To me the church as a whole is losing membership in the United States because it is divided; it is apt to argue over different beliefs; it does not practice what it preaches. We Christians live a watered-down version of the Gospel of Jesus. We would rather fight with the different interpretations than live […]
Paul defines the church of Jesus Christ as one body, the one church of Jesus Christ, and like the body the church is made up of different organs and parts which function in interdependence on, and with, each other.[1 Cor. 12:12-27, Romans 12:4-5, Ephesians 3:6, Colossians 1:18, 24] Interestingly, Paul’s metaphor for the church […]
Christianity is a lay-driven movement, not a preacher-driven one. Each of us is to have a personal relationship with Christ, a deep knowledge of the Bible gained through Bible study, an ability to hear and follow God’s Indwelling Spirit, a body of experience of who God is in our own lives, knowledge of our own […]
The most inspiring church I have ever seen is the cathedral at Tintern Abbey in Western England near Wales. A ruin since the 16th C., with no roof or windows or doors, and grass growing where the pews once sat, it remains the perfect church to me, a two-story tall one with walls totally […]
The one reaction I have to contemporary Christianity over and over again is this: where is the closeness to God? Where are the people who have an intimate relationship with God like Jesus did? He called God, Abba or Daddy! He regularly spent time alone with God. God’s laws were written on his heart. He […]
We Christians assume that teaching our children about Jesus and the Bible will prepare them for a Christian life. That’s a great foundation, but we must also teach our teens and young adults how to go about building a deep relationship with God, so that they will walk hand-in-hand with God throughout their lives. Adopting […]
In the documentary, ”Face to Face with Carl Jung” Part 1, which is available on YouTube, the pioneering Swiss psychiatrist, was asked if he believed in God. Then eighty-four he answered, “That is difficult to answer…I know… I don’t need to believe.” How many of us can say: I know God? I would guess that […]
Paul wrote of the one body, the one church of Jesus Christ.[1] He wrote that Jew and Gentile, male and female, slave and free are all one in Christ Jesus.[2] But the church today is splintered and divided, certainly not one body, the one church of Jesus Christ. Certainly Paul, as a Roman citizen, a […]
One of the reasons that we in the Christian Church are so challenged today is that each denomination, each individual church is an entity unto itself. Each one’s interpretation of the Gospel message is the best. Each one’s congregation is doing the right thing in the right way. Each congregation feels that they have […]
I have recently signed onto a couple of blogs by black women and in a recent one Ebony Johanna writes about diversity in the church and how white churches can attract people of color. The author of the blog wrote that we had a long way to go to acknowledge all that black people had […]