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
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
I’m excited to announce you can now pre-order The Bible Speaks Today, The Church, at discount! Open this post by clicking on the title, and then click here It’s also on Amazon, ISBN: 9781844748785 US readers can pre-order on Amazon.com, or wait for US publication in February 2014
