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This is what Church is Looking like for some these days

Several years ago I worked with an organization that had every staff member sign a “Covenant of Harmony.”  The idea was having everyone abide by biblical principles of resolving conflict and promoting harmony, cooperation and unity within the organization.  There are many principles and instructions given in Scripture for experiencing unity.  Yet, there are so few real examples of true biblical unity in churches, ministry and

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Any church leader who’s been in ministry for more than a few months has heard different variations of it: I’m looking for a church that meets my needs.

What are you going to do to better meet my needs?

I’m leaving this church to find one that better suits my needs.

The longer a Christian has been in church, the more likely it is that they’ve uttered a phrase or two like this from time to time.

I’m not against changing churches. I think everyone has one or maybe two church changes i

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Mike Vaughn doesn’t think churches should accept money from the government, normally. But when the administrative pastor of the Palm Valley Church in Goodyear, Arizona, looked at the looming economic crisis brought on by the coronavirus shutdowns, the staff jobs he was trying to save, and the way Congress structured the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to be used by religious organizations, he felt different.

“That program is a worthwhile exception to the general rule,” Vaughn told Christ

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Video Courtesy of Legacy Disciple


One of the things that puzzled me growing up, and still puzzles me today, is how devastated and broken many African American communities are although there are a huge number of local churches across America.

I often wondered why there were churches where so many people who claim to be changed and transformed had no effect on the community around them. Before we dive in, I’d like to emphasize that this is not a sweeping indictment of all black churches.

In fa

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Video of a Fox News debate with Juan Williams on evangelical support for Trump. Williams wrote the op-ed “Evangelicals Sell Their Souls for Trump” for TheHill.com.

Now a famous (infamous?) truism that 81 percent of white evangelicals supported Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election. In doing so, evangelical leaders cast aside their past and very public statements about the importance of strong moral character for those in leadership.

It makes a certain kind of sense that some white ev

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Jim Powell began his ministry leading a church of 50 people, which isn't bad if you consider the fact that the town only had a population of 100. Today Powell pastors Richwoods Christian Church, a multisite congregation in Peoria, Illinois. But he's never lost his passion for small churches. Powell founded the 95 Network, which aims to equip the 95 percent of churches in the United States with fewer than 800 members. Recently, Powell stopped by the offices of Leadership Journal. Over deep di
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Everyone wants to be a great leader. Nowhere is that call more important than in the local church, where often the pastor is looked at to lead their church in inspiring and expectation-defying ways. Meanwhile, books on leadership tend to give broad advice that can be relatively difficult to apply in the local church setting.

We’re here to help.

Below is the best advice from CT Pastors on leading your church well. Whether you’re trying to raise up new leaders, lead into your strengths, or cast

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American Atheists, one of the largest secular organizations in the country, is again urging people to skip church this Christmas in new billboard ads attacking the birth of Jesus Christ, calling it “fake news.”

“Everyone knows that the stories we’re told in church aren’t the truth,” said David Silverman, president of American Atheists, in a press release on Thursday.

“People ignore that fact because they enjoy the community, the friendship, and the traditions that go along with religion. But

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“The truth is sometimes when I’m praying, my prayers are not ‘guide me o thy great Jehovah, pilgrim through this barren land.’ I’m not quoting from the 23rd Psalm. I’m not quoting from Philippi

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One key decision about a meeting can be who will pray. (Unsplash)

Most pastors tell me the most important meeting of the church is the prayer meeting. They also tell me it is the least-attended meeting in their church. I am told that people will come easy to a potluck but not to a prayer meeting. But the power of a well-attended prayer meeting is vital to a

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As a young man in the fifth century, Benedict of Nursia traveled to Rome in order to pursue his education, but left wearied by the corruption and licentiousness of the privileged classes.  Fleeing to the rural areas surrounding Rome, Saint Benedict first lived as a hermit before finding community among other monks.  Ultimately, he founded twelve monasteries, re-built Monte Cassino into a grand monastery and wrote the “Benedictine Rule,” a book of precepts that formed the cornerstone of Western

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(PHOTO: REUTERS/LUKE MACGREGOR) Dressed as a witch, Maisy Thompson plays with pumpkins in the pumpkin patch ahead of Halloween at Crockford Bridge Farm at Addlestone near Woking, southern Britain October 26, 2015.

(PHOTO: REUTERS/LUKE MACGREGOR)
Dressed as a witch, Maisy Thompson plays with pumpkins in the pumpkin patch ahead of Halloween at Crockford Bridge Farm at Addlestone near Woking, southern Britain October 26, 2015.

Many Christians celebrate Halloween. Some churches and pastors even do. I recently saw a church advertising they were having a Zombie Run. Seriously? God’s House? This pastor does not celebrate Halloween and neither does her church.

In a spirit of full disclosure, when I was a bran

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Donnie McClurkin, the pastor and gospel music singer who said God delivered him from “the curse” of homosexuality, is now under fire from critics after speaking out against last Friday’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling which made same-sex marriage legal nationwide.

McClurkin, 55, received some harsh criticism after he shared his interpretation of the Bible’s position on homosexuality on Facebook last Friday.

“We’ve just received the answer from man’s Supreme Court … we already received the answer

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As I write this, the Supreme Court has handed down what will be the “Roe v. Wade” of marriage, redefining marriage in all 50 states. This is a sober moment, and I am a conscientious dissenter from this ruling. The Court now has disregarded thousands of years of definition of the most foundational unit of society, and the cultural changes here will be broad and deep. So how should the church respond?

First of all, the church should not panic. The Supreme Court can do many things, but the Supr

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Have you been feeding your soul with spiritual junk food? (Tim Reckmann/Flickr/Creative Commons)

Have you been feeding your soul with spiritual junk food? (Tim Reckmann/Flickr/Creative Commons)

“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers” (2 Tim. 4:3).

Have you ever asked yourself or quietly wondered why so many in the Western church today lack a strong devotion and dedication to God? Why are there so many professing Christians who still pursue the lusts an

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The Bible: Can We Trust It?

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by Mike Stockwell


Greetings to all;
Any successful ongoing study of God, or the discipline of Theology, should begin with a foundation, much like a contractor looking to build a house. The foundation must be strong enough to bear the weight of what is to be built upon it.
The Bible is the Word of God. Literally, it is God talking to all of us directly. It is the foundation of truth upon which the Christian faith rests. There is no more important or profound work of literature ever penned. In the H
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The Bible: Can We Trust It?

Jesus-Graffiti-psd67198.png
by Mike Stockwell


Greetings to all;
Any successful ongoing study of God, or the discipline of Theology, should begin with a foundation, much like a contractor looking to build a house. The foundation must be strong enough to bear the weight of what is to be built upon it.
The Bible is the Word of God. Literally, it is God talking to all of us directly. It is the foundation of truth upon which the Christian faith rests. There is no more important or profound work of literature ever penned. In the H
Read more…

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new study finds that following the Mediterranean diet could add about 4.5 years to your life. Researchers found that the diet, which focuses on fruits, veggies, whole grains, and olive oil, is good for our DNA, the New York Times reports. Nearly 4,700 women were followed for more than 20 years, and those whose diets were more similar to the Mediterranean diet had longer telomeres—protective structures found on the ends of chromosomes that “are often compared to the plastic caps that preven

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by Jack Earl

 

When did your life begin? Was it at the moment of your first breath after birth? Or was it earlier while in your mother's womb. I think we would have to agree that it really began before birth. Not only was our heart beating, but we were able to hear the voice of our mother. 

For Jesus, life began long before He became a living being inside the womb of His mother, Mary. John tells us that "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was with Go
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What is Spiritual Growth

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by Henry Miranda

 

Hebrews 5:12-14 (NKJV) 
"For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil."


Spiritual growth is a cont
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