by Luke Geraty | Aug 15, 2014 | Ecclesiology, Theological Studies
I attend a church. I am also a member of that church. In fact, I serve that church as a pastor. I often invite people to visit that church or to visit our church’s website. As you can tell, the church is a big part of my life. I love the church and spend a lot...
by Luke Geraty | Jul 23, 2014 | Ecclesiology, Theological Studies
Karl Barth writes: “When theology confronts the Word of God and its witnesses, its place is very concretely in the community, not somewhere in empty space. The word “community,” rather than “Church,” is used advisedly, for from a...
by Robby McAlpine | Jul 21, 2014 | Ecclesiology, Theological Studies, Worship
In any dysfunctional relationship, there are several roles that are enacted: the Perp, the Victim(s), and the Enabler(s). Since ministry is a relational theatre, it should come as no surprise that for every dysfunctional situation that can be encountered, there are...
by Daniel J. Fick | Jun 4, 2014 | Church & Pastoral, Ecclesiology, Evangelicalism, Missional, Practical Theology
I get really nervous when people start throwing around numbers. “Our attendance was 602 last Sunday!” “We baptized 17 people tonight!” “We have had 296 conversions this weekend!” “We just opened our sixth campus!”...
by Able Baker | May 31, 2014 | Ecclesiology
What makes the local visible church distinct, recognizable or different from say a para-church institution? In other words what are the marks of the local church? What is and isn’t a church? The Belgic Confession says (Article 29) “The true church can be...
by Luke Geraty | Oct 22, 2013 | Charismatic Theology, Ecclesiology, Worship
Several months ago we spent time working through 1 Corinthians 12-14. Within this “Early Church Worship Guide,” we clearly find the apostle Paul writing, “So, my brothers, earnestly desire to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. But all things should be...
by Able Baker | Oct 20, 2013 | Ecclesiology, Messy Church
We can be considerate in inconsiderate ways. Considerate can be defined as “Careful not to cause inconvenience or hurt to others”. As the body of Christ we can actually think it we are being considerate not to inconvenience or hurt others but act on those thoughts in...
by Luke Geraty | Oct 15, 2013 | Ecclesiology, Evangelicalism
The current class I’m taking at the University of Birmingham (UK) has been focused on the history of Evangelicalism. We spent some time reading through David Bebbington’s classic Evangelicalism in Modern Britain, Alister McGrath’s Evangelicalism...
by Luke Geraty | Oct 6, 2013 | Ecclesiology
One of my favorite works addressing Evangelical ecclesiology is found in The Community of the Word. It has several fascinating essays toward an Evangelical ecclesiology, including one written by Ellen T. Charry, “Sacramental Ecclesiology.” She writes,...
by Luke Geraty | Oct 1, 2013 | Ecclesiology, Leadership
So here we are… it’s Pastor Appreciation Month. This is the time of year where some congregations take the time to express their gratitude to people serving in ministry. I think I’m supposed to appreciate this appreciation and to champion its cause...
by Kenny Burchard | Sep 21, 2013 | Church Planting, Ecclesiology, Missional, Small Town Church
Were it not for the idea of the “Mobile Church,” the number of Christian congregations in the United States would be significantly diminished. I don’t know the current stats, but mobile churches are everywhere. In small towns and large cities across...
by Able Baker | Aug 14, 2013 | Ecclesiology, Leadership
Roger Olson recently wrote about the different behaviors that he thinks should cause someone to run from a congregation. I think this is a great conversation to have. So here are my suggestions for “behaviors that should cause people to RUN from a congregation...
by Luke Geraty | Aug 13, 2013 | Ecclesiology, Leadership
I’m personally convinced that local churches are best governed by the plurality of Pastors/Elders/Oveseers (yes, these are synonymous terms in the Bible). This means that I’m an advocate of having a team of qualified people serving together for the purpose...
by Luke Geraty | Aug 10, 2013 | Ecclesiology
Allison writes, “The church is the people of God who have been saved through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ and have been incorporated into his body through baptism with the Holy Spirit. It consists of two interrelated elements: the universal church is the...
by Luke Geraty | Jul 30, 2013 | Ecclesiology, Missional, The Kingdom of God, The Vineyard Movement
In my early years of ministry, I used to repeat something I’d heard a lot when I was younger: when we gather together for worship, we need to expect God to move. While I don’t want to minimize the value of having expectation or of the importance of...
by Luke Geraty | May 25, 2013 | Apologetics, Biblical Theology, Christology, Ecclesiology, Eschatology, The Kingdom of God, Theological Studies
I’m often asked by pastors which books by Wright they should read and I used to always refer them to the Christian Origins and the Question of God series because, quite frankly, you can’t be into NT studies without having interacted with his works in that...
by Luke Geraty | May 20, 2013 | Biblical Theology, Charismatic Theology, Ecclesiology, Israel
Scott Lencke has a good post up on why he doesn’t believe we should believe the popular idea that the church was born at Pentecost (Acts 2). Scott lays out some very good reasons why we should see God’s people through the lens of continuity rather than...
by Luke Geraty | Feb 15, 2013 | Across the Web, Ecclesiology, Leadership, Practical Theology, Theological Training
Dave Workman is awesome. I haven’t personally met him, but I’ve greatly benefited from his book The Outward-Focused Life. If you are interested in learning about being a servant or “servant evangelism” or aspects of missional theology, this...
by Luke Geraty | Nov 29, 2012 | Ecclesiology, Small Groups
Continuing some foundational reasons to participate in small groups, Gareth Icenogle writes, “The ecclesia are small groups of Christians who are scattered around the world, bound together by a common Spirit. Meeting in all arenas of human systems and...
by Luke Geraty | Nov 23, 2012 | Cultural Engagement, Ecclesiology, Gender Issues
Since the Church of England recently voted to not allow for women to serve as Bishops, the Prime Minister of England, David Cameron, has told the Anglican leaders to “get with the program” (source here). He states, “Now I’m very clear, the time is...
