» 2006 » March

Once you have made the world an end and faith a means, you have almost won your man, and it makes very little difference what kind of worldly end he is pursuing. Provided that meetings, pamphlets, policies, movements, causes, and crusades matter more to him than prayers and sacraments and charity, he is ours.

Screwtape to [...]

In 1891 William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, bought a derelict factory in Old Ford, London. He fitted it with large windows and wash-basins, installed machinery and set people to work making Safety Matches.

During the latter part of the nineteenth century many workers (mostly women) in the matchmaking industry suffered from necrosis, or “phossy-jaw”. [...]

As promised a few thoughts in response to the snapshot of the Emerging Church provided by Eddie Gibbs and Ryan Bolger.

Here’s the first of a number of posts: this one on the Emerging Church and mission.

Mission is obviously at the heart of the Emerging Church’s reason for existence. Unfortunately the authors don’t make clear what [...]

Well now I have to go.

Lesson: don’t let your wife read your blog. Don’t even tell her you have a blog.

Michelle read: Gathering church planters

Michelle, “So are YOU going?”
Me, “We can’t afford it!”
Michelle, “Read your own blog!!”

This is what I wrote:

Can’t afford to get there?
1. Ask God
2. Ask some of his people who believe in [...]

“Been flat out like a lizard drinking” as my dad would say.

So here’s a quick and easy, but profound post. . . . More to follow on the emerging church in the next few days.

Margaret Wheatley believes streams can teach us about organizations (movements) and the need for adaptive methods.
I am attracted to the diversity [...]

In Czech Challenge I gave you the bad news about the Czech Republic. But that’s not whole story. What has God been up to?

Meet Martin Vesely.

Martin was 15 years old when the state police came to offer him a choice. You can go to jail for your faith or you can spend the next 15 [...]

Grant McClung is a leading Pentecostal missiologist. You’d think he’d have some predictions about the future of the movement for the 100th anniversary of Azusa Street. No way. He’s got something better—seven prayers:

Instead of predictions, I’ll offer prayers. Rather than making projections, I’ll make pleas. Here is how I am praying for my Pentecostal and [...]

April 9, 2006 marks 100 years since the Azusa Street Revival. Here’s Grant McClung’s summary of the mind boggling expansion of Pentecostalism as a global church planting movement:

With more than 580 million adherents (growing by 19 million per year and 54,000 per day), the Pentecostal/charismatic movement has become, in just 100 years, the fastest growing [...]

When the Christian Church was first spreading throughout the Roman Empire she certainly maintained a standard of doctrine, and that standard was not imperilled by the spontaneous activity of a multitude of Christians who were certainly not trained theologians. These unknown missionaries taught the doctrine which they had learned. . .

The great heresies in the [...]

There’s been some interest in The ins and outs of the Emerging church

Some clarifications.

I was writing in response to the picture of the Emerging church painted by Eddie Gibbs and Ryan Bolger’s book. They carefully set out the parameters of what they regard as the Emerging church before allowing its representatives to speak for themselves. [...]