by Robby McAlpine | Apr 25, 2017 | Church Life, Discipleship, Leadership, Practical Theology
“Do you know why retired pastors always sit at the back of the church?” he asked, with a knowing wink. I smile back, shaking my head. “I have absolutely no idea. Why?” His grin broadened even more, and he leaned back in his chair with a hearty laugh. “Because we can!”...
by Luke Geraty | Mar 29, 2017 | Church Life, Cultural Engagement, Leadership, Messy Church, Practical Theology, Preaching
I have a huge interest in homiletics, the art of preparing and delivering sermons. I’ve read dozens of books on the subject, written a lot on it, and trained a lot of preachers in the past decade, not to mention having taken a number of courses in my undergrad...
by Luke Geraty | Mar 20, 2017 | Church Life, Discipleship, Practical Theology
I’ve long been intrigued by the elusive subject of Christian discipleship. As a “child of the church,” having spent the entirety of my life in and around churchianity, I’m well versed in numerous definitions of what it means to be a disciple...
by Luke Geraty | Mar 14, 2017 | Church Life, Cross-Cultural Ministry, Cultural Engagement, Disciple Making, Discipleship, Evangelism, Leadership, Messy Church, Missional, Practical Theology, Preaching
Over the years I’ve been approached by a few people who wanted to either use the gifts they believed they had or be trained and equipped to minister through speaking (e.g., preaching, teaching, training, etc.). In simple terms, they wanted opportunities to speak...
by Luke Geraty | Jan 4, 2017 | Church Life, Discipleship, Leadership, Messy Church, Practical Theology
Reading through the Gospels and taking Jesus’ words seriously, not to mention reading through both the Old and New Testaments, leads me to the conclusion that it’s perfectly “normal” for followers of Jesus to face persecution and to suffer. I...
by Robby McAlpine | Dec 31, 2016 | Church Life, Conflict Resolution, Cultural Engagement, Disciple Making, Discipleship, Ethics, Leadership, Missional, Practical Theology, Revival, Small Groups
“I’ve decided to stay out of those discussions, until I can be sure that we can have a non-hysterical conversation about it.” A “non-hysterical conversation”… The moment my friend casually uttered that phrase, I was immediately...
by Brad Blocksom | Dec 11, 2016 | Church Life, Devotionals, Ethics, Evangelicalism, Gender Issues, Messy Church, Practical Theology, Sex
Exodus, p. 109 If a man seduces a virgin who is not pledged to be married and sleeps with her, he must pay the bride-price, and she shall be his wife. If her father absolutely refuses to give her to him, he must still pay the bride-price for virgins. (Books of the...
by Luke Geraty | Nov 7, 2016 | Church Life, Politics
According to Captain Snark, our very own Kenny Burchard, the following facts need to be accounted for: “Hi Facebook. Just a gentle reminder that there is only one way for a true Christian to vote. And that way, as expressed and clarified daily right here on...
by Brad Blocksom | Sep 27, 2016 | Church Life, Church Planting, Cross-Cultural Ministry, Cultural Engagement, Disciple Making, Discipleship, Evangelicalism, Evangelism, Family, Leadership, Messy Church, Missional, Money, Practical Theology, Prayer, Preaching, Small Groups
I came across these podcasts and, quite frankly, they were pretty eye opening for me (they’re kind of all related). So I wanted to share them here and see if we could get some good discussion going in the comments below. And, here they are: This one talks about...
by Brad Blocksom | Sep 11, 2016 | Church Life, Devotionals, Disciple Making, Discipleship, Evangelicalism, Leadership, Messy Church, Missional, Practical Theology, Small Groups
2 John 12 Though I have much to write to you, I would rather not use paper and ink. Instead I hope to come to you and talk face to face, so that our joy may be complete. (ESV) John is such a person of the heart. He prefers to be there face to face, so that he can...
by Brad Blocksom | May 3, 2016 | Church Life, Devotionals, Evangelicalism, Practical Theology
1 Thessalonians 4:17-18 …and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words. (ESV) There is a great reunion coming that provides great reason for us to encourage one another. Twice in just a handful of verses Paul tells us...
by Brad Blocksom | Mar 15, 2016 | Church Life, Evangelicalism, Evangelism, Homosexuality, Leadership, Messy Church, Practical Theology, The Vineyard Movement
I recently shared a post from Pastor Mike Turrigiano about his friendship with Lonnie Frisbee – a controversial figure from the early days of the Vineyard movement (and Calvary Chapel for that matter). For those who don’t know the history, Lonnie was known...
by Luke Geraty | Feb 19, 2016 | Church Life, Missional, Practical Theology
One of my favorite verses in the entire Bible powerfully articulates the profound beauty of the gospel and how that message should impact the way we relationally live our lives with those around us. Paul writes: “Therefore welcome one another as Christ has...
by Luke Geraty | Jan 27, 2016 | Church Life, Church Planting, Practical Theology, The Vineyard Movement
For the past two weeks I’ve been in the U.K. with my good friend Steve Nicholson. When I first announced to some friends that I’d be heading to England this year, they asked me why. My answer was simple: Steve is a pneumatological Jedi Knight. One would...
by Robby McAlpine | Jan 13, 2016 | Church Life, Conflict Resolution, Ethics, Leadership, Messy Church, Practical Theology
“Choose your battles wisely,” the saying goes. Unless, of course, the image at left looks like a good way to invest your time and mental health. If so, then by all means, swing wildly away. I’ve always appreciated a good song lyric, and over the...
by Brad Blocksom | Dec 30, 2015 | Church Life, Devotionals, Disciple Making, Evangelicalism, Leadership, Messy Church, Missional, Practical Theology, Prayer, World Misions
So I’ve been reading through the early chapters of 2 Corinthians, where Paul does a defense of his apostolic ministry. And it got me thinking what if we used this instead of (or at least in addition to) the traditional “Pastoral” Epistles (of Timothy...
by Luke Geraty | Dec 15, 2015 | Church Life, Cultural Engagement, Practical Theology
Boomers. Generation X. And now the Millennials. Sociologists can be very helpful for church leaders who are interested in understanding large demographic groups. As with all generalizations, these sociological observations are not perfect, but they are often quite...
by Able Baker | Nov 2, 2015 | Church Life
In first Corinthians 8:1-13 we find a pretty intriguing question and answer topic centered around food from the roman market that has been offered as worship to idols. Most people might over look the significance of a passage like this by saying something like “this...
by Robby McAlpine | Oct 28, 2015 | Church Life, Practical Theology
I couldn’t help but notice: No-one likes to talk about hypocrisy. And yet… Everyone loves to accuse others of hypocrisy. Because, deep down, we are all comfortably convinced that hypocrisy only happens to other people. In all honesty, I had intended to...
by Able Baker | Oct 8, 2015 | Church Life
With the exception of those who suffer from some severe form of mental handicap, there is no such thing as a person going in no direction at all. All of us have some lens through which we actively practice viewing the world. We all have some gear with which we drive...
