Have you ever struggled with the idea of church membership? Have you ever thought it sounds rather archaic or Victorian? Have you ever thought it sounded rather intense or even over the top? If so take a read of this fabulous quote by Jonathan Leeman from ‘The Rule of Love’. “Christians cannot fulfill their new covenant obligations of love and holiness with all Christians everywhere. … Continue reading Church Membership must be archaic… right?
READ Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ And I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. (Acts 26:14-15) THINK I want you to picture Saul (soon to become the Apostle Paul) on the road to Damascus, and in particular, I want you to consider the interaction … Continue reading Acts 26: Yikes that Hurts!
Christian ethics is not primarily an individualistic, one-on-one-with-God brand of personal holiness; rather it has to do with living the life of the Spirit in Christian community and in the world. (Gordon Fee) “And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all” (1 Thess 5:14) Now you are the body of Christ and individually members … Continue reading Living Community
READ “On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day, and he prolonged his speech until midnight. There were many lamps in the upper room where we were gathered. (Acts 20:7-8) THINK ‘Church is the people and not the meeting’, so the old adage goes. I guess this … Continue reading ACTS 20: DO WE REALLY NEED TO GATHER AGAIN AS A CHURCH?
Two really thought provoking quotes about the relationship between family and church life. These are taken from the excellent book You are What you Love by James K.A. Smith. “Our baptismal promises attest to the fact that “the church is our first family.” And “if the church is our first family, then our second homes should be defined by it, and our doors ought to … Continue reading Family Discipleship
A couple of days ago I started reading Jonathan Leeman’s book One Assembly. It is a really well written book and is deeply thought provoking! Here is is summary quote at the end of a long chapter on ‘what is the church?’: “What is a church? It’s an embassy of Christ’s kingdom. It’s a group of Christians who together identify themselves and each other as … Continue reading What is a church?
Let me be clear, I’m very grateful for zoom, skype and more lately google meet. They have enabled a kinda of face-to-face meetings in a season of pandemic, lock-downs and growing isolation. However, I think the following quote from Scott Sauls sums up why I’m looking forward to ditching zoom (well mainly) and reengaging in true cheek to jowl community. “Unlike true friendship, relating to … Continue reading Why I can’t wait to ditch zoom
READ Acts 13:1: “Now in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.” (NKJV) THINK John Stott helpfully reveals that the list of prophets and teachers described in Acts 13:1 “symbolized the ethnic and cultural diversity of Antioch”. Barnabas was a … Continue reading Acts 13: A Multicultural Church
When was the last time you read First John? One of the remarkable things about this short letter is the relational potency to John’s writing. He uses phrases such as: Dear friends Dear children Fathers Young men This letter drips with family culture. The question that must be asked, when we see this relational topography to this letter is, does my life, ministry and church … Continue reading “Dear Friends”
Tomorrow, at Kingsgate, we have our first membership Sunday. This is a very exciting morning as we look to weave our lives together with promises and purpose! Here is some information on what membership looks like at Kingsgate: Reflection on Membership (Booklet) Covenant Promise (Booklet) Covenant Promise (Audio) Continue reading Membership Sunday
