Category: Church

  • Dan

    Why Mono-Generational Churches Are a BAD Idea

    I hope I made that word up so I can copyright it! 😉 Mono-Generational Churches are the new wave in American culture. It’s the 20-something church or the 60-something church. It’s niche marketing run amok. We niche our ministry to fill a particular need and it draws people of like-minded ideas. 1. I find that simply boring. 2. I find…

  • Dan

    Video Preaching

    Being a part of a movement that is now hawking multi-site churches, I am treading in very dangerous waters. I offer these words from Tim Keller’s blog as he interacts with another great preacher of a past era: Dr. Lloyd-Jones effectively dismantles the idea that watching a video or listening to an audio of a sermon is as good as…

  • Dan

    The Power of the Word and the Scriptures

    I am picking up Barth again, slogging through the second volume (which is actually 1.2). The power of the Word and the Scriptures is key for Barth. The section I am currently working through is incredibly exciting. (No, really. It is.) The Church is not merely a human institution. This is not “a human polity, monarchical, aristocratic or democratic, in…

  • Dan

    Why the Scriptures?

    “From a human standpoint the preservation of the Church depends, therefore, on the fact that Scripture is read, assimilated, expounded and applied in the Church, that this happens tirelessly and repeatedly, that the whole way of the Church consists in its striving to hear this concrete witness.” (Karl Barth)

  • Dan

    Barth and Church Authority

    As I continue to wonder if I’m reading Barth correctly, I am struck by his trust of the Church. He is Reformed, so the authority of the Church is not as encompassing as the Catholic view. Still, he believes in the authority of the Church. Church authority is spiritual authority: in all its forms it rests on the fact that…

  • Dan

    Apostolic Ministry

    My life is challenged by modern-day apostles. True apostles. Not the ones taking out full page ads in magazines. The ones actually doing the work of an apostle, too busy to self-promote. They are affirmed in this ministry by the Spirit and the Church recognizes it. The past few months we have had a few in that company visit our…

  • Dan

    Keeping Up to Date with the Church Around the World

    We need to hear the voices of our brothers and sisters around the world even more. The persecution increases in the Middle East. Chuck Colson’s broadcast today focused on this issue. Please pray for the Body of Christ around the world. Before the Iraq War began, Christians comprised about five percent of the population of Iraq. Since then more than…

  • Dan

    Prayers for the Church

    I want to add my prayers for the Church around the world. In Iran, our brothers and sisters in Christ are being rounded up and persecution is increasing. Let us unite in our prayers for these and others who lay it on the line every day just to believe in Christ!

  • Dan

    Sunday

    Sometimes we may get asked about our excitement for Sunday. Sometimes I get asked about why I am excited for Sunday above other days, or excited for the Church on a Sunday when the other days are just as important. Others days are important. But the Lord’s Day is simply a highlight and Chittister’s quote sums it up quite nicely…

  • Dan

    Regaining Pastors as Theologians

    The First Things article I referred to in my last post continues to challenge me. I may not have the role of a “wider theologian”, but I feel I must be the best theologian possible for my congregation. I don’t want to live in the realm of pragmatics or just practics. Yet, pastoral theology has a “practical” side to it.…