Tomorrow Americans celebrate Thanksgiving. The holiday has become known as a time to gather with one’s extended family and have a feast. I heard someone (Frank Viola in Reimagining Church I believe) say that the Thanksgiving holiday is probably the best representation we have of what communion ought to look like. Imagine communion as loving,
Category: Ecclesiology / Church
Leadership in Organic Church
I believe leadership is one of the most confusing subjects about “organic” or “simple” church. We say that there aren’t leaders in the sense of a person or two doing all of the “leading”, making the decisions, running the meetings, doing all the teaching, etc. But that doesn’t mean that there isn’t leadership. There most
Youth Ministry: Helping or Harming?
This is a review of the documentary called Divided. I’ll warn you up front, this movie may well be very challenging and upsetting. But I think it is right for the most part. So I challenge you, especially pastors and fathers, to take the time to watch it and consider what it says. Before moving
Book Review: And: The Gathered and Scattered Church
I’ve been going through books pretty rapidly here recently, which is good because I’ve got quite a few on the “to read” pile. The most recent book I finished is called “And: The Gathered and Scattered Church”. I was given the impression that the book was about arguing for the need of both mega and
Thoughts Regarding Planting a Church
I have recently begun interacting with a new church plant seeking feedback on what they’re doing. It was a catalyst for me to consider what advice I’d give to people planting a church. Here’s what came out: It’s Christ’s church, and he is the builder. “I will build my church.” (Matthew 16:18) “Unless the Lord
Book Review: An Army of Ordinary People
I wasn’t sure exactly what I was getting into when I got this book. This was in part because I was unfamiliar with it’s author, Felicity Dale. However, it turns out that I loved it and am very thankful I got it. The book’s subtitle summarizes it pretty well: “Stories of real-life men and women
What is Our Job?
I heard Mike Breen speak a couple of weeks ago. It was interesting; if I were to be asked to relate the basics of Christianity, I would have covered all of the same points which he did, only using different language. One thing he said stuck in my mind, not because of it being a
10. How Can We Translate Our Quest Into Action?
10. How can we translate our quest into action? One of God’s core qualities is love (1 John 4:8, 16). He shares that love with us and wants us to participate in it. In order to do so, we must learn to love like he does. In fact, he says that we are to be
Church Karate Studio
This is what I’ve been trying to say: “Church should be more like a karate studio (or dance lessons) and less like a college lecture.” The idea that I think is super important is that the Christian life is supposed to be a practice, a way of life, or in other words, something you do.
Brothers And Sisters
I was reading a book recently in which the author was talking about how the early believers called one another “brother” and “sister”. He made the point that they were using these terms for one another because of how close they were to each other. While this seems like a simple concept, I hadn’t specifically