Slow Church: Cultivating Community in the Patient Way of Jesus explores what it would look like for the church to embrace the “slow” way of life. The authors explore the possibility of doing slow church by focusing on three areas – ethics, ecology, and economy. By “ethics” they are referring to what it means toContinue reading “Book Review – Slow Church by Christopher Smith and John Pattison”
Category Archives: Religion
Urban Population
Over the past decade or so missiologists have increasingly noted how important urban centers will be (and to a huge extent already are) for mission. There are many factors as to why this is so – for instance the size, complexity, migration/immigration, ethnocentrism/ethnic diversity, and wealth/poverty that all exist in tension within cities. However oneContinue reading “Urban Population”
Book Review – Christianity on Trial by W. Mark Lanier
It seems like our culture is obsessed with the legal process – whether its Lindsay Lohan’s latest exploits, arrest, and trial; Oscar Pistorius trial for killing his girlfriend; Amanda Knox on trial in Italy; or the scandalous O.J. Simpson Trial. We Americans love trials (or maybe we just love seeing people get punished…), now W.Continue reading “Book Review – Christianity on Trial by W. Mark Lanier”
Contemplate God’s Fatherly Love
John Calvin on why we ought to study and then contemplate on God’s nature as our Father: We ought in the very order of things [in creation] diligently to contemplate God’s fatherly love… [for as] a foreseeing and diligent father of the family he shows us his wonderful goodness toward us… To conclude once forContinue reading “Contemplate God’s Fatherly Love”
N.T. Wright on the Church Shaped by Mission
Our mission has to be shaped by our ultimate vision of God’s future… that in turn should reshape how we do church. When we announce Jesus as Lord of heaven and earth then a power is unleashed which does transform not only individuals but also communities.
Can the Church as We Know it Survive?
In a recent blogpost Neil Cole contrasts two (very different) Non-Western Churches: When the communists took over the nation they arrested the church leaders (like Nee) and seized all church property. The indigenous expressions of simple churches meeting in homes not only survived…they thrived. The Cultural Revolution of Mao Tse-Tung sought to eliminate all religionContinue reading “Can the Church as We Know it Survive?”
The Church and Its Missionary Calling
What is the purpose of the church? What is its calling? Why does it exist? These are all questions that the Armenian Catholicos of Cilicia, Aram K’eshishea answers when he wrote about the nature of the church as a missional community… The church is a community of faith. Under no circumstances should we lose thisContinue reading “The Church and Its Missionary Calling”
10 Statements About the Gospel
Gospel this, gospel that, gospel here, gospel there, gospel everywhere! Now a days it seems like everything is “gospel,” but if everything is the gospel then nothing is the gospel. However, this does not mean that the gospel does not have breadth, the gospel might be a lot more multifaceted than we think…. The word “gospel”Continue reading “10 Statements About the Gospel”
A Leadership Night with Alan Fadling
Yesterday night Rocky Peak had its end of the year Life Group leader gathering. It was a night filled with worship, testimonies as to what God had done in Life Group, and some encouraging words on “rest” from Alan Fadling. In case you don’t know him Alan Fadling is author of An Unhurried Life: FollowingContinue reading “A Leadership Night with Alan Fadling”
Tuning our Hearts to the Gospel Through the Psalms
Christians throughout history have always read the Psalms as containing hints and clues about Jesus Christ. This however usually boils down to a series of “proof texts” i.e. Psalm 2, Psalm 22, Psalm 72, etc. N.T. Wright agrees about the fact that the Psalms do in fact point to Jesus. Everything written about me inContinue reading “Tuning our Hearts to the Gospel Through the Psalms”
CWoznicki Think Out Loud 