Category Archives: Church

Ministers who resign

Pastoral Ministry

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Every year Christian denominations see a slow, but sad, trickle of ministers leave their ranks by premature resignation. They leave for a variety of reasons, but often because of marriage break-up, serious moral lapses (usually sexual), and severe disagreement over denominational (but not necessarily gospel) distinctives like baptism and the like. It is a waste, in both human and Christian terms. It is a waste, not only of three of four years intensive training at tertiary level, and ten years or so of practical ministry, but it also means starting again near the bottom of life, around age forty, with incredible heartache and pain amongst family, friends and congregation, and mud on the public face of the gospel.

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Factotum #1: The Ministry of the Pew

Everyday Ministry

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The ‘Pew Prayer’

Some years ago a pastor, Ray Ewers, instructed me in the finer art of how to walk into church. To most people, this might appear to be a rather basic accomplishment requiring little or no tutelage. Perhaps a family with five toddlers would appreciate some advice, but most of us would never give it a thought. Ray’s instruction was very brief: “Pray about where you sit”. (more…)

The Body of the Lord

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The Lord’s Supper in 1 Corinthians

In the last Briefing, I suggested that if you built your understanding of Christianity by studying the whole New Testament (except 1 Corinthians 10-11), you would not have any reason to think that Christianity involves a sacramental meal instituted by Jesus at the Last Supper, in which the bread and the cup are given symbolic significance. In this article, I want to ask whether the relevant texts in 1 Corinthians really change that understanding. (more…)

The church of the Holy Trinity

Thought

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Sometimes we can live so close to a doctrine that we overlook the immense power of its truth. The cross can become an empty slogan; the resurrection a mere proof-text for Jesus’ divinity; the incarnation something we only think about at Christmas. In this light, an increasing number of theologians are ‘rediscovering’ the trinity as a foundational Christian doctrine

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Should we pump it up?

Everyday Ministry

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What is the optimum size for a congregation? From one point of view, the answer seems obvious: you want more and more people in your church because that means more and more people in the kingdom. But it just might be that those two things don’t necessarily go together.

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Published Abroad: Why, where, and how should Christians meet?

Pastoral Ministry

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Reproduced from Evangelicals Now, February 1993. Used with permission.

With its building desperately over-crowded, the Round Church had to rethink from the Bible such issues as the purpose of a building, the meaning of worship, the purpose of meeting—and the nature of the church. This is more than the story of one church; it has lessons and relevance for every church.

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