Why We Should Preach Straight through Books of the Bible

Talbot professor and New Testament exegetical ninja Clint Arnold gives seven arguments in favor of  ”consecutive expository preaching”: It covers a wide range of topics. It enables you to treat hard topics without being second-guessed. It helps to insure that you preach the Scripture and not yourself. Contrary to popular perception, it doesn’t have to be boring and lacking in relevance. Also contrary to popular perception, it should... Read More

Biblical Disciple-Making – The Structures of the Church

At long last, this is the final post in a series (intro; part 1; part 2; part 3; part 4) I’m writing about five keys to developing disciples of Jesus according to the Bible. Check the intro and the other 4 for any further explanation. As always, feel free to argue or contribute in the comments. ——————————————————– The Concept: Christians need the Church. Period. And if you count the periods before and after... Read More

Biblical Disciple-Making – Introduction

My church has a new vision statement: “Growing in Discipleship; Thriving in Community; Serving in the World.” I really like it. It’s compact but it still hits most of what the church is about, so it can serve as a nice set of guideposts as we think about how best to minister. We adopted that vision statement at the end of last year, which means that for the last few months I’ve been thinking a lot about what it takes to “grow... Read More

The Top 10 Theology & Church Stories from 2010

I should have posted this awhile ago–say, I don’t know, at the end of December or very beginning of January, when everyone was still posting 2010 top 10 lists–but I didn’t. But Glen and I really weren’t into writing blog entries back then. So what? I’m posting it now. Get off my back. Anyway, Collin Hansen posted his “Top 10 Theology & Church Stories from 2010“ and I think it’s a nice little... Read More

The Wrath of God @ 10:30 a.m.

The other day I drove past a church marquee sign that said exactly the following: The Wrath of God @10:30 a.m. Welcome! I wish I could have taken a picture but I had to get back home. There are all kinds of potential points to make here about the uselessness of church signs in  a culture that could not care less what the sermon is about (do they really think that anyone drives by, sees a sermon title, and says, “Gosh I’d really like to... Read More

How To Be an Effective Minister

Zach Nielsen quotes Darrin Patrick’s Church Planter: Most of the young men I’ve encountered who aspire to serve God in vocational ministry gravitate toward the pragmatics of ministry performance: preaching improvement, church growth, cultural engagement, etc. While it is good and necessary to pursue excellence in these areas, the paradox of Christian ministry is that our “peak performance” in leading, shepherding, and preaching comes... Read More

Thank Jesus for His Ugly Bride

Last week I read Mark Meehan’s post on Conversant Life entitled “Generation Ex-Church: a look from the other side.” The article is a short manifesto about why the author just cannot handle being in a church anymore, and it is obviously heartfelt. Despite some sarcastic digs at the evangelical church system, the article is mostly not mean, which is refreshing.  It also comes from someone who was badly burned by a church ten years... Read More