Ed Stetzer offers some very interesting research on other churches' involvement in church planting. He bemoans that: "Lifeway Research surveyed over 1,000 Protestant pastors and found only 3 percent of their churches served as the primary sponsor of a church plant in the past year, and only 14 percent gave financial support in partnership with other churches to help start new congregations." For Ed, this was disappointing. I'm curious…what do you think? Some people say church planting … [Read more...] about Is Church-Planting the Best Option
Archives for April 2010
No One Is Born Good
I've started Counterfeit Gods by Timothy Keller (2011). Here's a telling realization from sociologist Beatrice Webb that Keller quotes: "Somewhere in my diary--1890?--I wrote 'I have staked all on the essential goodness of human nature…" [Now thirty five years later I realize] how permanent are the evil impulses and instincts in man--how little you can count on changing some of these--for instance the appeal of wealth and power--by any change in the [social] machinery…No amount … [Read more...] about No One Is Born Good
Ministry of Presence
Do you ooze ministry? I've heard my Sr. Pastor say ministry happens when one person overflows into the next person. That’s a significant illustration, perhaps evening surprising. We often think of ministry as being poured out or being spent, and certainly sacrifice plays a crucial role in ministering to others. But the motivation, the attitude and desire must come from the overflow of our hearts. Peter writes, “shepherd the flock of God…not under compulsion, but willingly, as … [Read more...] about Ministry of Presence
Tim Keller Talks Missional Ministry
"Missional Ministry" is a hot topic right now amongst churches. There's been a great deal of discussion and confusion circling this concept, but recently, I came across an article written by Tim Keller (in June 2001 no less!) that I found extremely helpful and very relevant. Check out the article The Missional Church. One of my favorite quotes is: The missional church avoids sentimental, pompous, 'inspirational' talk .Instead we engage the culture with gentle, … [Read more...] about Tim Keller Talks Missional Ministry
True Repentance
Of what does true repentance consist? We tend to focus on actions — sacrifice this, pray that, promise to read the bible every day for a month — and so we jump through our self-prescribed hoops trying to act out repentance. In some ways, action-oriented repentance is easier. We have something tangible to do. We can see our progress; we can check off a box and pat ourselves on the back. Action-oriented repentance leaves the reigns firmly in our hands. Yet, for this reason, it is ultimately … [Read more...] about True Repentance
Imputation
"In the same way in which Adam's sins were imputed to us, so God imputed our sins to Christ; that is, he thought of them as belonging to Christ, and, since God is the ultimate judge and definer of what really is in the universe, when God thought of our sins as belonging to Christ then in fact they actually did belong to Christ." (Grudem, 1995, p. 574) That is why Good Friday is great. Christ on the cross bears the sins of the world. In particular, he bears my sins, and he bears your … [Read more...] about Imputation