38,000 Denominations… plus House Churches

When delving into the study of how Christians should structure their meetings – particularly in respect to modeling closely after New Testament principles – it doesn’t take long before one stumbles across the “House Church Movement.” I do know I’m supposed to Love God and Love my Neighbor (and admit to frequently failing there at …

What makes a Church a Church? Part 2: Who Are the Church?

continued from Part 1… The title of this post may sound wierd: “Who are the Church?” What kind of grammar is that??! But this is because we are conditioned to thinking of the word church as meaning a building instead of a collective group of “called out ones.” The more I examine the scriptures, the …

What makes a Church a Church? Part 1 – Ekklesia

Recently there has been discussion among my friends as to what makes a Christian gathering an official “church meeting.” What makes a church, church? A bit tongue-in-cheek, the following quote may be a good place to start: “The image of much of contemporary Christianity can be summarized, a bit euphemistically, as holy people coming regularly …

Elders, Deacons, & Church Leadership

How many leadership offices were there in the 1st century church? How were these offices appointed? What were the differences in duties and qualifications of these offices? And what’s more Biblical anyways: Pastors or Elders? These were only some of the questions we looked at in a recent Bible Study I attended on “Leadership Within …

Do I Have to Pay Attention at Church?

So while listening to a sermon at church, is it ok to… …eat candy? (as long as it’s not crunchy?) …send text message? (as long as nobody notices?) …snuggle with my true love? (if nobody is behind me?) …sleep? (if it’s just during the prayers and other boring parts?) …slouch? (when my butt hurts too …

Too Small to Ignore – Community

Dr. Wess Stafford writes, “…let’s consider the church, which we fondly refer to as ‘the family of God.’ It is a place meant for inclusion and nurture, we tell ourselves. Then why do the various ages scatter in opposite directions the minute we pull into the parking lot?” Wess admits the value in age-grade curriculum …