Christians need church – and I take it you know what I mean by that. All Christians need the sustaining power of God’s Word preached, prayers, fellowship, relationship, and praise -what we sometimes call ‘the means of grace’. We can structure those formally or informally, scale them up or down, make them contemporary or trad,
We have just had our church’s Annual Meeting, and once again it has proved a useful exercise – but not for the obvious reason. We are an Anglican church, and that means we do not run our business by a series of congregational votes: we elect a council at the Annual Meeting, and then each
We have a little rule at the church council: on most issues we don’t discuss and decide at the same meeting. It’s a high value for me, because I’ve learnt the hard way the price I pay for steamrolling something through. Years ago, but still fresh in my mind, I thought we were all sorted
One of the questions I ask myself regularly each week, is how does this coming Sunday move ‘The Project’ on? If that sounds a bit ‘management speak’, let me explain. In the biggest of pictures, ‘The Project’ is to adore God as his people, and to do so in a way that encourages us to
There are some common elements in faithful Christian ministry that will be true and transferable across the world. These will be as true in a small house church as a multisite megachurch. There a couple that it’s almost a cliché to list them But they’re essential. Hard work. Gospel work is a joy, a privilege
I met someone the other day who plays in the orchestra for the Lion King, the big Disney musical. I’ve seen it, of course, and it’s a great show – much better than the cartoon, and with many moments of genuine theatrical beauty for the adults, as well as humour for the kids. And that
In a series of earlier posts I suggested that there is a whole banquet of New Testament activities that count as ‘ministry of the Word.’ It can’t be reduced merely to preaching sermons: there’s discipling, leadership, counselling, evangelism, apologetics – all need God’s Word opened and applied. But I’m pretty sure I missed one on
To Wales, then, for a couple of conferences on church planting. Waleswide is an initiative of a range of evangelical churches, to establish the idea of Wales as a 21st century mission field. Those two sentences contain at least three ideas that should make us shake our heads in disbelief and wonder – and the reason
Challenge is a spin-off from WAVE. It is a weekly meet up for parents of babies or children with additional needs. It is, simply, a friendship group, offering support and love during a tough time. You can guess what happens (although you might not guess the stuff on offer to pamper the mums – they can be spoilt
THE MESSAGE OF THE CHURCH Assemble the people before me By Chris Green ‘The Bible Themes’ series of ‘The Bible Speaks Today’ range continues with this substantial volume on the Church. Christ Green, who lectures in preaching and church planting at Oak Hill Theological College, London (UK), has an obvious love and concern for the
WAVE is extraordinary – and as far as I know, unique. At least in London. And I should underline that as the new pastor of this church I take absolutely no credit for what I’m about to tell you. WAVE stands for We’re All Valued Equally, and it’s an unusual church. It meets monthly, and
Ok, so this is very new, and if it means nothing to you, just pass along. But if you blog, and would like to take part in a virtual tour to launch the US edition of my church book, then I’m keen to write short articles, give interviews, guest posts – you get the idea.
We said goodbye to a church we’ve known and loved for seven years – its first seven years. It had been a privilege to be a member rather than a leader, and to be part of a little Christian community take its first steps. Seven years before a team of 35 adults and 12 children
If there’s something wrong with the shirt I’ve bought, I take back to the shop. If the mechanic hasn’t fixed the car, I take it back to the garage. I’m a customer, I have paid, and I expect the level of service. That model of thinking is so prevalent in a consumer society, that people
Jesus taught us that our fundamental role as ministers is to be servants. He has served us, we are to serve each other, and those of us who are pastors are to serve as we lead. But words come in particular cultures and contexts. In Jesus’ time the word ‘slave’ was demeaning and potentially violent
I was taught at seminary that my role was to do myself out of a job. The great temptation of the pastor is to hoard ministry, and so I must delegate, clear out the desk, equip the rest of the church for ministry, and then my job is done. Move on. There are at least
It’s one of the big theories about the Web. Chris Anderson first outlined it in his book, ‘The Long Tail’, and the marketing guru Seth Godin riffs on it endlessly. And it’s so nearly right it’s important to see that it’s completely wrong. It goes like this: at one time the only way to
You can now order ‘The Message of the Church‘ at 20% discount from IVP-US (the British IVP edition has reached #1 BestSeller on Amazon.co.uk). Just click on the link here. You can order the UK edition from IVP here at a 28% discount. And it becomes even cheaper if you buy several copies to read in your small group
There’s a little flurry of atheist ‘churches’ at the moment. Meetings of like-minded secularists who listen to some music, hear a talk, reaffirm their views, have a collection, and then afterwards have a cup of coffee and some home-made cake. It’s very earnest (and therefore very funny), but they are deliberately trying to put into
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
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