Faith. Rebuilt
Most christians believe that God heals people, but most of us also know that not everyone is healed. We hear various reasons why God doesn’t always heal, but in the end we just don’t know. But it is always encouraging to hear a reliable account of God healing someone.
The stories keep on appearing – there’s definitely something happening here. This time it’s the story of a keen mission-minded christian who was condemned by the ‘doctrine police’ for questioning a few of the less important doctrines of some sections of the church. So he left the church, to serve God in other ways. Read […]
If you thought I was exaggerating in yesterday’s post when I criticised church plants and said “a maintenance church may resist change that will further the mission”, you should read this story of a successful pastor who tried to ‘go missional’, in Stories from the Revolution.
Jesus left us a big task (Matthew 28:19-20): “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the […]
I have discussed the decline in church attendance in western countries, asked why go to church? and looked at why sermons are a poor way of making disciples. So can we rescue the church from ineffectiveness and irrelevance? What might improve things?
Christians face persecution in many countries today, especially North Korea, Saudi Arabia and Iran. According to some estimates, about 100 million christians face persecution, far more than any other religious group. Right now, two people need our support. Asia Bibi Asia is a christian woman, wife and mother of two children. She has been imprisoned […]
A recent survey of American religion reveals some interesting facts Robert Putnam (Harvard) and David Campbell (Notre Dame) undertook extensive research of religious attitudes in the US, and late last year published the results of their research in American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us. I haven’t read the book, but I’ve seen an […]
Last weekend’s Sydney Morning Herald carried two opinion pieces on greed, ethics and a “broken” western society that presented a disturbing picture.
Felicity Dale at Simply Church has posted some interesting accounts in Does prayer make a difference? Two groups of christians prayed for non-believers, with very striking results: A church in the US identified 160 homes, and prayed for 80 of them for 90 days. Then they approached all homes with the offer to visit and […]
If you attend a church, here is an interesting exercise. Think about your church’s regular services and its “outreach” activities. Do you try to make your services attractive to outsiders? Are the “outreach” activities held on church property? How many activities (whether evangelism or community service) are located in the community? I want to suggest […]