23 Non-Numerical Signs of a Healthy Church

“If numbers aren’t the only way to tell if a church is healthy, what else is there?”

I get that question a lot. Mostly from other pastors.

And no, they’re not being facetious when they ask it. They truly don’t know the answer. Read more

How To Get Things Done

They are questions I receive often: “Do you ever sleep? Do you work all the time? Do you ever stop?” There seems to be this impression among certain people that either I am an unrepentant workaholic or that I am remorselessly neglectful toward life’s other responsibilities. The truth is far less sordid: I have invested a lot of effort over many years in learning how to simplify life and how to maximize productivity. I love to make the best use of my time and energy, and I am constantly fine-tuning the systems that allow me to remain that way.

Today I am beginning a series of articles that will share some of what I have learned along the way. I do not really know how to teach how to get things done except by allowing you into my life and into my systems. I intend to give examples from my own life, not because they are necessarily the best or only way of doing things, but because they work for me and may give you something to build from. You can take those examples as far as you want, and adapt them so they work for you. If all goes well, we will look at systems and tools and organization and planning, and all kinds of exciting things. But first we have a little groundwork to do.

It all begins with an understanding of our purpose in the world. What follows is a brief “Productivity Catechism” that provides a foundation for everything else I will say. It is only when we properly understand our purpose and mission that we can excel at systems and tools and all the rest. Read more

10 Ways to Make Your Small Group More Evangelistic

Small groups are critical to a healthy church. There we experience teaching, fellowship, prayer, and pastoral care. In that context, life on life occurs.

Small groups can also be central to a church’s evangelism efforts. Most small groups turn inwardly at some point, though, and lose their evangelistic fervor. Listed here are some steps to avoid this inward turn. Read more

Loving Muslims Enough to Reach Out, Globally and Locally

What would it look like for Christians to love Muslims enough to share Jesus with them?

If you could travel back in time a hundred years and share some of the discussions we’re having in the 21st century about Islam, the folks there probably would not believe you.

Back then, Islam was on the decline, reduced to a somewhat marginalized religion in many parts of the world. The Ottoman Empire had fallen and Islam's future looked dim.

But, things have changed. During the 20th century, there was a resurgence of Islam. We are still dealing with that resurgence today. Read more

Photo: Antonio Melina/Wikimedia

2018 Lambeth Conference Cancelled

The 2018 Lambeth Conference has been cancelled. The precarious state of the Anglican Communion has led the Archbishop of Canterbury to postpone indefinitely the every ten year meeting of the bishops of the Anglican Communion.

A spokesman for Archbishop Justin Welby told Anglican Ink that as the archbishop had not yet met with each of the primates of the communion, he would not be commenting on the news. Since his installation last year, the Archbishop of Canterbury has travelled extensively and plans on visiting the 37 other provinces of the Anglican Communion within the first 18 months of his term of office.

News of the cancellation was made public by the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, the Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori on 23 Sept 2014. In response to a question from the Bishop of Rochester, the Rt. Rev. Prince Singh, who asked if money was being set aside to fund the Episcopal Church’s participation in the 2018 meeting, the Presiding Bishop told the Fall Meeting of the House of Bishops gathered in Taipei, Taiwan, that she had been told by Archbishop Welby the meeting had been cancelled. Read more

9 Things You Should Know About Atheism

The number of people who identify themselves as atheists in the United States has been steadily rising in recent years. According to the Pew Research Center, when asked about their religious identity, 2.4 percent of Americans say they are atheists, up from 1.6 percent in 2007.

Here are nine things you should know about atheism.... Read more

Why It's A Mistake To Call ISIL "Medieval"

"Medieval" is a term we've heard more and more frequently over the years to describe Islamist militants such as Al Qaeda and now ISIL. Given the cruelty of their tactics, it's understandable. But it's also a misleading label that obscures the ideology and motivation of what are, in fact, modern political movements.

Historians of the Middle Ages will tell you that ISIL bears little resemblance, in words and deeds, to actual people of that era. The Islamists' particular brand of religious fundamentalism is a recent phenomenon. And their brutal executions are carefully choreographed spectacles, created to take full advantage of spreading terror through contemporary viral media.

As professors Clare Monagle and Louise D'Arcens write in a recent essay, the tendency to describe Islamist terror as "medieval" lies in the longer history of how the Middle Ages came to be perceived in Western cultural imagination.... Read more

See also
‘Medieval’ makes a comeback in modern politics. What’s going on?

Ebola outbreak: how witchdoctors and corpses being kissed are spreading the disease

Traditional healers and witchdoctors in West Africa are contributing to the spread of Ebola, the Times reports.

According to the newspaper, a significant number of people are claiming to be able to heal the virus through witchcraft, and are encouraging locals to eschew Western medicine in favour of their own costly techniques.

Terrified at the looming threat, hundreds of people from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea have therefore been handing over large sums of cash in return for spells, potions and advice from those claiming to have the antidote to the deathly disease, which has killed over 3,000 people this year. Read more

Church Revitalization Video Consultation - Free Video Series & eBook

Does Your Church Need to Go to the Next Level? Or Is Your Church Sick or Dying?

Many churches need a jumpstart. Also, by our estimations, there are nearly 100,000 sick or dying churches in America.

If your church is in one of these categories, RevitalizedChurches.com wants to partner with you to help turn your church around. Learn more

Changing the Gospel by Adding to It

The statement, “I love my wife” is completely changed if something is added to the end of the statement. For example, “I love my wife” is a very different message than “I love my wife when she cooks my favorite meal.” Adding “when they behave” radically alters the statement “I love my daughters.”

Addition radically changes a message.

In the Book of Galatians, Paul’s introduction to the churches in Galatia is distinct from his other letters. He typically greets the churches with expressions of his thankfulness for the people, his prayers for them, or his joy that they are in partnership in the gospel. Not so in his letter to the churches at Galatia. After reminding them of the gospel, he quickly moves to rebuking them for deserting God by deserting the gospel. Deserting one equates with deserting the other. Read more

A Text the Legalists Cannot Handle

“He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities” (Psalm 103:10).

Do everything you can to make sure your church does not put legalists in charge of anything. Doing so is a death sentence for all they touch.

“The letter of the law killeth; the Spirit giveth life” (2 Corinthians 3:6).

The legalist is a self-proclaimed Christian who reduces our duties to God to a list of rules. Legalists delight in the Ten Commandments, of course, but since the New Testament does not codify a list of tasks we must do in order to please God, they do it for Him.

How kind of them to help God out. (I’m recalling an old definition of a legalist. He says, “I know God didn’t require this in the Bible, but He would have if He’d thought of it.”)

The legalist has God figured out. Read more

Pastoring Christ's Church: Three Articles

What Are Ten Characteristics I Look for in an Aspiring Pastor?

Scripture must first be our guide when evaluating a young man’s desire for pastoral ministry (1 Tim. 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9; 1 Pet. 5:1-4). This blueprint needs to then be evaluated by the young man’s desire for the work (internal calling), and then by the pastors and congregation of his local church (external calling). Although those Scripture qualities are helpful, they are not exhaustive. Read more

Ten Traits of Pastors Who Have Healthy Long-term Tenure

Imagine what might take place if pastors consistently stayed at churches for ten or more years. Imagine that their tenure was largely healthy. Imagine what would happen in our congregations.

The median tenure of a pastor at a church is around four years. Simply stated, over one-half of pastors leave a church before their fourth anniversary. And our research shows that the time of greatest fruit in a pastor’s ministry does not begin until somewhere around years five to seven.

Is it possible, then, for pastors to stay longer in a healthy situation? In many cases, the answer is a resounding “yes”!

I approached this issue by looking at over 30 pastors whose tenure exceeded ten years. And from my perspective, their tenures have been healthy and loving. Here are the ten traits of those pastors.... Read more

A Ministry, Not a Lordship

Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) to Pope Eugenius:

You have been made a superior. For what? Not to domineer, I suppose. Therefore, highly as we think of ourselves, let us remember that a ministry has been laid upon us, not a lordship given. Learn that you need a hoe, not a scepter, to do the prophet’s work (quoted in Calvin’s Institutes, IV.xi.11).

Read more

Photo: bisericabaptistagotesti.blogspot.com

Pointers for Preachers: Three Articles

Top Ten Sermon Introduction Mistakes

How you get your sermon started matters. While there is lots of room for error in the body of your sermon, there is little room for error in your introduction. It can be the difference between someone being on the edge of their seat or slumped in their seat, between using their phone’s Bible app or fantasy football app.

If you hook them with your introduction, you will have their attention for the entire sermon. If you lose them early on, it can be hard to get them back. Here are ten ways you make it easier on your church to check out. Read more

9 Preaching Principles to Follow for Special Occasions

There are some basic principles I would suggest for any special occasion. Spiritual sensitivity needs to be at its highest level, especially for opportunities that are not in a specific Christian context. Compromise of biblical truth is not an option, but doing one’s best to extend Christ-honoring grace and goodwill should be at the front and center of our agenda. What then should we consider as we prepare and then deliver our message? Read more

The Partnership of Evangelism and Preaching

It is fascinating to me how the lessons from history apply in contemporary settings.

For example, the religious and philosophical culture of the first century was intensely pluralistic. Many religions were accepted. Many gods worshiped. And oftentimes people “practiced” more than one religion through rituals and rites.

When Paul entered Athens in Acts 17, he encountered a number of religions, philosophies, and ideas. In some ways, Paul’s experience in Athens echoes contemporary Western society where religious pluralism is prevalent. I realize that pluralism in the first century was practical in nature while contemporary pluralism is more philosophical. In the first century, the practice of religion was more important than the beliefs, philosophies or truths that undergirded it.

Things have certainly shifted. But the reality is that the religious culture faced by Christianity’s first evangelists is not that dissimilar from the religious culture of today.

As such, we should learn some lessons from Paul’s evangelistic methods as well as his preaching themes from Acts 17:16-32. Read more

Why We Neglect Our Bibles

We assume every Christian has a Bible that looks like this one — worn down, marked up, and paired with a journal stuffed with multicolored spiritual reflections.

But that’s often not true. Many Christians find it difficult to get into a daily habit of Bible reading. So this week John Piper addressed four common causes of Bible neglect in the Christian life, like: “I don’t read my Bible because . . .

. . . it seems so irrelevant to my life.”
. . . I don’t have time.”
. . . I go to church every Sunday.”
. . . I find it confusing.”

What follows is a slightly edited (and abridged) transcript of his answers. Read more

Heart of a Family: Blue Print Church

To many, church is just some building to go to on Sundays. But for one growing church based in the diverse, urban setting of Atlanta, church is a family, comprised of people who come together in support, encouragement and service seven days a week, all throughout the city.

That’s the blueprint at Blueprint Church, a 4-year-old church that prioritizes relationship and discipleship as its building blocks. Blueprint welcomes about 500 people on Sundays, churchgoers who have also been divided into 14 families called “Missional Communities.”

The Missional Communities are organized by geography, so members live near each other and meet for coffee, Bible studies, service projects, barbecues and other everyday life activities. Read more

Anglicans Ablaze Weekend Edition: September 27, 2014

In this weekend edition of Anglicans Ablaze:

• Jesus, Our Avenger
• Moderately Important Christianity
• The Second Coming of Christ Is Not a Peripheral Doctrine
• The Antichrist and the Muslim Mahdi (Part 1)
• To Have a Healthy Church, Have a Healthy Structure
• Learning to Lead: Two Articles and a Video
• What Our Pastoral Interns Read
• Why Church Matters: Three Articles
• ERLC: Town's sign code violates church freedom
• Updated: Hajj 2014 [Video]
• One Of The World's Most Influential Sheiks Has Issued A Fatwā Against ISIS
• Saturday Global War on Terror Roundup
• Christian Pastor Shot Dead by Pakistani Police

Jesus, Our Avenger

A few days before preaching the end of Joel 3, I told my 6-year-old son Johnny that I would be preaching about God as our avenger. His eyes lit up with unusual interest. I naively thought to myself, You never know what Scriptures will capture the attention of children. Then he asked excitedly, “You mean like the Hulk?” To which I responded, “No. Not that kind of Avenger. They’re posers. Jesus is the ultimate avenger.”

I should confess that I too probably thought more about the Hulk and Ironman as avengers than the Lord as my great avenger. Joel 3 ends with Yahweh saying, “I will avenge their blood, blood I have not avenged.” The idea of an avenger is tied to the six cities of refuge God created throughout Israel to ensure a fair trial for manslayers and protection for those who accidently killed someone. At that time, the family sent an avenger to repay the “innocent blood,” usually the closest of kin, to repay life for life. The manslayer who fled to the city of refuge received God’s protection from the avenger. If he proved the death was accidental, he could live in the city of refuge until the high priest died, at which time the avenger no longer had a right to kill him.

Maybe this background hits your modern ears as a an antiquated, brutish, or angry system of justice irrelevant to our culture. We pride ourselves on national defense, police, judges, and lawyers set in place to ensure the right to a fair trial founded on the basic belief that the accused is innocent until proven guilty. Yet, in Romans 12:19-21, Paul encourages all those who have placed their faith in Christ that God is their avenger too, saying.... Read more

Moderately Important Christianity

"Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The one thing it cannot be is moderately important.” –C. S. Lewis

How important is the Christian faith? Listen to the Lord Jesus in just two of hundreds of similar statements from Him:

–”I tell you, no. But unless you repent, you shall all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3,5)

–”Unless you believe that I am, you shall die in your sins” (John 8:24).

The faith of the Lord Jesus Christ is a life or death proposition.

Of the 100,000 excellent things C. S. Lewis said in his writings, and of the hundreds of memorable quotations we pass along from this brilliant British brother, perhaps nothing is of more lasting significance or greater benefit than the way he sharpened the line between faith and unbelief, between weak allegiance to Jesus and the real thing. Read more

The Second Coming of Christ Is Not a Peripheral Doctrine

Christ did truly rise again from death, and took again his body, with flesh, bones and all things appertaining to the perfection of man’s nature; wherewith he ascended into heaven, and there sitteth until he return to judge all men at the last day. Article IV, The Thirty-Nine Articles

“The return of our Lord Jesus Christ is not a mere doctrine to be discussed, nor a matter for intellectual study alone. Its prominence in the New Testament shows the great importance of the truth, for it is referred to over three hundred times, and it may almost be said that no other doctrine is mentioned so frequently or emphasized so strongly. Read more

The Antichrist and the Muslim Mahdi (Part 1)

Many people—religious and non-religious—are asking questions about a word they hear the media use when referring to ISIS and other Islamist jihadists. That word is apocalyptic, which is used when specifically referring to the fatalism of Islamists.

People wonder, why do so many Muslims (both Sunni and Shiite) operate with such an “apocalyptic,” end-of-world mindset?

Our secular society, however, coupled with the media’s carelessness, is bandying about words like apocalyptic without using them properly and without explanation. That creates a great deal of confusion for some, many of which just throw up their hands in resignation and say, “I don’t understand this.”

But for those who want to understand, I am offering this 2-part column, taking excerpts from my newest book, Jesus, Jihad, and Peace. I hope this will put things into perspective, so when the media says that an Islamist entity (such as ISIS, al-Qaeda, Iran, etc.) operate with an apocalyptic vision, you can make sense of it.

The word apocalypse does not, in fact, refer to a disastrous, catastrophic, end-of-world event. It’s a Greek word, the root of which means revelation, or revealing things that are hidden. For instance, we know the last book of the Bible as Revelation, but in the original Greek language, it is Apokalupsae. It reveals what is happening in the heavenly realm, as well as events in the future. Read more

See also
Who Is the Anti-Christ?

To Have a Healthy Church, Have a Healthy Structure

Structure is far more important that we usually realize. Every building in the world has to have the right structure to stand up and not collapse. Living things have structure as well. An animal can grow to no more than nine inches without an internal skeletal system. And every church has a structure as well. Some churches are structured for health and growth while others are structured merely to maintain and to survive.

Jesus once said, “no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the new wine would burst the wineskins, spilling the wine and ruining the skins.” (Luke 5:37 NLT) His point was that nothing can expand without a flexible structure. In fact, a rigid or inflexible structure is one of the reasons many churches cannot break through some common growth barriers.

How can you tell when your structure needs to be more flexible? Read more

Learning to Lead: Two Articles and a Video

As a Leader, What I Value Most

One of the things I have all my coaching clients do is to create a list of “Core Values” for themselves. Values are like the banks of a river, a road map, or a compass. They help us decide what to do and what kind(s) of people we invite into our teams. Read more

Leadership Lessons: A Q&A with Ron Edmondson [Video]

Ron Edmondson recently talked with Church Leaders about growing and developing as a leader. Watch now

Why Leaders Fail

Recently I had a discussion with some friends about some public leadership fails in the news. I could name them, but you likely already know who they are. Our conversation turned to a general topic of leadership and things we’ve observed. What struck us was how these things evolve from little, seemingly insignificant decisions that form the culture out of which unhealthy leadership grows. In other words, nobody wakes up one day and says to himself, “I’m going to strive to be an authoritarian leader who wreaks havoc on the people I serve.” It just doesn’t happen that way. Leaders start with good intentions. They start as “normal” people. So how do leaders fail? I think there are five basic mistakes leaders make.... Read more

What Our Pastoral Interns Read

For several years we’ve had a part-time pastoral internship program at University Reformed Church. This year, for the first time, our interns work full-time. The bulk of their time is spent in four areas:

1. Reading and writing

2. Ministry observation

3. Personal ministry (they do for others)

4. Personal discipleship (they receive from the pastors)

Under the first category, our interns read several books. Actually, many books. And many papers (relatively short papers–2000 words). You can see below what they will read between now and the end of May. Read more

Why Church Matters: Three Articles

Don’t Neglect God’s Provision

Any mention of the wilderness generation almost immediately calls to mind the people’s grumbling and lack of trust in the Lord. Indeed, as the apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness” (1 Cor. 10:5). Delivered out of Egypt, but not yet brought into the Promised Land, Israel’s life in the wilderness was not only about a place, but a time—a time characterized by transition and testing, a time demanding trust and perseverance. Read more

Why You Shouldn’t Give Up On The Church

I grew up in the church. No really, I grew up in the church. I am a PK and spent countless hours in church and doing church activities. I am a church native and familiar with all its quirks and cultural oddities, with all its strengths, and with all its failings. As the son of prominent evangelical pastor, John Piper, I not only saw the inner workings of my own church I was exposed to church leaders from around the world and saw the good and the bad from their churches too.

Many people like me, who grew up immersed in church, have given up on it. Church is archaic, domineering, impersonal, hypocritical, irrelevant, contentious, petty, boring, and stale. It’s institutional instead of authentic and religious but not relational they say. I have seen all this in church and can agree that each accusation is true in instances. A PK sees all this up close and far too personally and feels each fault even more intensely. It really is enough to make one want to bail on church. Read more

Five Benefits of Corporate Worship

Worshiping Jesus together may be the single most important thing we do. It plays an indispensable role in rekindling our spiritual fire, and keeping it burning. Corporate worship brings together God’s word, prayer, and fellowship, and so makes for the greatest means of God’s ongoing grace in the Christian life.

But thinking of worship as a means can be dangerous. True worship is fundamentally an experience of the heart, and not a means to anything else. So it’s important to distinguish between what benefits might motivate us to be regular in corporate worship, and what focus our minds and hearts should pursue in the moment.

According to Don Whitney, “There’s an element of worship and Christianity that cannot be experienced in private worship or by watching worship. There are some graces and blessings that God gives only in the ‘meeting together’ with other believers” (Spiritual Disciplines, 92). Surely, many more could be given, but here are five such “graces and benefits” that we experience uniquely in the context of corporate worship. Read more

ERLC: Town's sign code violates church freedom

The Southern Baptist Convention's religious freedom entity has called for the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down a municipal sign ordinance it says violates a church's free speech and assembly rights.

The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) joined in a friend-of-the-court brief filed Sept. 22 that contends the sign code of Gilbert, Ariz., discriminates against churches while favoring political and ideological messages. The brief, filed by the Christian Legal Society (CLS), asserts the code is based on a sign's content and therefore abridges the First Amendment's free speech clause.

The high court will hear oral arguments in the case, Reed v. Town of Gilbert, in January or thereafter. It is expected to announce an opinion in the significant church-state case before it adjourns early in the summer of 2015. Read more

See also
Mo. Baptists join battle over sign restrictions

Updated: Hajj 2014 [Video]

Islam's Pilgrimage To Mecca: Facts, History And Dates Of The Muslim Holiday

What is Hajj?
The annual Hajj pilgrimage is one of the world's largest gatherings, as hundreds of thousands of people flock to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, to participate in one of Islam's five pillars of faith. Muslims from all over the world will gather together for five days to pray as one community, celebrating their history and giving thanks for blessings. From the Masjid Al Haram complex to the hills of Mina, the rites include circling the Kaaba seven times and visiting sites of historical and religious importance. Read more

See also
The Rites Of Hajj, Explained In 6 Minutes, As Annual Muslim Pilgrimage Approaches [Video]

One rumor circulating on the Internet is that ISIL/ISIS militants are planning to blow up the Kaaba. This is unlikely since it would alienate a large segment of the world's Muslims and would turn many undecided Muslims against them. Even an attack on the pilgrims would have a similar effect.

One Of The World's Most Influential Sheiks Has Issued A Fatwā Against ISIS

As the West grapples with the increasing reach of ISIS on home soil and as random and planned acts of terrorism continue to develop, the Islamic world is not siting idly by.

Earlier this week in his speech before the United Nations, US President Barack Obama signaled out the leadership being offered by a group of Muslim clerics led by Shaykh Abdallah bin Bayyah. This group, known as the Forum for Promoting Peace in Muslim Societies, issued a very powerful Fatwā* in opposition to the actions of ISIS and as a warning to young Muslims who may be attracted to its cause. Read more

See also
This is Not the Path to Paradise: Response to ISIS

Saturday Global War on Terror Roundup

Today’s roundup of articles related to the global war on terror begins with an analysis of how different governments have sought to exploit ISIL/ISIS for their own ends and how the militants are exploiting them. How accurate is this analysis may be open to debate. However, it does point to the complexity of the situation, why action has not been taken against the militants until now, and why degrading and destroying ISIL/ISIS may prove difficult.

How ISIS Is Using Us to Get What It Wants

Afghanistan
ISIS Is Expanding Its Reach Into Afghanistan And Central Asia

Canada
ISIS will launch attacks around the world unless stopped: Canada

China
Why China stays out of Islamic State fight, for now

Iraq
ISIS Baghdad March: Is Islamic State Targeting The Iraqi Capital?
Islamic State Reportedly Destroys 7th Century Green Church In Tikrit, Iraq. One Of Middle East's Oldest Christian Sites

Kenya
Kenyan 'radical madrassa' closed in Machakos

Russia
Behind Islamic State's Battlefield Gains, Battle-Hardened Chechens

Somalia
African Forces Plan Surge on Somali Militants’ Supply Routes

Spain
Spain and Morocco arrest 9 suspects in cross-border terror recruiting cell

Syria
Islamic State 'targeted by strikes on Syria border'
Kurdish Forces Fight Off ISIS Attack On Kobani
This Is What Education Under ISIS In Raqqa Will Look Like

Turkey
Turkey-Syria border has become gate into ISIS for foreign fighters
Turkey's Kurds Warn Ankara's Syria Policy Threatens Peace Process
Turkey calls for no-fly zone in Syria

United Kingdom
Preacher arrested after tweeting 'Muslims will prevail over Christians'

United States
Police: Woman beheaded at Oklahoma workplace
Alton Nolen: Jesus-tattooed Muslim convert beheads woman, stabs another after being fired; Connections to ISIS Being Investigated

Christian Pastor Shot Dead by Pakistani Police

A Christian pastor accused of blasphemy was shot dead by police in a Pakistani jail in Rawalpindi. A persecution watchdog group has said this is the latest incident of blasphemy laws being used to commit human rights violations. Read more

What Is the Covenant of Grace?

Reformed Christians speak of Scripture as the unfolding drama of God’s covenant of grace. We do this because the apostle Paul speaks of the Israelites, saying, “To them belong … the covenants” (Rom. 9:5). The Bible is a covenantal story, and one that Paul, again, describes as “the covenants of promise” (Eph. 2:12). The essence of the covenant of grace is the same throughout the Old and New Testaments—God saves sinners by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. But its historical administration has varied by time and place.... Read more

This excerpt is taken from Welcome to a Reformed Church by Daniel Hyde. Download the ebook free through September 30, 2014.

Innovation and the Local Church – Rainer on Leadership #073 [Podcast]

Our guest this week is Larry Osborne. Since 1980, he has served as one of the senior pastors at North Coast Church in Vista, CA. During that time, North Coast has grown from a fledging group of 128 meeting in a rented high school cafeteria to a multi-site church ministering to nearly 10,000 in weekend attendance. Larry joined us to discuss leadership, innovation, and much more. Read more

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 21:55 — 20.1MB)

The 3 Best Times to Introduce Change in Your Church

How to successfully fix problems and implement change.

It's not always easy to fix long-term problems and implement needed changes in a church—especially when old, dysfunctional ways have taken root.

Sometimes we make our job harder than it needs to be, not by doing the wrong things, but by doing the right things at the wrong time.

Over the years, I've discovered three simple principles that have helped me and my church figure out when it's the right time to bring change.... Read more

What would it take to put you out of business for the Lord?

“Sirs, we would see Jesus” (John 12:21).

Nothing tells the story on you and me like what it takes to defeat us.

Some of us, like the Saints’ Jimmy Graham, have to be double- or triple-teamed to stop us from serving Christ. Others of us can be safely ignored because we’re no threat to the devil.

I am impressed in reading the gospels at the people who did whatever was necessary to get to Jesus. Here is a partial list. You may think of others.... Read more

What's the threat of Islamic State to the Church worldwide?

World leaders feel Islamic State ambitions do not stop in the Middle East.

While Islamic State is wreaking havoc in Iraq and Syria, its ambitions do not stop there. Moreover, several world leaders are saying it is one of the biggest threats they are facing. But exactly how does Islamic State fit into the global picture of Christians under pressure for their faith worldwide?

1. What is Islamic State?
2. How does Islamic State fit into a process of global Islamization?
3. How does Islamic State fit into the picture of Christians under pressure for their faith worldwide?
4. Why is Islamic State so successful?
5. How might Islamic State advance in the region?
6. What does this mean for Christians in the region and worldwide? Read more

Muslims need truth and love

The past few weeks have been hard ones for Australians, not least for Australian Muslims. Various alleged plots by Islamic State supporters to slaughter Australians has Islam in the news. Even as I write, five out of ten of the “most popular” articles on The Australian’s website are about Islamic jihad and national security.

What are ordinary Australians to make of conspiracy theories aired by Muslims on the ABC’s Q & A program, implying that recent police raids were staged as a cynical act to manipulate public opinion? Are Muslims being unfairly victimised by all these security measures?

How are we to evaluate Senator Jacqui Lambie’s claim that sharia law “obviously involves terrorism”? Or the Prime Minister’s decision to mobilise Australian troops against the Islamic State?

What about the Islamic State’s grandiose claim that “We will conquer your Rome, break your crosses, and enslave your women.” Or Mr Abbott’s declaration that the balance between freedom and security needs to be adjusted in favour of greater security and less freedom?

Earlier this month, an 18-year-old Melbourne man, Numan Haider, was shot dead by police after he stabbed two officers outside a suburban police station. At the time of writing, news was breaking that authorities believed he intended to behead a police officer and post the photos online.

Prison officers in Goulburn jail have struggled to contain the worst riot in ten years, during which rampaging prisoners were heard to be crying “Allahu Akbar.”

A Christian woman who works in a church close by an Islamic centre has asked her employer to install security measures to protect her and others at the church. Someone else, a convert from Islam to Christianity, reports that his personal sense of being under threat has risen, because he feels that people he knew from his earlier life as a radical Muslim are more likely to be activated to violence after the successes of the Islamic State and their global call to arms. Are such responses reasonable? Or are they Islamophobic?

Many young Muslims have been using the hashtag #NotInMyName on social media. Many are insisting that IS does not speak for them: as Anne Aly put it “This isn’t in my name, this isn’t what Islam is about, I am against it and they don’t have my allegiance, they don’t have my support.” How then can we know the truth about Islam?

What is a Christian response to all this? How can we find our way through these crises: does protecting national security mean we risk losing some part of our soul? A truly Christian response to the multi-faceted challenge of “Muslims behaving badly” must embrace both truth and love in equal measure. Read more

Muslim Scholars Make the Theological Case Against the Islamic State - Full Text of Letter Embedded

More than a hundred Muslim scholars and leaders from around the world released an open letter addressed to Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi on Wednesday, telling the self-proclaimed caliph, in no uncertain terms, that the group's use of Islamic scripture is illegitimate and perverse.

The document, which was issued in Arabic and English on the website Letter to Baghdadi and is embedded below, begins with a list of practices employed by the Islamic State (also known as ISIS or ISIL) that its authors say are explicitly forbidden by Islam. They include torture, slavery, forced conversions, the denial of rights for women and children, and the killing of innocents.

The letter emphasizes that Baghdadi's claims to a caliphate spanning eastern Syria and western Iraq are void. Read more

See also
Open Letter to Al-Baghdadi - Arabic
Open Letter to Al-Baghdadi - English
Muslim Scholars To ISIS: You Have Misinterpreted Islam
International Coalition of Muslim Scholars Refute ISIS' Religious Arguments in Open Letter to al-Baghdadi
Not in my name: How Muslims are responding to ISIS

The English version of the open letter at Open Letter to Al-Baghdadi is more readable - larger print - than the English version of the letter in the article. It is also downloadable. Please take note of the comments of Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council of American-Islamic Relations, in yesterday's article. The letter was not meant for a liberal audience. Even mainstream Muslims may find it difficult to understand.

Updated: Friday Global War on Terror Roundup

Today's roundup of articles related to the new phase of the global war on terror begins with a UK Telegraph article describing the military strategy and tactics of ISIL/ISIS and its use of sophisticated military technology.

Sharing a border with Isil - the world's most dangerous state

Algeria
Algerian Islamic militants behead French hostage
‘Cruel and cowardly’ – France in shock at jihadist murder of Hervé Gourdel

Australia
Australian terror suspect may not have acted alone

Iraq
Iraqi forces retake two besieged areas in west - police chief
ISIS Overruns Iraqi Army Base Near Baghdad, Executes 300 Soldiers
Teenage Girl Who Escaped ISIS Tells of Rape, Forced Conversion by Islamic Militants
Iraqi woman activist killed by Islamic State

Nigeria
Is the leader of Boko Haram really dead?
The fearsome mystique of the Boko Haram leader who can’t be killed

Pakistan
Pakistan's Leader Wants ISIS to Succeed

Saudi Arabia
Death threats for Saudi pilots after raids on jihadis

Syria
New: Shells land in Turkey as Islamic State advances on Syrian border town
The Khorasan group: 5 things to know
'Imminent attack plotting' may not mean an attack is all that imminent

Turkey
Turkey weighs risk of military role against Islamic State
Kurds Turn on Erdogan Amid Border Chaos
IS advance spells trouble for Turkey's Kurdish peace process
Turkey shifts tone on IS but action awaited
U.S., France warn citizens of risk of attacks in Turkey
Turkey ready to join ISIS fight?
Turkey, still coy, joins fight against militants

United Kingdom
UK police arrest 2 more men in counter-terrorism investigation
Britain arrests nine in operation against Islamist militants
Britain makes 9 arrests in Islamist crackdown

United States
Leaders’ Speeches at U.N. Show Delicacy of Mission Against ISIS Militants
Terrorist Attack On NYC, Paris Subways: ISIS Allegedly Plots Attacks On U.S., French Soil, Iraq PM Says
The slow, long fight against ISIS: airstrikes, ground foibles
Pentagon Expects Islamic State to Rebound after Syria Airstrikes
Pentagon says it will take years to retrain Iraqi forces. Why so long?
Bill O'Reilly's own guest mocks his plan to defeat the Islamic State

What Bill O' Reilly proposes is a VERY, VERY BAD IDEA as anyone who has studied the history of warfare, military campaigns, and the use of mercenary armies and mercenaries knows. The Western Roman Empire increasingly relied upon mercenaries during its declining years. Mercenaries, however, proved unreliable as they could and did turn on their paymasters. The Roman legionnaires would train the mercenaries in Roman military tactics and provide them with Roman equipment. The mercenaries would then use the tactics and equipment against the Roman legionnaires. The use of mercenaries would contribute to the fall of Constantinople and the remains of the Eastern Roman Empire to the Ottoman Empire in 1543.The fall of Constantinople marked the end of the Roman Empire, which had lasted for nearly 1,500 years. It dealt a massive blow to Christendom, enabling the Ottoman armies to advance freely into Europe without an adversary to their rear.

Why American Jihadists Returning To The US Aren't Arrested Immediately

The Sanctifying Spirit

The opening greeting of Peter’s first epistle gives a clear example of the Trinitarian nature of our salvation. The “elect exiles” are saved according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, that they might be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled by his blood (1 Peter 1:2). We see here the Holy Spirit sanctifies in two ways. First, he sets us apart in Christ that we might be cleansed by his blood. Second, he works in us so we can be obedient to Jesus Christ. Through the sanctification of the Spirit we are given a new position and infused with a new power.

It’s the second element, the new power, that we usually think of when discussing “sanctification.” Though sanctification is positional too, as a theological term it usually refers to our progressive sanctification, the way in which God works in us for his good pleasure as we work out the life of salvation with fear and trembling (Phil. 2:12-13). Or as Romans 8:9-13 puts it, we are no longer in the flesh but in the Spirit (position); therefore, by the Spirit we ought to put to death the deed of the flesh (power). Read more

Two Fruits of True Forgiveness

There are certain theological words that, despite being common among Christians, are so persistently misunderstood by our non-Christian neighbors that a lot of explanation—and, usually, correction—is necessary. Think of words like “redeem” or “glorify” or “Trinity.” If you don’t go to church, you don’t use those words… unless you’re talking about church people.

But another set of words gets even trickier. These are the words that most people use, but that Christians use differently from the rest of the world. The problem here is that when people hear them, they think they know the meaning, even if their understanding is miles away from the biblical idea. (I’m looking at you, “sin,” “holy,” and “repent.”)

Forgiveness is one of those tricky words. The word seems simple enough, but I’m convinced that most people in our society don’t think of forgiveness in biblical terms, especially in the context of “God forgives me.” Most people tend to combine “forgive” with “excuse” or (even worse) “ignore,” which makes for a nasty mixture.

Psalm 32 gives us a litmus test for true forgiveness, which shows us how distinct it is from all competing ideas. According to the psalmist, those who find forgiveness are changed by it. Once we are truly forgiven, we find that our love for God and our compassion for others begin to grow. Read more

6 Evil Effects of Sin

We do not sin with impunity. We cannot sin without consequence. Once the Holy Spirit reveals sin within us, we cannot simply ignore that sin and expect that our spiritual lives will continue to grow and thrive. In his great work Overcoming Sin and Temptation, John Owen lists six evil effects of sin—sin that we identify but refuse to destroy.

In chapter four of his book, Owen wants the reader to think about this: A God-honoring life is one in which we constantly wage war against sin. He says it like this: “The life, vigor and comfort of our spiritual life depend much upon our mortification of sin.” I take life to be the existence of spiritual life, vigor to be the extent of it, and comfort to be the Holy Spirit’s assurance of its existence. All of these are imperiled by the existence of sin. He will give six consequences of sin in our lives, but first he has a couple of foundational points to make. Read more

Seeing Christ in the worst Christians

How do we stop getting so depressed at the failings of Christian pastors and people? Here are five of the ten strategies I try to use. We’ll look at the remaining five tomorrow. Read more

See also
5 Ways to Profit from Christians’ Sins

Albert Mohler: Homosexuality as Dividing Line — The Inescapable Issue

The vote to declare that the New Heart Community Church of La Mirada, California “does not presently meet the definition of a cooperating church” came unanimously as the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention met this week in Nashville. It was a solemn moment and a moment perhaps to be repeated any number of times in coming months and years. Homosexuality was the dividing line.

The SBC Executive Committee was acting in its ad interim capacity on behalf of the Convention itself. Between the annual meetings of the Southern Baptist Convention, the Executive Committee fulfills its functions. When the SBC met earlier this year in Baltimore, Southern Baptists had just learned days before that the New Heart Community Church had affirmed its pastor in declaring a “third way” on the issue of homosexuality — in effect allowing for the affirmation of same-sex sexuality and relationships. In an hour-long video posted to the church’s website, Pastor Danny Cortez explained his personal change of mind on the question of homosexuality and traced his journey back to an August day in 2013 when “I realized I no longer believed in the traditional teachings regarding homosexuality.”

When Pastor Cortez told his 15-year-old son about his change of mind, his son responded with the simple declaration, “Dad, I’m gay.” In short order, Drew Cortez, Danny Cortez’s son, posted a “coming out” video on YouTube and Pastor Cortez told his congregation of his change of mind on homosexuality. As he told his church, his change was a “radical shift” that put him at odds with the historic understanding of the Christian church and the SBC’s confession of faith, the Baptist Faith and Message.

The church eventually split over the issue, with those remaining declaring their intention to affirm their pastor and to become a “Third Way church” that allows for disagreement on the question of the sinfulness of homosexual acts and same-sex marriage. Read more

Muslim Scholars Release Open Letter To Islamic State Meticulously Blasting Its Ideology

More than 120 Muslim scholars from around the world joined an open letter to the “fighters and followers” of the Islamic State, denouncing them as un-Islamic by using the most Islamic of terms.

Relying heavily on the Quran, the 18-page letter released Wednesday (Sept. 24) picks apart the extremist ideology of the militants who have left a wake of brutal death and destruction in their bid to establish a transnational Islamic state in Iraq and Syria.

Even translated into English, the letter will still sound alien to most Americans, said Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council of American-Islamic Relations, who released it in Washington with 10 other American Muslim religious and civil rights leaders.

“The letter is written in Arabic. It is using heavy classical religious texts and classical religious scholars that ISIS has used to mobilize young people to join its forces,” said Awad, using one of the acronyms for the group. “This letter is not meant for a liberal audience.”

Even mainstream Muslims, he said, may find it difficult to understand.

Awad said its aim is to offer a comprehensive Islamic refutation, “point-by-point,” to the philosophy of the Islamic State and the violence it has perpetrated. The letter’s authors include well-known religious and scholarly figures in the Muslim world, including Sheikh Shawqi Allam, the grand mufti of Egypt, and Sheikh Muhammad Ahmad Hussein, the mufti of Jerusalem and All Palestine. Read more

In the open letter "....the words 'Islamic State' are in quotes, and the Muslim leaders who released the letter asked people to stop using the term, arguing that it plays into the group’s unfounded logic that it is protecting Muslim lands from non-Muslims and is resurrecting the caliphate — a state governed by a Muslim leader that once controlled vast swaths of the Middle East."

Anglicans Ablaze Midweek Special Edition: September 24, 2014

In this midweek special edition of Anglicans Ablaze:

• 20 Truths from The Unbelievable Gospel by Jonathan Dodson
• Perseverance of the Saints: Tertiary or Foundational?
• Thank God For a Messy Church
• What Does “coram Deo” Mean?
• 5 Ways to Display Self-Control
• 7 Conditions for Confrontation
• Archaeologists Have Made An Incredible Discovery At Stonehenge
• ReNew: united, confessing, missional
• Tim Keller's church launches New York Bible college
• Episcopal Church’s Katharine Jefferts Schori will not seek re-election
• 'Third way' church disfellowshipped from SBC
• Poll: Support for Gay Marriage May Be Leveling Off
• Viewpoint: Christianity will live on in Iraq
• Global War on Terror Enters New Phase

20 Truths from The Unbelievable Gospel by Jonathan Dodson

Jonathan Dodson writes about the gospel and the evangelistic paralysis of the church.

1. Evangelism is something many Christians are trying to recover from. The word stirs up memories of rehearsed presentations, awkward door-to-door witnessing, and forced conversions in revival-like settings. (11)

2. Though it is unintentional, “modern” forms of evangelism have generated gospel witness that is impersonal, preachy, intolerant, and uninformed about the real questions people ask. (11)

3. The problem we face, then, is not simply an issue of what to say but how to say it. We are challenged to share the gospel in a way that is worth believing, both with ourselves and others. (13) Read more

Perseverance of the Saints: Tertiary or Foundational?

I grew skeptical when he called it “an offer you can’t refuse.” Either this man was hiding something about the house he was trying to sell me, or his sales technique was deeply influenced by the Godfather movies. The “deal” was a dirt-cheap price on a house in one of the best part of town in Louisville, Kentucky. It didn’t make sense. Deals like this one never find me.

Soon, I learned why he had stamped a giveaway price on the house: the foundation was cracked. In a matter of time, the structure would be compromised, and the house would crumble like my son’s Lincoln Log creations. Needless to say, I said no to this house with a hidden but fatal flaw.

Christian theology is similar: if we remove any of the foundational doctrines—the Trinity, the incarnation, the authority of Scripture, the person and work of Christ, and so on—then the entire building of our faith comes tumbling down. The cardinal doctrines of Christianity stand or fall together. Read more

See also
The Power to Persevere