Jesus doesn’t say, “I know you’re and harassed and helpless, but that’s a distraction – you need me.” He says, “I know you’re harassed and helpless – that’s because you don’t know me.”
Author: Chris Green
A friend was once in what she called ‘bible study by mind-reading’. The leader had some questions – and the right answers – on a piece of paper, and the group was only allowed to look at Question 2 when it had correctly answered Question 1. ‘Correctly’ meant using exactly the same words as on
If your bible studies are feeling stuck in a rut because you always approach passages in the same kind of way, here are twenty ideas to try (well, nineteen plus the one you already use). They all aim at the same goal, of understanding the passage properly, but the tasks are a little bit different
I’ll keep you posted as I’ll be doing a giveaway.
Coming together as a group of Christians to study God’s Word together should be a rich experience. Paul describes the results of such an experience in Colossians 3:14-17, and we can see six elements: Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be
You’ve probably been in a bible study where the leader asks a question and there’s that awkward silence. Is the question too hard, too easy, or too badly phrased? Often it’s down to the kind of question that’s been asked. In particular, we need to know the difference between an open and a closed question.
This is what the Proclamation Trust have said, in their EMA review: “The latest BST book is a robust look at the Bible’s theology on being gathered together. This will be good for leadership teams and also thinking church members. A useful addition to your churches bookstore.” Highly commended Evangelical Ministry Assembly 2013 Details of
We’ve all been there – the cramped seat, the plastic food, the person sitting next to you whom you don’t know and don’t wish to know… I’m writing about Bible studies and comparing them to a plane flight, and the jokes seem to write themselves. But there’s a point. Passengers can doze and watch a
Giving talks, obviously. Leading bible studies, of course. Perhaps some personal work, and reading a psalm with someone in trouble. But the first and most important duty of your bible is to feed you spiritually, and keep you connected with the head, the Lord Jesus. Because if the enemy can disconnect you from him, then
From the time you leave home on Sunday morning to the time you get back, approximately a gazillion thoughts have flitted through your head. Some are trivial (because I assume your mind, like mine, occasionally wanders during a song. Shocking, I know). Some are important, but they strike you at an odd moment. And now,
One church has a full time musician on its staff. Another has to use digital recordings on a keyboard because no-one can play. One church produces full colour notice-sheets. Another uses a twenty year old duplicator. One church puts on a full scale Christmas pageant. Another can hardly scratch together a choir for the carol
Tom looked at me straight. “Well? What did you think?” We were back in his house sharing a kebab, after I’d preached at the church where he’s the pastor. It’s a good, smaller church – maybe 25 people that evening. What did I think? I told him that he was doing a great job: the
Neil Postman’s brilliant little book ‘Entertaining ourselves to death’ first alerted a generation to the dangers of trivialisation and superficiality that the popular media were forcing on us. Years on, the problem is seemingly worse. And there are consistent warnings from some of our best Christian thinkers, that as preachers tread down the path of
“It’s everybody, I mean. Everything everybody does is so — I don’t know — not wrong, or even mean, or even stupid necessarily. But just so tiny and meaningless and — sad-making. And the worst part is, if you go bohemian or something crazy like that, you’re conforming just as much only in a different
As I’ve thought about the books I’ve read over the past year, one stands out as being remarkable for its depth and relevance. It has a shrewd understanding of what it means to be a Christian and a church living increasingly on the edge of society. And its author understands the temptations we face, whether
I mean, why doesn’t the government do something about it? Half the population has below average IQ. Half the population has a below average reading age. Half the population has a below average attention span. Half the population is below average! But there’s a serious point behind the malarkey. What’s the average IQ? By definition,
I recently stayed in one of those commercial, chain hotels, and it got me thinking about my experience and what was good and bad in it. So here are four positives: Helpful. The staff were on duty the whole time, and were attentive and efficient. They knew the answers to my questions, and pre-emptied several
One time, I decided to cook a surprise meal for my family. I cook for them fairly often, so Dad in the kitchen wasn’t the surprise. The key is, because it was to be a surprise, I didn’t check that I was doing the right meal. Steak was in the fridge – lots of it,
This is my 100th post since I started last summer, and so I thought it was time to get some feedback. So, I have two simple questions: Why do you visit ministrynutsandbolts.com? What’s the most important thing that the blog could help you with? Comments below – and thanks in advance! Chris
Give yourself ten seconds to answer this question: do you know anyone who started out well in Christian ministry but who has subsequently quit or moved on? That was the easy one. Now give yourself thirty seconds to answer the next one: how many more can you think of? When Paul write to Timothy and