Dan Reiland, on his excellent blog, writes about “The Great Value of Churches Under 100” in AWA. “God intended ALL churches to grow,” he says, but God is the one who gives numerical growth. Generally, we can influence numerical growth, but we don’t determine it. “It is God’s power, not human ability, that determines the … Continue reading Summary: “The Great Value of Churches Under 100”
Leadership
“… Is the Hardest Part”
To quote the great theologian Tom Petty, "The waiting is the hardest part." You hope God is doing something, or maybe you're confident: you KNOW God is doing something. But WHAT? Perhaps I am never still enough often enough long enough to hear God's voice clearly. My normal MO is to pick a direction and … Continue reading “… Is the Hardest Part”
Evangelical Engagement, pt 4: Responding to the State Religion
Some thoughts on how we should engage with adherents of the state religions in Europe. Again, I am thinking primarily of Catholics, but engagement with Orthodoxy and other state religions will be similar, I think. Engage with the gospel. Evangelicals need to look to engage SCA's (state church adherents) on every possible front, with love, … Continue reading Evangelical Engagement, pt 4: Responding to the State Religion
Evangelical Engagement pt 3: “Why Evangelical Churches Struggle in Europe”
This is my summary of an EXCELLENT post by Patrick Nachtigall at three-worlds.com. I'm still thinking through the damage that christendom (the state church) does to the pursuit of biblical Christianity. Nachtigall has some important insights. In what follows, I have kept the labels that Nachtigall gives to the thirteen factors, but otherwise paraphrased his … Continue reading Evangelical Engagement pt 3: “Why Evangelical Churches Struggle in Europe”
Evangelical Engagement pt 2: The Acts Model
Yesterday I examined two models for evangelical engagement with non-practicing adherents of the state churches in Europe. I suggested that evangelicals should engage in a way modeled after the way the church in the Book of Acts interacted with the Jewish communities that surrounded it. The earliest Christ-followers were Jews themselves, in a country where … Continue reading Evangelical Engagement pt 2: The Acts Model
Evangelical Engagement with Adherents of the State Religion in Europe
One of the problems that evangelicals run into in Europe is the question of how to engage with the state churches--usually Catholicism, but also branches of Orthodox, Lutheran, etc., churches. Nothing I faced as an evangelical in America prepared me for the ubiquity of the state church's influence. It's EVERYWHERE, heavily felt even among the … Continue reading Evangelical Engagement with Adherents of the State Religion in Europe
What Small Churches Need (Ministry in Small Churches pt 6)
What do small churches need, and how does their size affect the meeting of these needs? Like large churches, small churches need a mix of gifts in leadership. I think the APEST formulation captures this mix most clearly: Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Shepherd, Teacher. Many leaders--maybe even most--are competent, even excellent, in more than one area. … Continue reading What Small Churches Need (Ministry in Small Churches pt 6)
Wisdom from Godin
What's your most intractable problem?
About the Character of Ministry (Ministering in Small Churches pt 5)
These are remarks I planned to give at the Consultation on Theological Education in Osijek last April, but was not able to give because of time. They fit the current theme, Ministry in Small Churches, so I am posting them here. Like the leaders in business and politics, church and ministry leaders in our region … Continue reading About the Character of Ministry (Ministering in Small Churches pt 5)
Circleslide 