Tuesday, August 08, 2023

Tuesday's Catch: '"Real Church"' And More


"Real Church"
Michael Adam Beck, coauthor of Fresh Expressions of the Rural Church, explains how the faith communities formed using the Fresh expressions approach can connect with people that the conventional church cannot. 
The formation of micro-churches meeting in non-traditional venues is a possible option for Anglicans and Methodists who for one reason or another are unable to attend a local church or have no local church to attend.
When a Ministry Partnership Must End
Every seasoned pastor and organizational leader experiences significant conflicts and disagreements with fellow staff members, elders, or ministry colleagues. There are various reasons for such disputes: theological convictions, ministry strategies and priorities, leadership styles, communication gaps, perspectives about partnerships, and more. While many conflicts can be resolved to preserve and strengthen ministry partnerships, disagreements often prompt coworkers to part ways.

7 Steps to Agile Leadership
In this rapidly-changing world, churches have been forced to assess how we do ministry, and pastors must practice agile leadership.

Songs Are Discipleship
If a mist in the pulpit is a fog in the pew, the same is true of the songs we choose and sing congregationally. How does this song build up the body of Christ? How does this song edify a seasoned saint? How does this jingle build up the newly-born believer? How does this worship leader understand his role and responsibility? We must take seriously the theological development of the individuals we call worship leaders because they are disciples too.

How and When to Memorize Scripture
This article is adapted from Glenna Marshall's book, Memorizing Scripture, published by Moody Publisher.
Memorizing Scripture was a common practice in early monastic communities. There were no printed Bibles, much less digital ones, and what Bibles there were, were laboriously copied by hand. The early monks would memorize portions of Scripture so that when they were traveling together, they could recite a portion of Scripture for the benefit of those with whom they were traveling. Each monk would take turns in reciting a portion of Scripture.
VOICES: How to be reconciled to God
While it is natural to assume that every human being is a member of God’s family, such flawed thinking is not rooted in reality. The truth is that man is separated from God because of sin and is in desperate need of being reconciled to his Creator. Our sins have actually produced a huge chasm between us and God.

10 Things Evangelism Is and Isn’t
"It is time for people to understand what evangelism is, and what it means for the church of the 21st century to engage in evangelism," writes Luiz F Cardoso. "So, to begin to stir the pot I would like to introduce 10 things that evangelism is and is not."

Americans think more highly of their religious practice than those looking from afar see
Most of the world doesn’t consider the United States to be nearly as religious as many Americans do, new research shows. According to data from Pew Research Center, 41% of U.S. adults describe faith as essential to them while only 23% of the rest of the world’s population views Americans that way. Respondents in the United States were almost twice as likely to make that claim about themselves than were their peers (at 21%) in other wealthy nations.

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