Articles (Page 19)
The Church That Disciplines
Let me tell you why church discipline is important to me. A number of years ago my minister father left my mother after an adulterous affair with his secretary. I’m telling this story with his permission. My father is now 90 years old. This turn of events jarred us. We’ve not seen divorce often in our extended family. All of us are believers, and most of us are in the ministry, for four generations. While my father was working as…
The House Church Way of Life
I still appreciate the institutional church. I’ve spent most of my life in such churches, leading them, speaking to them, attempting to nurture believers in them. I have most of my memories of God’s work in my life related to them. Almost every church I speak to today is an institutional one. I haven’t given up on this model, but I think I have discovered something far better for meeting my expectations of church life and my compelling interests as…
What Does Scripture Teach about the Presence of Christ in the Lord’s Supper
The issue of the presence of Christ in the elements of the Lord’s Supper has divided Christians for more than ten centuries.1 I will (1) examine the three primary views that have emerged (the Roman Catholic view, the Lutheran view, and the view of the rest of Protestantism) and (2) defend a version of the view of the rest of Protestantism from Scripture. Three Views What do the words, “This is My body” (Matt 26:26) mean? Three distinct answers to…
Worth A Lot of Sparrows
Are not five sparrows sold for two cents? And yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear; you are worth more than many sparrows. Luke 12:6-7 At two cents per five sparrows, one dollar’s worth would buy two hundred and fifty of them. Imagine that! I once saw a stack of chicken heads in a Bolivian marketplace numbering about that many, all staring one way, eyes…
What You Can Do When Your Church is Failing
You’re stuck. The church you once loved is now sliding downhill. Some are disgruntled, leadership is faltering, attendance is low, fellowship is almost non-existent, and interest in improvement is weak. Even the building reflects the neglect of dispassionate saints. What should you do? I realize the problem is systemic, but there are some things that may yet be done to revitalize the church. I’m not going to give you the main things (restoring regenerate membership, establishing church discipline, promoting forgiveness,…
Should I Say More About Meeting in Homes?
I have only six and a half years of experience with a house church model. My inexperience may disqualify me from saying much. Though I don’t want to get older any more quickly, I am anxious to have years of experience so as to speak more convincingly about this concept. I also do not in any way wish to imply that we are experiencing the absolute “right method,” or that, in fact, other meeting patterns could not be even more…
Vacation Bible School and the Doctrine of Hell
Vacation Bible School (VBS) was nearly upon us, and the children’s ministry workers had gathered for a final preparatory meeting. Anticipation filled the room as we eagerly awaited the opportunity to minister to the precious little souls that the Lord would send our way. Thankfully, we would be using curriculum that faithfully proclaimed the Gospel. The meeting was progressing well until a “pillar” in the church suggested that we “avoid speaking about hell and judgment and those types of things…
Here’s the Skinny on Fat Tuesday
Fat Tuesday is another name for Mardis Gras, the raucous annual parade and party held in the streets of New Orleans, Louisiana. The tradition is many centuries old and was originally known as Carnival. It is held in various places around the world under different names. Mardis Gras (or Fat Tuesday) is the American version. Carnival comes from a combination of Latin words meaning “farewell to the flesh.” There is a great deal of irony in that name because Fat…
How Should We Get a Crowd for the Gospel?
The title expresses one of the two main questions concerning evangelism that are before us at this time in our history. The other question is, “What is the gospel?” That question has been discussed in relation to the Lordship controversy some years earlier, the current New Perspective issue, and the ongoing Calvinism/Arminianism debate. A lot hangs in the balance on these various viewpoints, and evangelistic practice is governed by which side you are on even if you are not aware…
The Negotiables
I am a lover of the local church in any form I find it, provided we mean the same thing by “church.” I’ve had forty years of ministry in all kinds of churches, internationally and here in the States. I have seen some great ones and some very sad, sickly ones—and that has little to do with size. If it is a true church, however, I’m for it and wish to see it flourish. I’ve not lost my enthusiasm for…
A Mission of Peculiarity: John 17:13-19
It is the task of the Christian to demonstrate his or her peculiarity to the world. In reading through the catalogue of people of faith in Hebrews 11, it is the peculiarity of the men and women of faith that is most prominent. You cannot get much stranger than Noah, for instance, who hammered on a boat for 120 years waiting for a promised flood in a world that had not yet even seen rain. Think about it. This man…
Life of Trust
Long ago I learned that people are not so interested in what a man can do for God, but rather what God can do for a man. I wanted my life to be a visible demonstration of the fact that God exists and that He hears and answers prayer. This led me to make financial choices that many of you ask me about. I am happy to talk about this since one of the very reasons I have taken this…
Thinking and Speaking Biblically about Natural Condition of Man, Part 1
Part 1: Thinking Biblically "Every person has an image of himself or herself. The question is, does your image of who you are line up correctly with who God says you are?" I found those words in a best-selling religious book, in a chapter entitled "Who Do You Think You Are?" The author, who is also the pastor of a very large church, made no attempt to distinguish between Christians and unbelievers before saying, to every reader, "God sees you…
Thinking and Speaking Biblically about Natural Condition of Man, Part 2
Part 2: Speaking Biblically In his book, So Great Salvation, Dr. Charles Ryrie, the former Professor of Systematic Theology at Dallas Theological Seminary, includes a chapter entitled, "It’s Not Easy To Believe." In the beginning of the chapter he writes, "When we ask someone to believe in the Lord Jesus, we are asking something very difficult." The difficulty Dr. Ryrie speaks of is the nature of the body of truth that must be believed. Factors such as our historical distance…
Thinking and Speaking Biblically About The Love of God for Man, Part 1
Thinking Biblically The love of God is beautiful and even breathtaking when considered rightly. God is infinite in His capacity to love, even loving fallen, rebellious sinners enough to send His beloved Son to die in their place (Romans 5:8). Of all the ways in which God’s perfection far surpasses human ability and effort, the most obvious and humbling is His perfect love. Have you ever truly contemplated the fact that an infinite and holy God loves human beings who…
Thinking and Speaking Biblically About The Love of God for Man, Part 2
Part 2: Speaking Biblically1 On a Christian radio station, a speaker recently declared: “God loves you so much that if He had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it.” Messages like this are not hard to find these days. People are inundated with images of God’s love that picture Him in heaven, longingly looking down at the human race and wringing His hands, hoping every single person will realize just how much He loves them and how desperately He…