Category Archives: Church

‘If the church were Christian’ – 8

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If the church were Christian, writes Phillip Gulley, ‘peace would be more important than power.’

A lust for power is found in Christian as well as secular organisations, in small as well as large.  Such power-lust can be deeply injurious.

Those bent on power so often lack the ability to see their own need for spiritual transformation and growth.

Frequently, such people insist on dominating others and yet will not bow to the wishes of those to whom they themselves are accountable.…

‘If the church were Christian’ – 7

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If the church were Christian, says Phillip Gulley, ‘meeting needs would be more important that maintaining institutions.’

Phillip Gulley has come across people within the church who, while ostensibly meetings the needs of others (for example, by running a food bank), are really putting their own needs first (the need for control, for appreciation, or whatever).  We’ve probably come across such people ourselves.

We must wonder if many Christian organisations and entire denominations are primarily interested in self-preservation. …

‘If the church were Christian’ – 6

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If the church were Christian, writes Philip Gulley, ‘Encouraging personal exploration would be more important than communal uniformity.’

Professed followers of Christ – from Jehovah’s Witnesses to Quakers – have their ways of disowning those who step out of line.

Such shunning seems far from the character of Jesus (though less so from that of Paul, 1 Cor 5:11; Rom 16:17).  It was Jesus who was shunned, not he who shunned.

Of course, some form of correction may be needed for those who tarnish a group’s credibility, but too often the ‘solution’ is more damaging than the ‘problem’. …

Banned, or just ‘not invited’?

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When the Christian Union at the University of Derby organised their carol service, to be held in the city’s cathedral, they invited Rev Melvin Tinker, vicar of St John Newland in Hull, to be the preacher.

It transpires, however, that the CU was not empowered to invited Rev Tinker to speak.  Such invitations have to be made by the Dean, the Very Revd Stephen Hance.  The Dean said: “I am aware of online comments this morning claiming that Derby Cathedral has banned the Revd Melvin Tinker from speaking at the Derby University Christian Union Carol Service.”…

Meditating on Christ’s sufferings

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Given the reticence and reserve with which the NT dwells on the physical aspects of Christ’s sufferings, it is certainly possible for Christians themselves to dwell too much on them.

F.F. Bruce comments on this subject in his fascinating book, Answers To Questions (p249f).

He contrasts this, by Charles Wesley…

1. O Love divine, what has thou done!
The immortal God hath died for me!
The Father’s coeternal Son
bore all my sins upon the tree.…

‘If the church were Christian’ – intro

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In his 2010 book, If the Church Were Christian: Rediscovering the Values of Jesus, Quaker pastor Philip Gulley offers a recipe for, well, making the Church Christian.  Richard Rohr thinks that the recipe is ‘superb’, and restates it in the following words:-

  1. Jesus is a model for living more than an object of worship.
  2. Affirming people’s potential is more important than reminding them of their brokenness.
  3. The work of reconciliation should be valued over making judgments.
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Mysticism

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Definition

Mysticism is notoriously difficult to pin down.  It may briefly be characterised as seeking ‘an immediate link with the Absolute’ (Winfried Corduan).  This would apply both to Christian mystics and to some types of Eastern religion.

Christian mysticism ‘seeks to describe an experienced, direct, nonabstract, unmediated, loving knowledge of God, a knowing or seeing so direct as to be called union with God.’  (D.D. Martin, Evangelical Dictionary of Theology)

Notable Christian mystics have included ‘Gregory of Nyssa, Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, John Ruysboreck, the anonymous author of The Cloud of Unknowing, Julian of Norwich, Therese of Lisieux, Thomas a Kempis, Teresa of Avila, St.…

Ryle and Ritualism

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Throughout his long ministry, J.C. Ryle (1817-1900) had to defend evangelical (that is to say, gospel) truth on a number of fronts.  One of these concerned the threat posed by the Ritualism of the Anglo-Catholic movement.

Ian Farley reports that in 1877 Ryle identified five key teachings of the Ritualists:

  1. They seek to turn the Communion Table into an ‘Altar’ and the Lord’s Supper into a ‘Sacrifice’ and encourage the idea of a real material presence of Christ’s body and blood, under the forms of the consecrated bread and wine.
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Did he really say that?

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Shared recently on Facebook was an image of Pope Francis and the following quote, attributed to him:-

It is not necessary to believe in God to be a good person. In a way, the traditional notion of God is outdated. One can be spiritual but not religious. It is not necessary to go to church and give money — for many, nature can be a church. Some of the best people in history do not believe in God, while some of the worst deeds were done in His name.
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Should a Christian minister be paid?

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William Hendriksen summarises the approach of Paul and his companions:-

Paul’s stand may be summarized in the following ten propositions:

  1. Titus 1:11: He definitely does not want to give any occasion for being placed in a class with “vain talkers” who are interested in “filthy lucre.”
  2. 1 Cor. 9:6–15: He, nevertheless, emphatically asserts the right to receive remuneration from the church for performing spiritual work, and to receive it even from the converts themselves (see especially verse 11).  
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