thechurchblog

What is the bare-minimum set of requirements for a group to be called a church? Does it need a pastor? A building? Do they need to regularly observe holy communion? What about worship? Sermons? Do they need to be accountable to a sister church? What about legal issues?

What does the world call a church? Could that perhaps be a good measure? Can a small house church have the same image to a community as a large “brick and mortar” church? Can a local church pastor who hasn’t been through seminary receive the respect that a Roman Catholic priest or Methodist minister can?

When is a church part of The Church, and when is it just flying solo?
(more…)

You’ve all seen them – beautiful, intricate, painstakingly hand-crafted ships in bottles. They reflect the skill and talent of their craftsman, and not just anybody can build them. But as anybody who has seen one being built, or has tried to build one on their own knows, you don’t build the ship inside the bottle, you design it, fabricate it, and perform much of the detailed finish work outside the bottle. You then fold it up, squeeze it through the opening, pull the magic string, and “poof!” your ship snaps into place. Once this is done, the only way to get the ship out of the bottle is to break the bottle.

Is this a fitting analogy for how churches are built in America these days?
(more…)

Justus writes:
“I’d like to suggest “Great Commission Companies: The Emerging Role of Business in Missions” (InterVarsity Press, 2003) as a book that gives the church several new options in expanding her influence. ”

“This book highlights several different companies and describes their types, including a furniture/handicrafts manufacturing company based in Central Asia, a Real Estate company started by a church to augment their missions financing, and the Pure Vida coffee company.”
(more…)

After dinner a couple of nights ago, we played five-hand Hearts together with the family. I decided to be nice to my mother-in-law and not pass her the Queen of Spades (which is 13 points against whoever gets it at the end of the hand, for those non-Heart players). Her response was classic – “Thanks! You have my eternal praise and gratitude – for awhile, at least.” I followed up with, “Great. Now I know how God feels!”
(more…)