It's important for Christians to think about church. The church is important. And as Christians, we're saved out of our sin and its consequences into (among other things) the church. But I wonder how many believers have stopped to really think about what being part of the church means? Does it just mean we lose the chance to sleep in on Sunday mornings? Or is being part of the Church that Jesus is building even better than we often think?
As I've studied the church - what she is, why she exists, and what "marks" should characterize her - I've found the answer is the latter: being part of the Church that Jesus is building is AWESOME. It's awesome because of the PEOPLE that make up the church, the PURPOSES that propel her, and the PRIORITIES that shape her. This "awesomeness" invites further study, so we can better appreciate all that God is doing in and through the church. With this in mind, I want to encourage you to read one book on Ecclesiology (that's the fancy word for the doctrine of the church) this year. If you're looking for suggestions, here's a starter list of 6 to choose from, listed alphabetically by author. (Each is linked to its page at Amazon where you can explore a bit further.) Oh yeah, and don't forget to keep current with Brookside's current sermon series (Aug 16-Sept 6, 2015), "I Love My Church"!
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Let's start this post with a quick word association game: What comes to your mind when you hear the word "pastor"? An evangelist? A counselor? A speaker? An organizational leader or entrepreneur? A moral example?
All of these roles have their place in pastoral ministry and local church leadership. Gerald Hiestand and Todd Wilson want to make sure one other component of pastoral ministry isn't ignored or forgotten amidst these other roles, though - the role of "pastor theologian." To make their case, they've written a brief, accessible book advocating for the essential and valuable contribution a "pastor theologian" makes to healthy local church life. Here's a sampling of some of the things I've been reading and reviewing this week. The hope is that these bite-sized sections of books, articles, blog posts, etc will stand on their own and be beneficial (or at least thought-provoking!) in-and-of-themselves. But I also hope that some of you will like these excerpts enough that they pull you into the larger work from which they've been taken.
Let's start sampling: Biblical Studies: Interpreting and Understanding God's WordI read somewhere that Al Mohler, President of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and prominent evangelical leader, has said "Don't just read books. Build a library." For what it's worth, I agree. The value of building a library is that books can then become long-term "friends" we can carry on a conversation with — not just once, but over the course of time as we turn to them again and again. Books can become reference tools we rely on (and benefit from) repeatedly. Last week, I had the privilege of recommending some books for someone who was starting to build a library of resources for biblical and theological studies. If you're looking to slowly start building a biblical and theological library yourself, here are eight places I'd point you as you begin: (Click on either the book's picture or title to be taken to the Amazon.com page where you can learn a bit more about any of these.) Here's a sampling of some of the things I've been reading and reviewing this week. The hope is that these bite-sized sections of books, articles, blog posts, etc will stand on their own and be beneficial (or at least thought-provoking!) in-and-of-themselves. But I also hope that some of you will like these excerpts enough that they pull you into the larger work from which they've been taken.
Let's start sampling: Here's a sampling of some of the things I've been reading and reviewing this week. The hope is that these bite-sized sections of books, articles, blog posts, etc will stand on their own and be beneficial (or at least thought-provoking!) in-and-of-themselves. But I also hope that some of you will like these excerpts enough that they pull you into the larger work from which they've been taken.
Let's start sampling: Here's a sampling of some of the things I've been reading and reviewing this week. The hope is that these bite-sized sections of books, articles, blog posts, etc will stand on their own and be beneficial (or at least thought-provoking!) in-and-of-themselves. But I also hope that some of you will like these excerpts enough that they pull you into the larger work from which they've been taken.
Let's start sampling: Tonight is Halloween. My kids will be going door-to-door getting candy, and we'll probably be handing out candy to neighborhood kids from our door as well. But October 31 is significant for more reasons than just this. October 31 is also "Reformation Day" - the day in 1517 when a monk named Martin Luther nailed 95 Theses to a church door in Germany and sparked what we now call the Protestant Reformation. (For a recommended introduction to Luther's 95 Theses, check out this book.) Here's what Philip Schaff, a noted church historian, says about the significance of the Reformation: “The Reformation of the sixteenth century is, next to the introduction of Christianity, the greatest event in history. It marks the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of modern times. Starting from religion, it gave, directly or indirectly, a mighty impulse to every forward movement, and made Protestantism the chief propelling force in the history of modern civilization” (Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church, Vol. VII: Modern Christianity—The German Reformation [1910; repr., Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980], 1). Earlier this week, someone passed a post along to me from Ligonier Ministries. This post shares a bit more about the history of the Reformation and key players in it. I encourage you to take a few minutes on this Reformation Day of 2014 and check it out. Here's the post: "The Reformation and the Men Behind It" by Stephen Lawson Please note the usual disclaimer, that my recommendation of this article is not necessarily an endorsement of everything else on the site where this was posted.
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Tim WiebeChristian. Husband. Father. Pastor. Learner. Contributor. Reader. Categories
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