Recently we had our first “Official” membership class at the Crossings and it was a lot of fun. It was just neat to see so many new and old faces excited about what God is doing in our own little part of the Kingdom. It was neat to see people stepping up to the plate in heartfelt commitment. Now I understand that in the greater body of Christ there’s been some debate as to what to do with Church membership. Some claim it is not a Biblical principle and others hold the opposite position and see it as a great practicality for our day. On my part I lean toward the second camp, so I’ve listed 7 reasons at the bottom of the post as to why we’ve gone with a formal membership at The Crossings. But I think the greatest reason why I fall on the side of a designated church membership for the located body of Christ actually comes from a true story from our time in the former Soviet Union. Read the rest of this entry »
Posts Tagged Church
Ok Bonnie,
There’s a lot you have to say and I like your honesty and being upfront. No need to play games here. So with everything you wrote, (and didn’t write) we’ll just tackle one point at a time.
As I noted earlier, there exists a counterfeit church today which is quite foreign from the real deal. But there is always an element of the real CHURCH in the world no matter what kind of institution is being propagated. You can read more about the authentic church here in Kingdomology under the CHURCH page. But in short, the Church has nothing to do with buildings or institutions. The authentic Church is more about God’s people called to him. When it comes to people, yes, you are quite right, there are a lot of people who make great claims about being good “Christians” but don’t seem to be any different than the rest of the world other than just being a religious pain in the rear because of self-righteousness. I get that. But here are some other points to consider. Read the rest of this entry »
Well it’s obvious that I’m nuts about following Jesus and wouldn’t have it any other way. As for me, I arrived at my convictions about Jesus not because I simply grew up that way kind of like a cultural thing, but because of a point in time where I was presented with the clear evidence of Christ, and then chose to accept it and follow him. But that does not mean that I think I’m any better than anyone else or even those who have chosen not to accept Christ or his teaching. In fact, there are times when I prefer to hang out with those who would consider themselves “outside” of the Church and even joke about themselves as being “pagans” or something like that. They’re at least honest in the sense that they’re not trying to fool anyone by being more spiritual than the rest of humanity. This is one of the many things I liked about living in CA. Read the rest of this entry »
We’ll I’m just about back into a consistent “blogging” saddle again as we’re finishing up our transition from the church plant back in CA to a work in the Houston area. We’ve landed with an exciting bunch of folks in Cypress, Texas where there are some real needs and huge opportunities for Kingdom advancement. This past Monday night we had a group of leaders over at our house to watch the movie Miracle on Ice. The flick was based on the true story of the 1980 US Olympic Hockey team defeating the Soviet Union and winning the gold medal. Personally it was fun to watch as I remember being glued to the tube when it happened in real life 30 years ago. But we didn’t watch it to reminisce, but to learn some church leadership lessons. We came up with at least these five principles. Enjoy and feel free to add anything. Read the rest of this entry »
To Tell the Truth?
Nov 16
I got a link from a friend the other day to another church planter’s blog and in one of his recent posts he talked about what kind of church he’d like to be a part of. I’ve read a lot of similar things in the past and can see where this guy is coming from. He’s got a lot of good ideas and shares his heart well. But I have noticed something that’s missing a lot these days, especially with anything connected with post-modern, emerging, or emergent churches, and that’s the issue of doctrine. (Dan Kimball seems to be a great exception to this tendency) While I understand that doctrine by itself is dead, I get the feel that there are a lot of folks who are throwing out truth for the sake of emotion, relativism, and pragmatism. But what we find in the first church is that they “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching.” (Acts 2:42) In other words, they were concerned about truth and it seems that if we’re going to be authentic church today and not simply new clubs, then we have to seriously pursue the apostle’s teachings ourselves. In short, truth really does matter.
Ok, for those of you who really thrive on reading blogs with controversy, here’s a big one for you. At least when it comes to boring theological stuff. Baptism has become one of the most hotly debated issues in the history of Christianity. Though the apostle Paul included Baptism among the “elementary teachings” in Hebrews 6:2, the subject continues to be divisive some twenty centuries later. The theological interpretations of baptism today are as numerous as the denominations among the Protestant wing of Christendom. The Roman Catholic church elevates the act to such an extent that there is no need for faith prior to baptism and thus baptizes infants. Other groups do not adhere to physical baptism at all and merely spiritualize baptismal texts in the Bible. So what’s the answer? Is there a connection to “Church Admission”? Read the rest of this entry »
To start with I want to clarify that when we’re talking about “church” in this section of Kingdomology, we’re talking about the CHURCH universal. We’re talking about the connection that all Christ followers have across the world and for all time. We’re not talking about a local body of believers like First Christian Church in Liverpool, NY. In other words, these are the folks who live in different parts of the world and from different time frames that may or may not have slightly different scriptural interpretations than me, but are still in the same family of God by grace alone. We’re still Kingdom of Heaven Citizens. I do believe there is a place for local body church membership. But that’s another post. For now though, there is another point which the Bible includes as being part of the admission to God’s Church, and that point deals with ‘repentance.” Read the rest of this entry »
Ok, it’s been a while since we’ve talked “Church Talk” so I’m a bit over due. So here we go and I’ll try not to make it too heady. Now, we’ve seen that the CHURCH in its truest form is a lot more than just showing up to some building on Sunday morning. The Church is a gathered body of Christ followers, called out from the world for Him. They then act out His mission on earth today. They are part of Him; or, in him. So the question for today, actually for a few days, is how does one become part of such a revolutionary group of folks?
Looking Forward to Turbo!
Sep 29
I’m excited about attending an upcoming “Turbo” church planting event at NorthWood Church in Keller this Thursday. The lead presenter is a guy named Bob Robertswho has been used by God in a great way not only to plant NorthWood over 20 years ago, but to assist in and send out over a hundred planters. I’m looking forward to gleaning some more wisdom on the subject and exploring more into the future direction God is calling us to. One thing that I am convinced of is that we are going to be involved in church planting whether that’s doing another plant or leading an established church into this realm of service. Along those lines, I’ve been asked a few times if there’s really a need for such a thing, especially in an area like DFW which has “tons of churches”. I’ve always told folks asking that it’s a good question and then given them some things to chew on. Without too much research, here are just four reasons for planting that immediately come to mind. Read the rest of this entry »
What’s in a Name?
Sep 7
Ok, show of hands here. How many of you had the burden of memorizing seemingly useless poetry in Junior High School? Yup, me too. But to this day there are a few of those old classic jewels that still stick in my head. One of those was by Emily Dickinson and it went to the tune of, “A word is dead when it is said some say. I say it just begins to live that day.” Now, in addition to the simple fact that the poem is short, I also remember it because it actually says something. I tend to agree with dear old Emily that words are powerful and have the ability to do good or evil. Just ask any elementary school kid on the playground that gets called names. I’ve had my share of complements and ridicules growing up so I know all about it. But when it comes to real names, I like mine. There have been times that I’ve thought of the Stephen in Acts Chapter 7 who was martyred for the Faith. Stephen was a man of great faith who laid it on the line to the point of death. That makes me proud. Some folks have shortened the name to six letters making it, “Steven”, but I would never submit to such a heresy. In fact, I actually draw encouragement from the man who went before me and gave his life for Christ. Names can do that. They can bring boldness and also they can cause discouragement.
But what kind of thoughts and feelings come to mind when you hear the name “Church”? Read the rest of this entry »