What Does Your Worry Reveal About Your Beliefs?

If you’re like me, you often feel inadequate for doing what God has called you to do. We look at the big job God has given us – to equip his people for ministry–and we know we can’t do it on our own. We see massive needs in our community – spiritual, physical, emotional and mental – and we realize we can’t meet all of them with our limited resources and talents.

But that’s exactly where God wants us? Read more

Free Ebook: Transformational Partnerships – Church to Church

Making disciples is a team sport. If a local church wants to disciple a neighborhood, community or city, they can’t do it alone. That kind of community transformation will require the local church to partner with other churches. When we say “church-to-church,” we’re not talking about swapping pulpits one week end a year with a pastor friend. We’re talking about a network of churches, both local and global, working together to impact every domain of society.

They don’t teach you this stuff in seminary. You only learn this through blood, sweat and tears on the frontlines. Granger Community Church has seen thousands move out on mission in redemptive movements locally and globally. From Monroe Circle Community Center, a hub for neighborhood renewal in the inner city, to a movement of more than 1,000 reproducing churches in India that includes more than 120,000 people. Read more

Download from the Source

Bahai' Most Persecuted Religion in Iran; Christians Also Threatened

A U.N. special report on persecuted religious minorities in Iran has found that the Baha'i faith is the most targeted in the Islamic country, and it has warned that further economic sanctions may make life more difficult also for all people in Iran.

"By and large I would say the Baha'is are the most persecuted religious minority in Iran," Ahmed Shaheed, the U.N. special rapporteur for human rights in Iran said before a seminar at the International Peace Institute in New York on Monday.

As both President Barack Obama and GOP candidate Mitt Romney made clear in Monday night's foreign policy debate, they plan to impose further sanctions on Iran to make it more difficult for the Middle Eastern country to acquire nuclear weapon capabilities. However, Shaheed has warned that this would also have harsh consequences for everyday Iranians, as they will suffer from a lack of accessible medicine and other basic human needs.Read more

Keys to a Family-Friendly Church

Photo: Advent Lutheran Church, Spokane Valley, Washington

Americans are desperate for a sense of community.

The church I grew up in was the center of our social life; I felt loved and accepted by this extended "family." That little body of believers provided an unshakable foundation of values and understanding, which I still hold firmly.

The greatest contribution the church can make is to draw families to the person of Jesus Christ in an attitude of genuine repentance and renewal. Nothing brings husbands, wives, and children together more effectively than a face-to-face encounter with the Creator of families. In fact, it is almost impossible to stand in his holy presence without recognizing our pettiness and resentment and selfishness with those closest to us.

Each size of church has its contribution to make to the family. Some people thrive better in a crowd; they need the programs and specialists that can be provided only in a large church community. On the other hand, some people need the intimacy and personal touch of a small church family. Read more

What Churches Should Learn from Schools

Photo: The Learning Cottage

Trends in public education apply to children's ministry.

Children spend more time at home than they do at church: this convicting truth fuels family ministry initiatives across the country. From providing parents with materials to use throughout the week to producing events that moms, dads, and kids attend together, churches continue to place emphasis on the hours that impact a child outside of the one (-ish) spent attending a children's ministry program.

Another block of significant time, though, deserves more attention. A typical elementary student spends 35 hours a week at school (unless homeschooled, of course). Second only to home, children spend more time at school or in school activities than anywhere else. For that reason, churches can learn plenty by paying close attention to public education trends; these three seems like a good starting point. Read more

Panel of Reference report on the Fort Worth 7 finds misconduct

A Reference Panel has found that a prima facie case of misconduct can be made against nine serving and retired bishops of the Episcopal Church for having endorsed an amicus brief presented to the Texas Supreme Court, or for having given testimony in a trial court proceeding involving the Diocese of Quincy.

The Rt Rev. Peter H. Beckwith, the Rt Rev Maurice M. Benitez, the Rt Rev John W. Howe, the Rt Rev Paul E. Lambert, the Rt Rev William H. Love, the Rt Rev D. Bruce MacPherson, the Rt Rev Daniel H. Martins, the Rt. Rev. Edward L. Salmon, Jr, and the Rt Rev James M. Stanton have been informed the Reference Panel had reviewed the charges brought against them by the provisional bishops of Fort Worth and Quincy and by lay and clergy accusers. Read more

New bishop of Anglicans in Singapore installed

In a ceremony steeped in tradition, the Anglican Church here received a new head when the Right Reverend Rennis Ponniah was installed as its new bishop on Saturday night.

The almost three-hour-long service at St Andrew's Cathedral was attended by more than 2,500 people, including dignitaries, politicians, leaders of other Christian denominations and Anglican clergy from all over the world.

President Tony Tan Keng Yam and his wife Mary, both Anglicans, were present, as were MPs Lawrence Wong and Christopher De Souza, and former politicians Seet Ai Mee and Lim Hwee Hua.

Bishop Ponniah, who is married with four children, will be the ninth Bishop of Singapore.

The 57-year-old was previously the vicar of St John's-St Margaret's Church in Dover Avenue and takes over as bishop from Dr John Chew, who retired this month after turning 65. Read more

Another diocese leaves US Episcopal Church

A southern diocese of the US Episcopal Church is breaking away over theological differences between the diocese's bishop and the denomination.

The Diocese of South Carolina, headed by Bishop Mark Lawrence, made the announcement Wednesday, making it the fifth diocese to secede from the mainline Protestant denomination since 2006.

The Rev D. Kendall S Harmon, Canon Theologian with the Diocese of South Carolina, told The Christian Post that the decision to defect was based on The Episcopal Church's actions against Bishop Lawrence.

"The Episcopal Church took unnecessary and illegitimate action against us which triggered our own previously agreed upon actions and caused us to withdraw to protect ourselves and our Gospel witness," said Harmon. Read more

How to Know Sin When It Masquerades as Good

Though the power of sin has been broken, the presence of sin remains. So it's vital that we remember the deceitfulness of sin. We tend to want to believe that we hold an accurate and reliable view of ourselves. But on this side of glorification that's not always true, precisely because sin lives in a costume. While counseling pastors, I've often been struck with the reality that the man sitting in front of me lacked accurate knowledge of himself. And you can't grieve what you don't see, you can't confess what you haven't grieved, and you can't repent of what you haven't confessed.

Evil doesn't always look evil, and sin often looks so good – this is part of what makes it so bad. In order for sin to do its evil work, it must present itself as something that is anything but evil. Life in a fallen world is like attending the ultimate masquerade party. An impatient moment of yelling wears the costume of zeal for truth. Lust masquerades as a love for beauty. Gossip lives in the costume of concern and prayer. Craving for power and control wears the mask of biblical leadership. Fear of man gets dressed up as being a peacemaker or having a servant heart. Pride in always being right masquerades as a love for biblical wisdom. Though the power of sin has been broken, the presence of sin remains. So it's vital that we remember the deceitfulness of sin. We tend to want to believe that we hold an accurate and reliable view of ourselves. But on this side of glorification that's not always true, precisely because sin lives in a costume. While counseling pastors, I've often been struck with the reality that the man sitting in front of me lacked accurate knowledge of himself. And you can't grieve what you don't see, you can't confess what you haven't grieved, and you can't repent of what you haven't confessed. Read more

Is Getting a Tattoo a Sin?

A short while back, I got an email from a young woman at our church who was confused over whether or not it’s sinful to get/have a tattoo. Thinking it may not be appropriate for Christians to get tattoos, she referenced Leviticus 19:28, which says: “You shall not make any cuts in your body for the dead nor make any tattoo marks on yourselves: I am the LORD.”

How would you have answered her? Is it wrong for Christians today to have tattoos? Read more

When a Sex Offender Wants to Attend Church

These steps can help ensure a smooth integration.

How would your congregation react if they knew a convicted sex offender was worshipping among them each Sunday morning? This controversial question is something congregations across the country are currently asking themselves.

Unfortunately, there is no one-size-fits-all answer. Experts recommend that staff members proactively address this question by developing a sex offender policy.

Kristen Blanford, partner at Hermes Sargent Bates law firm in Dallas, Texas, understands that liabilities are attached when religious organizations are dealing with sex offenders.

“How it’s handled really comes down to each congregation’s individual faith beliefs and ministries,” Blanford said.

She recommends that leadership teams consider a few critical questions when developing a sex offender policy for their congregation.... Read more

Is the Bible, or Your Perception of the Bible, Shaping You?

We have to guard against being bent by cultural winds.

If someone asked what you were doing as you surfed the web, you probably wouldn't say, "Oh, I'm being discipled." You probably wouldn't say you were "receiving moral instruction" while you watched last week's primetime lineup. And it's highly unlikely you'd say you were heading to a political rally to learn how to navigate the moral questions facing humanity.

Yet, for many of us, that's exactly what happens each time we ingest pop culture, media, and the latest celebrity goings-on.

It seems as though plenty of Americans receive their moral compass not from a set of established beliefs or philosophy, or even majority rule. It seems as though the average American's moral compass is tied to the cultural winds—as if pop culture, politics, or celebrities were the ultimate moral arbiter.

Unfortunately, Christians aren't immune to this phenomenon. In churches throughout the country, you'll find average believers, church leaders, and pastors whose morals and values are formed by the external culture rather than their Bible. Christians have too often become a people whose discipleship depends more on the political Right than on righteousness, more on the gospel of social causes than on social causes driven by the gospel, and more on People than Proverbs.

If you're an average American Christian, you know how easy it is to let your values be formed by culture rather than your faith. So how does a believer escape that trap—and how can you avoid it in the future? Read more

Enrichment Journal: Helping Churches Rediscover Their Mission

How hard can it be to locate the Assemblies of God church in a town of less than a 1,000? I pulled into the quick service market to ask directions, but the proprietor could not recall the church’s existence although he was a longtime resident. I later discovered his business was less than one block from the church — which was marked with a clear sign and fronted the same street.

Do your church’s neighbors filter out your message — and perhaps your existence — because of your presumed irrelevance to their lives?

Leaders who recognize this trend want to change their churches, but often fail to recognize that change starts first in them. W. Edward Deming said, “Nothing happens without personal transformation.”

The mission discovery process for your church begins in the life of the church’s leadership. Until leaders have a passion for what God wants to do through them in their community, rarely will leaders transform their church. It starts with leaders who are being missional. Read more

Español: Ayudando a las iglesias a redescubrir su misión

Read also:
Comeback Imagination — Envisioning New Life
Español: Imagine un avivamiento, imagine nueva vida

25 Marks of a Backslidden Christian

I don’t hear much about the danger of “backsliding” these days. It seems that was something my friends and I were concerned about 20 years ago. We talked about it, prayed against it, and sought to keep Jesus always before us as our greatest hope and satisfaction. It wasn’t like we were about to fall right off the spiritual map by denying Jesus and jumping into scandalous sin, but we knew that we do in fact have hearts that are, as the hymn says, “prone to wander.” And I am no better today.

If there is one consideration more humbling than another to a spiritually-minded believer, it is, after all God has done for him,–after all the rich displays of his grace, the patience and tenderness of his instructions, the repeated discipline of his covenant, the tokens of love received, and the lessons of experience learned, there should still exist in the heart a principle, the tendency which is to secret, perpetual, and alarming departure from God. - Octavius Winslow, Personal Declension‘

But even if we acknowledge that we remain sinners and can find ourselves in a dangerous spiritual state, do we know what such a state really looks like? I’m not so sure. Some liken it to big public failure, and this leaves them thinking they are safe when in fact they may be in a very bad way. In the classic Vital Godliness, William Plumer said, “Many are kept from owning their backslidings, because they are mercifully restrained from open sins. Had they publicly fallen into overt iniquity, they would blush, and be ashamed; they would bewail their wickedness before God and men. But as yet all is secret. They are merely backsliders in heart.” Read more

Read also:
Recovery from Backsliding
The Cure for Backsliding

Why Plant Churches in the South?

As someone who speaks and writes quite often about church planting, there are a few specific questions I’m asked more frequently. One that always seems to arise is “Why plant churches in the South?” It’s a good question.

First, let me say that if you are not sure where to plant a church, I’d encourage you to consider international planting first. In other words, think about planting a church in the 10/40 window. If God does not want you there, think about planting in one of the megacities in North America. If not there, what about reaching the lost in rural (and unchurched) Maine or Montana (or lost of other similar areas)? If still not there, then at that point– maybe– you should consider the South.

It’s not that I don’t love the South– I just don’t think that everyone needs to plant there, and a disproportionate number of people say that God has called them to the South, forcing me to choose between the idea that God is not good at math or that church planters are going where there are already a lot of believers.

So, why plant churches in the South? And, obviously, why am I not taking my own advice?

Well, the short (and probably snarky) answer is simply “Why not?” But that obviously doesn’t begin to cover the multiple intricacies of the question. So let me attempt to cover a few of those. Read more

Rowan Williams in One Final Push for Women Bishops in Church of England

Rowan Williams, the head of the Anglican Communion, is making one final push for the ordination of women bishops before he officially retires from his position as the Archbishop of Canterbury in December.

"No-one is likely to underrate the significance of November's debate on women bishops in General Synod," Williams wrote in an article for the Church Times published on Friday. "It will shape the character of the Church of England for generations – and I'm not talking only about the decision we shall take, but about the way in which we discuss it and deal with the outcome of it."

Although women can serve as deacons and priests in Anglican churches, they are still fighting for ordination into the highest echelons of the clergy. Many from the more liberal side of the Communion have insisted that the law should change to allow women to be ordained as bishops, but conservatives maintain that Christ's disciples were all men, which is an example they should follow. Read more

Anglican Curmudgeon: Once Again, Conflicts Galore on the Kangaroo Court

I am now confident that whoever may be in my limited audience, it is not anyone connected with the august Disciplinary Board for Bishops ("DBB" -- funny how those initials are the same as those of the Presiding Bishop's Chancellor, who is acting totally in concert with the Board to achieve its nefarious ends). The DBB was created under the provisions of the new Title IV adopted by ECUSA's General Convention at Anaheim -- after just fifteen minutes of debate -- in 2009.

The reason I can make that statement is that the DBB continues on its merry way, utterly oblivious to the conflicts which would disqualify many of its members from ever sitting as a judge at law (and one of them is a sitting judge). As far as the Rt. Rev. Dorsey Henderson and his legal counsel are concerned, the usual pattern of ignoring such problems altogether is the best way to conduct the Church's "business as usual," which has the goal of ridding itself of meddlesome bishops on flimsy and risible charges.

Example #1 in point: Bishop M. Thomas Shaw of Massachusetts has himself "abandoned the communion of the Episcopal Church (USA)", by an "open renunciation of the Discipline of the Church" -- exactly as the DBB, on which he sits, has proclaimed that +Mark Lawrence has done. Bishop Shaw, as we know, defied both the marriage canons and the Book of Common Prayer rubrics by interpreting Resolution C056 ("Liturgies for Blessings") adopted by General Convention in 2009 to allow him to authorize clergy in his Diocese to perform same-sex marriages, and then performed such a ceremony himself. According to Bishop Shaw, he and his suffragan bishops are the final authority on what the Canons and Resolutions of General Convention mean in their Diocese. So why is not Bishop Lawrence just as final an authority on the meaning of those same Canons in his Diocese, as well? And how can Bishop Shaw, having made that assertion (which in fact, is entirely correct), now seek to hold Bishop Lawrence liable for the latter's own judgment of the meaning they are to have in his Diocese?

Talk about hypocrisy -- but the members of the DBB (as well as David Booth Beers himself) are immersed in it up to their necks, day in and day out. Read more

'Vote for biblical values,' Billy Graham ad says

Billy Graham, in a national advertising campaign launched Oct. 18, calls on Americans to "vote for biblical values" as they cast ballots in the upcoming election.

A full-page ad in Thursday's Wall Street Journal and Friday's USA Today featured the legendary evangelist's picture beside a block of text stating:

"The legacy we leave behind for our children, grandchildren and this great nation is crucial. As I approach my 94th birthday, I realize this election could be my last. I believe it is vitally important that we cast our ballots for candidates who base their decisions on biblical principles and support the nation of Israel.

"I urge you to vote for those who protect the sanctity of life and support the biblical definition of marriage between a man and a woman. Vote for biblical values this November 6, and pray with me that America will remain one nation under God."

Graham's name and signature followed the 100-word statement. Read more

Anglican parishes facing closure as they continue to battle debt

THE Adelaide diocese of the Anglican Church must change radically as it faces the tough choice of closing at least a third of its parishes within the next five years.

This was the blunt message from Archbishop Jeffrey Driver to the church last night as he opened its senior decision-making forum, the diocesan synod.

Resources had been drained and the church had endured nine years of turmoil from dealing with the hurt caused by abuse perpetuated by its own ranks.

This was overlaid with falling church attendance, the ageing of faithful parishioners and difficulty in retaining young adults.

The trajectory had now reached the point where parishes were not in gradual decline but in rapid collapse. Read more

Read also:
Archbishop warns of Adelaide church issues

'Evangelical' Is the Most Abused Term in Religious Lexicon, Says Ministry Leader

The term "evangelical" is likely the most abused term in the entire religious lexicon, says one Christian leader.

Phil Johnson, executive director of Grace to You, which is led by Pastor John MacArthur, believes "evangelical" has been so abused that he wonders whether its original meaning can ever be recovered.

"These days it's been redefined in sociological terms, political terms; everybody seems to have their own concept of what it means," he said on the "Janet Mefferd Show" this week. Read more

The term "evangelical" is widely misinterpreted, misrepresented, and misunderstood in the Anglican Church in North America. This is traceable to the prevalence of Anglo-Catholicism and "three streams, one river" ideology in the ACNA, the widespread ignorance and neglect of, and even contempt for, the Anglican formularies, and a lack of familiarity with classical Anglican evangelicalism.

Books: Paul as Pastor

The role of pastor within the church is coming under closer attention as Fresh Expressions of church develop further and the matter of discipleship comes into sharper focus. What processes of pastoral care are needed if those in these flourishing new expressions of the body of Christ are to grow and develop in faith?

The question Patrick Whitworth wants to pose is: where should pastors look for an effective template to guide their pastoral ministry in our changing society?

Whitworth’s answer—the apostle Paul—may at first seem surprising as Paul’s ‘bedside manner’ may appear to leave something to be desired. But think again, says Whitworth. Read more

Gallup Poll: Only 3.4 Percent of US Adults Identify as LGBT

A comprehensive poll released on Thursday by Gallup based on more than 120,000 interviews, shows that only 3.4 percent of Americans say they are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. These numbers fall far short of the numbers routinely tossed around by pro-homosexual groups who claim that approximately 10 percent or more of the population have homosexual tendencies. Read more

After Bishop Is Accused of Abandoning the Episcopal Church, Diocese Really Does

South Carolina has been fighting with the national body for years.

The Diocese of South Carolina announced on Wednesday (Oct. 17) that it has disaffiliated from the Episcopal Church, escalating a long-running skirmish and setting the stage to become the fifth diocese to secede from the denomination.

South Carolina said the split was triggered by disciplinary action taken against Bishop Mark Lawrence, its conservative leader. The diocese passed a resolution on Oct. 2 stating that it would immediately secede should the Episcopal Church "discipline, impair, restrict, place on administrative leave, charge, derecognize" or otherwise inhibit the diocese or its leaders.

Twelve lay Episcopalians and two priests in South Carolina brought the charges against Lawrence. The denomination's 18-member Disciplinary Board for Bishops found him guilty of abandoning the Episcopal Church and renouncing its rules in September.

Episcopal Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori informed Lawrence of the guilty verdict on Monday, curtailing his ministry and prohibiting him from acting as an ordained Episcopal priest. Read more

Read also:
SC Diocese Defecting From Episcopal Church

More house church members arrested in Iran

Two more house church members have been arrested in the Iranian city of Shiraz.

They belong to a Church of Iran house church that was raided on 12 October by security forces.

Seven members were rounded up during the raid and taken to an Intelligence Ministry detention centre.

Afsar Bahmani and Massoud Rezaie were detained after receiving a summons to the detention centre.

Mrs Bahmani was present during last week's raid but was not detained at the time.

She and Mr Rezaie are converts and long standing Christians. Read more

Read also:
Iran Detains Seven More Christians in Church Raid

Statement from South Carolina on the "assault" on Bishop Lawrence

Diocese rejects legal proceedings as illegal, unconstitutional, immoral and dishonest

Anglicans have been worshipping in South Carolina since its establishment as a British Colony. From the beginning, they have defended and upheld the doctrine, discipline and worship of the faithful generations who came before them. That freedom is now under direct assault.

As a founding Diocese of the Episcopal Church, we have taken steps in recent years to defend our freedom of worship and order of gathering. On Monday of this week (October 15), the Rt. Rev. Mark J. Lawrence (14th Bishop of the Diocese of South Carolina) was informed by the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church that a disciplinary board had certified that he was guilty of abandonment of the communion of the church – that he had, in effect, by his words and actions, left the church. We believe that these actions of the Episcopal Church are both invalid under the Constitution of the Episcopal Church of this Diocese and violations of rights and freedoms which all Americans hold dear. We emphatically reject them, as well as the attempted restriction upon the ministry of our Bishop. Read more

Ed Stetzer: Christianity isn't dying

Those with only a loose religious affiliation are finally admitting they don't really have one at all.

You've heard it suggested that the United States is simply Europe on a 50-year delay. Most churches will be museums before your grandchildren reach adulthood.

Though new numbers from Pew Research released this month point to a decline in American Protestants, no serious scholar believes that Christianity in America is on a trajectory of extinction. And, as a researcher and practicing evangelical Christian, I say to those who've read recent reports and come to that conclusion, "Not so fast."

You see, many in the USA who identify as Christian do so only superficially. These "cultural Christians" use the term "Christian" but do not practice the faith.

Now it seems that many of them are even giving up the label, and those cultural Christians are becoming "nones" (people with no religious label). Read more

New Level of Repression Signaled by Charges against +Lawrence

The certification of abandonment by ECUSA's new Disciplinary Board for Bishops, communicated to Bishop Mark Lawrence by Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori on October 15, 2012, raises some very troubling questions. It also evidences a new degree of repression operative in ECUSA that seems designed to curb the free speech and other First Amendment rights of its clergy.

The first thing to note is the change in tone between this Disciplinary Board and the one that considered the same charges against Bishop Lawrence last year. In the certification just linked, after reviewing the actions of South Carolina's Diocesan Convention in 2010 and 2011, when it adopted a Constitutional amendment and other canonical changes to withdraw its accession to the Church's canons, and to qualify its accession to the ECUSA Constitution, the Board writes.... Read more

Enrichment Journal: Improving the Part of Your Ministry You Cannot See or Hear

In your ministry, you know when you sound good, look good, and produce good results. You can consult a mirror, watch a DVD, or scan attendance and financial records. You know the in-your-face facts do not lie. But there is another part of your ministry that may remain ethereal and elusive.

In business, we call it the corporate culture or the buzz. In education they refer to it as the learning environment. And in the church, this sightless commodity has no name. We just know when it is present, and especially when it is noticeably absent.

I call it the Palpable Positive Presence (PPP). Read more

Save Me Jesus

Could it really be that simple? Are the words "Save Me Jesus" enough to connect you to God and save your soul for eternity? Yes and no. "Yes"....if you mean it....and keep living everyday with that attitude....one of humility before God and a living relationship with the Lord.

"No"....if it was just a one-time prayer from your past that is not being carried over to this day. A Christian is someone who depends upon Jesus everyday for His forgiveness....and seeks to live everyday for Christ. A believer is never content to be living in disobedience. There is a restlessness that comes to anyone who is born again and yet is giving into temptation and sin. The "gears" of the soul don't work in the life of a Christian who is deliberately disobeying the One he asked to save him earlier in life.

If you want to be miserable forever, reject Jesus Christ and enter eternity without His forgiveness. If you want to be miserable in this life, accept Jesus Christ as your Savior and then live in deliberate sin....and see how that works for you. There is only one thing worse than being miserable as a Christian because of intentional sin....and that is....not being miserable in your sin because you are not saved and don't have the Holy Spirit inside of you. That is worse because of the ultimate consequences. That is worse because you don't even see the train that is headed straight toward you as you play with your soul on the tracks of eternity. Read more

37 Ways to Love One Another

A local church is not built by one man, or even a few men, but by every believer being actively involved in ministry through evangelizing the lost people in their lives and serving their fellow Christians. A quick glance at the practice of the New Testament church reveals that they thought very little about programs and very much about relationships.

Consider the disciple-making that would naturally take place in the life of a local church if every believer would practice the loving, one-another ministry that the early churches first read about in the instructions they received from the apostles.... Read more

Did Jesus have a wife, and can we trust the Bible?

The recent controversy—and apparent hoax—surrounding the newly-discovered papyrus scrap that reportedly referred to Jesus having a wife has dominated religious headlines lately. While the fragment has subsequently been panned by critics and scholars, it has brought about another discussion on the accuracy of biblical texts. Devin provides seven responses for Christians to use when questions arise over biblical inerrancy. Read more

Originally posted on ThomRainer.com.

The Powerful Role of Good Traditions

San Marco Cathedral - Photo:  Tetraktys

On a recent trip to Italy my wife and I attended Sunday mass at two 14^th century cathedrals in Venice. (Full disclosure: We attended the first mass because we wanted be in a worship service on Sunday and the second because we wanted to get in free to see the cathedral.) Since neither of us speaks a word of Italian we were mostly lost, however, there was something comforting in the liturgy. Sitting in the gorgeous surroundings of the Renaissance era buildings we felt a connection to the ancient roots of Christianity. We were sharing with the people around us traditions that have been passed down for hundreds of years from generation to generation. I imagine the first congregation who sat in the Basilica De Sanmarco in 832 AD had a very similar experience to ours in 1400 years later. There is a power in that connection. Read more

Why Is Homosexuality Wrong?

Why is homosexuality wrong?

With every sin there are multiple levels of why it's offensive to God and to be avoided. The simplest is clearly to say the Bible says it is. And we should start there; and if we can go deeper, that's good.

I think it's implied clearly and spoken clearly in Romans 1:24-29 that homosexuality is wrong and to be avoided. And I think Paul in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 lists a very unusual phrase about homosexuality where he says, "Those who do such things"-and he lists it along with greed and covetousness and other sins, so it's not unique by itself in this-"those who do such things will not enter the kingdom of heaven."

In other words, if you know that it's wrong and you say, "I don't care that it's wrong. I don't care what God says. I'm going to do that thing," that's an indication that you're not going into the kingdom of heaven.

Now, that's just the "It's wrong, don't do it" authority answer. The question "Why would the Bible say that?" is also multi-layered. Read more

Leadership Journal: Essentials of Ministry

And the distractions that pull us away …

A pro quarterback better be able to throw a pass. A cardiologist must be able to interpret an EKG. These skills are essentials of their trades.

Pastoral ministry also has fundamentals. But in today's world, it's hard to stay focused on the pastoral essentials.

We met with four pastors in Madison, Wisconsin, to explore the pastoral essentials and the distractions that pull us away from our core calling: Bob Goodsell is campus pastor of the north site of Door Creek Church. Alex Gee, Jr. is pastor of Fountain of Life Church, a multi-ethnic church ministering in urban Madison. Matt Arndt is pastor of Bread of Life Anglican Church, a church plant started by Matt and his wife six years ago. Dale Chapin is pastor of Christ Presbyterian Church in downtown Madison. Read more

Read also:
5 Man-Killers That Threaten to Take Men Down

Episcopal Church Takes Action Against the Bishop and Diocese of South Carolina

On Monday, October 15, 2012, Bishop Mark J. Lawrence, the 14th Bishop of the Diocese of South Carolina was notified by the Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church, Katharine Jefferts Schori, that on September 18, 2012 the Disciplinary Board for Bishops had certified his abandonment of The Episcopal Church. This action by The Episcopal Church triggered two pre-existing corporate resolutions of the Diocese, which simultaneously disaffiliated the Diocese from The Episcopal Church and called a Special Convention. That Convention will be held at St. Philip’s Church, Charleston, on Saturday, November 17, 2012.

Bishop Lawrence was notified of these actions taken by the Episcopal Church between two meetings, one held on October 3 and one to be held on October 22, which Bishop Andrew Waldo of the Upper Diocese of South Carolina and Bishop Lawrence had set up with the Presiding Bishop to find a peaceful alternative to the growing issues between The Episcopal Church and the Diocese of South Carolina. The meetings were to explore “creative solutions” for resolving these issues to avoid further turmoil in the Diocese and in The Episcopal Church. A timeline of these events and their associated documents may be found below. Read more

Read also:
Bishop Mark Lawrence said to have abandoned Episcopal Church
+Lawrence’s Ministry Restricted
Kirk to seize back city church in gay clergy row

4 Reasons Your Church Needs Coaches

My son, Matthew, began playing football at a young age. He was doing ok and getting in the games but it was not until he had the right coach that he excelled. As a senior he dominated defensive linemen and I have very vivid memories of him opening up gaping holes for their running backs. He got all kinds of honors and was recruited by several colleges. He has often commented on that coach who believed in him, built a relationship with him, and pulled skills out of him he thought were there but wasn’t sure. Yes, he had the size and skill but the game changer was a coach who invested time and energy into him.

This principle can easily be seen in sports but it is even more important in the local church. There are many people who want to serve and believe they can be used of God but they need someone to invest their time and energy in them. A good coach can be one of the most important high impact volunteer leaders in your ministry. Think of all the examples we have in the New Testament alone. Paul poured into Aquila and Priscilla and then they poured into Apollos. That must have been pretty intimidating because he was such a gifted speaker but he needed to be coached on his content!  Read more

Five Features of Preaching in the Book of Acts

In his book on Acts ^[1], Alan Thompson notes five characteristics of apostolic evangelistic preaching (90-99). These five features serve as good models for all types of preaching, both then and now. Read more

The Collision of Two Runaway Trains

I am currently on an around-the-globe trip, going from the West Coast, to Down Under, Singapore, London, and then home again. From the vantage point of this journey, the one striking and overwhelming image I get is of two runaway trains moving in opposite directions. And yet, in some strange way, they are about to cause a global collision.

Let me explain.

On one train, Islamists are violently demanding that the West bow to them as they seek to take the world back to the Arabian dark ages of the 7th century.

On the other, humanists, atheists, greens, and extreme liberals are pushing the West to abandon its historic morals and Judeo-Christian ethics. They demand that the West embrace a world of homosexual marriages, nature worship, environmental extremism, and godlessness.

Although I am a trained social anthropologist who is supposed to make sense of such things, I must confess that I am baffled on this front. How can two extreme movements, heading in opposite directions, be so perilously close to an unprecedented collision? Read more

HPV vaccine won't make girls promiscuous, study finds

Photo: John Rawlston /Chattanooga Times Free Press.

Shots that protect against cervical cancer do not make girls promiscuous, according to the first study to compare medical records for vaccinated and unvaccinated girls.


The researchers didn't ask girls about having sex, but instead looked at "markers" of sexual activity after vaccination against the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus, or HPV. Specifically, they examined up to three years of records on whether girls had sought birth control advice; tests for sexually transmitted diseases or pregnancy; or had become pregnant.


Very few of the girls who got the shots at age 11 or 12 had done any of those over the next three years, or by the time they were 14 or 15. Moreover, the study found no difference in rates of those markers compared with unvaccinated girls. Read more

The great clarification: fuzzy fidelity and the rise of the nones

Meet the unaffiliated. An increasing number of Americans identify with no church, denomination, or religious tradition, and this development represents a truly significant shift in the nation's pattern of belief.

America's religious landscape is changing, and the contours of that change will determine the shape of the church's challenge for decades to come. An important study recently released by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life points to several developments worthy of our attention -- and some of these deserve rather urgent analysis. Read more

Read also:
The Latest Pew Survey: Christianity Losing, Secularism Winning

'Gospel of Jesus' Wife' Forged by Modern Technology, Scholar Proposes

Gospel of Thomas May Have Been Used to Create Recently Shared Papyrus

An American academic in England has proposed how the recently discovered "Gospel of Jesus' Wife", the papyrus fragment that made news in September, could have been forged using some modern-day technology.

Andrew Bernhard, Master of Studies at Oxford University, discovered a typo carried in one of the most widely distributed electronic copies of the authentic Gospel of Thomas is present in the Jesus' wife document. The academic argues in a 15-page paper how the fragment is a direct cut-and-paste from sections of the Gospel of Thomas by analyzing translations of Coptic and ancient Greek. Read more

Last Night, 5,000 Children Died

Not in a flood.

Not in an earthquake.

Not in a wave of tornadoes or a political coups.

But from hunger.

Hunger. It’s that feeling that gnaws at our bellies in the morning because we haven’t had our cheerios yet. But for millions, hunger is a lifestyle with no hope. Today is World Food Day. It’s a good day to become aware of some things… Read more

Read also:
UN warns of looming worldwide food crisis in 2013
Should Africa Be Growing More Wheat?
Scraping by on $137 a week
Churches meeting growing demand for emergency food
Bags of food go home with hungry kids

What is your church doing to alleviate hunger in your community? In this country? In the world?

Small Groups: The Strategy of Connecting People

Before I share four current learnings we have had here at Saddleback Church in the last couple of years on connecting people, let me give you a bit of background. In the book Small Groups With Purpose (SGWP), I explain probably our two most effective strategies for connecting people at Saddleback Church over the last 15 years. Since 1997 we have taken our connection percentage from 30% to 120%. Yup, we have more people in small groups than attend the weekend service!

In chapter 16, I explain in detail the Connection Strategy we used from 1997 to 2002, primarily taking attendees and helping them raise a leader and find community. From 2002 to present we have been using our Campaign Strategy (chapter 17) to mobilize attendees to reach their friends to start groups. This strategy using out HOST concept took us from 70% connected to where we are now. If you are not familiar with these strategies or what a HOST is, I would highly recommend taking what we have learned and adapting it to your culture.

Here are 5 learnings we have had over the last couple of years. Read more

Eight Terrible Church Visits

When I led a church consultation company, one of the more common facets of my consultation was an on-site visit to a worship service. The person I hired to conduct the visit could know nothing about the church. Ideally this "mystery guest" would be an unchurched person, so that he or she could give an honest assessment from the perspective of someone who knows little about churches.

I requested that the mystery guest evaluate different areas of the visit, but I was always most interested in the overall score. They submitted a score of one to seven. The lowest score meant that the visit was terrible, and they would not return under any circumstances. I recently retrieved some of these "one" reports. Inevitably there was one event that took place that made the visit so bad. Let me share eight of those events in eight different terrible church visits. Read more

Read also:
10 Statements Church Visitors Never Want to Hear

Islam making inroads in Haiti since devastating 2010 earthquake

School teacher Darlene Derosier lost her home in the 2010 earthquake that devastated her country. Her husband died a month later after suffering what she said was emotional trauma from the quake. She and her two daughters now live in tents outside Haiti's capital, surrounded by thousands of others made homeless and desperate by the disaster.

What has helped pull her through all the grief, she said, has been her faith, but not of the Catholic, Protestant or even Voodoo variety that have predominated in this island country. Instead, she has converted to a new religion here, Islam, and built a small neighborhood mosque out of cinderblocks and plywood, where about 60 Muslims pray daily.

Islam has won a growing number of followers in this impoverished country, especially after the catastrophe two years ago that killed about 300,000 people and left millions more homeless. A capital where church attendance is so prevalent that the streets echo with Christian hymns on Sundays now has at least five mosques, a Muslim parliament member and a nightly TV program devoted to Islam. Read more

Beware the rogue bishop

It must be an awkward being a Bishop at Synod.

In several debates we’ve heard about the dangers of a rogue bishop. There’s usually then a reflexive caveat ‘not like any of the present wonderful bishops’ followed by an explanation that ‘we are thinking of a hypothetical future bishop who could use any power we give him for ill’.

So whether its a debate on parish relationships or church planting procedures, the default setting of Synod is to beware the rogue bishop. This suspicion of central diocesan authority is one of the defining characteristics of Sydney Anglicanism. It keeps privileging the parish over the diocese, let alone the national church! Read more

We have had a bellyful of rogue bishops here in the United States but the folks in the Anglican Church in North America appear not to have learned their lesson.

How to wreck a church

The-Wreckers 1874 by William Holbrook Beard

IT HAS BEEN TRIED ACROSS THE CENTURIES – in public arenas, through mob violence and by official banning. In the first three centuries of the New Testament church, ten massive persecutions took place, and the Roman emperor Diocletian even had a medal struck – inscribed with the boast, ‘The Christian religion is destroyed, and the worship of the gods is restored.’ But – as Bishop William Greer of Manchester once told his critic during a TV interview – “The church will stand at the grave of the BBC, the ITV and all other institutions knocking around the world today.” Those might sound like brave words only, were it not for the assurance of Jesus Christ that the gates of hell itself will not prevail against the Church.

We Christians today are astonished, not so much at the ever-continuing advance in the 2.3 billion-strong family of Jesus Christ worldwide, but rather at the amazing failure of our critics to learn from history. Naturally we weep when a Janani Luwum, or a Mehdi Dibaj is martyred. Such martyrs are numbered by the thousand today, as they were twenty centuries ago. But the sweep of civilization indicates that the greater the pressure on the church from its outside persecutors, the stronger tends to be its growth.

The atheist Philip Pulman has declared, ‘Without a doubt Christianity will cease to exist in a few years.’ He might have done better to heed the historian, T.R. Glover, ‘The final disappearance of Christianity has been prophesied so often as to be no longer interesting.’

And yet a church CAN be wrecked. To read the letters of the New Testament is to understand that although persecution from outside was bitter and powerful, the real dangers arose from men within the church’s boundaries, who – like others of ‘broad’ outlook who were to follow them – ‘creep into the ministry, but they are generally cunning enough to conceal the breadth of their minds beneath Christian phraseology’ (C.H. Spurgeon, college address, 1874). Read more

Introducing New City Catechism

Question 1. What is the chief end of man?

Answer. Man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.

Question 1. What is your only comfort in life and death?

Answer. That I am not my own, but belong---body and soul, in life and in death---to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ.

Many of you will recognize these words as the opening question and answer of the Westminster and Heidelberg Catechisms. But we're guessing that a very small number of people will have memorized the entire catechisms from which they derive.

After all, the practice of catechesis, particularly among adults, has been almost completely lost today. It seems so medieval to have children memorizing catechisms, much less doing it as adults. So why did The Gospel Coalition team up with Redeemer Presbyterian Church to develop New City Catechism?

Most people today do not realize that it was once seen as normal, important, and necessary for churches to continually produce new catechisms for their own use. The early Scottish churches, though they had Calvin's Geneva Catechism of 1541 and the Heidelberg Catechism of 1563, went on to produce and use Craig's Catechism of 1581, Duncan's Latin Catechism of 1595, and The New Catechism of 1644, before eventually adopting the Westminster Catechism.

The Puritan pastor Richard Baxter, who ministered in the 17th century town of Kidderminster, was not unusual. He wanted to train heads of families to instruct their households in the faith. To do so, he wrote his own Family Catechism that was adapted to the capacities of his people and that brought the Bible to bear on many of the issues his people were facing at that time. Read more

The post-Reformation catechisms of the Church of England--the Catechisms of Alexander Nowell and Thomas Becon and the Prayer Book Catechism, an adaptation of Nowell's Catechism--are Reformed in their theology. John Calvin's Catechism was also used in English universities in the sixteenth and seventeenth century, as was Henry Bullinger's Catechism. Bullinger's Decades, a collection of sermons explaining the teachings of the Bible, were used to train Anglican preachers in the sixteenth century. The Heidelberg Catechism was developed from Bullinger's Catechism. Anglican divines drew up the Westminster Catechisms.

The New City Catechism and 5 Related Resources

Last week Tim Keller asked “Why Catechesis Now?”

This morning TGC introduced the New City Catechism, adapted by Tim Keller and Sam Shammas from Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York.

TGC explains that catechisms have at least three purposes.... Read more

This article contains links to the New City Catechism and other related resources. 

Ten Things Pastors Like About Pastoring

In a previous post, I noted ten things pastors don't like about pastoring. Though my surveys are not scientific, they do seem to have spoken to several pastors and other church leaders. The responses were fascinating.

I took the same approach for this post, but this time the responses were positive. We wanted to know what pastors like about their ministry. Here are their top ten responses listed in reverse order, followed by a comment from a representative pastor. Read more