The biblical preacher is a herald, a steward. He has been entrusted to declare something that would have been true if he had never been born. He is to preach it with a strong view of his own ultimate irrelevance. He is to get into the pulpit and say, “Thus says the Lord ….” And [...]
Archive for the ‘church’ Category
Pretty Boy Preachers
Posted: April 22, 2012 in bible, church, church leadership, ecclesiology, leadership, preaching0
“[There is a] developing mythology that preaching the gospel is very difficult and that there are only a couple of dozen people in the entire United States who are any good at it. To quote Gershwin, it ain’t necessarily so. If it were, Paul would surely have told us. In fact, he pours scorn on the [...]
Flying Teachers Make Bad Role Models
Posted: April 19, 2012 in church, community, discipleship, evangelicalism, leadership, preachingTo these elitist developments [within Evangelicalism], we might add the emergence of the ‘flying teacher’ as an aspirational goal, given the departure from local pastorates by some to enhance ministry opportunities. Such a lifestyle has much to make it attractive: positively, it does allow wider access to the insights of a talented individual; negatively, it [...]
Hear God’s will for your life and ministry: But as for you, O man of God, flee these things [many senseless and harmful desires]. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the [...]
Why I Love (Pure) Religion, But Hate False Dichotomies
Posted: January 13, 2012 in christianity, church, current events, evangelicalism, god, gospel, grace, history, Jesus, theologyAs I’m sure everyone who has Facebook knows, Jefferson Bethke’s “Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus” video is lighting up the internet. Currently, his video has over 6.5 million views on YouTube. Clearly, something about his message is appealing to many people (it also helps to get a shout-out from The Resurgence). In light [...]
Intergenerational Discipleship is Not Optional…It’s Crucial!
Posted: December 19, 2011 in church, community, discipleship, ecclesiology, family, youthChristianity Today recently posted an excellent article regarding the importance of encouraging the integration of youth and adults within the church’s corporate life. The article quotes Scott Brown, director of the National Center for Family Integrated Churches, who writes in his new book, A Weed in the Church, that modern youth ministry constitutes a “50-year-old failed experiment” (not [...]
Your Home is Not Your Castle
Posted: September 11, 2011 in church, community, evangelism, gospel, missions, videoIn this interview, Jeff Vanderstelt, pastor of Soma Communities, talks about the importance of hospitality (a term he carefully defines) in the life and ministry of the church. His comments remind me of Tim Chester’s recent book, A Meal with Jesus: Discovering Grace, Community, and Mission Around the Table (Crossway). Vanderstelt also offers some good [...]
Sproul Jr. on Multi-Site Churches
Posted: September 3, 2011 in church, controversy, ecclesiology, preaching, technologyRC Sproul Jr. has posted a short critique of the increasing prevalence of multi-site churches that stream one message to multiple venues: Here’s a brief and partial list of the ways this is bad: 1. It cultivates and encourages the cult of personality… 2. It cultivates and encourages a form of preaching that is anything but pastoral… [...]
