Archives for December 2015

"If your church culture lauds those who singlehandedly "win" non-Christians to faith, set a better example. Pray that when God brings a friend of yours to Christ, your church community will have so embraced him that he wouldn't actually know who "won" him to faith." (192) The Compelling Community: Where God's Power Makes a Church Attractive (Crossway, 2015)...

Many Christians take the beginning of a new year to evaluate their Bible reading habits, and then change or begin a Bible reading plan. For our convenience, Ligonier has compiled a list of Bible reading plans for us to choose from! Check them out HERE!...

"With few exceptions, conversation about another's sin should either be confession (e.g., confessing my poor response when I was wronged) or collaboration (e.g., talking together about how we can encourage that person toward godliness). . . . With our own sin, we should be open and transparent; with the sin of others, we should be discrete." (17475) The Compelling Communi...

"The reasons we value unity often diverge from the reason God values unity. When you teach about church unity, denominate it in terms of its value to God. Yes, unity is pleasant. Yes, it makes for a happy church. Yes, it keeps meetings shorter. But ultimately unity is valuable because it reflects God's character and being. . . . God cares about our unity because it shows o...

"Pity the poor church leadersin churches both large and smallwho will someday give account for flocks that are so amorphous that no one really knows who's inside the church. Pity the poor church attenders who never commit to obey a particular set of church leaders and instead attempt responsibility as their own shepherdsa responsibility they were never intended to fulfill....

"It turns out something everyone is talking aboutauthentic communityis bound up in something people rarely ever talk about: church membership." (54) The Compelling Community: Where God's Power Makes a Church Attractive (Crossway, 2015)...