SF 36- Why discipleship matters

SF 36- Why discipleship matters

Ultimately, discipleship always points people to something beyond themselves AND even beyond the person doing the discipling. Throughout the New Testament, Paul repeatedly said, “Follow me, as I follow Christ.” That is, “Look at me, yes. I’ll...
Thomas Chalmers and the Recovery of the Parish

Thomas Chalmers and the Recovery of the Parish

The great Scottish pastor, social reformer, educator, author, and scientist Thomas Chalmers was born on March 17, 1780 at Anstruther on the Fife coast. His father was a prosperous businessman in the town and Thomas grew up as the sixth in a large family of fourteen...
The Church and Modern Prometheanism

The Church and Modern Prometheanism

Like modern art, or an avant garde poem, or the latest haute fashions, secularism has always been hard to define.  Though often pronounced with algebraic lucidity, its topsy-turvy logic is often as unintelligible as the dog-Latin of monkish hexameters.  In...
The Work of the Pastor

The Work of the Pastor

If Charles Haddon Spurgeon is justly known as the “Prince of Preachers,” then with equal justice Richard Baxter ought to be considered the “Prince of Pastors.”  According to J.I. Packer, Baxter was “incomparable” in his zeal...
In the World, But Not of It

In the World, But Not of It

Bethel is the symbol of communion with God; Ai is the symbol of the world. Abraham pitched his tent between the two.” My Utmost, January 6 It was nearly half a century ago that I began to make my way through the classic, My Utmost for His Highest. It was the...
The New Monasticism

The New Monasticism

By the thirteenth century, the West’s idealistic wars against a fearsome Islamic threat had failed ignobly; its stagnating economy had cast a pall of depression across the once prosperous and thriving land; its national and political leaders reveled in pomp,...
The Church Plant that Eats Together Stays Together

The Church Plant that Eats Together Stays Together

There is nothing quite as effective in ministry as fellowship around the table. In the hustle and bustle of everyday life, nurturing genuine covenant community is no easy task.  Missional and relational rootedness requires deliberateness and intentionality. ...
Elders and Deacons, Word and Deed

Elders and Deacons, Word and Deed

The heroine of My Fair Lady, Eliza Doolittle, captured the sentiment of most of us when she complained: “Words, words, words—I am so sick of words.  I get words all day through, first from him, now from you.  Is that all you blighters can...
SF 09- Six Things Your Church Can Do to End Poverty

SF 09- Six Things Your Church Can Do to End Poverty

In this episode we outline six things your church can do to end poverty. 1. Develop a robust deacons ministry Elders work with words, deacons work with their hands. We need to keep the two unconfused, and make sure we do both. Notably, this ministry should begin on a...
Just Preach It

Just Preach It

When I was in seminary, the “Church Growth Movement” was just getting its sea legs.  So, of course, it was all the rage in the hallowed halls of academia—if not amongst the profs, most assuredly amongst their charges.  Filled with...