The Greek term translated into English as “church” is ἐκκλησία. It is used 114 times in the New Testament and fives uses refer to something other than the church of Jesus Christ. There has been some debate about the etymology… Read More ›
Church
Church attendance: the growing sin in churches
Several years ago, I stopped by a pastor friend of mine in the suburbs of a major city. It was a church of 2,400 people and he was one of six or seven pastors. When he gave us a tour… Read More ›
Hellerman – follow up #2
In the last section of this book, Hellerman is talking about the challenge of social context in regards to the church leadership, including relationships among church staff. He states the fact that so many come into the church with dysfunctional… Read More ›
A Model for Local Church Leadership
If your church is currently trying to figure out its way regarding local church leadership, there is a book that can help your understand the biblical path forward. Joe Hellerman’s book, Embracing Shared Leadership: Power and Status in the Early… Read More ›
Unity in a church: a sign of love and maturity
This morning I preached on Ephesians 4:1-6 where I stressed that when unity is present in a local church, it is a mark of love and spiritual maturity. Conversely, when we find schisms, a lack of unity and division in… Read More ›
The Local Church Deacon: A Brief Summary
Here is a brief article I wrote on the local church deacon to supplement the mini-course on biblical eldership. Read it here.
Kurt and Todd
Tomorrow Kurt Bricker and Todd Williams will graduate from Baptist Bible Seminary in Clarks Summit, Pa. Kurt was an elder in our church and left about 5 years ago with his wife Juleah and their 3 daughters to attend BBS…. Read More ›
ἐκπλήσσω – Being amazed at God and his word
We will be studying the Gospel of Matthew in Sunday school this fall and this morning I finished a major section when I wrote notes for the end of chapter 7. In 7:28-29, Matthew adds a conclusion to the Sermon… Read More ›
“False Conversions: The Suicide of the Church.”
Mark Dever preached a sermon titled “False Conversions: The Suicide of the Church” at the recent Together 4 the Gospel conference. It is well worth the time to listen to it. It is available below: http://t4g.org/media/2012/04/false-conversions-the-suicide-of-the-church/
Evangelicalism Divided
I am reading Iain Murray’s book, Evangelicalism Divided: A Record of Crucial Change in the years 1950 to 2000. It is both a fascinating and sad read, since it basically explains how pragmatism infiltrated the local church and continues to influence ministry today. Murray… Read More ›
God Incarnate 