word | spirit | world | church
In a previous post I explored the third commandment to see what it means to bear the name of God and how it applies to us. We live in a moment that needs to understand this—to name yourself is an act of rebellion against God, I argued. It certainly can be an act of rebellion… Continue reading On Names and Naming Again
The Church isn’t in a hurry. Neither should Christians be. You can apply this in so many directions in our hurried world, but I’d like to think about our questions (again!). Questions require time. Fast answers are usually trite ones. Some intellectual curiosities can be settled quickly by a swift Google, but real questions can’t… Continue reading Is Your Church Slow Enough?
The most undertrained group in churches are elders. Most church elders are not on staff at their churches. That’s not just thinking about very small churches that can’t pay one of their elders, but most eldership teams are going to be majority non-employed by their churches. As an aside, don’t call these guys ‘lay elders’… Continue reading Elders & Training
We live in difficult days. My nation has fallen headlong into a sort of Protestant Paganism and is embracing all of sorts of beliefs and practices that are against the way of God. This isn’t suddenly true, it has been growing steadily for some time, and it could all turn in any direction very suddenly.… Continue reading Pastors Need to Stand Up
I’ve written before about vision, and whether or not churches should have it. To briefly summarise my argument in that piece, a church does need to have some sense of what they will and won’t do, a church does not need an incredibly specific well-outlined, pithy statements that change every year. You don’t need an… Continue reading How To Cast Vision
In Revelation 21 the church (the ‘bride’) is described as a city, a new Jerusalem, in intricate detail. John is referencing from all over the Bible, he has the later part of Ezekiel and Genesis 2 in particular view, but liberally references elsewhere. John is at this point in Revelation talking about the future; this… Continue reading The Gates of the City
Throughout the Bible, people lead. Whether they are judges, kings, or prophets, they lead the people of God by showing them a direction in which to go. Leading is good. Leading is required, for without it we are like sheep gone astray, crying for a shepherd and prone to false ones. Churches need direction (even… Continue reading Lead vs Leader vs Leadership
As Christians who want to love people well, we should prize clarity as being the kindest way we can speak. Luke Simmons tweeted this a few months back: https://twitter.com/lukedsimmons/status/1707883978018205719?s=20 The thread moves on to discuss ways he hadn’t been clear in his leadership in the past and how to produce clarity in the future. It’s… Continue reading Clarity is kind
I recently read Danny Webster’s response to the report into Mike Pilavachi’s abusive leadership. Pilavachi’s fall has rocked the charismatic evangelical world here in the UK. He was a strangely unifying figure who cut across streams and denominations. His abuse was longstanding and covered up by the charity’s trustees. Like many I attended Soul Survivor… Continue reading Leadership Development needs to go somewhere
Or, more specifically, should they have vision statements? It’s common these days to expect a church to have a specific vision, often expressed in a pithy statement about what they will or won’t be seeking to do in their location. Sometimes it’s accompanied by a mission statement—which sometimes is the same thing, but at least… Continue reading Should churches have a vision?
nuakh 