Recently Christianity Today did a number of articles regarding striving for racial integration in the community of Christ followers. I feel this issue is a very important one. I would identify division as one of if not the biggest problem in Christianity as it stands today. Race is one of the biggest dividing lines, along
Category: Ecclesiology / Church
Christianity as a Subculture
Tonight I went to a concert at my church. When I arrived, a friend of mine came up and we started talking. She asked if all the different worship bands from the church were playing. I explained that while most all of the musicians who were playing are also on the worship team, that they
Thoughts on Worship
I recently had a good talk with a close friend of mine about worship. This was brought up due to some of the events of the previous day and our reactions to them. Specifically, there had been a worship conference, the evening of which was ended by several nationally known “worship artists” (is that a
About Church…
Western church today: A community social service center, which provides programming and events to entertain and reinforce it’s members’ normally comfortable lifestyles, and generally helps to raise their children to be “good”, as well as providing the a fore mentioned services to the kids also. The church provides opportunities for spiritual experiences, and gives it’s
The Church…
The church… If we were simply the church the way it’s supposed to be, I bet we wouldn’t have to try and force Christianity on people. Originally posted on 2002-07-16, this is an excerpt from a post I made on another message board. photo credit: BurgTender via photopin cc
My Trip to Nashville
I recently went to Nashville to attend a large Christian event which was being held in Adelphia Stadium. It was a huge event, three of the biggest groups in music opened up the evening including Jars of Clay, Kirk Franklin, and DC Talk. They were followed by one of the most famous Christian evangelists of
The Need for the Church to Confess and Repent as Part of Evangelism
There have been some interesting things going on recently. Many people are excited, talking about revival, and reaching “the lost”. When a bunch of Christians gather, it doesn’t seem odd to celebrate and worship God. But it strikes me that when we start interacting with those who aren’t followers of Christ, it would be naive
Spiritual Growth
I believe that spiritual growth is a journey, and the journey is not always straight forward. I believe that spiritual transformation is a slow, gradual process, measured more in terms of years rather than days and weeks. (So be patient.) I believe that spiritual growth happens best when we are continually, repeatedly reminded of God’s
Ministry Segregation
I’m noticing that many churches gender segregate their adult small groups. I wonder if this is because the average adult church goer is assumed to be married (and, because marriage seems to be a prerequisite for ministry, this is also the perspective from which the organizing pastor is making decisions). I suppose church members are
Religious Trauma Syndrome
I expect this topic to be controversial. I have observed that at times people confuse a criticism of something done in the name of Christ with a criticism of God himself. But this fails to recognize that we are imperfect, and that we can make mistakes and do the wrong thing even when we are