My background is in the Pentecostal/Charismatic Movement. I believe there is a wealth of misunderstanding concerning the people in this movement. However, I am not here to defend it. In fact I have some serious concerns for the churches of our day.I grew up in a family of traditional Pentecostals and have attended some fairly wild meetings. On the other hand we also attended some churches where the bible was front and center. In more recent years, I have spent more time in fellowship with believers with different backgrounds. I would add that the average member of some Pentecostal churches read, understood and quoted the Bible much more than those in some of the Evangelical churches I have a

Allow me to be more specific. Sure, I hold to leadership in the church. But is it the sort which equips the saints to become ministers themselves, according to Ephesian 4 12 or is it akin to Milton's "New presbyter is but old priest writ large?" That is: leaders who practice priestcraft. After the manner of the old covenant priest or the Roman Catholic parish system.Historically, the latter view has been born again in the Reformed churches via "teaching and ruling" elders, supposedly based on 1 Tim 5 17. The real ministers are teaching elders. The ruling elders are "lay elders" or just layman according to this scheme. Or scam, to put it blountly. Even Calvin could not cook it up until his th

This quote from Dave Hunt came up in my Facebook newsfeed today:"Nowhere does the Bible tell us to reform this world. Those who seemed to be in a position to do so (Joseph as second only to Pharoah, Esther and Mordacai under Emperor Ahasuerus, and Daniel under several kings) were used of God to preserve His chosen people, but never to reform godless societies. Christ never attempted to reform the evil world of His day, nor did the Apostles or early church engage in marches or demonstrations either for Jesus or against evil. They "turned the world upside down" (Acts 17:6) by preaching the gospel, not by preaching "traditional morals" or protesting the world's evil practices."In the 20th Centu

See the italicized words as they speak for themselves.

Do we limit our expectation of what God can and will do?

The stories of the miracles that Jesus performed are well known even among unbelievers today. In Luke's second volume of Gospel history many miracles are recorded as well. These are not nearly as well known.

Today I would submit that the second volume of the story that began in Luke's gospel has the potential of shaking modern Christianity down to its foundations! In our bibles this book is entitled "Acts," or "The Acts of the Apostles."

In the modern church the most important role in most congregations is that of the person who does most of the preaching on Sundays, the traditional pastor. Beside the preaching and providing most of the direction for the community, this person is expected to perform baptisms, the dedication of babies, weddings, and funerals whenever the occasion calls for them.However in the New Testament book, the Acts of the Apostles, no such person is found. Of course, the apostles who were personally chosen and trained by Jesus were front and center in this history of the Early Church. After that, we see prophets and evangelists in action and important in establishing the churches.The congregation at Jer

Why is there no precise list of church officers in the New Testament which is elsewhere repeated in the New Testament?In Titus, there is a long list of requirements for elders. In Timothy, there are long lists of requirements together for elders and for deacons.In Philippians, there are overseers and servants mentioned together. Bishops and deacons, they're called. But the word for deacon is the same word for servant - a name referring to any service. So, Paul could be addressing the elder/overseers and everyone else besides them.Here are three comprehensive "leadership" lists. Though similar, they are not the same.So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of anoth

Here is a recent arrangement of the Lord's Prayer set to music. I hope you all enjoy it!https://livingtruth.com/our-father-in-heaven/

Part of the problem, or part of the solution? Almost 30 years ago we attended a House Church Retreat in the US. Some of the people we shared a cabin with were swapping stories of the problems they experienced in the Institutional Church.My wife interrupted them by asking, "But what is God doing among you now?"That was a sincere question. We had already seen what was wrong in Christianity. We came there looking for how to get it right, or at least better.Fortunately, we did meet some wonderful people then who were making progress and enjoying what God was presently doing with them. Thirty years later I have seen a greater general acceptance of the principle of small fellowships that focus mo

I like maps, and sometimes comparing maps against each other gives amazing details. What do you see?