Friday's Catch: 'Discipling Your Congregation to Understand the Importance of the Church" And More

Discipling Your Congregation to Understand the Importance of the Church
Most Americans say worshiping alone is a valid replacement for regularly attending church. How do you teach the importance of the church?

Christianity is a corporate faith. It is a faith that is practiced as a part of a community of believers. The Holy Spirit who unites us to Jesus also unites us to the other members of that community. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are not to us as individuals but to the community of which we are a part. We cannot live Jesus' love commandments, particular his commandment to love one another, as solitary Christians. When Jesus talks about loving others, he is talking about those outside our immediate family or circle of friends.

Was Jesus Poor? Was Jesus Rich?
Scott Morton did overlook in his article what Jesus said about the sorrows facing the rich in the Sermon on the Plain in Luke's Gospel.

4 Limitations Pastors Unknowingly Set For Their Church
There are limitations pastors unknowingly set for their church. It’s often a matter of control, yet I believe most of the time we do it without realizing they are. Many of these are natural occurrences from doing things a certain way over time. Yet, when these are in place the church will often fail to reach its full potential.

3 Reasons Preachers (and Christians) Should Say “I Don’t Know” More Frequently
Eric Geiger explains why saying, "I don't know," in the Q&A time that concludes each session of the theology course he is teaching seems to help people more than any other answer he gives.

Developing Leaders – 10 Core Skills You Need
In this article Dan Reiland gives an outline of these core skills.

Want Youth Group Transformation? Start Here. 5 reasons every youth leader should read the new "Gospelize Your Youth Ministry" book.

Ivan Provorov and the Pressure to Punish LGBT+ Dissent
What intrigues Trevin Wax most about this most recent dustup is why there’s so much pressure on everyone to affirm the self-conception or sexuality of someone else.

Christians in Science Perceived As Less Competent By Non-Religious People: Study
A recent study has revealed that nonreligious people are likely to be biased against Christians who work in scientific fields, believing them to be less competent in those fields due to perceived incompatibility between scientific theory and the Christian faith.