As we think about multiplying churches around our community, nation and world, we should focus on markers of health. We need to be sure we are reproducing what is good, life-giving and honoring to God. We should also minimize and avoid multiplying what is unhealthy. As you dream and pray about the possibility of reproducing, ask these six simple but probing questions.
When We Jump to Conclusions
When you and I make assumptions about others without checking them out, it’s easy to start telling ourselves stories about them in our heads that are not true. We are bearing false witness in our own thoughts, resulting in damaged relationships. The principle is simple: Never assume you know what a person is thinking or feeling.
C.S. Lewis: Art With a Message
For all who love the Narnia books, we cannot help but see Lewis’ rich theology coming to life in the characters and conversations of these books. One might be tempted to think that Lewis produced art with a message, that he scripted the message he wanted to communicate in each book — or even in the series as a whole — before he was writing. But this was not the case....
8 Blessings Of Studying Your Bible
Between the "already" of your conversion and the "not yet" of your final home going, few things are more important in the Christian life than a practical and functional level of biblical literacy. One of the Father's most important gifts to his children in the here and now is the gift of his Word, and we simply won't be what God has called us to be and consistently do what God has commanded us to do without an ability to draw wisdom and insight out of the pages of his amazing Book.
When God’s People Do Not Live in the Word, Bad Things Happen
“But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in that law doth he meditate day and night” (Psalm 1:2). The Lord never intended for His Word to collect dust on a table in your back bedroom. When God’s people do not live in the Word, bad things happen. People paid for your right to own a Bible in your own language with their very lives. What are you doing about that?
VOICES: Developing a culture of prayer (book excerpt)
There is so much advice and there are so many techniques for how to change the culture of a church, but it isn’t as complicated as it may sometimes seem. Culture is simply a set of shared values. Culture forms as a group of people begin to value similar things. Whatever we value most is what defines our culture. That is not hard to understand, but it can be extremely difficult to change.
5 Lessons I Learned from ANGRY Emails
Charles Stone shares some lessons he learned plus a few more about using email.
Addressing Bigotry in Christian Circles
It is becoming increasingly popular to hear the word “bigot” in today’s culture, especially one who tries to live in a way that honours the Lord. The reality is, the more Christians stand on the truths of Scripture, the more we are going to look like we are coming against the ways of the world. How can Christians balance the need to address bigotry and misconceptions about Christianity while also maintaining a respectful and harmonious environment everywhere they go?
Engaging Islam: Biblically Responding to Our Muslim Neighbors
Christians with a heart for their Muslim neighbors need to understand Islamic beliefs and how to engage these beliefs biblically.
United Methodists will decide realigning church’s structure, authority in 2024
For the first time in half a century, acceptance of sexual minorities isn’t likely to be the major issue coming before The United Methodist Church’s worldwide legislative assembly next spring. Instead, the looming political fight appears to be how to realign the structure and authority of the UMC by reorganizing the global denomination into roughly continental regions, including the United States.
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