This week, our new church plant (Grace Church) was pleased to send in our first gift to the Cooperative Program. (We also budget for our association and to direct church planting, but that is another topic for another day.)
As leaders of the church, we believe in what we are doing together in our convention. The Cooperative Program gives our church the opportunity to partner with other churches in our denominational family to be involved in … [Read More]
Cooperating Together
The Quota for Wimps Has Been Met (A Word to Young Men, Part 2)
My last post had to do with modern day barbarians and featured some of my thoughts from a must read article written years ago by Terrence Moore entitled “Wimps and Barbarians.” Now I would like to offer some of his thoughts on the wimps of our time. The quota for wimps has in fact been met, but they are everywhere, especially in the church. In fact, I would consider this problem to be one of … [Read More]
Modern Day Barbarians: (A Word to Young Men, Part 1)
I find intriguing the times when someone comments about a given feature of culture, and though the commentator does not make his observations from the perspective of a Christ-follower, his assessment of the times converges well with biblical truth. Ideas that are true may not originate with Scripture, but if true they will be consistent with God’s Word.
Take for instance young adults in our culture. Scripture does not see young adults as goofballs living in … [Read More]
Is the Gospel Worth $6,090,032?
Is it possible to determine the economic benefit a church brings to its local community? A recent First Things article reports that researchers led by a University of Pennsylvania professor attempted to make just such an assessment (First Things: April 2011, p. 67). They estimated the economic impact of 12 congregations in the greater Philadelphia area. Some financial benefits could be calculated in a straight-forward fashion: salaries for staff and workers, monies paid for facilities construction and repair, and … [Read More]
Engaging Exposition (9): The Author’s Method of Communication
Poetry
Walt Kaiser notes that Poetry “is important enough to occupy about one-third of the Old Testament.”* It is a medium of communication that uses figurative language to explore the intricacies of life, and it has the capacity to provide an extraordinary view of ordinary things. Grant Osborne notes,
Semitic poetry had its origin in the religious life of the people, both corporate and individual. Prose was inadequate to express the deep yearnings of the soul, and … [Read More]
