A new community blossomed after that first Christian Pentecost. Not only did 3,000 get baptized into the Body of Christ after Peter’s first sermon. They found an effective way to live the faith together — a way so appealing to outsiders that day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being […]
Helping Christian Community Thrive: What Are Your Priorities?
I’m fascinated by the second chapter of Acts. On that first Christian Pentecost, Peter and the whole apostolic gang were hiding out. Then suddenly they were filled with God’s own Spirit. They left their bunker and joined the crowd at the great Jewish festival in Jerusalem and began to bear witness to Christ. Peter preached […]
Keeping Our True Orientation to Communion (Heidelberg Catechism, Q55)
Last week I posted that the church is most the church when it is in worship, on Sunday morning, receiving the Lord’s Supper. My friend and colleague Chris James left a thoughtful reply disagreeing with me. I see his point. Isn’t this actually the problem in mainstream Christianity? We neglect the mission of God in the world because we are […]
Church and Community: What Are You Aiming to Be?
There is a huge amount of energy right now around creating new worshipping communities. That’s good: Like all living things, the Church needs to grow or we will die. But all that ferment should prompt some questions: What makes a “community” a “church”? What are we aiming to be? I’ve blogged off and on about the many forms […]
How to Renew Your Church: A Page from John Calvin’s Playbook
I took another trip in the time machine recently. I went back to Calvin’s Geneva again. Okay. Not really. It was a Skype call with a friend from seminary: the Rev. Jerry McKinney. I interviewed him for a class I teach on forms of Christian community. But I’m telling you, the story of Jerry’s pastoral ministry is […]
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