Leading the Church
The Church exists by what Christ has done for us in and for His glory and the production of His work. The church exists for us to be in Christ our Lord, to be His people, and His hands and feet. It may have started with the promise to Abraham...
One of the major points of our lives is the debt we owe to Christ; we should give back to Him and His work in us with gratitude as we lead His Church. Thus, any condescension to those under our care and guidance is an extreme assault both on the character of our Lord and on His instruction to us.
Biblical Principles of God's Call to Manage His Flock!
The goal of this Primer is to lay forth to you suggestions from God's Word and from my own experience on how to effectively run a church. These are based on many years of research and study and observing the top 1000+ churches in the world as well as personal church growth consulting and pastoral experience. A general overview will be given, followed by a step-by-step plan on how to effectively organize for His glory. Although church growth is the goal, this Primer is not based on traditional church growth jargon, even though some of the principles are applied. After years of...
The goal of this Primer is to lay forth to you suggestions from God's Word and from my own experience on how to effectively run a church. These are based on many years of research and study and observing the top 1000+ churches in the world as well as personal church growth consulting and pastoral experience. A general overview will be given, followed by a step-by-step plan on how to effectively organize for His glory. Although church growth is the goal, this Primer is not based on traditional church growth jargon, even though some of the principles are applied. After years of...
How is your seasoning? One of the key objectives of Francis Schaeffer's work was to help Christians think and process who they are in Christ. In so doing, one would look at God's precepts and then work them out so he could better be salt and light in the world in which we live. Schaeffer found, both as a pastor and in his early personal practice of Christianity, too much shallowness, preoccupation with trivialities, and what he saw as "irrationality."
Spiritual Gifts is one of the principle calls of the believer. It is also one of two areas of ministry in the church.
The Reformation and the Protestant church were founded on grace, and a lot of Christians think the law has been voided. However this is not the teaching of Scripture...
Does Jesus call the church to speak in tongues to be saved? Has anyone ever approached you and asked if you have received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit? Or, perhaps they challenged you further by saying that unless you have spoken in tongues, you are not a real Christian.
One of the foundational qualities of the Bible is its clarity (sometimes called perspicuity). That means Scripture's main teachings are plain enough to be understood without the need of special expertise or church-sanctioned interpretations.
Shortly after the Reformation began, in the first few years after Martin Luther posted the Ninety-Five Theses on the church door at Wittenburg, he issued some short booklets on a variety of subjects. One of the most provocative was titled The Babylonian Captivity of the Church. In this book Luther was looking back to that period of Old Testament history when Jerusalem was destroyed by the invading armies of Babylon and the elite of the people were carried off into captivity.
How to rebuild after a pastor leaves, even in a fall from grace.
To rebuild any church, whether it is from the retirement of a great pastor, the fall of another, a history of spiritual neglect from its leaders, or the slow backslide of apathy or liberalism, we have to be willing to reset. If there is no reset, the congregation will die off. A reset is relatively simple, though. It is a call to us found in the midst of Hebrews 13.
To rebuild any church, whether it is from the retirement of a great pastor, the fall of another, a history of spiritual neglect from its leaders, or the slow backslide of apathy or liberalism, we have to be willing to reset. If there is no reset, the congregation will die off. A reset is relatively simple, though. It is a call to us found in the midst of Hebrews 13.
