In his look at Romans 16, Preston Sprinkle spend a bit of time looking at Phoebe. He observes: “Two facts about Phoebe immediately jump out. First, Paul calls her a “deacon [or servant, diakonon] of the church in Cenchreae.” Second, she was a “benefactor [prostatis] of many people, including” Paul. A third significant point isn’t… Continue reading Was Phoebe a leader and teacher in the church? Responding to Preston Sprinkle part 3
Category: Leadership
The crucial gift of curiosity
One of the striking things about the controversy concerning Peter Mandehslon is the seeming lack of curiosity at senior government level. Keir Starmer had indicated that he wanted Mandelson as the US Ambassador. A vetting process had been put in place. However, it remained the case that Mandelson was his personal, political appointment. Furthermore, Starmer… Continue reading The crucial gift of curiosity
Were church hosts the leaders in New Testament churches? A response to Preston Sprinkle
Biblical scholar, Preston Sprinkle, known for his Theology in the Raw podcast has recently written a book called “From Genesis to Junia: An honest search for what the bible stays about women in leadership.” Sprinkle describes himself as someone who had grown up with strong complementarian convictions. The question is as to whether or not… Continue reading Were church hosts the leaders in New Testament churches? A response to Preston Sprinkle
Who or what do you trust? Bethel culture and Evangelical culture
In this video, I reflect on some lessons and challenges for broader Evangelical culture from my deep dive into Bethel. Specifically, I want to pick up on one theme. It’s to do with trust and who/what you trust. I’ve identified this as a risk for wider evangelical culture, though I wonder if there is a… Continue reading Who or what do you trust? Bethel culture and Evangelical culture
Is your vision for numbers or health?
A big theme over the past 20 or more years has been the importance of churches having mission and vision statements but where should your priorities be?
Elder-less Churches? A further response to Steve Kneale
My friend Steve kneale has responded to my musings on whether a church can exist without elders here. I think this is a helpful and healthy debate to have, though I don’t expect it to run on and on. Our disagreement is marginal. However, I thought it might be helpful to clarify a couple of… Continue reading Elder-less Churches? A further response to Steve Kneale
Can you have a church without elders?
This is the latest in my mini-series on elders and eldership. Here I engage with a question raised by my friend Steve Kneale’s book “Independent Elders”
Elders and leadership
Here’s a little series of videos I’ve put together looking at who elders are, what they are meant to be like and what they are meant to do.
Prophecy is not social media data mining
How would you feel if someone who was a complete stranger to you came to you and began to tell you things about your life, perhaps significant anniversaries, key events, memories, details about your life and your family that you did not expect them to know and there didn’t seem to be any way of… Continue reading Prophecy is not social media data mining
Sheep, wolves and proximity
I’ve been picking up recently on the responsibility of elders to shepherd the flock by leading them to shelter and pasture, by providing spiritual food and protecting from wolves. In a recent sermon, I mentioned that Mike Ovey, the late principal of Oak Hill once expressed his desire that theological training would help us to… Continue reading Sheep, wolves and proximity
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