Posts

How to listen to character study sermons

Years ago my dad did a series of Bible studies which he called “An A-Z of Old Testament Characters.” I’m not sure if he managed to find someone for every letter, but there was certainly enough mileage to keep the series going for a good while.  It’s no surprise that character studies have proved popular.… Continue reading How to listen to character study sermons

Who made who cry?

One of the stories circulating around the Harry and Meghan controversy is about whether or not Meghan made Kate cry during preparations for the Royal Wedding.  The story has circulated for some time that something happened during rehearsals that reduced Kate to tears. In the Oprah interview, Meghan sought to set the record straight.  She… Continue reading Who made who cry?

Elders should be above reproach

I’ve been sharing a few thoughts about aspects of church life over the past few days to help those who are seeking to plant or replant churches think through the practicalities of church life.  In this previous article, I wrote about elders and what they should do, today I want to talk about what elders… Continue reading Elders should be above reproach

Church decision making – methods and majorities

This is a follow up to my article on how we go about making decisions as churches. In my previous article, I talked about when decisions should be made by church leaders and when they should be made by the whole congregation all together. Today, I’d like to talk about the nuts and bolts of… Continue reading Church decision making – methods and majorities

Recovering Apologetics

I want to highlight three things that have stood out about the current apologetics movement recently.  The first is well publicised, which is the fall from grace of prominent apologist Ravi Zacharias.  The fall started when it was discovered that he had misled about his academic qualifications and when information began to come out about… Continue reading Recovering Apologetics

How does your church make decisions?

This is something that new church plants are going to have to consider. There are two main ways of approaching this. The first is to place decision making primarily in the hands of leaders, either the specific leaders of a congregation or leaders over a group of churches in a denomination, diocese or presbytery.  In… Continue reading How does your church make decisions?

How to listen to evangelistic sermons (when you already are a Christian)

At any one time in a gathering there will be Christians and non-Christians present. This presents the preacher with a challenge.  Does he primarily focus on preaching to the Christians to edify and build them up or does he focus on evangelising the enquirers. Either way, he risks leaving part of the audience behind. Or… Continue reading How to listen to evangelistic sermons (when you already are a Christian)

Elders are to guard and protect the church

In Acts 20:17, Paul sends for the elders (note plural) of the church in Ephesus to come and meet him at Miletus as he travels back to Jerusalem.  There he gives them instructions about how to continue serving the church when people like Paul are no longer around to visit and write letters. He tells… Continue reading Elders are to guard and protect the church