Category Archives: Index

Advice to a New Elder: A Few Starting Points, Part 2

Don’t overlook the ministers. Some elders (not at my church) look at the preacher and think, “I’m an elder and you’re not!” Bad idea. Yes, the church is supposed to be overseen by the elders and not the ministers, and … Continue reading

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Advice to a New Elder: A Few Starting Points, Part 1

Pray. We all sometimes get too busy to pray as we should, and this is always a mistake. Make the time. There’s always one elder who just loves to stop the conversation and insist that everyone stop to pray. He’s … Continue reading

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The Mission of the Church: Evangelism, Part 2

In a later post, Mark Love adds to his thoughts on evangelism — So, one of the points I’ve tried to make in this series is that if you think the driving question of Scripture is, “how can an individuals … Continue reading

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Advice to a New Elder: Introduction

I’ve been on leave of absence from the elders at my church for about 2 years. For health reasons. I’m doing better, but I’m still a long way from being able to carry on a full shepherding role. A friend … Continue reading

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The Mission of the Church: Evangelism, Part 1

When we say “mission,” most people think “evangelism” — which is not wrong. It’s just very badly incomplete and in desperate need of repair. I’m hardly an expert, but I would like to share a little of my learning, for … Continue reading

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The Mission of the Church: Ancient-Future Assembly

We now move to a recent book from Robert E. Webber, Ancient-Future Worship: Proclaiming and Enacting God’s Narrative. Webber argues that the assembly should reflect how living today reflects our hope for eternity. Not only does worship point to the culmination … Continue reading

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The Mission of the Church: Calvin on Liturgy. (Yes, really. That Calvin.)

Story What is the message that the assembly should communicate to the members and to visitors? There are, of course, countless good things that one might teach, but what is the over-arching goal? Sometimes we approach the assembly microscopically, that … Continue reading

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The Mission of the Church: The Liturgy of Contemporary Church

If the church’s mission centers around Jesus as incarnated in the local congregation, then liturgy becomes extremely important in terms of spiritual formation. That is, if God wants the church formed in the image of Jesus, then how we conduct … Continue reading

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The Mission of the Church: Back to Wright

So I covered Christopher J. H. Wright’s view of the church’s mission a few posts ago. Let’s review. In a recent lecture, Wright broke mission down into five elements: Evangelism (proclaim the good news of the kingdom) Teaching (teach, baptise … Continue reading

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Kings Church: Transgender and Intersex

A few days ago, I began scouring the Internet for Christian resources on transgender issues. And most of the material I found was pretty useless. The church just hasn’t given this subject much thought, and I could find very little that … Continue reading

Posted in Sexuality, Uncategorized | 17 Comments