Monthly Archives: March 2007

Doing church is all about committee work, you know. It’s other stuff, too, of course, but there’s no escaping the committees. We call them “teams” at my church–it’s just so very modern to do so–but they’re still committees. Elderships are … Continue reading →

When we get mad at another church and want to rebuke their sin, we feel that we may stand in the sandals of the Son of God and condemn these sinners in the harshest of tones, just as Jesus condemned … Continue reading →

[Part 1 is at Part 1] I recently received an email from a preacher of a 90-member church in Middle America, vigorously denouncing another, larger church in his town for charging admission to a woman’s conference. He pointed out that … Continue reading →

A wonderful story just released by the Christian Chronicle on a church that has grown from 30 to 170 by being Jesus to the world. The common tie: a love of God and a belief that helping hurting people leads … Continue reading →

Here’s a link to a beautifully written posting on Brian Mashburn’s blog that reveals the heart of many of our members. My Secret Life of Discipleship Highly recommended.

This brings us to teaching. Moderate churches generally have a very weak educational program, because the doctrines that divide the church are off limits. Either one side dominates the classes and the other side doesn’t listen, or else the tough … Continue reading →

In Part 1, we considered the difficulties of managing a moderate church, that is, a church that is divided between progressives and conservatives. While it’s not inevitable that such churches divide, they often do. The reason is almost always a … Continue reading →

Some churches are thoroughly progressive, with progressive elders, staff, and members–at least, most of them. Some churches are thoroughly conservative, with conservative elders, staff, and members–at least, most of them. But most are not. Most are something else. Let’s call … Continue reading →

Okay, now that I’ve mentioned that we’ve let a mother and father baptize their daughter, someone will likely get bent out of shape, supposing that God somehow condemns this practice. He doesn’t. Now, for those interested in a thorough study … Continue reading →

It seems Sunday was a special day for the sacraments–using “sacraments” in the literal sense of “holy things.” We shared an extraordinary communion experience, as described in the preceding posting, only to be blessed into tears by a baptismal service. … Continue reading →