The other day, I responded to an article giving three reasons for why a small; group is not a church. One of the reasons I identified as a red herring was to do with whether or not a small group has the sacraments. Some people seem to have struggled a little with this argument and… Continue reading What is a church? Sacraments and the marks revisited.
Tag: polity
New Testament Church Leadership?
Is there a specific approach and structure to church leadership that we find in the New Testament? Different movements at different times in history have attempted to recover New Testament practice. For example, the Brethren were convinced, that this meant removing a paid class of clergy and replacing them with plural oversight. They also believed… Continue reading New Testament Church Leadership?
How do we relate to Anglicans and the Church of England?
The main protestant church here in the UK is the Church of England. Its status owes to three things. First its size, it is the largest, secondly its prominence, it is the established church and so, it’s what most people thinking of when they think about church and thirdly it has influence. The Church of… Continue reading How do we relate to Anglicans and the Church of England?
Some problems with Tim Keller’s comments about passing on a megachurch
Tim Keller has recently made comments on social media about why he and the leaders of Redeemer, New York chose to split the church into different churches rather than hand it on to a single successor as one entity. These reasons have been gathered together into one article by Outreach magazine. Now, before I go… Continue reading Some problems with Tim Keller’s comments about passing on a megachurch
Men Women and Leadership … in practice
I hope you’ve found the recent #FaithrootsLive series helpful. The aim has not been to court controversy but help us to think better about how to honour Christ and love his church. Here’s the last in the series where we Consider some of the potential objections and criticisms of complementarianism Begin to think about how… Continue reading Men Women and Leadership … in practice
Fathers and mothers – implications of family models for the church
In my posts about church culture and in my recent article about complementarianism, I’ve argued that we need to seek a church culture that functions more like a family and less like a club, institution or business. In that context, I want to suggest that elders in the church function a bit like the fathers… Continue reading Fathers and mothers – implications of family models for the church
The pastor king?
I’m continuing to reflect on some of the lessons arising from the 31:8 review of the Jonathan Fletcher case. The case relates to an Anglican minister in London who has been identified as engaging in systemic abuse of young men over a number of years. Leaders within what is often referred to as “the conservative… Continue reading The pastor king?
Women teaching men revisited – another look at 2 Timothy 2:12
One of the key verses in the debate about the role of men and women in the church, especially in relation to teaching, preaching and leadership is 2 Timothy 2:12 which says: “12 I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet.” There has… Continue reading Women teaching men revisited – another look at 2 Timothy 2:12
“Family and friends” are not your accountability.
One of the things that you may have picked up from the Ravi Zacharias scandal is that a lot of responsibility for accountability lay with family and friends. That’s one of the problems with a self selected group of people becoming responsible for a person’s accountability. If we simply choose our own friends and family… Continue reading “Family and friends” are not your accountability.
What are deacons (not)
I’ve just took part in an interesting conversation with other pastors which started out with a question about how we train deacons in the church. This led to further questions about what exactly is a deacon? Fascinatingly there didn’t seem to be a uniform opinion on this. So, I thought it might be worth thinking… Continue reading What are deacons (not)
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