It’s quite common when churches have announcements about giving, whether or not a collection bag is sent round, for someone to say, almost apologetically “We don’t want/are not after your money.” The sentiment is sound, too often religious groups are seen as primarily looking to get hold of people’s wallets. It is important, that a… Continue reading We are not after your money …. or are we?
Category: Discipleship
Church membership
Occasionally I have conversations with church planters and revitalisers about whether or not they should have church membership. There are actually quite a lot of Christians who don’t agree with the idea of membership and say they would refuse to join a church. How do churches do membership? Every church has some form of membership.… Continue reading Church membership
Criticism can be personal
In an article identifying “eight essential qualities of pastors who love their jobs”, Sam Rainer identifies the second one as “They don’t take criticism personally”. On one level, I agree with this if by it, he means that you need to hear all the critiques without taking it too much to heart. There can be… Continue reading Criticism can be personal
When people know nothing at all about Jesus
On a Friday afternoon, a group of us from our church get together at a local pub for one of our small groups. The approach is “Ask anything?” Sometimes one of the group will raise a question that’s been bothering them but if not, the group leader will put forward a question to get us… Continue reading When people know nothing at all about Jesus
What should we make of Russell Brand’s baptism?
Controversial comedian and celebrity opinion former, Russell Brand has recently announced that he has been baptised in the River Thames. The news has polarised responses with some being quick to jump on the news and share it as another exciting example of God moving to bring about a form of Christian revival. Other examples include… Continue reading What should we make of Russell Brand’s baptism?
On the frequency of dreams and visions in the early church
I wanted to pick up on something I saw in a recent article looking at the question of dreams and visions. I’m not going to unpack the whole question of dreams and visions here except to say that I believe that these are available for Christians today. As I’ve mentioned previously, we talk about God… Continue reading On the frequency of dreams and visions in the early church
Why you should get baptised
We are hoping to have baptisms at our church this Sunday. Sadly, we won’t be able to be at our church for this. However, we are really excited that it is happening. I don’t think that there is much more exciting in the life of the church than seeing people get baptised, especially when it’s… Continue reading Why you should get baptised
Reading well – tips for young Christians
My friend, Alistair Chalmers, himself an avid reader, recently asked for thoughts and tips to encourage younger/newer readers to read well. So, here are a few thoughts from me. So, there’s some starter tips for seven. What would you add? [1] Building Jerusalem – Among these dark Satanic mills Alistair Chalmers – Chalmers’ Blog (achalmersblog.com) … Continue reading Reading well – tips for young Christians
Does believers’ baptism exclude children from the covenant?
One of the weirdest arguments for paedobaptism has become quite prominent in recent times. It goes like this. Credobaptists (those who advocate for believer’s baptism) argue that the Bible doesn’t instruct us to baptise infants, therefore paedobaptists are arguing from silence. However, this assumes that the burden of proof is on the paedobaptist to prove… Continue reading Does believers’ baptism exclude children from the covenant?
How might Christians enjoy a Sunday Sabbath?
I’ve argued that Christians should observe Sunday as their Sabbath day. So, how should we go about it? I commented in my first article that one of the reasons why people turned away from the idea of Sabbath was that in many circles it had become legalistic with heavy, arbitrary rules about what you could… Continue reading How might Christians enjoy a Sunday Sabbath?
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