Author Archives: rthenderson

BLOG 7/13/14. WE ARE CHRIST’S FRIENDS AND DISCIPLES IF WE OBEY HIS COMMANDS—THERE IS A SOBERING PRAGMATISM IN CHRIST’S INVITATION. From the outset, Jesus makes no secret that his followers/friends/disciples are to be engaged in the very things that he, … Continue reading →

BLOG 7/9/14. EVERY BELIEVER EQUIPPED: THE TEACHING-SHEPHERD As I have been proposing in these recent Blogs, Jesus announced to his bewildered disciples that: “I will build my church” … but then didn’t give them any algorithm of what their role … Continue reading →

BLOG 7/6/14. UNBELIEVING CHURCH MEMBERS … OR CONTAGIOUS DISCIPLES OF CHRIST? Let’s continue where we left off in the last Blog. Let’s acknowledge that all too much of the church scene, i.e., the image of church institutions replete with professionals … Continue reading →

7/2/14 BLOG. THE CHURCH: REPRODUCTIVE … OR PASSIVE-DEPENDENT? Anyone who has read the accounts of the church in its earliest days cannot miss the fact that “the word (of Christ) went everywhere.” The contagiousness of such an awesome message, so … Continue reading →

BLOG 6/29/14. WHENEVER LIGHT CHALLENGES DARKNESS—TROUBLE. Sometimes those of us who live inside of our comfortable Christian communities need to stop and remind ourselves of our calling, and of the very forthright warnings of our Lord Jesus about the hazards … Continue reading →

BLOG. 6/25/14. DEVELOPING THE GIFT OF CONTAGIOUS CONVERSATION (This is a continuation of the 6/23/14 Blog, and comes in response to some inquiries and comments by my readers.) My personal persuasion is that anyone who has intentionally received Christ in … Continue reading →

BLOG 6/23/14. SHORT-CIRCUITING THE EVANGELISTIC MANDATE OF THE CHURCH? Why is it that some Christian communities are growing spontaneously, while others are slowly devolving into some kind of evangelistic atrophy? Why, if a ‘believer’ is a person in whom Jesus … Continue reading →

BLOG 6/18/14. OUR GOSPEL: COMFORTING OR DISTURBING? A thought and a question: Is our gospel one of comfort, or is it a disturber of our comfortable indifference to crucial issues in our culture. This question has come back to me … Continue reading →

BLOG 6/15/14 SO, WHAT DO WE HAVE WITH THE PRESENT CHURCH … AND WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR? In my last blog, I indicated that we probably needed to be aware of some of the dominant images of the church, … Continue reading →

BLOG 6/11/14. THE KINGDOM OF GOD HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH ‘RELIGION,’ WOULD YOU BELIEVE? Alright … let me unpack that title: following up on my last blog (6/8/14) requires that I make a determined effort to get us over … Continue reading →