Psalm 99:8, “LORD our God, you answered them. You were a forgiving God to them, but an avenger of their sinful actions.”

We serve an amazing God. It is hard to comprehend what it means to be truly holy. As a result, it is easy, sometimes too easy, to think that because God loves us, he is okay with our sin. After all, we are covered by grace. Such a view, unfortunately, is a perversion of grace. Grace is not given so sinners can continue in sin. Grace is given so sinners can overcome sin.

Abstract

It is reported that churches are in rapid decline and in poor health. In addition, there is high pastor turnover. Many see a lack of leadership as a major contributing factor. This paper argues that an intentional refocusing of discipleship, grounded on the doctrine of the imago Dei can lead a church to recover the mission Christ gave his church. To that end, this paper argues that a five-fold process is needed in leading the church to recover its mission of making disciples. Leaders must help believers be intentional about spiritual growth, lead them to commit to the vision Christ gave his church, surrender to God’s will, be an active part of the mission, and in turn invest in others and help them grow as disciples.

The Problem

Today many churches are struggling to grow. According to Rainer (2019) 70% of churches are declining or plateauing, while only 30% are growing by reaching new people. The same study found that only 7% of churches are reproducing via church plants. Elsewhere Rainer (2014) states plainly that, “many of our congregations, plain and simple, are not in good health.” In addition to experiencing decline, many are experiencing Continue reading →

The greatest force that exists in the universe is not the strong nuclear force (the force that holds atoms together), but the love that binds two hearts together. The term “lovesick” has been used to describe people desperately in love but who are prevented from being together. It is well expressed by Juliet longing for her lover Romeo, “O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo? By any other word would smell as sweet. Parting is such Continue reading →

I was reading the news this morning and saw where Kanye West and Kim Kardashian came to faith in Christ. Praise the Lord! It was not too long ago where their names were synonymous with all that is fake and superficial in the world. Now, they are children of the King and members of His kingdom. Besides their conversion, something that stood out in the article is that Kanye West is turning from his rap music to gospel music. He has not been saved a year and he has already produced an album praising Jesus. The title of the album is “Jesus is King.” When he announced the record he said, Continue reading →

Introduction

What is education and what is its end goal? Throughout the centuries different cultures gave different answers. However, there is one culture that has been the repository of divine revelation. The Hebrew people were chosen by God and given the oracles of God that were meant to be a light to all nations (Gen. 12:1-3; Isa. 49:6). Unfortunately, the light God gave through his Word has not been embraced as God intended – even to this day God’s people struggle to teach their children in a way that results in a life-long commitment to God. The result is that people sit in darkness (Isa. 9:2). For that darkness to be dispelled a people must come to know the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Ultimately, the light of God came to full expression in Jesus of Nazareth, who is the Christ – the promised Messiah. However, early in their history God revealed how a people (and individuals) come to know him. God gave a command, known as the Shema, that became central to the Hebrew identity. This paper will argue that Continue reading →

Thought of the Day: Criticism is the easiest form of analysis

“Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing” (Proverbs 12:18).

The other day I was watching the trailer for a movie. I think it was about King Arthur and Merlin. One scene depicted a young Merlin waving his hand over a dead flower and bringing it back to life. Wouldn’t it be great to have that kind of power! The reality is that in a certain sense we do. And it’s a power we often overlook. While waving my hand over something broken will not fix it, or bring it back to life, we all have the ability to speak life into the life of a broken person or a broken situation.

We live in a world with many broken things.  There are broken relationships, marriages and homes. There are broken nations and communities. And all around us there are broken people. And while we cannot fix all the problems people face, we can do two things:

1. We can make sure we do not contribute to their brokenness by being critical faultfinders who are looking for ways to show others what they are doing wrong.

2. And we can use our words in a way that builds others up. With our words we have the power to heal and fix things that are truly broken.

I am reminded that when God created this amazing world and universe we live in He did so by speaking it into existence. When God speaks life is created and life blossoms.

Picking apart and finding fault in others is not an admirable attribute. There are times when we all need correction. But the people we admire are those who correct in a way that improves who we are as people. The word encourage literally means, “To cause another to be confident”

The prefix “en” means “to cause”

The word “courage” means “confidence”

When we encourage someone we cause them to be confident. A Leader (to be distinguished from one who is simply in charge) has the unique ability to make people confident in such way that it causes them to improve, to do what they need to do to change, or to just be a better person.