Occasionally someone calls me a priest. I have been given all kinds of labels, from pastor to minister to teaching elder, and I can live with most of them. Yet the word ‘priest’ is not appropriate. The task of a Christian minister after the time of Jesus is not to be a priest in the …
The local church should be a radically united group of people, the kind of community that cannot be found anywhere else. We have such unity because of Jesus that this should flow into real unity between diverse people in our churches. It is not always like this. The Galatian church was deeply divided. It was …
Everyone wants to express their opinion. Everyone wants to get their views across. We want to be heard and valued and noticed. All of this is perfectly natural. What has become less natural is to listen. To really listen. It is incredibly difficult to listen well to someone else. There are two broad reasons why …
I have heard people say that they don’t feel that they feel connected to the local church family that they go to because there is no-one there who is like them. Perhaps this could be said by a young person in a church mainly populated by middle-aged or older believers. Perhaps this could be said …
All Christians and churches are keen to see people become Christians. We plan and pray for evangelism. We get trained in basic gospel outlines to help people understand who Jesus is and why they should care. And we celebrate when someone professes faith or is baptised. That’s all great! Yet let’s think about the next …
Christians meet together in all kinds of ways. The large worship service is like the flagship of most churches; it has the great advantage of many people hearing and learning the same things at the same time. Many churches also have small groups of some form, which help a great deal in terms of personal …
Preachers need to think about a lot of different things. It is hard work to interpret and explain God’s Word faithfully and well. A great deal of theological training goes into teaching the original languages, theology, Bible interpretation, and church history. All of this is critical. Yet preachers also need to consider how to connect …
Most Christians are used to listening to sermons, but how well do we really listen? I have had the privilege of growing up in church and often attended multiple services when I was younger. I have probably listened to at least a couple of thousand sermons in person, not counting conferences and online listens. On …
We all know that we should be reading our Bibles. We know it is important for us. Yet it can seem like a chore at times. Like taking medication, which we know we might need, we do it but don’t always enjoy it. It is good for us, but it is not always fun. Compare …
What do you think of when you think of youth ministry? I suppose it depends on what kind of church tradition you are used to. Many think of a high-tempo time of singing, something like a concert. Others think of a series of social activities run each week. There are all kinds of structures, and …