The main theme of Acts may be the spread of the word, but Jesus is the key player. Jesus is risen and he reigns. His primary agents in forming and growing his church are the word and the Spirit (David Peterson). The risen Lord sends the Spirit (2:33), inspires preachers (7:55-56), calls and commissions his [...]
Monthly Archives: June 2010
How the word conquers the world
28 June, 2010 – 11:03 PM
I read a denominational report recently. The assumption of it’s planning into the future was that of continued decline. Such a far cry from the experience of the church Jesus founded in Acts. Too much of our missional thinking assumes God is absent from the planet and it’s all up to us. We provide the [...]
Begin with a question
25 June, 2010 – 2:44 PM
I used to run our own version of a church planters’ “bootcamp”. We’d gather for a few days with some teams and some butcher paper and brainstorm vision, values, mission. We’d look at demographics and needs in the community. We’d outline ministry models and draw up people flow diagrams. And yes, some goals would be [...]
Missional church made simple
18 June, 2010 – 3:54 PM
What this clip and learn from the simplicity of how it communicates. The medium is the message. But if you want to see a disciple making, church multiplication movement, you’re going to have to see beyond the picture it paints of the missional church. What’s missing? HT: Epoch
Blessed are the educated
18 June, 2010 – 1:01 PM
Here’s a study that shows, if you attend church in Australia you are far more likely to be university educated. So which is the chicken and which is the egg?
On the road with Paul
16 June, 2010 – 9:55 PM
By the time Alexander had conquered from Greece to India he had traveled around 32,000 kms or 25,000 miles. Most of it on horseback. The apostle Paul didn’t quite match Alexander but by the end of his ministry he had traveled around 25,000 kms or 15,000 miles. I doubt he had a horse. Here’s Schnabel’s [...]
Paul among the Nabateans
14 June, 2010 – 4:54 PM
According to conventional wisdom, Paul spent three years in the solitude of Arabia between his conversion and visiting Jerusalem. It’s assumed he spent the time in prayer and study preparing for his future ministry. There’s no evidence Paul spent the three years in quiet contemplation. We just assume he did. Here’s what we do know, [...]
Paul’s lost years
11 June, 2010 – 9:54 PM
Go to the back of your bible and thumb through the maps. Eventually you’ll find a map like this one, that shows each of Paul’s three missionary journeys. There’s a problem. The first of the journeys (Acts 13-14) began in AD45 when Paul and Barnabas set off for Cyprus and Galatia. That’s about 15 years [...]
What Paul did
9 June, 2010 – 11:11 PM
I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done– by the power of signs and miracles, through the power of the Spirit. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed [...]
Can anything good come out of Bugger Hollow?
8 June, 2010 – 6:20 AM
Here’s someone who knows a missionalary movement when he sees one. In this latest podcast I interview Jeff Sundell (of Bugger Hollow) about how he is applying the principles of fuelling church planting movements in North Carolina. It may be the South, but Jeff and his team are not targeting the Bible-belt, unless your concept [...]
