As iron sharpens iron,
one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
“By nature and by training we all seek solutions to our problem of sin. To varying degrees, these solutions include doing something—law keeping, good works, etc—to please or appease or satisfy the God who is one day going to judge us. The idea of contributing to one’s own salvation is universal.” - 9 Marks
“You’re standing to sing in a new church. The worship leader gets up to lead the first song, with the words on the screen behind him. Then you realize you can’t sing the song because you’ve never heard it. Did the worship leader write it? Who knows. But you’re left standing there, with about a third of the rest of the people. Perhaps you haven’t been in that situation before, but I have.
Leaders get a lot of criticism. Sometimes people try to engineer them into being what they are not.
I remember a pastor friend who saw two people the same day in his office. One man said he was leaving the church because his preaching wasn’t emotional enough. The second man later said he was leaving the church because the preaching was too emotional.
People read a book about humility, and they want to humble their leader. Then they lead a book about forceful leadership, and they want a leader who is not afraid of conflict or ruffling feathers.
“Attention turns to a committee that could identify offending churches, a new measure put in place following the landmark Houston Chronicle series.” - Christianity Today
“Those among the Nothing in Particular group are unlikely to pursue the church to reclaim some kind of religious memory – there is normally little history to recall.” - Christianity Today
Reformed Baptists are drawn to the London Baptist Confession of 1689 (originally issued in 1677) because it so closely mirrored the popular Presbyterian Westminster Confession of Faith. But the first two London Baptist confessions of 1644/1646 offer a window into history and a resource for Baptists today that is slightly different in its emphases. The London Baptist Confession of 1646 is Reformed and Baptist in its theology while emphasizing the newness of the New Covenant era that began with Christ.
“Steve Timmis was acclaimed for his model of close church community. But former members claim that inside The Crowded House, he resorted to bullying and control.” - CToday
“Larger churches will have a more difficult time staying larger. At least, that is my postulate according to our early research. And to be clear, I am defining a larger church by the size of its largest worship service, not by its total attendance.” - Thom Rainer
“ ‘What do we do about our kids?’ The group of parents sat together in my office, wiping their eyes….they weren’t talking about 16-year-olds drinking and partying. They were talking about youth church attendance.
“MacDonald claims his new ministry, which seeks to equip a network of home church groups, will provide ‘all the impact of a large church but none of the drama.’” - Church Leaders
Discussion