It sounds like firm, clear leadership – or ego driven leadership. It rather depends on which side of the decision and leadership you’re standing on. Those of us who are leaders have a limited amount of leadership capital, and we don’t want to spend it on the wrong issues. So we need to distinguish two
J. I. Packer on Killing Sin Through Prayer from Desiring God on Vimeo.
How far ahead do you you plan your sermons? Someone asked me this week, and was rather surprised when I said that my pattern in church was eighteen months ahead. Why so long? Here were my reasons Authenticity. I need to get inside this Biblical book and let it read me, repeatedly. I need to
(You’ll need to open this post to activate the link below) Click on the link: The Puritan View of Sanctification
Yesterday was gorgeous. The sky was palest blue, dusted with pink and orange, there was enough snow to reflect the winter sunlight, and enough mist to make it soft at the edges. The God who made that is gorgeous. His wisdom and righteousness are breathtaking. Even the gorgeousness of creation, which he decided, using a
Obviously, sometimes it’s necessary to bust through the internal shape of an S curve and defy its inherent decline. We need to do something new – start a new service or ministry, or even add someone to the staff. The question is, when is the right time? Can you do it too early? Of course.
Reposted. Russell Powell writes at SydneyAnglicans.net – Beloved Australian evangelist John Chapman has fallen asleep in Christ at the age of 82. And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their
Thanks to the fabulous Phil Duce at IVP, my BST on the church is the right length, and they want my book on Application too. DoublePlusGood. From today, the offer of the free copy of The point of the Sword has gone, and I’ll replace it with another goody.
A confession – I got this wrong in the past. Language of ‘finishing the race’ and images of batons being passed lead me to read 2 Timothy 2:2 individualistically, as if Paul wrote ‘And the things you have heard from me pass on to someone faithful, just as I have with you, and so the
“I don’t know how the church has grown. All I’ve done is teach the Bible.” The wise old Christian leader looked genuine enough, but I’m sure he was harbouring a secret. But because he’s a model for younger church leaders, they are going to think that he’s telling them the truth, and start to think
A wise pastor friend pointed out to me, “You get what you teach.” Which means that if we preach that evangelism is important, but don’t do anything about it, then what we actually teach is that Christians are people who talk a lot about evangelism but don’t do anything about it. Which makes a lot
Molten metal, not sprayed all over the foundry, but poured, deliberately, carefully into each individual mould. That’s the logic for what different groups call discipling, or one-to-one, or personal work. A life-changing gospel directed into an individual life. The wider world uses a similar idea with ‘coaching’, which is good, but often has the idea
There are nearly sixty New Testament verses which are about what are to do for ‘one-another’. That’s sixty verses we cannot obey if we don’t do church properly. Our problem has often been in seeing church as an event, which runs for an hour and a half with precious little room for most people present
Someone recently decided not to join a particular church. When he was asked why, he said it was a ‘Mary Poppins church – every Christian was practically perfect in every way.’ True story. That’s a church where no-one is wounded, and where no-one applies the medicine of the gospel to those wounds. There is no
I have honestly wondered about putting preaching so high on this list. Because it is such a biblically valid expression of Ministry of the Word, that some people act as if it is the only sort there is. Which suffocates the church. But it is vital. It’s rather like oxygen: I need oxygen in order
Seeing the world upside down is helpful. Australians are warm, friendly people, but above all they are direct. They tell you the truth and expect you to respond with the same candour. Here are five truths that I received between the eyes: 1. Sometimes standing still is success. A man who runs a major Christian
Available here
My final Moore lecture is here: ThePointoftheSword
