Richard Langer and Joanne J. Jung have put their finger on one of the major causes of the ineffectiveness of Christian outreach and Christian organizations: everybody believes they are called to be a leader. They show how this belief is unbiblical and ineffective and urge us to replace it with the desire to be followers … Continue reading The Call to Follow – Book Review
discipleship
Followership = Discipleship
Followership in the Christian sense is another word for discipleship. Do we need another word? If it helps us take another look at just what discipleship is, then I believe followership is a useful word. Jesus told His disciples, “All authority is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and make … Continue reading Followership = Discipleship
Knit together in love
In Ephesians 4:16 and Colossians 2:19, the apostle Paul describes the church as a body. Christ is the head and nourishment flows through the body from one member to another so that all members are fed. The members are bound together by sinews that enable the body to function in a coordinated way according to … Continue reading Knit together in love
Wimpy evangelism
Forty-five years ago there was a city-wide outreach in our city based on the theme “I found it!” The slogan was purposefully vague so as to engage all churches who called themselves Christian. The purpose of the slogan was to prompt people to ask “What did you find?” To which the answer was “New life … Continue reading Wimpy evangelism
To be a disciple
The Great Commission tells Christians to make disciples from all nations. In practice though, it seems many evangelical efforts have thought it sufficient to get a profession of faith from new believers, to make converts. That’s only a beginning. If I stop at being converted, I am not sufficiently rooted and grounded in the faith … Continue reading To be a disciple
The Principal Errors of Pietism
Pietism, with a capital P, refers to a movement that began within the Lutheran Church around the year 1600. The Pietists emphasized the new birth, the inward spiritual life of the heart and a pure moral life. There were earlier threads of pietism, but this was the beginning of a distinctive and dynamic movement. The … Continue reading The Principal Errors of Pietism
Discipleship
The messengers of Jesus will be hated to the end of time. They will be blamed for all the division which rend cities and homes. Jesus and his disciples will be condemned on all sides for undermining family life, and for leading the nation astray; they will be called crazy fanatics and disturbers of the … Continue reading Discipleship
The threefold purpose of the church
As I read the New Testament, the evidence accumulates that there is a threefold purpose for the existence of the church. Each of these purposes is connected to, and dependent upon, the other two. Perhaps we could call this a three-legged stool and whenever one of the legs is shorter than the others it creates … Continue reading The threefold purpose of the church
I want to be an L.E.D.
We all know what led’s are, right? Those things that give off a nice clear light but won’t burn you if you get too close to them. That’s what I want to be - a Light Emitting Disciple. There is a problem, though – I am not capable of producing light by myself. But I sure … Continue reading I want to be an L.E.D.
What is an indigenous church?
An indigenous church is one that has been planted in a new environment, taken root and grows and thrives without outside support. People in the community do not see a cultural barrier between themselves and members of the church and conclude that any differences between them and the members of this church are due to … Continue reading What is an indigenous church?
Flatlander Faith 