Evangelicals are increasingly interested in church planting, and with good reason. John Piper offers seven considerations: 1. There are 195 million non-churched people in America, making America one of the top four largest “unchurched” nations in the world. 2. In spite of the rise of mega-churches, no county in America has a greater church population than it did ten years ago. 3. During the last ten years, combined communicant membership of all Protestant denominations declined by 9.5 percent (4,498,242), while the national population increased by 11.4 percent (24,153,000). 4. Each year 3,500 … [Read more...] about The Importance of Church Planting – Piper / GCA
Archives for November 2007
Investigating Prosperity Ministries
Republican Senator Chuck Grassley, ranking member of the Senate Committee on Finance, is investigating the ministries of Kenneth and Gloria Copeland, Creflo Dollar, Benny Hinn, Eddie Long, Joyce Meyer and Paula White. Grassley believes that he owes it to donors and taxpayers to determine whether the organizations have abused their tax-exempt status as churches to finance lavish personal lifestyles. Each of the ministries received formal letters from the Senator. Jamie Dean of World Magazine notes that "the letters asked organization leaders to provide detailed financial information, … [Read more...] about Investigating Prosperity Ministries
Bible Story Books for Children
We had some friends over tonight and were discussing Bible story books for children. So I thought I'd mention our favorites, which Dr. Albert Mohler seems to also hold in high regard. We really like The Big Picture Story Bible by David Helm and The Jesus Story Book Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones. The former walks through the over-arching "meta-narrative" of the Bible: from creation, to fall, to redemption foreshadowed in the Old Testament to redemption accomplished in the New Testament. The Jesus Story Book Bible also walks through the biblical narrative chronologically, explicitly … [Read more...] about Bible Story Books for Children
John Piper on Justification and the Work of Christ
The audio and manuscript of John Piper's Crossway Lecture at the 2007 Evangelical Theological Society has been made available. His lecture is an outstanding introduction to his most recent book, The Future of Justification: A Response to N.T. Wright. Incidentally, I have also written a bit on law-gospel themes from Rom. 9:30-10:13 in a six-part series beginning with this post. … [Read more...] about John Piper on Justification and the Work of Christ
Author Steve Jeffery on Pierced for Our Transgressions
Steve Jeffery, one of three authors of Pierced for Our Transgressions, was kind enough to allow a brief interview. QUESTION: Steve, I also studied Materials Science and Physics, so I was wondering if you could tell us a bit about how it was that you sensed God calling you to serve Him in full-time Christian ministry. JEFFERY: I'd been thinking about how best I could serve the Lord for a few years, and as I came to the end of my postgraduate studies I began to wonder about the possibility of full-time ministry. I was quite nervous about the idea, and felt very ill-equipped for the task, but … [Read more...] about Author Steve Jeffery on Pierced for Our Transgressions
Randy Alcorn on Why Giuliani Should Be Opposed
Randy Alcorn delivers a devastating rebuke on the many "Anyone But Clinton" Giuliani-supporters: I mean no disrespect, but actually, yes, there ARE worse things than Hillary being elected. In my opinion, having to stand before God to answer for compromising biblical convictions and acting as moral hypocrites by voting for an unprincipled man who will not defend the innocent and care for his own family is far worse. God will not judge me in light of whether I’ve followed conservativism or promoted Republicanism, but as to whether I have honored my Lord Jesus. Alcorn is referring to the fact … [Read more...] about Randy Alcorn on Why Giuliani Should Be Opposed