Weekend Roundup:"The Church Is an Embassy, Not a Social Club" and More

The Church Is an Embassy, Not a Social Club

The local church is, by Jesus’s own royal prerogative, the embassy of the kingdom of heaven to this rebellious world. This reality is mostly lost on Christians today, and yet that’s essentially how the Bible describes it. Read More

Hypocrites in the Church

Throughout His earthly ministry, Jesus strongly denounced the sin of hypocrisy. That was His basic critique of the Pharisees of His day (Luke 12:1). On several occasions, Jesus chastened religious leaders for their show of spirituality and righteousness despite their underlying lack of fruit. That should be a lesson to us. Read More

The 3-2-1 System for Better Annual Small Church Planning

Annual planning is harder in a small church, but that doesn't mean it's not possible. Or important. Read More

How Your Church Feels About Money

What counts as ‘financial wisdom’ depends on your context. Read More

More Churches Seeing Need for Volunteer Screening

Nearly half of the background checks requested by churches through LifeWay's program with backgroundchecks.com reveal some type of criminal offense. Read More

The Violent Side of Jesus' Baptism

And how it helped me discover my Father's love. Read More

Some Thoughts on Ministering to the Sick and Dying

As you minister to the sick and dying–and we all will have opportunity to do so–here are some things to keep in mind. Read More

The Secret Ingredient Your Sermon Is Missing

So often, it’s the little stuff that makes the biggest impact. Read More

5 Ways to Connect More People In Groups This Year

Want to connect more people in 2016? There are a few things you can do now to exponentially increase the number you connect. Read More

Easter: Someone Rejects the Gospel—Now What?

Some people will come to your church, hear the gospel message, then reject it. Here are three ways to use this as an opportunity. Read More

Where Have All the Evangelism Conferences Gone?

Now, I don’t think more evangelism conferences are always the answer, but the lack of many is a symptom of a larger problem. Let me explain. Read More

Trends to Watch for in 2016 (part two) – Rainer on Leadership #188 [Podcast]

On today’s episode, we examine the second half of my 16 trends to watch for in 2016. We covered the first half of the trends in podcast #187. Read More

Why Legalized Prostitution Increases Sex Trafficking

Over the past 15 years there has been an increasing awareness and concern about the scourge of sex trafficking. At no other time in history have so many people acknowledged the problem and taken active measures to stop the abuse. Evangelicals, in particular, have played a prominent role in attempting to end this cruel form of exploitation. Yet all this effort is being undermined by a misguided campaign intended to advance human rights and individual freedom: the worldwide movement to legalize prostitution. Read More