevation? We only do pale imitations of what is not great anyway!
The trouble is that these churches are so massive and wealthy that they can afford to send their pastors all over the world, exporting their dodgy theology and even dodgier ecclesiology. I have a suspicion that much of the health and wealth teaching which is plaguing much of the church in Africa, Asia and South... Continue Reading
Worship: What Can We Sing?
Whether the psalms and hymns are thousands of years old, or written in the last century, the question of the quality of the words and music is important.
Are the words Scriptural and theologically sound? Hymnody has been an effective means of teaching theology in ages past. Is the music suitable to the words? If you are confessing sin, the music ought not to be bouncy and happy. Some of this is culturally relative but as a rule, confession of sin is a... Continue Reading
Seven Myths of Contextualization
Attempts to contextualize without clear, theologically informed leadership will tend to produce disorder, divisiveness, and distance
“In the past few years, much has been written, advocated, and modeled to help us understand why we should be concerned about leading services in ways that people actually comprehend what we’re doing and saying so that they are impacted in the right ways (Mike Cosper’s Rhythms of Grace is one example). That might mean changing... Continue Reading
Romans, Martin Luther and 1515
Luther personally discovered the powerful gospel of the powerful Christ. And that discovery began, not in 1517, but in 1515, with the book of Romans.
“While many of my colleagues at Reformed Theological Seminary are already thinking about 2017, most of us are not aware of a very important church history anniversary this fall. I’m thinking, of course, of the 500th anniversary of Luther’s lectures on the Book of Romans, which helped pave the way for the Reformation of 1517.”... Continue Reading
Denzel Washington Preaches Gratitude to Church Members at St. Louis Convention
Hollywood star Denzel Washington, the son of a pastor, preached a sermon of gratefulness Saturday evening to hundreds of members of the Church of God in Christ
“Faith and optimism can add years to your life,” he told those at the banquet. “A bad attitude is like a flat tire. Until you change it, you’re not going anywhere,” he said, urging the audience to “use the power of prayer in everything we do.” Hollywood star Denzel Washington, the son of a... Continue Reading
10 Reasons Why You Should Underprogram Your Church
Here are ten thoughts to reiterate and elaborate on the concept of under-programming
“As the attractional church accumulates more complexity, it becomes more rigid, despite all its claims to innovation and cultural relevance. And as more programmatic development takes place, the more inwardly focused the church must necessarily become.” Nearly every evangelical, when pressed, would insist that the church is people, not a place. A building is... Continue Reading
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