Tag Archives: obedience

The Green Beans of the Christian Life

I was amazed many years ago to find out what Weight Watchers at the time was suggesting for a diet. Green beans! Tons of them! “How in the world could that be good for a diet? Is there some special … Continue reading

Posted in Christianity, Church Growth | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Looking for a Silver Lining

A couple of weeks ago I came to the church office to find that we’d been burglarized. It was mostly computers that were stolen; thankfully, the thieves left us our external hard drives. Nevertheless, the following week or so has … Continue reading

Posted in Christianity, New Testament | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Standing for 1st Century Christianity in the 21st Century — #3

We may complain a lot about trying to live a 1st century Christian life in the 21st century—there are so many new temptations that we have to contend with, so many cultural differences, so many challenges that we believe the … Continue reading

Posted in Bible commentary, Christian Leadership, Christianity, Church Growth, New Testament | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Standing for 1st Century Christianity in the 21st Century

American culture (and most of western culture) is one that prides itself on being advanced, thoroughly modern, progressive, and sophisticated. If we’re not changing, innovating, and tweaking things, we are stagnant, old-fashioned, or losing ground. We hold in contempt or … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Marriage Covenant

I’ve heard people joke about it before, but never really heard anyone speak about it seriously. Yet, there it was on the radio being seriously discussed like it was a desirable, workable possibility—contractual time limits for marriage, an end point … Continue reading

Posted in Christian Leadership, Christianity, New Testament, Old Testament | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Church Where Everyone Ministers

Are you involved in the church’s activities? This question might be answered in a number of ways by various people in the church. Some would say that they’re up to their eyeballs in church activities, while others, on the other … Continue reading

Posted in Christian Leadership, Christianity, Church Growth, New Testament | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Continually…Devoted…Themselves

There are a lot of things that could be (and are) said about how to grow spiritually. This is because 1) it is not a simple task to turn back the desires, passions, and “wisdom” of the flesh; and 2) … Continue reading

Posted in Bible commentary, Christianity, New Testament | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Struggling to Grow

Sincere Christians desire to grow, but growing more spiritually mature is not intuitive or easily accomplished. Paul speaks of his own personal growth this way, “Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

It’s not just what you do…

Imagine an anniversary, in which a husband walks through the door with flowers, candy, and a card and tosses them casually on the couch where his wife is sitting and says, “Happy anniversary,” in a monotone. He does sort of … Continue reading

Posted in Bible commentary, Christian Leadership, Christianity, New Testament | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Fundamentals of Church Growth

The church of the first century exploded with growth — numerical and spiritual. Should we not be interested in a growing church, too? Not just for the sake of a larger bunch of people meeting on Sunday (like the membership … Continue reading

Posted in Bible commentary, Christian Leadership, Christianity, New Testament | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment