It’s when you start to talk about the practical implications of Christian Nationalism’s errors that you start to get some pushback. People will happily go along with discussion about its relative merits but I’ve found that the strongest resistance I’ve had has been to my suggestion that churches, networks and national leaders should act, not… Continue reading What do we do about Christian Nationalism in practice?
Tag: Discipleship
Don’t train leaders
This may be a surprising title. However, I’m increasingly of the view that we have put too much focus on identifying and then training leaders. We look first at whether people show potential to lead and then we train them. Though of course sometimes we leave them to get on with it. The risk is… Continue reading Don’t train leaders
Federal Vision and the next Christendom
In the joint Federal Vision Profession (2007), the authors and signatories state: “We affirm that Jesus Christ is the King of kings, and the Lord of lords. We believe that the Church cannot be a faithful witness to His authority without calling all nations to submit themselves to Him through baptism, accepting their responsibility to obediently learn all… Continue reading Federal Vision and the next Christendom
Are our views of right and wrong influenced by personality?
My friend Steve Kneale writes here about how it’s relationships not arguments that win people over. I think he has a good point here. It’s not apologetic debating that will lead people to Christ. We may win the argument but not the person. In fact, what you tend to find is that if you prove… Continue reading Are our views of right and wrong influenced by personality?
People in your church that you should be talking about at elders/leaders meetings
I recently saw a post from Steve Kneale about who you should talk about at elders’ meetings. I did not disagree with the post but rather I thought it might be helpful to show another way of cutting things. Those moving in These are people who are new to the church or not yet members. … Continue reading People in your church that you should be talking about at elders/leaders meetings
Fragments and distortion
Original Revelation is the theory that humanity started with a clear revelation of God and truth. Sin means that this became increasingly fragmented and disrupted. It’s central to the form of apologetics I’m most aligned to, presuppositional apologetics and the thinking of my favourite missiologist, JH Bavinck. You’ll also find it showing up in the… Continue reading Fragments and distortion
All the way my saviour leads me
Today I turn 50. It’s interesting how those big number birthdays can affect you. I remember feeling a certain weight with turning 40, not so this time round. Perhaps it is that I’m now past any sense of pretence that I’m still young, I cannot ignore that I’m well past the half way mark. I’m… Continue reading All the way my saviour leads me
Prophecy and the excluded middle
Sometimes’ a football team’s strategy is to hit the ball long, consistently bouncing it between defenders and strikers so that the midfielders become passive observers. The middle of the pitch is excluded. There are ways in which we can exclude the middle too. There is a tendency I think for churches to think in terms… Continue reading Prophecy and the excluded middle
Longevity is not the same as faithfulness (and why grace matters)
A friend of mine frequently points out the nonsense of saying that something has “stood the test of time”. It’s not really a test that tells you anything more than that the specific thing has been around for a long time. As Christians, we rightly value faithfulness and this does mean that believers, leaders and… Continue reading Longevity is not the same as faithfulness (and why grace matters)
Is Church planting the enemy of healthy church life and discipleship?
I saw this tweet the other day, it’s from Marcus Honeysett who heads up Living Leadership. As someone who is actively involved in encouraging church planting I thought it might be helpful to respond a little. First, it is important to recognise that it is possible for people and churches to become so focused on… Continue reading Is Church planting the enemy of healthy church life and discipleship?
Faithroots 