On the Net: "Multiplicative Discipleship" and More

Multiplicative Discipleship

Whenever we only seek to train a single generation, we have missed the point of discipleship. By nature, discipleship should be multiplicative. We are at our best when we are disciple-makers making disciple-makers. Here are eight ideas that will help you lead your church toward multiplicative discipleship. Read More

Listen in as Four Theologians Discuss the Trinity Debate

In today’s blog post Fred Zaspel interviews four outstanding theologians on the question for our Books At a Glance listeners. Listen Now

10 Things You Should Know about Thomas Aquinius

We Protestants often fail to take note of the unique and sometimes profitable contributions of Roman Catholic theologians of the past. So today we look at 10 things we should know about Thomas Aquinas. Read More

14 Things Leaders Tend to Forget

My experience is that even the best leaders tend to be forgetful at times. Usually, though, we talk about forgetting appointments or assignments or commitments – not so much these simple realities that many leaders I know (including me) forget too readily. Read More

8 Time Drainers for Pastors and Staff

“What if I told you I could help you get 10 or more hours of your week back?” Read More

10 Ways To Create More Margin in Your Time

HOw do you creat more margin in your schedule – to do the things you want to do and the things you need to do? Read More

5 Reasons I Can’t Stay Away from Student Ministry

This summer has shown me that I can’t stay away from student ministry. Read More

Summer 2016 Issue of Oak Hill College's Commentary Online

The latest issue of Commentary "focuses on the impact of change, good and bad, on our times, our society and institutions, and on ourselves." Read Online or Download

Mike Ovey has a great article on the preaching relationship (pp.22-26) in this issue.

Massive lead for Trump over Clinton among white evangelicals

A poll released yesterday shows seven out of 10 white evangelicals have decided to vote for Donald Trump in the American presidential election. Read More

"The polling data does not distinguish between churchgoing evangelicals, who are less likely to vote for Trump, and others."

Why Max Lucado Broke His Political Silence for Trump

In the face of a candidate’s antics, ‘America’s Pastor’ speaks out. Read More

Many thousands of displaced children in Nigeria on brink of starvation

Hundreds of thousands of children in north-eastern Nigeria are facing starvation because of the ravages of the terror group Boko Haram. Many will die if they are not helped soon, according to aid agencies on the ground. Read More

Japan: Church commemorating 26 crucified Christians may become UNESCO World Heritage Site

The oldest church in Japan, built in honour of the 26 martyred Christians crucified in 1597, has been nominated as a World Heritage Site. Read More

US Presidential Election: Democrats Work to Overcome Disunity--UPDATED

New: Democrats seek to work past discord; set to nominate Clinton

Hillary Clinton was set to become the first woman presidential nominee of a major U.S. party on Tuesday, a historic moment that Democrats hope will help eclipse rancor between supporters of Clinton and her rival in the primary contests, Bernie Sanders. Read More

New: It’s up to Bernie Sanders to fix the Democratic Party

If there has been one dominant theme of the Democratic National Convention so far it’s been disunity. Read More

New: Democrats pull convention back from the brink

Sanders joins forces with Clinton camp to soothe angry delegates, as he makes a prime-time pitch for his former rival. Read More

New: Sanders Outlines a Plan to Help Clinton, Fundraising Not Included

The senator says he intends to give his delegates the opportunity to vote for him Tuesday even as he urges them to back Clinton and defeat Trump. Read More

New: Donald Trump risks 'financial crisis' from WTO exit

Donald Trump has revved up his populist campaign against international trade by threatening to withdraw the United States from the World Trade Organisation, an unprecedented move that economists said would cause a global financial crisis. Read More

New: From Nato to WTO, Trump challenges current world order

Toughening immigration checks for the French and Germans, questioning Nato obligations and hinting at an exit from the World Trade Organisation (WTO): Mr Donald Trump has cast further doubt on US alliances and commitments around the world. Read More

Putin’s suspected meddling in a U.S. election would be a disturbing first

Credit for the internecine furor that disrupted the Democratic Party on the eve of its convention should go to Vladimir Putin. Read More

Sources: US officials warned DNC of hack months before the party acted

Federal investigators tried to warn the Democratic National Committee about a potential intrusion in their computer network months before the party moved to try to fix the problem, U.S. officials briefed on the probe tell CNN. Read More

Russian Hackers Altered Emails Before Release to Wikileaks

New evidence is emerging that content from the DNC emails accessed by Russian hackers may have been altered before being released to Wikileaks. This added layer of information joined with the timing of the release and Trump’s cozy relationship with Putin paint a picture of deep collusion and planning aimed at fracturing any potential Democratic unity at the most crucial point in the 2016 presidential election cycle. Read More

Trump says he would consider alliance with Russia over Islamic State

Republican nominee Donald Trump said on Monday that if elected U.S. president he would weigh an alliance with Russia against Islamic State militants but rejected any suggestion Russian President Vladimir Putin might be trying to help him win. Read More

Dems open convention without Wasserman Schultz

The Democratic National Convention kicked off Monday without its outgoing Democratic National Committee chairwoman, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, following a chaotic scene at a morning meeting where she was loudly jeered by Bernie Sanders supporters. Read More

Hillary's convention opens with pro-Sanders protests

The Democratic convention that will make Hillary Clinton the first woman ever nominated by a major party for president opened Monday with protests in support of the man she defeated, Bernie Sanders -- who received the night's lengthiest and most rousing reception. Read More

On raucous opening night, Democratic stars make a pitch for Clinton

The Democratic Party's deep divisions were on full display on a raucous first day of its convention, with Bernie Sanders portraying Hillary Clinton as a fellow soldier in his fight for economic equality while his supporters booed the mere mention of her name. Read More

Bernie Sanders: 'I am proud to stand with her'

Bernie Sanders on Monday led an orchestrated attempt by Democratic leaders to pull their party together, but simmering anger among his die-hard supporters proved that Democratic unity will be a work in progress. Read More

Bernie Sanders Goes All In For Hillary Clinton

When Bernie Sanders walked out to address the Democratic National Convention, on Monday night, at Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Center, which normally serves as home to the N.B.A.’s hapless 76ers, he was fully aware that many of his supporters were ready for a fight. Read More

US election: Democratic Party struggles to present unified front on first day of convention

The first day of the Democratic National Convention, where she is set to become the first female presidential nominee for a major US party, has been marred by scandal and disunity. Read More

Clinton says there is an unfair 'Hillary standard' on trust and honesty

Hillary Clinton "felt sad" watching a Republican National Convention that was mostly about "criticizing me," she said an interview aired Sunday night on CBS' "60 Minutes." Read More

On the Net: "Two Statistics Every Church Planter Needs to Know" and Much More

Two Statistics Every Church Planter Needs to Know

With these two statistics in mind, church planters can start and grow healthy, Great Commission churches. Read More

The burning issue: Why the Church has got to start talking about hell

I'm not sure when I last heard any teaching about hell in church, never mind a good old fashioned hell-fire sermon. Isn't that a wonderful thing? Isn't the rejection of hell a sign we've grown up, matured and finally come into the 21st century? Isn't this a much nicer picture of God? Indeed it is. There is only one slight problem. Its not what Jesus taught. Which is a big problem for those who profess to be Christians – followers of Christ. Read More

3 Things Sin Can't Do To the Christian

Below are three things to remember about sin to remind yourself that it has ultimately lost its power in your life. These reminders help us eliminate the shame we feel after disobedience and push us to repent of our sin even when we're tempted to wallow in it. Read More

Don’t Be the Bottleneck

Effective lead pastors must learn how to lead larger. Read More

How People-Pleasing Crushes Your Leadership Potential

Ever wonder how your leadership potential gets crushed? How you end up stalling out as a leader with your dreams stifled and your future looking far less exciting than you hoped for? Read More

Eight Common Mistakes Rookie Pastors Make

As I have worked with hundreds of rookie pastors over the years, I see a pattern of mistakes many of them make. I pray my highlighting of these eight common mistakes will be helpful to some of you. Read More

7 Ways to Find Joy Today if Yesterday's Ministry Was Hard

I’ve been involved in the local church as a pastor long enough to know that some Sundays are really hard. If that’s the case for you, I hope these ideas will help you find some joy today. Read More

Political Speeches and Four Characteristics of a Great Message

There are common characteristics to a great presentation. Whether delivering a message to a leadership team, a group of employees, a congregation, or a large audience, effective messages contain the following four characteristics. Read More

You Have Enough Time to Study the Bible

Among Christians, I suspect busyness is the top excuse for not studying the Bible. Read More

Doin’ the Wonky with Words: 4 Word Study Missteps (Part 1)

The words of the Bible are your friends. Some are extroverted, linking arms with the words around them they communicate fairly clearly and openly. Other words are complex introverts, shying away from speaking the obvious. Still others seem clear but reward the time spent getting to know them. Suddenly you see that they are not who you thought they were at first blush. But all of the Bible’s words are your friends. Be kind to them. In this and the next post I will line out 4 common word study missteps we need to avoid. This will be fun. Here we go. Read More

Doin’ the Wonky with Words: 4 Word Study Missteps (Part 2)

In my last post I discussed briefly two wonky things we do with words: the root fallacy and the time-frame fallacy. In this post let’s discuss two other ways we throw Bible terms under the linguistic bus. Read More

Why Christians Should End Their Search for 'Relevance'

In a culture hell-bent on undermining traditional institutions, including the church, Christian witness will look neither conservative nor liberal but resilient. Read More

(Perhaps) The Most Insightful Interview You'll Read This Election Year

I have been convicted of late that I have not worked very hard to understand the appeal of Donald Trump to his working class white poor constituency. One helpful thing for me has been reading this interview with J.D. Vance, a graduate of Yale Law School graduate who grew up in dysfunctional Appalachian poverty and is the author of the new book, Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and a Culture in Crisis. Read More

Dems need to reverse moral misstep on abortion: Column

First-time call to make taxpayers fund abortions leads nation and democracy in wrong direction. Read More

Looking Ahead to the Likelihood of Increased Persecution in America

Several months ago I was asked by World Magazine some questions about religious persecution. Here are my responses. Read More

Bangladesh: Islamists step up persecution of Christians after rapid rise in conversions

Islamist terrorists are stepping up their persecution of Christians in Bangladesh after a rapid rise in converts. Read More

Muslim attacks on Christians in Egypt spiraling out of control

A senior bishop has issued a warning of an exponential spiralling of attacks on Christians in Egypt, home to three-quarters of all Christians in the Middle East. Read More

Massive increase in persecution against Christians in India

Persecution against Christians in India is increasing at an unprecedented rate but Christians are urging love and forgiveness for their Hindu neighbours, according to the charity Open Doors. Read More

US Presidential Election: Trump's Russian Connection and Democratic Party in Disarray

Trump & Putin. Yes, It's Really a Thing

At a minimum, Trump appears to have a deep financial dependence on Russian money from persons close to Putin. And this is matched to a conspicuous solicitousness to Russian foreign policy interests where they come into conflict with US policies which go back decades through administrations of both parties. There is also something between a non-trivial and a substantial amount of evidence suggesting Putin-backed financial support for Trump or a non-tacit alliance between the two men. Read More

The Donald Trump Russia Connection: 5 Facts You Should about Candidate's Possible Ties to Putin

Following are five points about the apparent links between Donald Trump and Russia that voters need to take into consideration in making a decision whether or not to vote for Trump on November 8. Read More

US fears over Donald Trump's connections with Vladimir Putin's Russia

Fears Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump may be pursuing a Russian agenda with his candidacy have triggered a wave of alarm in the US. Read More

What's Behind Russian Support for World's Separatist Movements?

Britain's decision to leave the European Union is just the beginning, if some in the Kremlin have their way. Read More

Donald Trump's plan to win the week

Donald Trump isn't giving up the spotlight as Democrats meet in Philadelphia to formally make Hillary Clinton their presidential nominee. Read More

Jennifer Rubin: Trump doubles down: Fear justifies a strongman

Donald Trump accepted the nomination of the Republican Party for president by appealing to, and fanning the flames of fear and resentment. It was notable for a presidential convention acceptance speech that it had so little hope, vision, or concrete examples of how Trump would advance his agenda and "Make America Great Again." Read More

Jackson: GOP not interested in appealing to black voters

By nominating Trump, who hemmed and hawed this year before finally disavowing the endorsement of former Ku Klux Klan grand wizard David Duke, the party signaled its belief that the race-baiting Southern strategy birthed by Richard Nixon can again carry it to victory. Read More

Trump’s killed the GOP: He erased covert racism from the party’s platform — by being overtly racist

The modern Republican Party is dead and Donald Trump killed it. He did so by extracting its heart, a large group of voters who joined the party because of their views on race but who disagree with the GOP’s economic positions. What replaces the modern Republican Party? That’s still anyone’s guess. Read More

Trump Threatens To Pull The U.S. Out Of The World Trade Organization

Add it to the list. Read More

Peter Thiel's 'I am proud to be gay' is a GOP convention first

Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal, spoke on Thursday night about his sexuality, but didn't go so far as to criticize specific parts of the platform. Read More

The Strange Politics of Peter Thiel, Trump’s Most Unlikely Supporter

The Republican Party’s new trade-loving, free-thinking, gay, Christian, antiwar, rich-as-hell, naturalized-citizen, Silicon Valley hero. Read More

America's Rejection of the Politics of Barack Obama

The president’s belief in policies that can benefit all Americans is being repudiated by voters, in favor of a vision of politics as a zero-sum game. Read More

Debbie Wasserman Schultz Resigns As Democratic Party Chair

After mounting pressure from party officials, Democratic National Committee chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz announced her resignation on Sunday, sending the party into turmoil ahead of its convention this week. Read More

US election: Email row claims Debbie Wasserman Schultz

The US Democratic Party chair says she will resign as a row over leaked emails threatens efforts for party unity at the presidential nominating convention. Read More

Democrats in disarray over party's attempts to brand Bernie Sanders as an atheist

The head of America's Democratic Party resigned on Sunday amid a furore over embarrassing leaked emails, hoping to head off a growing rebellion by Bernie Sanders supporters on the eve of the convention to nominate Hillary Clinton for the White House. Read More

Debbie Wasserman Schultz's controversial tenure

A slew of leaked emails was the last straw for Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who announced Sunday afternoon her resignation as chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee effective later this week. Read More

As DNC Begins, Many Sanders Supporters Not Ready To Get On Board For Clinton

If there was ever a time to show party unity, this would be it. Read More

Dismayed by Donald Trump, Michael Bloomberg Will Endorse Hillary Clinton

Michael R. Bloomberg, who bypassed his own run for the presidency this election cycle, will endorse Hillary Clinton in a prime-time address at the Democratic National Convention and make the case for Mrs. Clinton as the best choice for moderate voters in 2016, an adviser to Mr. Bloomberg said. Read More

Saturday Lagniappe: "5 Principles Megachurches Can Learn From Small Churches" and More

5 Principles Megachurches Can Learn From Small Churches

Healthy small churches have characteristics that make them work. And many of them can work in big churches, too. Read More

Five ways to engage: the city

Ben Pilgreen, a pastor and church planter in San Francisco, shares five simple steps for your church to engage your city. Read More

Trends in Church Architecture, Part 5

Can a church building be culturally engaged? Read More

Church Safety & Security: Insurance & Risk Management [audio] 

Recently at the Southeastern Center for Pastoral Leadership and Preaching, John Ewart, Stephen Griffin, Ron Allen, and George Harvey sat down to talk about what kind of policies, bylaws, and insurance coverage your church should have. Listen Now

A Brief Word to J. I. Packer on His 90th Birthday

As I reflect on who J. I. Packer is and what he has meant to me personally, several things come quickly to mind. Read More

Free Spiritual Gifts Analysis

The Team Ministry Spiritual Gifts Inventory is a discovery tool that provides you with a personalized analysis. Not a test, but a simple questionnaire giving you a profile of your God given spiritual gifts. Learn More

4 Ways to Build a Loyal Team

Todd Adkins examines four ways you can endear yourself to your team. Read More

Enough with the Vague Generalities of Prayer

"He prayed like he knew us." Read More

Stop Trying to Make the Bible Relevant to Teenagers

How do you break through to a young person so they see Scripture’s significance? How do you impress the Bible’s relevance on a teenager who gauges importance by whatever’s atop her social media stream? Read More

How Skipping Church Affects Our Children

The church is losing its young people because the parents never taught their children that it was important. Read More

Seven Steps towards a Greater Gospel Focus in Your Church

Eighty percent of churchgoers believe they have a personal responsibility to share their faith, yet 61% of them had not told another person about Christ in the last six months. The vast majority of Christians believe they should share their faith, but few actually do. Christians should be eternal optimists. The good news should compel us outward with love. If you’re leading a church, what can you do about the fact that most believers don’t share their faith? Read More

US Presidential Election 2016

Trump Returns to Old Attacks on First Day of General Election

Less than 12 hours after a scripted, 75-minute address to the Republican National Convention, Donald Trump was back to his old tricks — unscripted and rehashing old battles from the primaries. He...quickly ripped open old wounds — including a rehashing of attacks and allegations lobbed by Trump about Cruz's wife, Heidi, and father, Rafael. Read More

Republicans Are Really Afraid Of Hillary’s America

And the reasons why may not be good for America. Read More

The Worst Convention in U.S. History?

What was the worst convention in history—and how does this one stack up? Read More

Trump’s ‘Greatest Contribution to Christianity’: Pastors Preaching Politics

Republican nominee pledges to repeal Johnson Amendment. But pastors debate endorsing politicians from pulpits. Read More

Florida Gov. Rick Scott is wrong about the U.S. economy not growing

Our fact-check will focus on Scott’s statement that the economy is "not growing." We emailed Scott’s political consultant Wednesday night and did not get a reply by deadline. Read More

Ted Cruz 'not a Christian' after refusing to endorse Trump

Loyalists to the New York billionaire have not only accused Cruz of betraying his party but also his Christian faith. Read More

David Duke will bank on racial tensions in Louisiana Senate bid

Under normal circumstances, a candidate like Duke, with his shameful record of hate-mongering and losing to better, more mainstream opponents, wouldn’t stand a chance in this race. However, a closer look at the field of candidates and the current political climate quickly shows that these are far from normal circumstances. Read More

Melania Trump is happy using her sexuality if it helps win votes - and so is her husband

The way Mrs Trump III dresses is entirely consistent with the dresscodes of highly fragranced clusters of affluent women across the world, from Mayfair and Manhattan to Mumbai and Moscow. So similarly do these peripatetic female members of the super-rich, ultra-elite now look and behave that they increasingly represent a no-borders nation. Read More

Hillary Clinton selects Tim Kaine as her running mate

Hillary Clinton has chosen Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine to be her running mate, turning to a steady and seasoned hand in government to fill out the Democratic ticket, she announced Friday. Read More

Clinton picks Catholic former missionary Tim Kaine as running mate

The selection of Kaine, a self-described "boring" Virginian with a reputation for low-key competence, could appeal to independents and moderates, but it quickly angered liberal groups that object to his advocacy for an Asian free-trade pact. Read More

Who is Tim Kaine? Clinton's 'smart political pick' for VP a bipartisan favorite

Virginia senator takes to the campaign trail with counter argument to Trump’s hard line immigration stance and a track record steering clear of controversy. Read More

4 Reasons Why Progressives Aren't Thrilled With Clinton's Pick Of Kaine

While many pundits and political observers were quick to praise Hillary Clinton's pick of Tim Kaine as her running mate on Friday, the choice wasn't met with universal acclaim. Read More

Is Tim Kaine Boring? The Dems Should Hope So.

Let’s face it: Most ‘exciting’ veep picks have been disasters. Read More

Kaine on the issues: Not always taking the party line

From abortion to taxes to trade, Hillary Clinton’s choice for vice president breaks with liberals in his Democratic Party. Read More

In picking Tim Kaine, Hillary Clinton missed an opportunity

In case you didn't hear any fanfare late Friday night when Hillary Clinton announced her vice presidential running mate, that's because Tim Kaine is not a fanfare type of candidate. He is, by definition, meh. Read More

Holiness and Cultural Apologetics

Cultural apologetics has become more and more necessary as our culture has become both more “religious” and more anti-Christian. It provides a way of speaking to people about the gospel in terms they understand.

I came to cultural apologetics through culture shock. For eighteen years, I taught theology in secular, “godless” France. When I returned, American culture was still religious but was changing religion. After being back for six months, I wrote my first book in English: The Gnostic Empire Strikes Back: An Old Heresy for the New Age (1992). I argued that the New Age movement was not a weird sect but a major apostasy that would change the very soul of the culture. Twenty-four years later, I’ll let the reader decide if I was right.

Over those years, I have used a number of phrases to describe the raging religious conflict: orthodoxy and gnosticism, Christianity and paganism, monism and theism. I finally settled on a simple formula—Oneism or Twoism, a phrase I came to from staring hard and long at Romans 1:25, where the brilliant Apostle Paul takes us to ground zero of the nature of our humanity. There are only two ways of being human. You either worship creation (in a thousand different ways) or you worship the Creator. Read More

On the Net: "Vanishing Evangelism: The Sobering Case of Church Plants and Evangelism" and More

Vanishing Evangelism: The Sobering Case of Church Plants and Evangelism

Two-thirds of church plants have mostly connected with people who were already a part of a church. Read More

Explainer: Divine Simplicity and the Trinitarian Controversy

Today I’m pleased to run this helpful guest post from my friend Andrew Fulford. Given the confusion that has surrounded the recent trinitarian debate, I thought it would be useful to find someone who could write a relatively straight forward post explaining the different terms being tossed around in this debate so far. So this post is going to be a Vox-style explainer answering some of the basic questions that have come up due to the controversy. Read More

The Dark Side of Leadership Success

There’s a dark side of leadership success, and many don’t like talking about it. Read More

What should a pastor do in his first few years at a church?

So many of the mistakes and missteps a pastor makes in a church as the new pastor comes from a lack of knowledge of what to do. Read More

Preacher’s Toolkit: How Long Should My Sermons Be?

How can one preach better and still afford to preach longer? Faithful preachers who desire to also be interesting must learn four key moves to delivering the kind of sermons that help listeners remain engaged. Read More

Your Life Can Change In One Day

How are you allowing your “one days” to shape your life? Read More

Dobson Endorses Trump, While Evangelical Leaders Advise Voting for Lesser Evil

Pew tracks how many evangelicals came to pick Trump for president. Read More

Why Neither Candidate Has Hispanic Christians Convinced This Election

Leading evangelical explains how both Trump and Clinton fall short. Read More

Arson attacks on 2 Anglican churches in India 

Police in Karnataka in Southern India are investigating the firebombing of two Church of South India churches. Read More

 India: Three Christians severely beaten by suspected Hindu extremists

Three Christians were subject to a brutal attack in central India after being questioned about their faith. Read More

The Day after the Republican Convention--UPDATED

For readers who are following the US presidential race, I have assembled a number of articles related to the controversial candidacy of New York multimillionaire Donald Trump.

New:‘I alone can fix it’ — the simple and dangerous appeal of Trump’s worldview
New: Donald Trump doesn’t want to make America great. He wants to make it afraid.
New: Here are the debunked claims in Trump's convention speech
New: Obama: Trump's remarks on violence, immigration don't jive with facts
New: President Obama Says Donald Trump’s View of America Doesn’t ‘Jibe’ With the Facts
New: Donald Trump and Peter Thiel Have One Scary Thing in Common
New: Campaign live: ex-KKK leader declares Senate run, is 'overjoyed' with Trump
New: Ex-KKK leader David Duke announces Senate run for La. seat
New: Opinion: Ted Cruz, The Big Cuban Elephant in The Room
New: Donald Trump: I wouldn't accept Ted Cruz's endorsement
New: Donald Trump's Dark, Dark Convention Speech
New: George Harrison’s estate slams use of ‘Here Comes the Sun’ at Republican National Convention
New: Now the Beatles Are Angry With Donald Trump For Using Their Music
New: 10 takeaways from Donald Trump's Republican Convention
New: We Just Watched the Republican Party Kill Itself
New: A Donald Trump Speech Whose Sunny Spots Came Mostly From the Stage Lights
Trump accepts Republican nomination, vows to 'put America first'
Donald Trump’s RNC 2016 Speech Packed With Lies And Shady Stats
Editorial: Donald Trump plays the fear card at the Republican convention
Donald Trump Is Bidding to Transform the GOP Into a White-Identity-Politics Party
Analysis: Trump aims at voters he already has, betting they will give him a November win
Exclusive: Trump could seek new law to purge government of Obama appointees
Republicans rip Trump over NATO plan
Trump Comments on Withdrawing US Forces from Asia Raise Alarm
Ted Cruz defends refusal to endorse Trump: I'm not a 'servile puppy dog'
Ugliness, hate in Cleveland overshadowed by Melania Trump's speech flap
Day 2 of GOP convention speeches: CNN vets the claims
Fact check: Donald Trump's false and misleading claims
Demonizing Clinton can backfire for Trump

Back to the Early Church?

Ancient Roman Catacomb

You’ve probably heard it many times. “We just need to get back to the days of the early church.” “You know, things would be so much better in contemporary Christianity if we were more like the early church.”

While there were some great things happening then, I’m not so sure that I am eager to get back to the early church days. They, too, had their problems. Here are a few reasons why we might put the brakes on the glamorization of the early church. Read More

On the Net: "7 Suggestions TO DO When the Church is in Decline" and More

7 Suggestions TO DO When the Church is in Decline

There are no cookie-cutter solutions for reversing a church in decline. Churches have unique characteristics, because they have different people. They are different reasons which cause decline. It could be anything from poor leadership, to being locked into the traditions of men or simply a change in population in the community. It’s difficult to copy what someone else has done, because the causes are so different. Read More

Planning to Plant a Church? Read This First

Not all planning practices are equal. Planning is most effective when the correct planning style is applied. Read More

Seven Ideas for Effective Church Guest Follow-Up

As we’ve talked with ministry leaders from around the country, I’ve been surprised at the number of churches who do not have a plan for guest follow-up. There may be some structure or a first point of contact, but there’s often no roadmap for the staff to follow. And if the staff don’t have a roadmap, how can we expect guests to know what’s next for them? Read More

Trends in Church Architecture, Part 3

Third Places are the new multi-purpose building. Read More

Trends in Church Architecture, Part 4

Here are seven "Third Places" churches have built in and for their communities. Read More

6 Takeaways from Scaling Up Excellence

How does a leader lead people to scale without losing excellence? Read More

5 Things Insecure Leaders Wrongly Believe

So much of leadership is actually not a battle with others, it’s a battle with yourself. And a good portion of that battle arises out of insecurity. Read More

10 Characteristics of the Best Bad Church Leaders I've Ever Known

In the past, I’ve written about characteristics of effective leaders I’ve known. Today, I write about church leaders I’ve known who were strong leaders on one hand, but poor leaders on the other. Here are some of their good and bad characteristics. Read More

Preaching Matters: Preaching 2 Timothy [Video]

In this month's Preaching Matters' resource, Andy Gemmill tackles how to preach 2 Timothy. Watch Now

How To Pray When Your Soul Is Bone Dry

You know you ought to pray. You know that God invites and even commands you to pray. He loves to hear from you, loves to know you. Yet there are times when your soul feels bone dry, when even opening your mouth to pray seems an impossibility. What do you do? Read More

10 Small Group Lessons from Old-Fashioned Sunday School

When I started ministry many years ago, on-campus Sunday school was the predominant form of small groups. That trend has changed now, but the structure of old-fashioned Sunday school still provides needed lessons for small groups, regardless of their meeting place or time. Read More

In the old-fashioned Sunday school class one person lectured the class on the content of the Bible. Small groups differ from the old-fashioned Sunday school in that the group leader or co-leaders do not teach the Bible but lead the group in the study of the Bible. The training of small group leaders is different from that of Sunday school teachers, focusing on Bible study methods that the group members can learn themselves and small group dynamics. Small groups primarily use the inductive Bible study method. As far as the study of the Bible is concerned, the small group's goal is to transform its participants into "self-feeders." These important differences need to be kept in mind.

BLESS: A 5-Step Path to Relational Evangelism

For the formerly unchurched, relationships played a part in 57 percent of the decisions to return to the church. Read More

The Sexual Revolution and the Witness of the Church

In the face of the sexual revolution, the Christian church in the West now faces a set of moral challenges that exceeds anything it has experienced in the past. This is a revolution of ideas—one that is transforming the entire moral structure of meaning and life. These challenges would be vexing enough for any generation. But the contours of our current challenge have to be understood over against the affecting reality for virtually everything on the American landscape, and furthermore in the West. This revolution, like all revolutions, takes few prisoners. In other words, it demands total acceptance of its revolutionary claims and the affirmation of its aims. This is the problem that now confronts Christians who are committed to faithfulness to the Bible as the Word of God and to the gospel as the only message of salvation. Read More

Russia's Ban on Evangelism Is Now in Effect

But how strictly will it be enforced? Read More

On the Net: "7 Suggestions NOT To Do When the Church is in Decline" and More

7 Suggestions NOT To Do When the Church is in Decline

The hardest lesson a church needs to learn in a period of decline, however, is often not what they should do, but what they shouldn’t. I’ve seen churches make, at least what appears to me, to be an abundance of wrong decisions towards growing again. The purpose of this post is to help churches who may find themselves in a declining period avoid mistakes I’ve seen some churches make. Read More

What Happens When a Small Church Begins to Grow?

I learned that small churches that begin to really reach out with the gospel would discover that their desires are at war. Read More

Eight Warning Signs of a Bully Church Member

It’s one thing for me to state the obvious: the traits of a bully. But it’s another thing for me to provide early warning signs so you won’t be blindsided. Here are eight of those warning signs. Read More

Are We Distracting Ourselves to Death?

How technology-driven "hyperreality" hijacks our attention and makes us numb to real-life dangers. Read More

Seven Truths about the Doctrine of Vocation

In 1 Corinthians 7:17–24 Paul speaks of our calling before God. In all of his writings, this may be one that most directly deals with the doctrine of vocation. On Sunday, we will consider this subject at length. In preparation, here are seven truths that relate to “vocation” and our calling to live for and before God in all we say and do. Read More

What's the most important characteristic for a potential elder? [Video]

Juan Sanchez, author of 1 Peter For You, answers in this short video. Watch Now

The Scripture That Is Most Overlooked by Pastors

Many a servant of the Lord has been treated less kindly by Christians than any business in town would treat an employee. Read More

8 Reasons to Preach Through Books of the Bible

While there’s no need to be dogmatic about this kind of sermon delivery, and while I think taking time for short topical sermon series or strategic “stand-alone” messages can be good and helpful, I do think it is generally wise for a pastor not just to preach expositionally, but to preach expositionally through entire books of the Bible. I think every preacher ought to endeavor to feed his flock this way. And here are eight reasons why. Read More

What Is Patience?

Waiting for God is at the heart of living by faith. Read More

David Brainerd: Preach for holiness by preaching the gospel

Brainerd’s primary method in his mission work was Christ-centered preaching. He explained his approach to preaching in his journal: “I cannot but take notice, that I have, in the general, ever since my first coming among these Indians in New Jersey, been favoured with that assistance, which to me is uncommon, in preaching Christ crucified, and making him the centre and mark to which all my discourses among them were directed.” According to Brainerd, Christ was the energizing center of every sermon but he is also the mark, or the goal of every sermon. Read More

Reclaiming evangelism: Why Christians need to recover their passion for Christ

As I travel around churches in the UK, I have found that Christians are feeling more and more like a minority, and with this comes a shyness about being open about their faith. Read More

Christians need to recover their passion for Christ in the United States as well as in the United Kingdom.

Nigeria: Quarter of a million children starving in Boko Haram's Borno state

Nearly a quarter of a million children are suffering from life-threatening malnourishment in Boko Haram's home state of Borno in Nigeria, and one in five are at risk of dying, UNICEF said on Tuesday. Read More

General Synod shared sex conversations place unity above truth, critics charge

The Church of England's "Shared Conversations" program to resolve its divide over the moral and doctrinal issues surrounding the new thinking on homosexuality have failed to take the testimony of Scripture seriously, 32 members of the 1990 Group of General Synod said in a letter sent to the College of Bishops on 17 July 2016. While progressive members of Synod have applauded the facilitated conversations on the new ethics, seeing them as a fair representation of their views, traditionalists have been less sanguine. Read More

Divisions deepen in Church of England as conservatives express 'lack of confidence' in gay marriage talks

A group of conservative Anglicans have expressed their "lack of confidence" in the Church of England's talks on gay relationships. Read More

Is the Reformation Over?

Is the Reformation over? Have the issues that divided Protestants and Catholics been sufficiently resolved that we can now pursue a return to unity? At the very end of his book Rescuing the Gospel, an account of the Protestant Reformation, Erwin Lutzer offers a compelling answer. While he admits that both Protestantism and Catholicism have developed since the sixteenth century and while he points out areas in which Protestants and Catholics are working in a common cause toward common goals, he insists that the Reformation has not yet come to an end. Any unity would come at the expense of the gospel. “On the most critical issue, namely the salvation of the human soul, Luther’s Reformation is far from over … No matter how many changes the Catholic Church makes, it will not—indeed cannot—endorse an evangelical view of salvation.”

Many make the argument that Catholicism has changed, that the church of the twenty-first century is so vastly different from the church of the sixteenth century that the old disagreements and arguments no longer hold. But here Lutzer points to 5 contemporary teachings of the Roman Catholic Church that must continue to divide us. Read More

On the Net: "12 Band Aid Solutions to Church Problems" and More

12 Band Aid Solutions to Church Problems

This past weekend, I injured my thumb, and the bleeding necessitated a Band-Aid. The Band-Aid, though, didn’t fix the problem; it just stopped the bleeding. That’s usually what happens, too, when church leaders choose "Band-Aid" solutions for congregational problems like those listed below. The bleeding stops, but the problem ultimately remains. Read More

Trends in Church Architecture, Part 2

Larger churches building smaller buildings with community areas are a growing trend. Read More

11 Actions for Culture Cultivation

Just as a healthy garden will not exist without careful gardening and constant attention, a healthy culture does not happen by accident. Culture is the shared beliefs and values that guide a group of people. Left alone, culture deteriorates. Wise and loving leaders cultivate the culture in which they are leading. If leaders fail to cultivate the culture, they are ignoring the environment that the people they serve alongside must live in, and of course, this greatly and adversely impacts the people the organization or ministry is designed to serve. Here are eleven actions for culture cultivation. Read More

Do Churches Contribute to Solving Social Problems?

An increasing number of Americans say that churches and other houses of worship do not contribute to solving important social problems. Read More

Why Helping a Refugee Could Change the World

his is why the local church matters. Politicians see problems; we see people, created in the image of God. Read More

How Donald Trump weaponised prayer at the Republican National Convention

When a candidate for the highest office in the land seeks to baptise his political crusade and make it a fundamentalist religious one, alarm bells should start ringing. Read More

The Legacy of One-Point Calvinism and Casual Churchianity

Whether from fear or ignorance, sizeable segments of the Christian church avoid the New Testament teaching that pursuing purity in this life is necessary for entrance into the next. Read More

4 Simple Steps for Doing Bible Word Studies

Even if you consider yourself linguistically languid, or you can’t tell a Hebrew aleph from a Greek alpha (those are letters of the alphabet), YOU CAN do basic word studies on the Bible. Here’s how. Read More

No gay church weddings for Nova Scotia

The Bishop of Nova Scotia has written to his clergy in the aftermath of last week’s General Synod vote on gay marriage, saying he will not permit them to solemnize same-sex weddings. Although all eight clergy and lay delegates from the diocese to the 7-12 June 2016 meeting in Toronto voted in favor of amending the marriage canon, the Rt. Rev. Ronald Cutler said he would not give his permission. Read More

Gay marriage "no" vote not counted at General Synod

None of the votes of Anglican Church of Canada's National Indigenous Bishop, the Rt. Rev. Mark MacDonald, were recorded electronically during the recent General Synod. Read More

Nigeria: 200 Muslims storm and destroy Catholic church

A group of several hundred Muslim youths have stormed and destroyed a Catholic church in Nigeria, days after a female pastor was hacked to death and a week after the similarly brutal killing of another, male evangelical pastor. Read More

Loving Muslims Begins with Honesty

Do Christians and Muslims worship the same deity? It has become one of the most pressing and controversial questions in the world in the last fifteen years.

The question was stirred up in earnest in 2001 in the aftermath of fundamentalist Muslims flying hijacked commercial jetliners into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York. And tragically the question has been stirred up time and time again in the decade and a half since, after a wave of major terrorist attacks, undertaken in the name of Allah. Recent months have brought large-scale tragedies in Paris, Orlando, Istanbul, Baghdad, and now Nice, France.

After each attack, fresh voices either demonize Islam or seek to dispel any notions that Islam itself might be the problem. But however important the sociology and politics may be for secularists, beneath it lies the all-important question for Christians and Muslims: Is the Islamic notion of Allah compatible with the Christian belief in God?

I had the privilege of putting the question to D.A. Carson, world traveler and world-class scholar, co-founder of The Gospel Coalition, and author of Love in Hard Places, in which he addresses some of the challenges related to Islam. Do Christians and Muslims worship the same God?

“I wish I could give you a simple yes-no answer that would be definitive,” says Carson. “My bottom line is no — but you have to get there carefully.” Read More

Photo credit: John A. Gillis, The (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) Daily News Journal

On the Net: "Trends in Church Architecture, Part 1" and More

Trends in Church Architecture, Part 1

Don't overlook the philosophical importance of worship facilities. Read More

5 Reasons Why Racism and Christianity Don't Mix

It’s no secret that America has been wrapped up in discussions about racism the last few weeks. It’s a real issue, and it’s not limited to the non-Christian world. Racism is, I’m afraid, still alive even in the church. Here are five reasons, though, that Christianity and racism must not co-exist within the Body of Christ. Read More

5 Principles for Studying the Trinity

The Trinity has been “trending” lately in the blogosphere. I think that is a good thing insofar as theological debate often leads to greater theological clarity. Rather than wade into the contested areas, I thought it might be helpful to offer a broader, more constructive post for those of us (like myself) who, particularly in light of the controversy, see our need to keep “beefing up” our understanding of the Trinity. So here are 5 basic principles that I have reflected on in my own study of the Trinity that may be helpful for others. I have in mind especially lay Christians who are less involved in all the technicalities of the current debates, although in the fourth point I engage the current conversation a tiny bit. Read More

“Forced Love” Is the Wrong Way to Look at It

I often hear the Calvinist view of salvation (i.e., that God gives spiritual life to those whom He chooses so that they will inevitably love and trust in Him) denigrated as a description of worthless “forced love.” But the analogy is all wrong. Read More

5 Signs That It’s Time for a Staff Member to Resign

If your overall church culture creates a safe environment for the staff, transitions can be a normal and healthy part of staff life. Read More

Every Church Leader Has 3 Realms of Ministry

Since the earliest days of Saddleback Church, I’ve challenged every staff member to think about their role in at least 3 realms. Read More

7 Things Bad Leaders Say

Has bad thinking clouded your ability to lead effectively? Read More

7 Necessary Steps When You Need to Have a Difficult Conversation

In relationships, there are consistent needs to have difficult conversations. Often leaders, spouses, and friends avoid them, but it’s often to the detriment of the relationship. Read More

3 Different Views of “Restoration”

I have learned that churches and leaders typically hold to one of three different views about pastoral restoration. These views are not about being restored to Christ, receiving forgiveness, and being warmly embraced into Christian fellowship. All three of these views would advocate that people who repent should experience restoration into fellowship, but they differ on restoration to pastoral leadership. Read More

Pastor, make prayer a priority

When I became a senior pastor, transitioning from an associate role at another church, my life and ministry suddenly became very busy—busier than they had ever been before. I knew, without a doubt, what I was called to do. I knew what I should be doing. Yet week after week, I saw the things I was supposed to be doing getting squeezed out of my schedule because there were urgent demands on my time. Above all else, the one task that seemed to get squeezed out most was prayer. Read More

Helping Teenagers Live Out God’s Purposes

Teenagers were created by God to fulfill these five purposes. Read More

Recovering the Priority of Personal Holiness

In an age when the church is emulating the world, where it is no longer distinguishable from our pleasure-oriented culture, the example of John Owen shines like a beacon on a stormy night. Read More

10 Ways To Resist The Devil

It is one of the Bible’s many sweet and powerful promises: “Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). The question is, though, how do we do this? In very practical ways, how do we resist the devil? Thomas Brooks offers a list of ten ways the Christian can resist Satan’s temptations. Read More

The Recent Turkish Coup: What It Means and How to Pray

For people outside of Turkey, the most pressing questions are simple: How did this even happen, and what does it mean? Answering them requires a basic understanding of Turkish political and religious history, so let’s take a quick look back. Read More

Germany: Steep decline in Catholic church attendance

Almost 200,000 Catholics left the Church in Germany last year, according to figures which show an ongoing, steady decline in church attendance in that country. Read More

Sunday Bonus: "The Word-Focused Ministry of Martin Luther" and More

The Word-Focused Ministry of Martin Luther

The centerpiece of Luther’s ministry was his forthright preaching in the pulpit. He believed the preaching of the Word must hold the place of preeminence in the church. “The pulpit,” Luther asserted, “is the throne for the Word of God.” He added, “The highest worship of God is the preaching of the Word; because thereby are praised and celebrated the name and the benefits of Christ.” Read More

For Whom Did Christ Die?

In his epistles, Paul speaks of Christ’s death in both a particularistic way (for a specific group) and a universalistic way (for an undefined, ambiguous group). I would argue that these texts present compatible elements of Paul’s atonement theology. Read More

5 Strategies for Shortening Your Sermons

Not everything you’ve prepared should be preached. Read More

How to Survive the Sermon When Your Pastor Goes Off-Script

Brace yourself. Improv is coming. Read More

Church aflame

‘Can you imagine a revival in today’s over-stressed, over-worked, pleasure-seeking obsessed, unchurched society? It can happen! Discover how in this encouraging story of a dramatic turnaround that changed a whole area of Wales.’ Read More

Majority of US evangelical Christians have moral problem with gender reassignment

American evangelicals are at odds with the rest of the population when it comes to issues of gender fluidity, new research by Lifeway has found. Read More

Where Evangelicals Stand on Transgender Morality

LifeWay Research looks at how Americans feel about changing genders. Read More

Seven bishops ‘publicly dissent’ from same-sex marriage vote

General Synod “erred grievously” in its approval, earlier this week, of a resolution allowing same-sex marriages, a group of seven bishops say. Read More

Conservative bishops in Canada condemn same-sex marriage vote

Conservative bishops in the Anglican Church of Canada have condemned the vote to allow same-sex marriage in as a "fundamental departure" from the Church's teaching. Read More

Sheep among Wolves

The reality is that the Anglican Church of Canada wasn’t saved by Monday’s narrow victory and then suddenly lost by Tuesday’s betrayal of the rules. The Church of Canada was lost over a period of years. It’s walls of orthodox teaching and practice that protected the sheep crumbled slowly but deliberately. Read More

China: Christian children forbidden from attending church; parents threatened

Church members in China have been threatened with being sued and their children barred from college, a persecution charity has said. Read More

Saturday Lagniappe: Liberal UMC Jurisdictional Conference elects openly lesbian bishop

Due to internet connection problems I was unable to post Saturday Lagniappe yesterday. I will be posting links to more articles later today providing the internet connection problems do not reoccur.

Lesbian Bishop Election Exacerbates Tensions in United Methodist Church

United Methodists in the denomination’s liberal Western Jurisdiction have elected the first openly partnered gay bishop in the 13 million-member global church’s history. Read More

Methodist Bishops respond to election of Lesbian bishop in San Francisco

Bishop Bruce R. Ough, president of the United Methodist Council of Bishops, issued the following statement regarding the results of today’s Episcopal election at the Western Jurisdictional Conference of The United Methodist Church, meeting in Scottsdale, Arizona. Read More