Tuesday's Catch: Church Planting Essentials and More

4 Essentials Every Church Planter Needs

In his book, Indigenous Church Planting, the late Dr. Charles Brock provides four essentials to church planting that we tend to overlook. Read More<

Dr. J. D. Payne, assistant professor of church planting and evangelism at Southern Baptist Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky, has posted a review of Dr. Brock's book online.

8 Simple (but not easy) Rules for Movement: Part 8 - Continually Celebrate Kingdom Advance

Celebration is the best medicine against the lethargy of discouragement. Read More

Do the Gospels Borrow from Pagan Myths?

When these claims are compared carefully with the New Testament Gospels, the distinction between Jesus and the supposed pagan parallels becomes quite distinct, for at least two reasons: first, the pagan parallels aren’t as parallel as the proponents claims; and second, many of the supposed parallels confuse later Christian practices with the actual affirmations in the New Testament Gospels. Read More

More recent scholarship does not support the theory that the term “Easter” came from “Ishtar," a theory that was propounded by a nineteenth century clergyman, Alexander Hislop, in The Two Babylons and which has been thoroughly debunked. The same scholarship shows that the word "Easter" was likely derived from a German word for the sunrise, and not from "Eostre," an Anglo-Saxon goddess for whose existence there is no evidence other than a reference in the writings of Venerable Bede. More recent scholarship has concluded that "Eostre" was a fabrication of the English Benedictine monk.

Why We Need Mentors

We learn more through relationship than we ever do in the classroom. Read More

3 Things to Be Careful About Saying at the Start of Your Service

Obviously context matters, and there's no need to be dogmatic about how we informally (or even formally) begin a worship service, but here are some common introductory cliches I think worth weighing in terms of their helpfulness to the congregation's worship. Read More

7 Ideas for Transitioning Little Kids to 'Big Church'

Participating in a church’s corporate worship service can help build a child’s faith foundation. Hearing God’s Word, singing worship songs, and observing their parents and other church members as they read, listen, worship, pray, and engage with the service will provide a model for children to follow as they grow in their faith. Here are seven ways to transition children to the service and to help them cultivate the habit of regularly gathering with the church for worship. Read More

Effectively Marketing Small Groups

How do we effectively market small groups in a church? Read More

7 Thoughts on Introverts and Evangelism

Chuck Lawless shares some steps that have helped him in evangelizing. Read More