Church Life

“ ‘comfort’ is not the normal way that verb gets translated in the New Testament. Most often, this extremely common verb, parakaleō, gets translated [as] ‘encourage,’ ‘exhort,’ or ‘urge,’ but only rarely as ‘comfort.’” - Kenneth Berding

“…what should you do when you begin feeling discontent at your church? What should you do when you feel that yearning to pick up and move on?” - Challies

“Benedictions can be confusing. Are we blessing God? Is God blessing us? Is it a prayer? Is it a pronouncement? The answer to the questions above is yes. But also that it is more of some of those things than others.” - Ref21

“…we are hypocrites about being hypocrites. We hear the pastor mention the Pharisees during the Sunday sermon, and we smugly draw a bit of a caricature in our minds. The Pharisees are those other Christians we’ve known who ‘just don’t get it.’” - Ref21

“The bible actually says almost nothing about what we should wear in Church…. What is also striking is how, at times, the bible could make an issue, but does not. For example, in Nehemiah 8 when the people gathered to hear the law—the preached word—it was not holiness of dress mentioned, but holiness of celebration!” - Ref21

“In Western culture, the high regard for autonomy and obsession with individualism has come at a cost: community. This lack of community (coupled with other factors) has contributed to rising loneliness, affecting our physical and mental well-being. In the church, it’s affecting our spiritual health too.” - TGC

“Many churches consist of one primary generation, and that’s not the healthiest church.” - Chuck Lawless

“Our objective ought to be church health, not church growth. A vital or healthy church is marked by spiritual vitality, functional effectiveness, and statistical growth in its life and ministry.” - Ken Brown

“There’s a fine line between being welcomed and being embarrassed…” - Phil Cooke