Category Archives: Uncategorized

BLOG 10.11.12: “DISCIPLEMAKING: WHOSE RESPONSIBILITY?” Let’s nail down a presupposition here: Our Lord, Jesus Christ, calls us to himself, to be his disciples. The entrance to discipleship and new life in Christ is by repentance and faith on our part. … Continue reading →

BLOG 10.8.12: THE ENIGMA OF “CHURCH MEMBERSHIP.” The enigma of church membership? What’s that all about? Right off: “church membership” is a designation that is never, anywhere, even mentioned in New Testament documents. Rather, what Jesus came announcing was a … Continue reading →

BLOG 10.4.12: THE UN-EVANGELIZED CHURCH? The very word: gospel, is a translation of the Greek word: euangellion, which means something like: a thrilling and insistent announcement. The Christian church uses it to speak of the thrilling announcement of what God … Continue reading →

10.1.12 BLOG: HOSPITALITY AND THE SOJOURNERS NEXT DOOR Forty-plus years ago a big news article in national magazines was the episode of five young missionaries who were killed in an attempt bring the Christian gospel to the unreached Auca Indian … Continue reading →

BLOG 9.27.12: “THE QUEST FOR RELATIONSHIPS” Warning: This blog is not “light reading.” In N. T. Wright’s fascinating book Simply Christian, he lists as one of the four basic human hungerings, or quests, that of the quest for relationships. That … Continue reading →

BLOG 9.24.12: WHAT IS THE LIFE SPAN OF A CHURCH? What is the life span of a church, or of a Christian community? That is a question which it is almost impossible to answer given the mystery of the church’s … Continue reading →

BLOG 9.20.12: IF THE CHURCH IS TO BE THE CHURCH, WHAT SIZE? In my previous Blog I discussed the possibility of being really lonely and anonymous in the church. The inevitable question then follows: Is there a size and a … Continue reading →

BLOG 9.17.12 CHURCHES CAN BE LONELY PLACES Can you be (really) lonely in a church? Absolutely, but … with this necessary disclaimer: that such loneliness depends on the authenticity, or lack of authenticity, of the given-church, not to mention its … Continue reading →

BLOG 9.13.12: ENCHANTED COMMUNITY: JOURNEY INTO THE MYSTERY “Mind if I ask you a question?”  Alan inquired. You can ask. I don’t guarantee answers. Fire away. “What’s your ‘take’ on the church? What’s it got to do with anything? Where … Continue reading →

BLOG 9.11.12: REFOUNDING THE CHURCH FROM THE UNDERSIDE I am going to engage in a bit of self-promotion in this blog and the next. My own engagement with the essence of the church has been in dialogue with some wonderful … Continue reading →