A few weeks back, Tim Challies put together what became a very popular article: 40 Random Pieces of Advice for the Christian Life. His rationale for writing it was that,...
A few years back I attended a seminar on church growth. During one of the sessions, a church growth guru shared an anecdote from his ministry. He was the pastor...
Many years ago I wrote a reflective article about a dangerous assumption among Evangelicals, particularly those for whom expository preaching is a badge of honour. I summarised this assumption like...
In my first post on the pastor’s wife I pushed back against the authority that is often extended to the pastor’s wife, simply because of her association with the pastor....
A few weeks back I wrote an article on the pastor’s wife. In it I made two very simple points. The first criticised the unbiblical emphasis that is often placed...
I was tempted to post an article titled: What Does The Bible Say About The Pastor’s Wife? The body of that article would have contained just one word: ‘Nothing.’ Of...
This post will serve as the final installation in my series on the Old Testament book of Kings. The purpose throughout has been to apply King’s theology of leadership to...
Have you heard about the mighty Omridic dynasty in the ancient Near East? No? Don’t worry. I hadn’t either before completing the readings for my course on the Old Testament...
Philippians 1:15-18. It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. 16 The latter do so out of love, knowing that I...
Last year I attended a conference for African Presbyterians. It was a privilege to meet brothers and sisters from around the continent, and hear how God’s gospel is gaining ground...
With this post I intend to round off my writing on “church at home”. My hope is that those who’ve engaged with me and these articles will continue to reflect...
In The Benedict Option, Rod Dreher prophetically cites Matthew 16:18, where Jesus promised, “I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Dreher warns...
Writing at Mere Orthodoxy, Jake Meador quoted these words from a friend, “I’m a shepherd…When my flock gets so big that I don’t know all their names, I’ve become a...
When I began the pastor series I had nothing more than a handful of anaemic drafts and almost no direction. I have appreciated interacting with readers (often pastors) about those...
Why bother with church? Do I really need to attend this Sunday? Do you find yourself asking these question? Sunday rolls around and you can think of ten places you...
The phrase, “Plunder the Egyptians” is commonly heard amongst church leaders today, especially at conferences on church leadership and growth strategy. Usually the phrase is used to validate secular wisdom....
Does that strike you as a strange question? Of course we want big churches because that will mean more people know and love the Lord Jesus Christ. That may be...
The confluence of social media, celebrity pastor culture, hugely successful churches and the millennial assumption that everyone is exceptional has lead many pastors to a dangerously over-exaggerated view of themselves....
I was reminded recently in a conversation about Nicene Christology how crucial and significant our choice of words is. For the theologically uninitiated, that specific historical debate swirled around a...
Habakkuk opens with a question, “O LORD, how long shall I cry out for help and you will not hear?” But I imagine many people were asking another question as...
This is the last in a series of posts on church metrics. We’re going to close off this series with some how-to tips. We’ve seen that a metric is any...
If you are gung-ho and ready to go, I want to help you avoid some landmines. Below are two common pitfalls. Avoiding them will save you much frustration. Unintended side-effects...
I want to address a common objection at this point. One of the most thrown around lines in management blogs is “What gets measured gets managed”. This is held alongside...
Those of you who have made it this far may be having two responses: firstly, this sounds like a lot of work and, secondly, I’m not sure it’s worth the...
I’m of the opinion that improving in how we evaluate our ministries can help us be better stewards of the resources God has given us, helping us better meet His...
Soon after I finished studying at theological college, I was hit with some bad news: my father had fallen terminally ill. He’d invested a lot in me so, when he...
Recently on Rekindle, Graham has reflected on church metrics. What I’m posting here was originally written as a comment on this post, but I've decided to move it to a...
A few weeks back I posted on church attendance and the role numbers might play in evaluating ministry, both positively and negatively. I argued that unqualified numbers indicate little more...
Attending a conference, denominational synod, or church planting seminar, you do not have to wait long before you are discussing numbers and attendance. It’s not even that people specifically ask...
“Now I know I’m preaching to the choir,” is something I have caught myself saying in the pulpit on numerous occasions, teaching on the importance of belonging to a local...
Last week I wrote a post unpacking part of John Calvin’s Institutes on gifts, the local church, and self-denial. Calvin shows that God is the giver of all that we...
Though wisdom and my recent less than prodigious blogging record suggests that I should not commit to any sort of writing project, with this post I am setting out on...
I am not a feminist in the modern use of the word but I reserve consistent views in the traditional pursuit for the equality of women. There is no doubt that...
Last month I wrote an article challenging the increasingly popular statement, ‘I identify as a Christian but not a churchgoer.’ Numerous reasons are given for that sentiment, with people claiming:...
I recently read an article by a Christian blogger, Wendy van Eyck, explaining why she identifies as a Christian but not a churchgoer. This is not the first time I have...
If Facebook has taught us anything it is that sensational titles are of paramount importance to being successful online. And I guess if this post were a video the title...
I applied myself more than usual, and had an article posted at IX Marks challenging pastors who have a low evaluation of theological study and highlighting the importance of systematic theology...
Reading through 1 and 2 Timothy recently, it interested me that Paul does not instruct his deputy to adopt a purely combative approach to the false teachers who had crept...
A few weeks ago I attended Generate, a church planting conference for leaders and pastors in South Africa. Our speaker was Andrew Heard, senior minister of EV Church and the...