“Fresh Expressions, yes! But…” When we conclude our trainings with a time of Q&A, this is a frequent prompt. We get the need for this, we see it in scripture and tradition, but get stuck on the potential challenges and pitfalls. Below I’ve listed sixteen common questions and a brief response to each, procured from over a decade of leading fresh expressions trainings.
James N. Sells: The Best Books on Church Care
Here are eight books that have influenced thought about church care; the first three are theological, and the final five focus on the “how” of Christian care.
The Young and the Sexless
This isn’t a revival of biblical ethics. Gen Z’s sexual inactivity isn’t driven by conviction or covenant, but by a culture that has numbed desire and dismantled formation.
Look Beneath the Bravado When Guiding Young Men
Every time I read Fyodor Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov, I walk away with fresh insight into the human heart and new applications for contemporary challenges. This year, reading through Michael Katz’s new translation, I was struck by Kolya Krasotkin—a 13-year-old on the precipice of manhood whose past history and present insecurities result in outward bravado.
Evangelicals are mean to kids, beginning at home
Are those we now label "evangelicals" or who label themselves "evangelicals" really genuine evangelicals? Or are they something else?
UK Chooses Death from Beginning to End
Two literal life-changing votes were held in the UK Parliament this week, one concerning the beginning of life and one centering on the end of life. On Tuesday, MPs voted 379 to 137 to “decriminalise abortion.” And on Friday, MPs backed an assisted suicide law by 314 to 291.
The quiet judgement on the UK
The judgement of God has finally come upon the United Kingdom. Quietly. Silently. Like a thief in the night. It came in the form of an irrational, emotive and Godless parliament who this week voted to permit the killing of babies in the womb up until birth, and has now introduced the National Suicide Service, with its vote to permit assisted suicide. God has given us what we voted for.
More barbaric than the Incas
In post-Inca Peru, child sacrifice is banned by law. In the post-Christian West, it is practiced with bloody enthusiasm.
Honoring Those We've Fallen Out With
The very human temptation after falling out with other Christians is to attempt to memory hole them. We try to speak and live as if they were not a significant part of our story. This is true even of church leaders and missionaries, who are, sadly, not at all immune to serious conflicts that lead to parting ways with formerly close friends and colleagues.
You Don’t Owe the Mob a Meeting
We’ve all seen it. A godly leader is doing what’s right — leading with integrity, making an impact for God’s glory. And then, someone attacks their character.
No comments:
Post a Comment