Evangelicals Now reports that “parents could be forced to report Sunday School attendance” to the authorities. This offers a helpful example of being careful about how we report and react to news stories. The headline might give the impression that the state are about to start prying into all of our private and religious lives… Continue reading Are the government really about to make you report Sunday School Attendance?
Tag: church
Does preaching carry the same authority as Scripture? A response to Julius Santiago
A friend asked the question recently on Facebook “What do you think preaching is?” They offered three options: I opted for “other”, or perhaps a slight modification of the first option. Preaching is the application of Scripture to the hearts of a congregation assembled together. The prompting for the question was a new book, “Preaching… Continue reading Does preaching carry the same authority as Scripture? A response to Julius Santiago
Why the next Archbishop of Canterbury shouldn’t matter anymore to Evangelicals
The debate and speculation has now moved on to who the next Archbishop of Canterbury will be. I think the one rule of thumb is that they will probably not be one of the people who have been identified as a potential successor, especially if they are seen to have been maneuvering for the role.… Continue reading Why the next Archbishop of Canterbury shouldn’t matter anymore to Evangelicals
Are fewer people going into Gospel ministry?
I have heard anecdotal comments made a few times to the effect that fewer people are going into Gospel/pastoral ministry. This includes seeing the statement made on blogs/podcasts and in mainstream Christian media articles. I hear of churches that go for a long time without being able to fill a post but then I’m also… Continue reading Are fewer people going into Gospel ministry?
A job interview or a doctor’s waiting room? How should we think about the church
Steve Midgely asks in Evangelicals Now whether our churches are more like “a group of people waiting for a job interview or those waiting in a doctor’s surgery.” He reminds us of Jesus’ statement that: ‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous,… Continue reading A job interview or a doctor’s waiting room? How should we think about the church
Should we really stop calling the church “a family”?
Tim Suffield writes that we should “stop calling the church a family.” There seem to be three aspects to his argument. First, he argues that the Bible doesn’t really talk about the church as a family. Secondly, even where it does use familial language, it isn’t the kind of family that we would think of… Continue reading Should we really stop calling the church “a family”?
Can I skip Sunday?
I remember the conversation well. We were part of a church at the time that published a term card with the topics and speakers listed for each Sunday. The other person looked at the term card and saw that coming up was a sermon on Ephesians 5:22-32. They said “I think I’ll give that Sunday… Continue reading Can I skip Sunday?
God’s goodness and greatness: Implications for worship
Our first response to God’s goodness and greatness is worship. In fact, Calvin says that our first priority in life is to seek to be worshippers: “We should consider it the great end of our existence to be found numbered among the worshippers of God.”[1] We exist in a Christian culture where worship is often… Continue reading God’s goodness and greatness: Implications for worship
Life Together
Reading James will also remind us of the corporate dimension to our faith. This is not a letter to be read and applied individually in the privacy of your own home. I should apply what it says to my own life but I should also, all the more, see it as something written for whole… Continue reading Life Together
The danger of desperately seeking relevance
What put the focus on what churches were doing regarding the Women’s World Cup final was probably an article reporting the comments of the Bishop of Derby. It was in this article where she said that church life could in effect wnork around an event like a football final. However, people’s attention was caught and… Continue reading The danger of desperately seeking relevance
Faithroots 