Ten Reasons Why Church Membership Is Biblical

Ten Reasons Why Church Membership Is Biblical – “Is church membership biblical? Yes. The reason is that the biblical nature of church membership is established from a variety of passages and considerations. Here’s a cumulative case of ten reasons why church membership is biblical.”

4 Feasts We Eat Every Week at Church

4 Feasts We Eat Every Week at Church – “Churches feast on God’s word during a worship service through at least four means: singing it, praying it, reading it, and hearing it preached.”

What God Wants Pastors and Worship Leaders to Know

What God Wants Pastors and Worship Leaders to Know – “God values our lives more than our gifts. He can use us, but he doesn’t need us.”

The Church: A Family of Redemption

The Church: A Family of Redemption – “The local church paints a picture of a greater reality: God takes broken people and makes them whole through the family of God. He has sent his son Jesus Christ to redeem a people—his people—to himself that they might enjoy him forever. This is an eternal and unfading family, but it’s also a family for the not-yet season that we live in.”

Polishing Sunday Shoes on Saturday

Polishing Sunday Shoes on Saturday – “There was never a debate about whether we would be going. There was no need to fit church into the family schedule. The weekend schedule of the Tripp family was planned around the one thing we would never think of missing: Sunday worship.”

How Psalm 1 Helped Me Embrace Limits

How Psalm 1 Helped Me Embrace Limits – “The beauty of the church is that no single member of the body of Christ is responsible for generating the whole harvest.”

A Healthy Church Is a Messy Church

A Healthy Church Is a Messy Church – “Even Paul had to deal with a messy church. No church is perfect, and every church, if it’s growing and the Spirit is working, is messy.”

The Meaning of Membership

The Meaning of Membership – “When you follow Jesus, you become a member of his forever family, his church, the Body of Christ. There isn’t a way to opt out from this. There isn’t a second step, additional requirements, or fees. It’s a package deal.”

God’s Good Design of the Local Church

God’s Good Design of the Local Church – “My heart breaks for those who can’t see the beauty of the local church, or the ones who only focus on her flaws. Look at anyone long enough and you will find problems, especially if that’s your goal. No masterpiece is flawless, even God’s church bears the effects of sin . . . for now.”

The Body of Christ Builds Itself Through Love

The Body of Christ Builds Itself Through Love – “The body builds itself in love. Yes, God is there with that building up process. But it doesn’t stop there. The body builds itself too. That means that you have a part to play in building the body. You receive being built up. But you also are to be in the business of building others up too.”

5 Misconceptions About Dechurching in America

5 Misconceptions About Dechurching in America – “We’re currently living in the largest and fastest religious shift in U.S. history.”

What Is the Great Dechurching?

What Is the Great Dechurching? – “As a nation, we’re currently experiencing the largest and fastest religious shift in the history of the United States. Tens of millions of formerly regular Christian worshipers nationwide have decided they no longer desire to attend church at all. These are what we now call the dechurched.”

 

6 Avenues for the Church To Be Salt and Light

6 Avenues for the Church To Be Salt and Light – “To be salt and light to the world is a simple concept, yet it can’t happen on Sunday mornings alone. The embodiment of salt and light must be carried into the community that our churches serve.”

Politics, the Church, and Getting Our Story Straight

Politics, the Church, and Getting Our Story Straight – “In the last several years, we have seen a resurgence of interest among Christians in political theology. On the whole, I believe this has been a good thing intellectually. I’m less certain this has been a good thing ecclesiastically.”

 

J.D. Greear Rebukes His Congregation for Arriving at Church Late and Leaving Early

J.D. Greear Rebukes His Congregation for Arriving at Church Late and Leaving Early – “It’s not that I’m mad that you’re missing part of the service. It’s that you treat church like it’s a religious show instead of a welcoming family that you’re a part of.”

Going to Church is Hard, but Worth It

Going to Church is Hard, but Worth It – We should not expect it to be easy. Physically making it to church is hard… and it’s supposed to be. But the blessings always outweigh the cost.

What to Do When You Don’t Enjoy Church

What to Do When You Don’t Enjoy Church – “Perhaps you’ve just struggled through another Sunday service. If you’ve ever wondered why sometimes church feels more like a burden than a blessing, here are five possible reasons why (and what you can do about them).”

Going to Church Is Hard but Worth It

Going to Church Is Hard but Worth It – “Sundays never fail to be tough. The plan is always to have the house clean and organized on Saturday, to do family devotionals, to set out and iron clothes for the morning, to go to bed early, and have a big happy breakfast together Sunday morning. Things never go according to plan.”

In Your Race of Faith, Run Together

In Your Race of Faith, Run Together – “As a follower of Jesus, you are a member of the body of Christ; every other Christian in the body is a fellow team member whose name is recorded on the roster and who runs alongside you in the same race of faith. You have pledged to run together with the people of God under the headship of Christ.”

Christians Who Feel They Don’t Need Church Anymore

Christians Who Feel They Don’t Need Church Anymore – “The fact that these evils have occurred, are occurring now, and will continue to occur, must not be allowed to justify or validate Christian living in isolation. I believe that God is not pleased with a rejection of the local church under any circumstances.”