To many, the idea of denominations seems irrelevant or even a bad idea. Often people speak against the ‘institutional church’ as if the moment that some formal structure is developed, that must be a bad thing. Of course, there have been many times that the ‘institutional church’ has done poor things or has been too …
As discussed in the last blog post (which you can read here), a Presbyterian church is a church governed by elders. That doesn’t seem radical to most Christians. After all, churches of most different brands have elders of some type. It hardly seems distinctive. However, Presbyterian churches do run differently to other brands of churches. …
Churches have all kinds of labels on the door. Some are traditional ones, like Baptist, Anglican or Presbyterian. Many now are simply called ‘community church’ or something like that, which says nothing about what kind of church it is. The church that I serve is called All Nations Presbyterian Church. Some have suggested that we …
There is an old chorus called “Tell me the old, old story” which revels in the wonder of being told about the gospel once more. From the perspective of someone who has been a believer for many years, the song expresses that we love to hear it again and again. I love this song, but …
Morning tea after church is a tradition in most churches, at least morning services. There is something great about the concept, and not just because I love a good cup of coffee. It reflects the reality that the church is not all about the formal service. The church is the people. The informal gathering after …
After hearing a sermon, a common response is to mark it in our heads. We might think that it was enjoyable, or interesting, or faithful to the passage (or not), or useful, or well presented. The temptation is to compare it to the one last week or others we have heard. In a sense, this …
When your world falls apart, where do you look for comfort and advice? The answer will differ depending on who you are. Some just cannot cope and don’t look anywhere. Some will seek the advice of friends, look to experts in the field, read self-help books, or even watch daytime television or listen to talk-back …
Most Christians are convinced that we live in a world that needs to hear about Jesus. Specifically, most are convinced that those who don’t trust in Jesus at the moment need someone to tell them about Jesus. After all, the Biblical logic is pretty clear: 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; …
Factfulness, a recently published book by Swedish international health expert Hans Rosling, is fascinating. It is a book that challenges the way that we see the world. And for the better. This is not a Christian book, but it is a book that all thoughtful Christians could benefit from. And it is entertaining to read …
We are encouraged to reach our potential, to be what we want to be, to make it in life. Our picture of the perfect life before us often includes comfort, a family situation we’re happy with, a nice place to live and enough money to do what we want to do. Ideally, we want to …