Here’s a snippet from Chapter 7: The Church Hop: Do not fall into the temptation of becoming a spiritual couch potato. If you have ever uttered the words concerning church, “I just didn’t get that much out of it,” you have totally missed the point. As a part of the church, you are meant to give yourself away. It’s interesting …
It is so easy for God’s people to drift from God’s ideal. As a church, are we in danger of drifting away from what God desires us to be? Every now and then, it is important that we remind ourselves that our standard can only be God’s Word. We must be a church that pleases Jesus according to his standard …
This week’s bad church sign of the week is due to inconsistent communication. The sign reads: “Four Mile Baptist Church: 2 Miles” I don’t know why this church is called Four Mile, but it is only 2 miles away. The communication is very confusing. Is this like the narrow road and there is a riddle to figure out to find …
This week’s book of the week is Stop Dating the Church!: Fall In Love with the Family of God. This small book by Joshua Harris is full of sweet goodness. While Harris is a great writer, this book is a critical read for many people. Many people (especially college students) have a tendency to church hop or church shop or …
I was honored a few months ago when some of the ladies from the South Main Street Baptist Church’s Women’s Ministry asked if they could use one of my songs for the theme song of their upcoming retreat. That retreat was this weekend up at the Cove led by my good buddy, Ruth McWhite. Even though I wasn’t there and …
If you are looking for a good New Year’s resolution, why not reading through the Bible? Many people always feel guilty about not reading the Bible. Most of the time it is because they do not have a plan for doing it. I have tried different things, but this year, Amanda and I are going to do the Robert Roberts’ …
This week’s church sign of the week speaks volumes culturally. At the bottom of this sign, it reads: “The church, unchanged for over 200 years, is now cared for by the Churches Conservation Trust.” While I imagine that this church is serving more as a museum than an actual meeting place from a church (or it may serve as both), …
This Christmas season, please do not welcome your community in the following manner like this week’s church sign: “Think You Might Be Going to Hell? Skip Church on Christmas and Make Sure! Service 12/24 7:30 PM” Any church wants to see high attendance on Christmas, but maybe this method isn’t the best approach. Christmas is all about Jesus coming …
This week’s book of the week is Thom Rainer’s Breakout Churches. Rainer, the president of Lifeway, used to be the dean for the Billy Graham School of Missions, Evangelism and Church Growth. In this book, he studied churches who were making the leap to doing great things. It is a great read with some great findings. Top 5 Ideas: Rainer’s …
This week’s book of the week is entitled Evaluating the Church Growth Movement. Edited by Gary McIntosh and Paul Engle, they gather five differing views on the Church Growth Movement. Many churchgoers are probably unaware that great controversy exists on whether or not churches should try new things or incorporate new methods in order to see a greater harvest. This …
This week’s book of the week is D. A. Carson’s Becoming Conversant with the Emergent Church. The emerging church is a relatively new movement in church world. What’s hard about this movement is that there is a wide spectrum of people who are categorized as emergent. I know of “emergent” church leaders who keep the gospel at the center and …
For those of you who “came to church” today, I hope that God changed your mind. Hopefully, after today, we will stop coming to church and we will start being the church. As we have continued in this Experiencing God series, I thought today was so helpful to remember that we are the “called out ones.” I loved Jeff’s illustration …
If you haven’t heard the buzz around the church world, a secret sort of leaked out last week. The rumor mill has been buzzing that Louie Giglio and Chris Tomlin are planting a church in Atlanta, GA. Is it true? Yep. Actually, some of it is incomplete. Matt and Beth Redman and the Nockels (Watermark) supposedly will also be helping. …
Amy got our praise band a place to serve on this lovely Saturday. The Salvation Army Church was throwing a neighborhood party and wanted some musicians on a flatbed truck. I am so thankful that they picked it on a day that is supposed to get up to 92 degrees! That means I got to sweat five pounds off! We …
As I am continuing my week at seminary, I must say that this has been a busy week. After working through how to format my dissertation for a few days, we have now been in class talking about the history of our country’s revivals. At night, I change poopy diapers and try to get as much research in Southern’s library …
Being away from North Side was a bit different today. I can’t remember the last time I “went to church” without serving. I showed up at a place. I parked in a visitor’s spot. And I had to go to the help desk for info. Very different, but I learned a ton. We went to Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, …
We got to celebrate fathers today at North Side in a fun way. At the 11:15 Obie, Cory, Cory’s son, Nate, and me started the festivities with some Father’s Day Superlatives. We couldn’t select any winners for the “Loudest Snoring Dad” award because there were too many people pointing fingers at the fathers in the house. After our time of …
4. While unbelievers can’t worship, they can watch believers worship. We see this truth lived out in Acts 2. “They worshiped together regularly at the Temple each day, met in small groups in homes for Communion, and shared their meals with great joy and thankfulness, praising God. The whole city was favorable to them, and each day God added to …
Another image that Paul utilized to describe the church was that of the body of Christ. Paul’s use of the analogy of the church serving as a body was a common illustration utilized in the popular Stoic philosophy of the day. In this context, Jesus is not seen as a part of this body, but individual Christians compose the body …
Today’s entry is number 3 on the New Testament images of the church: Branches on a Vine Nearing his imminent sacrifice upon the cross, Jesus emphasized that the church’s function was to be viewed as branches on a vine. In the Old Testament, Isaiah depicted the nation of Israel as the vine, but in the New Testament, Jesus assumed this …
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