Author Archives: rthenderson

BLOG. 1/10/13: “I’M NOT INTO RELIGION, BUT I AM ‘SPIRITUAL’” Conversations with friendly folk in coffee shops, or pubs, surface an interesting response when many of these find out that I have had a long career as a pastor and … Continue reading →

BLOG: 1/7/13. “OF STAGING AREAS AND BASE CAMPS” Did it ever come to your attention that neither Jesus nor the New Testament writers give any particular attention to the form of the church? The focus is on the purpose, i.e., … Continue reading →

BLOG 01/03/13. NIT-PICKING: THE CHURCH IS NOT A PLACE Happy New Year! May 2013 be filled with blessings for you. Having said that, let me begin this new year with what may seem to be a bit of nit-picking, but … Continue reading →

BLOG 12.20.12: ADVENT AND OUR PARTICIPATION IN THE MISSON OF GOD When we get beyond Advent, beyond the “Lessons and Carols” of the Christmas celebration, the inevitable question ought to come to us: Alright, what does all of this have … Continue reading →

BLOG 12.17.12: THE FORGOTTEN (AND CRITICAL) DIMENSION OF ADVENT What is all too often forgotten (if indeed it was ever remembered by most) as the church’s Advent celebration has been taken so captive by the consumer culture in which we … Continue reading →

BLOG: 12/13/12. THE NECESSITY OF THE EQUIPPING GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT In my most recent blog, I was quoting the prophetic Jacques Ellul on the displacement of the spiritual gifts whenever the church intrudes with the notion of “clergy” (church … Continue reading →

BLOG 12.10.12: THE GOSPEL (AND THE CHURCH) “OUT OF CONTROL” I need to raid the writings of Jacques Ellul once more in that, to my mind, he is a giant prophetic voice who needs to be heard as we move … Continue reading →

BLOG 12.06.12: THE CHURCH AUTHENTIC, OR “ALMOST?” In my last blog, I was quoting from Jacques Ellul’s classic work: The Subversion of Christianity, which is such a devastating critique of the church that it is usually shelved. Let me “un-shelf” … Continue reading →

BLOG 12.03.12: JACQUES ELLUL AND THE CHURCH’S DRIFT INTO DARKNESS God’s people are called out of darkness, out of the dominion of darkness, and into the kingdom of God’s beloved Son (Colossians1:13). They are called out of darkness into the … Continue reading →

BLOG 11.29.12: “THAT TRAIN NEVER LEFT THE STATION!” I was leaving a Sunday morning (what was called a) worship service with a friend, a while back, when he commented: “That train never left the station.” I was both puzzled and … Continue reading →