Max Lucado is a wonderful and inspiring writer. Few can match his ability to bring fresh insights, infuse substance, and bring clarity to both the commonplace and complex things of life. One of his website posts was titled “Simply ‘Church’.” He posed two questions, “…what would happen if all the churches agreed, on a given […]
For they sow the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind. The standing grain has no heads, it shall yield no meal; if it were to yield, aliens would devour it. [Hosea 8:7. RSV] Many modern evangelical churches have foolishly sown to the wind and are reaping a whirlwind. As a result, many of their […]
As noted in Chapter 1, the church over the course of its history has suffered attack from within (theological compromise) and without (cultural compromise), but the principal thrust of both attacks can be described as nothing less than the diminution and final abandonment of biblical truth. Within the theological realm, the diminution and abandonment of […]
“Ouch!” was Bill Hybels’ response to the results of a 2004 survey of the spiritual growth and well-being of the congregants at Willow Creek Community Church near Chicago. Hybels had pastored Willow Creek Community Church for thirty years (as of 2005) using the seeker-sensitive Church Growth movement model of doing church. Since 1992, Hybels also […]
Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, is the largest congregation in America having over 40,000 who attend the 16,800 seat nondenominational Christian mega church. From their base at Lakewood, Pastor Joel Osteen and wife Victoria preach an upbeat message to a worldwide audience of 200 million. The essence of their message can be found in Osteen’s […]
There is one incomprehensible moment in all eternity and creation’s flow of time at which the Creator’s incarnate Son was executed. Jesus was nailed to a rugged cross by His special creation—man. In Chapter 16 the tripartite story of mankind was briefly outlined: the Creation, the Fall, and Redemption. Before the foundations of the world […]
The modern American church has mistakenly sought to accomplish its mission through the attainment of cultural relevance by introduction of man’s ideas and methods and abandonment of unchanging biblical truth and authority in order to make the church acceptable to a culture that no longer deems itself fallen. As a result, many in the today’evangelical […]
John the Apostle began his gospel with these words, “In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the Word was God.” [John 1:1. KJV] From this single verse we can know that God and His word preceded creation. Thus, the word of God is eternal and His truth unchangeable. It […]
The foolishness of preaching Writing to the Corinthians, Paul described his calling as an apostle of Jesus Christ. “For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.” [1 Corinthians 1:17. KJV] In the next verse Paul […]
Doing church To achieve the goal of balance among the five purposes (fellowship, discipleship, worship, ministry, and evangelism), Rick Warren organized the Purpose Driven church around two concepts. According to Warren, the Life Development Process is the “what we do” at Saddleback. Circles of Commitment illustrate the “who we do it with.” Circles of Commitment […]