The Missional God:
There is a strong case to be made for the viewpoint that God’s work in history…through Noah, Abraham, Israel, and the prophets has always been to make people a light to all people for his redeeming purpose. From that perspective, Israel failed in their understanding of that task and recognition of the Messiah, and the task was therefore given to the Gentile nations in the church. If this is an accurate viewpoint, then it begs the question…what will God do when the church gets complacent about being a messenger to the unreached??? Will our complacency usher in the “end times”?

The “true” task of missions: Read the rest of this entry »

Living in an environment where a lot of people are preparing for a career in pastoral ministry, I hear a lot of ambitious plans for the church. I myself have a lot of ambitious ideas for the future of the church…but I have never considered the one I saw on the news recently.

Meet The Strip Church, one ambitious pastor’s ministry to change the lives of visitors to Las Vegas. I personally like it. He has a clear and simple strategy, a proven record of ministry in this context, and a deep love for the lost in this regard.

I wouldn’t recommend the ministry everyone, and I would not pursue it myself, but I recommend that you have a look at the ministry of:

www.stripchurch.com

ABC recently hosted them for an interview which can be viewed here.

You can also view the ministry plan here.

Small Groups are not Biblical!
Let’s make one thing clear, for certain: Small groups and house churches are not “biblical”. The church was started with meetings in homes, I gladly concede that point. But the church did not meet in homes for any command of scripture, or even any urging of the disciples. More likely, since the Jews and Romans began killing Christians for their beliefs, the church met privately to keep themselves out of the line of persecution, and because they did not have synagogues or other buildings they could use. More importantly, the size of their movement was not overwhelming, as it would later become when persecution was lifted. Read the rest of this entry »

Sacrifice to Lead:
Monastic Leadership (Lessons from the Medieval Church)

In the late ancient and throughout the medieval church, as Christianity was endorsed by the Roman leadership, the movement of people from the cities to places of solitude for spiritual devotion became vogue. While this drained the cities of some of the more devoted Christian followers it may have served to raise up Christian leaders in an environment where religious studies were the complete focus. As church leaders were needed, we find that a large number of influential church leaders, even popes, came from this mass exodus of sanctuary in solitude and celibacy to lead the church. Read the rest of this entry »

I feel compelled to write this…I’m embarrassed and ashamed of many of my Christian brothers. For months I’ve been hearing repetitions of a rumors that Willow Creek released a pretty major statement of “repentance”…that it feels the seeker sensitivity movement was an incorrect view of church, and that they’ve since changed the way they’re doing church. News that would be headline-worthy…IF were really true. That’s where the shame comes in. I am taken back at the number of times I’ve heard this rumor recalled by friends and “church people”. So many have been willing to share the news, but none had any reputable source to back their claim. Why share something if you are not sure it’s true? Willow Creek is a very well know association with a reputation of integrity…so why didn’t anyone think the rumor deserved research? (Hang on everyone, this is destined to be a long entry)
Read the rest of this entry »