Category: Church and Ministry
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Pastor, does your church really need its own church building?
Not long ago, I listened as a pastor laid out his big dreams for a building of its own for his congregation. The church had been renting worship space from another church in the community, holding its main corporate worship service at another time during the week so as not to conflict with the host…
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The Questions Few Are Asking
The newest wave of reaction to megachurches was sure to come in the wake of a string of moral failures of both charismatic leaders and the “yes man” approach of the elders/board members responsible for governing the organization. A number of pundits have noted that the megachurch built on a business model is a faulty…
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Doctrine? Music? Or Relationships? Why People Stay In A Congregation
I’ve always heard faith in Jesus is about relationship, not religion. The relationship to which this statement refers is having “personal relationship” with God. Though that kind of language is not found anywhere in Scripture, it is a shorthand way to refer to being born again and committing to follow God wholeheartedly rather than relying…
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A Lot of Evangelicals Have “Unhitched” From the Old Testament
Andy Stanley’s recent sermons contending that we must “unhitch” from the Old Testament in order to get to know Jesus brought a wave of response from the Christian online world. Some were supportive, noting that he was just trying to introduce his hearers to Jesus. Others recognized in his words the ancient heresy of Marcionism,…
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After A Leader’s Sin Has Been Revealed
When a church leader chooses sexual sin, the effects of that sin are like a boulder dropped into a still pond. The ripples engulf everything in its path. Though my husband and I have enjoyed a faithful marriage of nearly 39 years, the sexual sins of our church leaders have been like a series of…
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Christian Conference Vs. The Local Church
“They’re back from another conference,” one of my former pastors said in a staff meeting, shaking his head in mock exhaustion. He didn’t need to explain who “they” were, or even what conference “they’d” attended. We knew he was referring to a clique of women who went as often as they could to conferences featuring…