Category Archives: Index

MDR: The argument from history

Given the difficulty of interpreting the New Testament’s passages on divorce and remarriage, it would be useful to consider the views of the early church on this matter. Many Christians don’t realize that we have many letters written by early … Continue reading

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Leading Change: Small Groups vs. Sunday Night Worship

Ben raises an interesting point in a comment, and I thought the topic merited a separate post, because so many churches struggle with whether to give up our traditional Sunday night worship in order to start small groups. Ben notes that … Continue reading

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American Megachurches: Church planting

… the number of megachurches who are planting new churches is also rising according to our studies. Megachurches planting or helping to plant other congregations rose from 68% in 2000 to 70% in 2005 to 77% in 2008.Interestingly, those churches … Continue reading

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MDR: Luke 16

The final Gospel passage regarding divorce is Luke 16:18 — “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.” Edwards points out that the original Greek in this … Continue reading

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MDR: Mark 10

Mark 10 includes another version of the events recorded in Matthew 19. 1 Jesus then left that place and went into the region of Judea and across the Jordan. Again crowds of people came to him, and as was his … Continue reading

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American Megachurches: Finances

No church leaders will be surprised to learn that contributions in megachurches are essentially flat from 2005 — even a little down when adjusted for inflation — meaning that more churches are feeling the pinch. Even the largest churches have … Continue reading

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American Megachurches: Vision

Megachurches have always been marked by a strong sense of mission and purpose. That has only become more so —

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MDR: Matthew 19, Part 3 (Does God recognize an unscriptural divorce?)

We need to review a critical point here. Many have contended that in the absence of fornication a couple cannot be divorced in the eyes of God. But note carefully the words of the Savior: 6 “So they are no … Continue reading

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American Megachurches: Small Groups

Another aspect of congregational life that has dramatically changed in the past 8 years is the increasing emphasis on small groups. While small groups have always been seen as important to megachurches, they haven’t always been central to how many … Continue reading

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The Gospel Advocate Creed: Content Analysis and Our Disturbing Trend

The September 2008 issue just arrived. On page 5, Gregory Alan Tidwell writes a column on content analysis, making the point that you can tell a lot about anyone by looking at the topics they discuss. And it’s true. Tidwell … Continue reading

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