Category Archives: Church

Reading about the Emerging Church

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The first substantial thing I read about the emerging church was Don Carson’s Becoming Conversant with the Emerging Church.  Carson is careful to note the positives that can be found in the emerging movement, but also identifies some major problems.  Particularly noteworthy are his critiques of Steve Chalke’s unfortunate The Lost Message of Jesus and Brian McLaren’s frustrating A Generous Orthodoxy.  I have read both these latter books too and I’m convinced that Carson has got his evaluation about right. …

Prophecy and authority

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According to the Network Participant’s Guide, the traits of a prophet are that s/he is discerning, compelling, uncompromising, outspoken, authoritative, convicting, and confronting. Phew! no wonder the gift of prophecy can sometimes seem too hot to handle! Such a set of traits raises important questions about the authority of the prophet, and how this relates to other kinds of authority within the church.  I’m going to argue that that the authority (and therefore the accountability) of the prophet is similar to the authority (and accountability) of the teacher.…

Spiritual gifts – why some people are cautious

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I wrote the following to some Christian friends, a number of whom wished their church to move in a more ‘charismatic’ direction.  It is a plea to listen carefully and patiently to those who are more cautious.

To many Christians, the whole discussion about spiritual gifts is simply debating the Blindingly Obvious: God has promised gifts, and it’s down to us to receive them joyfully and use them effectively.

But there are still people around who are cautious about some of the gifts.…

Should Everyone Speak in Tongues?

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In earliest times, people spoke the same language. This unified language was used in rebellion against God in the building of the tower of Babel, Gen 11:1ff. God quelled this rebellion by confusing the people’s language and by scattering them over the face of the earth, Gen 11:9. In the future life, the unity of language will be restored in the praise and service of God, Rev 7:9-12; cf Zeph 3:9; 1 Cor 13:8. Some foretaste of this is found in the NT church in the miraculous gift of tongues at Pentecost, Acts 2:4,11.…

Are all the spiritual gifts for today?

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The New Testament has various lists of ‘charismata’ (spiritual gifts):-

Romans 12:6-8

1 Cor. 12:8-10

1 Cor. 12:28-30

Eph. 4:11

1 Peter 4:9-11
Prophecy Word of Wisdom Apostleship Apostleship Speaking
Serving Word of Knowledge Prophecy Prophecy Serving
Teaching Faith Teaching Evangelism
Exhortation Healings Miracles Pastor/Teacher
Giving Miracles Healing
Leading Prophecy Helping
Showing Mercy Discerning of Spirits Administrating
Tongues Tongues
Interpretation of Tongues Interpretation of Tongues

Nelson’s complete book of Bible maps & charts : Old and New Testaments.…

Dispute between Paul and Barnabas – sermon notes

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Text: Acts 15:36-41

There are all kinds of jobs to be done.  How are Christian leaders to decide who is to serve, especially if there are doubts about an individual’s suitability or reliability?

Mark is a friend and helper of Barnabas and Paul.  He had started out with them on their first missionary journey. However, when they reached what we now call southern Turkey, Mark had deserted his companions, and went back home to Jerusalem.  Now Paul & Barnabas are planning another missionary journey. …

Confirmation

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Confirmation can be traced back to Tertullian, AD 198, and Hippolytus, AD 215, both of whom refer to a post-baptismal ceremony carried out by a bishop.

Originally, no distinction was made between infants and adults in the use of this ceremony. Moreover, it only became separated from baptism itself when the Roman and African churches insisted that the anointing and imposition of hands in confirmation must be carried out by a bishop. This separation came to be regarded as normal practice, so that it became assumed that baptism was for infants and confirmation was for those who were somewhat older.…

What is a ‘congregation’?

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Church growth thinking back in the 1980s helpfully distinguished between ‘cells’, ‘congregations’, and ‘celebrations’ (basically, small, medium and large meetings of the church).

Each of these has (or should have) different characteristics and purposes.  Here, in outline, are some thoughts on what I think a ‘congregation’ might be:-

Definition

A ‘congregation’ is a manifestation of the local church that typically has a membership of between 25 and 100. The lower figure is determined by the need for diversity of gifting and of constituent individual and family representation.…

Charismatic questions

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A few thoughts on a couple of questions relating to the charismata (‘spiritual gifts’):-

1. How many charismata?

It is unreasonable to suppose that the lists of gifts mentioned in Scripture are exhaustive. It is, however, reasonable to suppose that these lists are indicative. In other words, it is reasonable to say that ‘there are probably more than 15 charismata’, but less reasonable to inflate that number to as many as 150 or even 500.

One can readily think of charismata that might have been included in the biblical lists, but for some reason were not (e.g.…

Wanted: Christian leaders

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We live in a world, writes John Stott, that is desperate for effective leadership. At the global level, there are massive nuclear arsenals, widespread violations of human rights, frightening environmental and energy crises, and North-Sough economic inequality. Morally, we are aware of forces at work that are undermining the stability of marriage and the family, challenging sexual mores and roles, and providing what is virtually abortion on demand. Spiritually, there is the spread of materialism and the corresponding loss of any transcendent reality.…