Thinking of leaving your church? Simon Flinders takes a look at what church is, why you’d leave (and why you wouldn’t) and how to leave well. (more…)
Tag Archives: gathering
Talking about Total Church (Part 3)
Talking about Total Church (Part 2)
Review, Sola Panel
How should we think Christianly about ‘online’ church?
Introduction: The phenomenon of online church
The topic this essay will consider is the phenomenon of online church. In this new age of online networking and communication, some Christians have begun to regularly meet online in various ways and call it ‘church’. For example, St Pixels is a text-based ‘church’ meeting facility. There are different areas in the church you can go to: the sanctuary, the lobby, the prayer room and even a bar. Once there, you can see little cartoon faces depicting other real people who are online in that room with you, and whatever you say can be read by anyone in that area. They have two regular services every week, with Bible readings, sermons, songs, prayers. I had a conversation with one of the ladies there who told me that this was her ‘church’. She hasn’t been to a real-life church for a few years, and loves the openness and fellowship at St Pixels.
Gathered to hear the Word: The corporateness of preaching
What’s next for church?
Review
Worship III: The gathering-thinking afresh about church
Everyday Ministry, Sola Panel
In this third and final essay in the series, Tony Payne looks at how the Bible describes our Christian gatherings, and what practical difference it might make.
Interview: ‘Worship’ and the local church-a case study
More on the meaning of ‘church’
In my essay in Briefing #302 (‘The gathering: thinking afresh about church’), there were a number of issues that I didn’t have the space to address adequately. To stimulate further thought on these issues, here are some further cogitations about the meaning of ‘church’, and other related questions.
What the church is
Thought
Following on from our feature on denominations, this article by D.B. Knox examines in more detail the biblical doctrine of church.
How to survive your denomination
Thought
In this issue of The Briefing, we look at denominations—those organisations we love to hate. This first article looks briefly at how we should relate to our denomination, and what interplay there should be between the denomination and the local church.