by Robby McAlpine | Apr 30, 2018 | Messy Church, Practical Theology, Revival, The Vineyard Movement
“The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but the Lord tests the heart.” (Proverbs 17:3) Purify my heart, let me be as gold and precious silver Refiner’s fire; my heart’s one desire is to be holy Set apart for You, Lord (Refiner’s Fire ~ Brian Doerksen) The...
by Robby McAlpine | Dec 29, 2017 | Disciple Making, Discipleship, Ethics, Evangelicalism, Leadership, Missional, Practical Theology, Small Groups
Our church recently completed a sermon series on the book of Ephesians, and one of the repeated bylines for this series was the phrase: “Bringing our behaviour in line with our beliefs”. And in a nutshell, that is precisely what Roger Helland’s newest book, The Devout...
by Brad Blocksom | Oct 28, 2017 | Evangelicalism, Leadership, Missional, Practical Theology
Dear Protestants, Coming up this Tuesday (October 31, 2017) we celebrate the 500th anniversary of the start of the Protestant Reformation launched by a simple act of academic publication, when an Augustin Monk and Professor of Sacred Theology at the University of...
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 Robby McAlpine | Dec 7, 2016 | Discipleship, Evangelicalism, Evangelism, Practical Theology
Every now and then, I hear (or read) something that mocks the idea of Jesus as a “personal Savior”. The rationale is usually along the lines of: “What? You think you own Jesus, or something? Like, He’s your personal Savior — what a...
by Robby McAlpine | Nov 24, 2016 | Conflict Resolution, Cultural Engagement, Discipleship, Evangelicalism, Leadership, Practical Theology, Revival
If it hasn’t been obvious before, it’s obvious now — as in: ‘how could you possibly miss it?’ — that evangelicals need to do some serious soul-searching, humble themselves, and REPENT. And no, actually, this isn’t just a cheap...
by Robby McAlpine | Sep 30, 2016 | Evangelicalism, Practical Theology, The Vineyard Movement
In any group of people — spending a lot of time together, growing in community and working alongside each other — tidbits of jargon appear. Jargon isn’t a bad thing, if you take the time to explain what you mean. At its best, jargon serves as a sort...
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 | Aug 20, 2016 | Devotionals, Evangelicalism, Leadership, Practical Theology
Hebrews 7:16 who has become a priest, not on the basis of a legal requirement concerning bodily descent, but by the power of an indestructible life. (ESV) The Levitical priesthood was based on institutionalism. The superior priesthood of Jesus is based on the...
by Robby McAlpine | Jun 23, 2016 | Evangelicalism, Misrepresenting the Vineyard, Practical Theology, The Vineyard Movement
When you are a continuationist, one of the more bizarre realities that you have to wrestle with is that some of your harshest critics are other Christians. You know, your extended spiritual family. And as the saying goes: “You can pick your friends, but...
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 Robby McAlpine | May 2, 2016 | Practical Theology, Revival, The Vineyard Movement
“Revival.” Now, there’s a word that comes pre-loaded with all manner of mental images, assumptions, and expectations. To be “revived”, if we are going to be carefully specific, means that what was once alive, and then died, has been...
by Brad Blocksom | Mar 22, 2016 | Evangelicalism, Politics
There has been a debate raging within Evangelicalism for some time time. Should we continue to self-identify as Evangelicals or has the term lost so much of its original meaning that we should abandon it and seek some new label for our movement. The issue stems from...
by Robby McAlpine | Mar 19, 2016 | Evangelicalism, Misrepresenting the Vineyard, Practical Theology, The Vineyard Movement
“Is this church going Kingdom Now?” She asked the question with a furrowed brow, mirroring the expression on her husband’s face as he hovered next to her. “Kingdom Now?” I replied. “Never heard of it. What do you mean?” She...
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 Able Baker | Mar 7, 2016 | Evangelicalism
“What’s Down In The Well Comes Up In The Bucket!” my friend Kenny Burchard likes to say. If this is true Trump is an indication of the very heart of American evangelicalism. To me “The Donald” is a noisome pestilence. I’m frustrated because I...
by Robby McAlpine | Mar 6, 2016 | Evangelicalism, Practical Theology, The Vineyard Movement
I was there when this album was recorded, oh-so-many years ago. It was not the first time I’d been to something “Vineyard”, but it was the first extended (four day) time of enjoying worship and workshops. It was a “high water mark” in my...
by Robby McAlpine | Feb 23, 2016 | Evangelicalism, Misrepresenting the Vineyard, Practical Theology, The Vineyard Movement
I wrote a post recently about how the term evangelical seems to have been co-opted and caricatured to the point where it has almost become meaningless. And possibly even detrimental. This came out of ongoing conversations with friends, representing a variety of...
by Robby McAlpine | Feb 23, 2016 | Evangelicalism, Misrepresenting the Vineyard, The Vineyard Movement
“Historically, fundamentalism was a theological position; only gradually did the movement come to signify a mood and disposition as well. In its early [years] leadership reflected ballast, and less of bombast and battle… “If modernism stands...
