Many evangelicals today argue that the form and structure of the church are unimportant. They contend that the debate itself distracts the church from more crucial issues of spiritual life and the evangelistic mission to the lost. Others point out that a variety of churches with many different structures seem to be blessed by God […]
When my children were young, they enjoyed books with pages full of nothing but black dots and numbers. As they connected the dots, an image would begin to appear. They were outlined pictures of simple things in life, yet, these pictures were usually not recognizable until the dots had been properly connected. The same is […]
That’s it. You’ve decided to leave your assembly. The elders will not listen. The Christians are too worldly. The problems are not solved. This time you are really going to do it. You are not the first Christian to think this way. There are times of discouragement and frustration that lead us to the possibility […]
This great mystery was officially, though not exclusively, revealed in Ephesians (chs. 2 and 3; see also Rom. 16 and Col. 2). In this epistle, the Church is mentioned nine times, and in each case in a special connection. An Eternal Purpose Unfolded “This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the […]
Unless we’re careful about who’s in the room at the time, the mere mention of New Testament church truth can spark instant and hostile retaliation. “That’s divisive!” “Isn’t it arrogant to think that we’re right and everyone else is wrong?” “Aren’t there more important things to worry about?” In spite of the attitude behind them, […]
In September of 1978, I was nineteen but it seemed I was going on forty. I had lived my young life in debauchery. No sin was too great to attempt. Yet God had divine intentions for me, intentions of grace and love. I went to a local Baptist church on September 2, 1978, where I […]
As Paul contemplated the unity of all true believers, he burst into a sevenfold exclamation: “One body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one, faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all” (Eph. […]
Over two years ago, I began a Bible study in our home with some of our closest friends. I was the music director in a large denominational church at the time, of which I was one of six founding members some ten years earlier. Growing from six members to eight hundred was no small feat. […]
During the summer of 1995, I began to have a desire to get closer to the Lord because I realized that, being 43 years old, my time was running out. I also realized that I was probably living in the last days, and that the Lord could come back anytime, so I really wanted my […]