What We Can Learn from C. S. Lewis

Ask God to Forgive You, Not Excuse You: Five Lessons from C. S. Lewis

God exists everywhere and everywhen. He is eternal and omnipresent. And not only is he present everywhere, he is everywhere pursuing us. He is the hunter, the king, the husband, approaching us at an infinite speed. Central to C.S. Lewis’s vision of the Christian life is the basic fact that we are always in God’s presence and pursuit.

This basic fact about reality yields a basic choice. We can either embrace and welcome this reality, surrendering ourselves to this eternal, omnipresent, and pursuing God, or we can vainly try to hide from him, to resist his advances, to reject his offer. Thus, though it is true that we are always in God’s presence, it’s equally true that we are perpetually called to come into God’s presence, to unveil ourselves to him.

“All of us are worse than we think.”

A chief component of this unveiling is the confession of our sins. If we are to come into God’s presence, we must come honestly. We must come as we are. And what we are is a bundle of sins, fears, needs, wants, and anxieties, so our honesty and unveiling must include the confession of sins.

Lewis is aware that the confession of sin is difficult and fraught with danger. Thus, in a number of places, he offers counsel on the perils and pitfalls of confessing our sins. Read More

Share Your Faith Like C.S. Lewis

C. S. Lewis denied he was a theologian but he did declare “I am a rhetor.”[1]

Since all rhetoric is persuasive—whether it be a request for someone to pass the salt or a shouted warning to flee a burning building—it is safe to say that through the spoken word as well as the written word Lewis sought to persuade.

However, his methods were not manipulative. He was committed to objective value, seeking to follow the truth where ever it led. He was a truth seeker and attempted to be a truth teller. This was true of Lewis as a rhetor and no less true of him as an evangelist.

Lewis wanted to point people to God. Although he was not always comfortable in the role of an evangelist, he was true to this task and regarded it as a necessary one.

That is, he sought to persuade others to accept the message of the Christian gospel—or good news—that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself (2 Cor. 5:19). Read More

The image is one of Pauline Bayne's illustrations in The Magician's Nephew, the sixth book in C.S. Lewis' The Narnia Chronicles. It depicts Aslan on the day he sung Narnia into being. To those who have not read the Narnia Chronicles, I strongly recommend that they should be read in the order that they were originally written and published, beginning with The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. The Magician's Nephew appears to assume that the reader has already read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. The order in which the Narnia Chronicles was originally written and published also reflects Lewis' strategy for drawing the reader into the world of Narnia. A mental image of a fawn with an umbrella on a snowy day is what inspired Lewis to write the Narnia Chronicles in the first place. The fawn was Tumnus whom Lucy meet when she went through the wardrobe. Lewis stopped writing the Narnia Chronicles when the images ceased. While the Narnia Chronicles are now published with the Magician's Nephew as the first book in the series, The Lion, the Witch, and Wardrobe is anticlimatic if one reads The Magician's Nephew first. 

Should We Choose Jesus over the Bible?

In response to the biblicism of some corners of Christianity, other Christians have wrongly pitted Jesus against the Bible. Do you know what biblicism is? It’s a careless way of handling the Bible concerning what to believe and how to behave. It assumes a no-creed-but-the-Bible stance on doctrine or denies that we all come to the Bible with an interpretive lens. Biblicism produces problematic ethics and clumsy theology.

The remedy often given for biblicism is to emphasize Jesus over the Bible. Scripture is not God, the argument goes, so we must not venerate it as such. We must see that the Bible points to Jesus, but not the other way around. As stated by Brian Zahnd, a pastor who rejects the orthodox understanding of the Bible, Scripture is a witness to Jesus in the way that John the Baptist is a witness. Scripture, like John the Baptist, testifies about Christ.

Therefore, the argument goes, if we are going to read the Bible as a guide to life, we must read it in the light of Christ. Christ is perfect, not the Bible. Christ is the second person of the Trinity, not the Bible. There is one Mediator between God and man, and it is not the Bible. “The church must always be in conversation with Scripture, but to the end that we must submit to the rule of the living Christ,” Zahnd says. In this view, troubling passages are understood as submissive to Christ, and they therefore can be disregarded or weighted differently.

It may sound good to say we need to submit to Christ over the Bible, but there are deep problems with this view. Read More

5 Things Every Congregation Must Understand About Worship

What We Get Wrong, and How We Get It Right

I’ve now spent most of my adult life (30 years) thinking about, leading, and teaching on the topic of worship. It’s been central to my life’s call to reflect on why we do what we do in worship in settings like local churches, conference events, an universities. After interacting with contemporary worship ideas around the world over these past 3 decades, here are the top 5 most important things I believe every congregation needs to understand about worship. Read More

Respectfully Engaging Shintoism [Podcast]

In this episode, Dr. Darrell L. Bock and David and Kathy Sedlacek discuss world religions, focusing on Shintoism. Watch Now

Also See
Cross-Cultural Church Planting Is Costly [Podcast]

The first post is a video podcast; the second, an audio podcast.

Thursday's Catch: "10 Books for the Library of Every Church Revitalizer or Replanter" and More

10 Books for the Library of Every Church Revitalizer or Replanter - Revitalize & Replant #036 [Podcast]

Pastors in the midst of revitalization are often asking us about resources to help them. Today we cover 10 foundational books for revitalization and replanting. Listen Now

20 Hidden Killers in Your Ministry

Congregations often thrive for the first generation of their lives. At some point when they are 20-something, their founding dream or vision wanes. If they do not intervene in their own journey in response to the spiritual nudge of the Triune God, the vitality and vibrancy of their congregation will diminish incrementally for the succeeding decades, and they will approach death at some future date. Read More

9 Marks of an Unhealthy Church

Here are nine marks that your church—even one that believes the Bible, preaches the gospel and embraces good ecclesiology—may be unhealthy. Read More

20 Truths from Leading Major Change in Your Ministry

God has an amazing capacity to use leaders in their present situation. Read More

Are people ultimately good or bad? [Video]

“Are people ultimately good or bad?" Dr. Stephen Wellum answers in Honest Answers. Watch Now

5 Facts About Pastors Most Church Members Are Unclear On

In my experience, most pastors hesitate to teach the biblical understanding of the role of pastors because to do so might sound self-serving, as though they were trying to carve out a bigger role for themselves in leading the church. This is a serious error for which we are now paying, as many congregations are turning the minister into a hired hand, employing him as an errand boy or treating him as an executive brought in to lead their “country club.” Read More

When Hot-Button Issues Cry Out to Young Pastors

Just a few considerations for some of us younger, under-50ish pastors as hot-button social and cultural issues demand our attention.... Read More

Are You Too Old To Lead Worship?

There’s not a worship team on earth that hasn’t had to address this question. The tension is alive. What is the lifecycle of a worship leader or a musician? Read More

Money And The Small Church: Job One – Don’t Spend More Than You Bring In

You can’t spend your way into church growth, congregational health or kingdom impact.

When it comes to the issue of Money And The Small Church, (or money and big churches, money and family finances, money and business, etc.) there is one principle that stands high above all the others.

It’s so basic, I almost feel silly having to write it. But it is Job One for faithful financial stewardship.

Don’t spend more money than you bring in.

That’s it. There is simply no financial principle more important for a church to observe. Read More

The Rainer Report: Church Sickness #3: Detail Distraction [Video]

Detail Distraction happens when there is too much focus on minor issues to the detriment of major issues. Watch Now

Some (Recent) History of Church Planting – Two Startup Models

As long as the Kingdom of God is being built, we can be thankful for diversity in approaches.

It is important to remember that ‘missiology’ is not a thing. It is things.

Some people say, “We just have to think missiologically.” But, they need to know that a missiology of a tribal people group in Papau New Guinea is very different than a missiology of Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood.

As such, when we think missiologically, there is not one right way to plant a church, so it is worth looking at how churches are planted.

Let’s face it: sometimes, there is arrogance among church planters. Not you, but some of the others!

Often, this is just part of the entrepreneurial spirit that often accompanies people who start new things. Many times, new projects are started in order to ‘do right’ what previous starters ‘did wrong’.

In fact, you will find that frustration coupled with attempts to rebuild a broken structure often erupt into a drive to build something completely new. Building something new is good. But it isn’t good to plant a church for the wrong reasons, or to plant a church to show the world how it should be done right.

Today, church plants are everywhere, and cover a multitude of expressions and tracks. Let me share just two and talk a bit about the history that created the second. Read More

How Much Theology Do I Have to Know to Be a Christian?

We’ve never had more access to knowledge than we do today. Your smartphone is a reference librarian bringing the world to your fingertips. Curious about the hypostatic union? Just google it. Looking for a definition of penal substitutionary atonement? Ask Siri (it works; I tried).

All this information can be overwhelming, and explains why someone might ask, “How much must I know to be saved?” or, more precisely, “What exactly must I know to be sure I have eternal life?” Clearly, we must know something. As John Murray rightly taught, “There is a knowledge that is indispensable to faith.” But what knowledge? And how much of it is required? Read More

Wednesday's Catch: "3 Reasons Your Change Efforts Could Fail" and More

3 Reasons Your Change Efforts Could Fail

These three things could sabotage your change efforts before they get off the ground. Read More

The Gospel-Shaped Pastor

How do we become a “gospel-shaped pastor”? How (and why) should we keep the good news of the finished work of Christ at the center of our hearts and the forefront of our minds? There are many reasons, but here are four of the more important ones. Read More

Pastors: Get All the Education You Can, Then Never Mention It Again!

Pastor, given a choice–and you always have a choice–try not to look and act like a Pharisee. For my money, the best way–the very best way in the universe–is to use this phrase: “When I got my doctorate....” Read More

Don’t Quit Your Day Job (God Can Use It)

We need to encourage those who work “secular” jobs to live on mission as those strategically placed by God. Read More

The Pastor's Currency Is Influence

Are you spending it wisely? Read More

The 10 Commandments Of Preaching

Everyone makes mistakes, but for all the mistakes preachers can (and do) make, here are 10 that we should do our best to avoid at all costs. Read More

7 Startling Facts: An Up Close Look at Church Attendance in America

What’s the latest on church attendance in America?

1. Less than 20 percent of Americans regularly attend church—half of what the pollsters report.

While Gallup polls and other statisticians have turned in the same percentage—about 40 percent of the population—of average weekend church attendees for the past 70 years, a different sort of research paints quite a disparate picture of how many Americans attend a local church on any given Sunday.

Initially prompted to discover how church plants in America were really doing, Olson, director of church planting for the Evangelical Covenant Church (covchurch.org), began collecting data in the late ’80s, gradually expanding his research to encompass overall attendance trends in the church. In his study, he tracked the annual attendance of more than 200,000 individual Orthodox Christian churches (the accepted U.S. church universe is 330,000). To determine attendance at the remaining 100,000-plus Orthodox Christian churches, he used statistical models, which included multiplying a church’s membership number by the denomination’s membership-to-attendance ratio.

The Numbers

His findings reveal that the actual rate of church attendance from head counts is less than half of the 40 percent the pollsters report. Numbers from actual counts of people in Orthodox Christian churches (Catholic, mainline and evangelical) show that in 2004, 17.7 percent of the population attended a Christian church on any given weekend. Read More

7 Reasons Young Adults Quit Church

From time to time, I revisit the question: Why are young adults walking away from religion? Although the answer(s) vary from person to person, there are some general trends that I think apply in most cases.

In the list below, when I refer to “we,” “I” or “me,” I’m referring to younger adults in general and not necessarily myself. Read More

The Problem of Having “My Seat” in Church

Mark Dance takes a look at the practice of claiming a particular chair or pew spot in church. He identifies five problems with this practice. Read More

I have read studies which have found that members of the congregation's participation in the worship service is influenced by their proximity to the front of the room in which the congregation worships. The closer members of the congregation sit toward the front of the room, the more active they are likely to be in their participation. This may explain - at least in part - why many congregants avoid sitting close to the front. On the other hand, I have observed that many congregants sit in the back of the room because it is close to the exit and they can make a quick getaway after the service. They will also be less noticeable if they drowse off during the sermon or carry on a whispered conversation with their neighbor. In stagnant or declining churches it is not unusually to see the members of the congregation seated scattered around the room but not close to the front or seated at the back of the room with a great empty space between them and the front of the room.  

Tuesday's Catch: "Your Church May Not Be as Gospel-Centered as You Think" and More

An English Morris Dancer

Your Church May Not Be as Gospel-Centered as You Think

Tony Merida explains the differences between gospel centrality and other approaches and discusses the benefits of gospel centrality. Read More

New Series: The 10 Commandments of Progressive Christianity

With this article Michael J. Kruger launches a new blog series on what he describes as the "10 commandments" for progressive Christianity. According to Kruger, "this series will diagnose and critique each of these tenets, offering a biblical and theological response." Read More

3 Things Every Pastor Needs To Clearly Communicate Their Vision

Leadership and vision go hand in hand. Therefore, leadership must begin with a clear vision: whether it be for our personal life, our family or organization. If people around us don’t know where we’re going and where we’re trying to take them, they will have a hard time making the journey. Read More

Following Jesus When I Don’t Feel Like It—Part 2

Sometimes you have to start obeying before the feelings come. Read More

Read part 1 here.

Does Your Heart Run on Hype? The Emotional Power of Ordinary Sundays

In corporate worship we find something far better than a typical rush of feeling. Here are three reasons why we shouldn’t expect each Lord’s Day to produce an off-the-charts mountaintop experience, and why we can instead delight in the regular, ordinary, supernatural joy of engaging with God together. Read More

Think Delivery: Are You Meeting People Where They Are?

People aren’t accessing information in the same way anymore. Are you meeting them where they are? Read More

Engaging Culture Well: How to Share Your Faith Critically and Contextually Today

How to speak truth and trust God to change hearts and minds. Read More

5 Reasons Why Church Revitalization May Be a Serious Challenge

I believe church revitalization is possible, and I want to help leaders ask the right questions, focus their spiritual disciplines, and move forward in the task. At the same time, though, revitalization can be one of the toughest faith challenges a pastor will face in his ministry. Here’s why.... Read More

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To a Church Seeking Revitalization
10 Questions of Pastors in Churches Needing Revitalization
Why Spiritual Disciplines Matter in Church Revitalization

Monday's Catch: "10 Things You Should Know about Christian Hospitality" and More

10 Things You Should Know about Christian Hospitality

This article is part of Crossway's 10 Things You Should Know series. Read More

Share Your House Key to Win Your Neighbors

God saved me through hospitality. To be more precise, God used hospitality crucially in his pursuit of my soul. After years of a debate between my agnosticism and my longing for God—a debate that had taken place in conference halls and libraries and classrooms, in bedrooms and liquor stores and clubs—closing arguments took place in an unexpected location: a Christian family’s home. Read More

7 Ways to Protect and Pass On the Gospel

Congregationalism asserts that Jesus has entrusted the entire congregation—not just certain leaders—with the responsibility of protecting, propagating, and preserving the gospel.[1] This means that if a local body fails to carry out their given assignment, spiritual disaster will eventually occur. The message of the gospel will eventually be diluted. The meaning of the term “Christian” will eventually be distorted. And the mission of the church will eventually be derailed. Read More

Urban Preaching Myths In The Pulpit

Trevin Wax uncovers seven often used urban preaching myths and encourages pastors to verify sources, illustrations, and stories before preaching. Read More

Preaching Your People Toward Mission

How do we preach toward good evangelistic engagement? If, as many younger evangelicals of the gospel-centered persuasion believe, we aren’t to turn our Sunday service into a seeker-targeted evangelistic event, in what sense might the sermon time fuel the missional impulse in our churches to reach and serve the lost? Here are some practical ways to serve this end....Read More

The Divorce & Remarriage of Evangelism and Discipleship

Jesus constantly and seamlessly integrated evangelism and discipleship into his everyday actions and into the way he spiritually formed and shaped the 12 disciples. Read More

God's Joy, Our Joy: How Sharing Our Faith Changes Everything

Here is Jesus’ promise: Come harvest time, the vine and the branches will both share in fullness of joy. Read More

Generation Z Is Already Bored by the Internet

Today’s teens are still bored, often incredibly so. They’re just more likely to experience a new type of boredom: phone bored. Read More

If They Fell, So Can You

How Sin Seduced the Strongest, Wisest, and Godliest

She sat across from me with fingers pressed into her forehead. “How did I get here?” she groaned.

Jackie had been a faithful wife for many years. Yet she found herself ensnared in a sinful pit with no way out. Her web of lies had become a suffocating trap. She never imagined she would go this far, and now she saw no way back.

“Whether we are a pastor or housewife, we are all in danger of being wooed, outwitted, and overpowered by sin.”

Sadly Jackie’s situation is not uncommon. Whether we are a pastor, president, or housewife, we are all in danger of being wooed, outwitted, and overpowered by sin. Yet we often do not feel the danger until it is too late. Sin is like a seductress who lures her unsuspecting prey with flattering assurances (Proverbs 5–7; Hebrews 3:13). Like a spider, she sets her trap and waits to pounce on those who play in her web.

But God does not desire us to be consumed. He warns us of sin’s schemes by recording the fall of others who were tempted as we are. Few examples are more sobering than those of Samson, Solomon, and David. They are tragic tales of strong, wise, and devoted men who were overcome by the power, trickery, and allure of sin. Read More

Also See:
Which Kind of Monster Are You?
Are There Degrees of Sin?

8 Ways To Become More Humble

 "At every stage of our Christian development, and in every sphere of our Christian discipleship, pride is our greatest enemy and humility our greatest friend.1"

1. Thank God often and always

Thankfulness stops pride growing. We can thank people for things that they do and who they are, and that’s important and encouraging for them. But we’re to thank God for that person, for the way he has worked in them. Thankfulness is a sign of a believer. Whereas “ingratitude…[is] one of the distinguishing marks of non-believers”.2

If you’re struggling with feeling thankful to God at this time, try and think of just one thing each day to be thankful for. It might be that you have enough food, or the weather, or something that happened at Bible study. Thank God for one thing after someone has visited you, or you have visited them. Thank God for one thing in your friend or your child, or in your spouse, your church or your local community.

In the constant act of thanksgiving, the relationship with God is nurtured. Through thanksgiving, the gracious acts are remembered and the life of a person is thereby changed.3

God-centred thankfulness helps us grow in humility, as it stops pride growing. Read More

Saturday Lagniappe: "Four Aspects of Developing Key Leaders" and More

Four Aspects of Developing Key Leaders

These four things—partnership, ownership, fellowship, and apprenticeship—are key for a church that is serving one another and a hurting world in the name of Christ. As such, let’s explore them one at a time. Read More

How People-Pleasing Crushes Your Leadership Potential

What kills your leadership potential more than just about anything? Read More

Is Your Preaching Too Deep Or Too Shallow?

Craig Groeschel discusses the challenge of preaching with simplicity, practicality, and relevance while remaining spiritual enough to change lives. Read More

Sermon Feedback: 6 Questions For Better Preaching

Do you want quality feedback on your sermons? Peter Mead offers insights into the right kind of questions preachers should be asking. Read More

A Long-Term Plan to Know Your Bible

Here are some ideas for beginning to build your knowledge of the Bible over the next ten years. Read More

You Can't Just Read the Bible

This article is adapted from “Why Can't We Just Read the Bible?: An Interview with D. A. Carson,” Modern Reformation, Sept/Oct 2010. Read More

Let God Speak, Just Listen

When it comes to prayer, the most important part isn’t speaking. It’s listening! Read More

Why Are Christian Women More Religious Than Christian Men?

Christian women in the United States are significantly more religious than Christian men, and this religion gender gap is greater than in a number of other developed nations, including Canada, the UK, Germany, and France. Read More

Friday's Catch: "Love God, Love People, Make Disciples – Everything Else Is Scaffolding" and More

Love God, Love People, Make Disciples – Everything Else Is Scaffolding

Every program, building and denomination is temporary. They should stay in place only as long as they are being effective. Read More

Which Way Are You Leading?

While they may face roadblocks, pastors are in the best position to lead their churches forward. Dan Jarvis explains how they can go about it. Read More

3 Traits of Your Best Vision Carriers

Who are the best vision carriers in your church? Read More

Preaching with Notes: Yes or No

As a young pastor, I faced the unexpected wrath of a church member who couldn’t believe I used notes when I preached. “I want a pastor who only follows the Holy Spirit,” she told me—and then never returned to the church. Since then, I’ve debated pros and cons of using notes, and I’ve preached both ways. Here are my general thoughts.... Read More

How Long Should You Preach to Students?

This is a common question among youth workers, especially within an American culture where attention spans matter. I wonder sometimes if ministries in foreign cultures that are used to longer church services ever have to even ask the question, but that’s perhaps another blog post for another time. Read More

One-on-One with Michael Moynagh on “Church in Life”

Finding simple ways to follow Jesus alongside other Christians. Read More

Are You Evangelistic?

I know, I know. You preach the gospel regularly. You declare weekly or more often the good news about how sinners can be redeemed. But are you evangelistic? Do you regularly put yourself in situations where you can share your faith personally? Read More

What Pastors Need to Know About ‘Nones’

The death of Christianity in America has been announced many times—the infamous Time magazine cover, the New Atheist movement, the Pew Foundation study on the rise of “religious nones”—and yet historic Christianity continues to thrive.

Despite controversy over the term “evangelical,” the recent outpouring of respect, op-ed pieces, and reflection on the life and ministry of Billy Graham suggests a certain staying power. After all, evangelical faith stretches back beyond the politicized shores of America to the British Isles, where London served as an evangelical hub well into the 19th century.

Nevertheless, the recent rise of “religious nones” in the U.S. does signal something important for church planters and anyone concerned about the mission of God. The Pew study tells us those who are unaffiliated with any religion now account for 22.8 percent of America’s population, a number that has essentially tripled over the past 15 years. This trend follows what has already been happening in places such as the UK and Europe.

This raises important questions for evangelism, preaching, discipleship, and church planting. Read More

How to Clear the Toxic Culture in Your Church

How many of us have served or possibly currently serving in a church with a dysfunction or a toxic culture? The toxic church culture can lead many faithful men to quit ministry or leave a church before they should. The sad reality is there are some churches that actually love the toxic culture they are steeped in. Toxic words that often float around these settings: “We have always done things that way,” “Why do we have to have those people join our church?” “If we change that paint color I am leaving the church,” “I won’t give another penny until they change back the pulpit to where I like it.”

However, the call of an overseer is to

Shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly. (1 Peter 5:2)

If God has called you to a toxic church, it could be the joy of what can be is greater than the pain you are facing. Here are three ways to start the process of clearing the toxic culture around you. Read More

Also See:
It Only Takes One

Encourage One Another

I am sure that somewhere and at some time Tabletalk readers have heard the lyrics of the “anthem of the West” titled “Home on the Range.” The idyllic American cowboy was “at home on the range” for multiple reasons. One reason was because it was a home “where seldom was heard a discouraging word”—a home environment where discouraging words were rare and encouraging words were plentiful.

Our Lord expects His people to create such environments not in the fantasy of a song but in the reality of life—in our family homes and in the home for His family, the church, which is “the household of God” (Eph. 2:19). God’s home and our homes should be intentionally emptied of self-centered words of discouragement and filled with selfless words designed to “encourage one another” (1 Thess. 5:11). But how does this happen in a sin-cursed world full of discouraging words? How does this happen in the church, which is full of grace-saved sinners?

Good homes have “house rules.” Mine did, but more pointedly, so does God’s. This issue of Tabletalk is exploring some of those “house rules”—the “one another” admonitions in God’s Word for God’s family. These admonitions are not suggestions from a family therapist. They are divine commands, including the command to “encourage one another.” Clearly, we need to pray for the Spirit of God to give us both the ability and desire to establish churches and relationships where “seldom is heard a discouraging word” and often is heard an encouraging word. But encouraging words aren’t enough. They must be united with encouraging deeds. Here are two texts to equip us to “encourage one another” in word and deed. Read More

Thursday's Catch: "The Five Main Reasons Pastors Quit Revitalization Efforts" and More

The Five Main Reasons Pastors Quit Revitalization Efforts - Revitalize & Replant #035

There are several things that pastors can encounter that will make them want to quit. Today, we cover five of them related to revitalization. Read More

My Eternal Destiny Hangs Suspended on a Preposition!

The good news that constitutes what we call the Christian “gospel” is nowhere better summarized than in 1 Peter 3:18. There the apostle tells us that “Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God.” Read More

Let's Rethink Our Language of 'Calling'

Is an experience like Paul's a necessary requirement for anyone serving as a pastor or missionary? Read More

Why and When You Should Encourage People NOT To Enter Vocational Ministry

The fact is, we are all called into ministry, sent on mission, and to honor God through our vocation. Read More

4 Lessons I Learned from My Dad, a Faithful Pastor for 37 Years

Megan Hill describes what she learned from her father's long pastorate at the Presbyterian Church of Coventry, a PCA congregation in rural Connecticut. Read More

10 Signs We Might Think We're More Important than We Are

To be honest, I don’t know any leaders who don’t struggle at some point with ego. The problem is that ego is like a trickle of water—what starts out small erodes the surface a bit, grows in volume, and creates a problem before we ever recognize it happening. Here are some signs of a growing ego, to which we’re all susceptible (beginning with me ...).... Read More

Jesus Is Praying for Us—Here’s What That Means

Jesus was always praying. If Jesus, being God, felt the necessity to pray, then how much more should we pray? Read More

13 Reasons Why Your Church Isn’t Engaging In Worship

On a scale of 1-10, how engaged is your church? Read More

You Can’t Buy the Bible Online in China Right Now

Just moments after the Chinese government pledged to protect religious freedom, Christians in China discovered they could no longer purchase Bibles online. Read More

The Rainer Report: Church Sickness #2: Slippage Syndrome [Video]

Slippage Syndrome happens when churches and church members gradually neglect the mission that God has intended for them. Watch Now

Where Did the Pope Come From? The Rise of the Roman Pontiff

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states, “The Roman Pontiff, by reason of his office as Vicar of Christ, and as pastor of the entire Church has full, supreme, and universal power over the whole Church, a power which he can always exercise unhindered” (882).

Further reinforcing his power and authority, the catechism claims, “The Pope enjoys, by divine institution, supreme, full, immediate, and universal power in the care of souls” (937). The catechism presents the papacy as a divinely appointed institution that presides over the life of the church and exercises its rule over God’s flock.

Where do these massive claims come from? Roman Catholics trace the pope’s origin to the apostle Peter. But history tells a different story. Read More

Attending Corporate Worship

There are a lot of good reasons to gather with your brothers and sisters in the sacred fellowship of worship each week. Even if you struggle with regular church attendance, you can probably think of all the primary reasons quite easily. Most importantly, God has commanded it (Heb. 10:24–25). If that were the only reason we had to attend corporate worship, it would be enough.

You can probably also easily see in the Scriptures how important it is to grow in your faith through participation in a local church. That is where Christians exercise their spiritual gifts in honor of God and in service to each other. We are saved as individuals, but we are not saved to an individualized faith. But there are still more reasons why attending corporate worship is important for every Christian, including some reasons not frequently discussed.

Here, then, are four important—yet underrated—reasons Christians ought to attend the Lord’s Day gathering. Read More

Wednesday's Catch: "What About Those Sheep-Stealing Megachurches?" and More

What About Those Sheep-Stealing Megachurches?

Megachurches keep getting bigger while small churches seem to struggle more than they used to. It's easy to think one is causing the other. Read More

Debunking Megachurch Myths: Especially the One About Sheep Swapping

Without further ado, here are the nine megachurch myths from Scott Thumma and Dave Travis and a little of my commentary about each of them. Keep in mind that these are their myths and I am commenting on them. Read More

Five Reasons Why the Large Single Site Church Is Declining

One of the largely unspoken phenomenon of the past decade has been the decline in large churches located at only one site. Most of the large church growth today is taking place at multisite churches. Read More

5 Questions to Answer for Potential Church Members

Before people commit to joining your church, they want to know the answers to five unspoken questions.... Read More

16 Steps Leaders Can Take To Get Unstuck

In every leader’s life there are times we just feel stuck with no idea how to get positive momentum going.Read More

3 Reasons Why The Preacher Population Is Shrinking And What To Do About It

If the "preacher population" is shrinking, perhaps you have a role to play that could impact generations to come. Read More

9 Reasons New Pastors Lose Their Passion

I remember the excitement I felt when I started pastoring my first church. In no way could I have adequately explained the zeal of my calling. Too often, though, pastors start out like I did and then quickly lose their passion for the ministry task. My work with pastors has shown at least these causes that rob them of their zeal.... Read More

7 Signs It’s Time To Leave

Here are 7 signs that would demonstrate to me it’s time to move on. If you see them in your situation, it might be time to go. Read More

Boring Preaching Is A Crime! 7 Ways to Be Interesting

Preachers must work at being interesting. Brandon Cox offers some tips for doing just that. Read More

One Pastor’s Sermon Preparation Process

Preparing a sermon week after week is a lot of work. Preaching a sermon week after week is also a pure joy. This past week I posted pictures of my sermon preparation process on Twitter, and several pastors and church leaders commented that it was helpful for them. I figured I would publish this blog post with a little explanation for each step. Read More

Matt Chandler: 4 Ways Christians Should Share Their Faith That Are Actually Effective

What does evangelism, what does making disciples, look like in our post-Christian, post-modern, post-truth, post-everything world? Put simply, how do we share the Gospel in the age of unbelief? Read More

The Strangest Thing about the Christian Faith

The strangest thing about the Christian faith is not our views on sexuality or politics. Those things are not even our most controversial of claims. The strangest thing about us is what the apostle Paul explains in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4:

3 that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He has been raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.

To be sure, that Jesus died is not the controversial part. Even unbelieving pagans agree with the death of Jesus as an historical fact. They don’t, however, agree with the meaning of his death—that it was a vicarious sacrifice “for our sins” to reconcile us to God. But they do agree that he was dead and buried. No great dispute there.

The controversial part is the second half, “he has been raised.” Why is it strange? Because dead bodies don’t come back to life. It just doesn’t happen. But eye-witnesses like Paul say that it did in fact happen in Jesus’ case. Jesus was dead. Really dead. Violenty dead. Indisputably dead. And yet he was “raised.” Read More

In My Place Condemned He Stood

Late last week, just in time for Good Friday, Christianity Today published an article entitled “Is the Wrath of God Really Satisfying?” It was written by Thomas McCall (professor of biblical and systematic theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School), presumably as a distillation of the arguments he makes in Forsaken: The Trinity and the Cross, and Why it Matters (IVP, 2012). As a Christian (and pastor and professor) who believes in penal substitutionary atonement—that Christ died in our place to assuage the wrath of God—I found McCall’s article helpful in places, but also confusing and misleading. After reading it several times, I’m still not sure if McCall is trying to undermine penal substitution, rescue it from abuse, or avoid it altogether.

At the very least, given the timing and the title, the article felt like a poke in the eye to the millions of Christians who believe that Good Friday is good precisely because Christ was stricken, smitten, and afflicted by God for our sake. Read More

The Pope, Hell, & the Papacy

An Italian journalist has quoted Pope Francis as saying “there is no hell,” a statement that the Vatican quickly backtracked, referencing an admission by the journalist that his interviews employs “reconstructions” of conversations. But questions remain, including questions about the nature of the papacy. Read More

Nine Reasons People Aren’t Singing in Worship

Worship leaders around the world are sadly changing their church’s worship (often unintentionally) into a spectator event.

Before discussing our present situation, let’s look back into history. Prior to the Reformation, worship was largely done for the people. The music was performed by professional musicians and sung in an unfamiliar language (Latin).

The Reformation gave worship back to the people, including congregational singing which employed simple, attainable tunes with solid, scriptural lyrics in the language of the people. Worship once again became participatory.

The evolution of the printed hymnal brought with it an explosion of congregational singing and the church’s love for singing increased.

With the advent of new video technologies, churches began to project the lyrics of their songs on a screen, and the number of songs at a church’s disposal increased exponentially. [1] At first, this advance in technology led to more powerful congregational singing, but soon, a shift in worship leadership began to move the congregation back to pre-Reformation pew potatoes (spectators).

What has occurred could be summed up as the re-professionalization of church music and the loss of a key goal of worship leading – enabling the people to sing their praises to God. Simply put, we are breeding a culture of spectators in our churches, changing what should be a participative worship environment to a concert event. Worship is moving to its pre-Reformation mess.

Worship is moving to its pre-Reformation mess.

I see nine reasons congregations aren’t singing anymore:people are not singing any more. Read More

You May Also Like
Why Aren’t We Singing? Themed Thoughts from Graham Kendrick [Video]
Why Congregational Singing Is Waning [Podcast]
Reason #1: They Don’t Know the Songs
Reason #3: We Are Singing in Keys too High for the Average Singer
Choir Anthem Does NOT Equal Congregational Arrangement
Are We Expected to Sing? or Not?
Reason #9: Worship Leaders Are Not Connecting With the Congregation
Corporate Worship: Who Are We Serving?
Who Is the Audience? [Video]
Creating Worship Tourists
Producing Pew Potatoes: Creating a Culture of Spectators
A Real KEY to Producing Spectators in Worship
New Songs: A Worship Enhancer or Worship Killer?
Introducing New Songs Nine Ways to Help Your Congregation Sing New Songs
Do You Have a Comprehensive Song List?
Some Hindrances to a Smooth Flow in Worship
How to Transition Songs for a Seamless Flow in Worship

Kenny Lamm is senior consultant for worship and music for the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina. He served 23 years as worship pastor of Front Street Baptist Church in Statesville, N.C. Under his leadership the church experienced worship renewal and became a model for churches that seek to transform and improve their worship services. While he writes primarily for churches in the Baptist tradition, his insights are applicable to churches in other traditions. 

Tuesday's Catch: "Daniel Im On What’s Wrong With Discipleship, False Maturity And Bi-Vocational Ministry" and More

Daniel Im On What’s Wrong With Discipleship, False Maturity And Bi-Vocational Ministry [Podcast]

Something’s wrong with discipleship in most churches, but many leaders have no idea what’s broken, despite their best efforts to diagnose and fix it. Daniel Im gives a helpful diagnosis and a very practical set of tips on how to move your church closer to Christ. Plus, he shares some bonus tips for bi-vocational pastors – a much requested conversation. Listen Now

Should You Leave or Stay at Your Church - Rainer on Leadership #420 [Podcast]

I have been asked this question several hundred times in the course of my ministry. Today, we cover the answers for it—because it’s not an easy answer. Listen Now

Share the Load in Your Small Congregation

Are you the only pastor on staff? You don’t have to bear the burden alone. Read More

Michael Green, author of Evangelism through the Local Church, adopted a similar approach to pastoral care, using lay elders, while he was rector of St. Aldate's, Oxford. Green was special advisor to the Archbishopof Canterbury on evangelism and has authored numerous books on evangelism and related topics.

4 Daily Prayer Practices for Pastors and Church Leaders

Here are four secrets to answered prayer from the life of Nehemiah. Read More

Why I Stopped Reading the Bible

...there are many churches around the world for whom the Word of God is central, while they are led by people who leave the Word to the side in their daily lives. Read More

Guidelines For A Strong Worship Team

In any quality organization there are codes of conduct and concrete expectations. A number of years ago I attended a worship conference at Gateway Church in Dallas and was totally impressed by their worship team. Based on Gateway’s code of conduct and my own experience, here are the standards and guidelines for the worship teams that I work with. Read More

13 Ways to Strengthen Your Church's Children's Ministry

More than one person has said, “Our students and children are the future of the church.”* That statement is true, but it’s also insufficient. Children and students are part of the church now, and we’ll lose them if we don’t minister well to them today. Here are thirteen ways to strengthen your children’s ministry.... Read More

14. Encourage the children’s participation in worship gatherings and other church functions from a very early age. While we can shape a child’s beliefs, faith is “caught, not taught” – something I learned years ago in the late 1970s and early 1980s. I read John H. Westerhoff III’s Will Our Children Have Faith? (Seabury, 1976). Westerhoff maintained that the whole congregation should be involved in the formation of children, not just the children’s ministry. It is important that children be around believing adults and adult believers in turn be around children, not segregated from each other. The faith of a child can reinforce our faith and our faith reinforce the child’s.

Gen Z Technology Addiction

Gen Z's bent toward technology addiction is not something to take lightly. Read More

Being Like Jesus in Our Witness: 5 Ways Jesus Interacted with Others

I’m nothing special as a witness, but I know it helps to watch others as we learn. If we want to learn to be like Jesus, it makes sense to learn from Jesus. If we want to tell others the good news about Jesus, we might want to see how He talked with people. Read More

9 Things You Should Know About the Rajneeshees

The new Netflix documentary Wild Wild Country* has reignited interest in the Rajneeshees, a religious sect that committed, as former Oregon Attorney General Dave Frohnmayer said, “the most significant crimes of their kind in the history of the United States . . . The largest single incident of fraudulent marriages, the most massive scheme of wiretapping and bugging, and the largest mass poisoning.” Here are nine things you should about this largely forgotten group and the effect they’ve had on America. Read More

Monday's Catch: "Three Elements of an Explosive Church Planting Movement" and More

Three Elements of an Explosive Church Planting Movement

We can learn quite a bit from past church planting movements. Read More

Three Deadly Church Models

f you’ve ever spent any time in the rural south, you know that the old saying is true. There really is a church on every corner. But sadly, many have stopped being the church and started acting like something else. Read More

What Do We Do With the Very Real Resurrection?

Does the biblical resurrection account leave us with as little evidence as some assume? Read More

7 Questions to See if Easter Really Matters to You

What Easter really means to us is not determined by what we do this weekend; it’s how we live every day. Use these questions to decide how much the resurrection really means to you.... Read More

The Importance of Hell

Not only are there plenty of people today who don't believe in the Bible's teaching on everlasting punishment, even those who do find it an unreal and a remote concept. Nevertheless, it is a very important part of the Christian faith, for several reasons. Read More

Don't Let Bad Methods Undermine Good Theology

As a church leader, doing the right thing always comes first. But it will go nowhere if you’re not doing it in the right way. Read More