church (Page 2)

church (Page 2)

The Greatest Miracle of Azusa

The Azusa Street Revival that began on April 9, 1906 is considered by most church historians to be the genesis of the modern-day Pentecostal movement. Life magazine and the USA Today have listed the Azusa Street Revival as being one of the top 100 nation impacting events of the 20th century. The Azusa Street Revival unleashed Christianity’s “next wave” growing to over 500 million adherents world-wide. What happened at Azusa Street during the first three years was to change the…

The Heart of the Shepherd

I love Luke chapter 15 where Jesus tells three parables that are incredible windows into the heart of God and His mission to the world. Three stories about something valuable that was lost and the depth of the effort that went into its recovery. There was a woman who lost a coin, a father who lost a son, and a shepherd who lost a sheep. But while reading this passage recently my attention was drawn to the fact that the shepherd…

That the World May Know (part 2)

I love how Jesus cuts through all the pretense and “wisdom” of men and exposes the heart of the matter with powerful simplicity. When confronted by the Pharisees and the scribes, He reduced all the law and the prophets to two incredibly clear and succinct statements (Matthew 22:37–39); You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You…

That the World May Know (part 1)

Jesus made two shocking statements to His disciples on the night of His betrayal. Judas had left the group and the mechanisms that would lead to Jesus’ arrest, trial and crucifixion had been set into motion. Knowing what was about to unfold and just hours before His death on a cross Jesus turned His attention to His disciples and made two startling forward looking statements. Jesus spoke to those around Him but His audience would be all who would call Him Lord…

Water Baptism

Biblical Christianity is surprisingly simple. When distilled to its essence, the teachings of Jesus involve virtually none of the ceremonies, rituals or other features usually associated with religions. Yet Jesus did leave us with ordinances, concrete ways of connecting with His person and with other believers. Water baptism and Communion are the two ordinances practiced by 970 Church. Neither are salvific or make us a Christian, but both are part of what it means to be a follower of Christ. While Jesus himself…

Communion

Communion (also called “The Lord’s Supper”) is one of the ordinances of the church. It began on the night before Jesus died on the cross when he was celebrating the Passover with his disciples. Passover is an annual Jewish celebration remembering when God delivered the Jewish people  from slavery in Egypt. During the meal that commemorates the night that the Death passed  over them, Jesus picked up the bread, broke it and related it to His body, which would be broken for them and all mankind. Then He picked…

I Love the Church

My heart has always been captivated by God’s vision for the Church. I find it very compelling and attractional when I experience glimpses and outbreaks of what He intended within a fellowship of believers. I love God’s dream for her and there’s nothing like it on earth when she is working as He designed. But  I am not just in love with the idea, I love her even when she is messed up, misdirected and functioning below her potential. Oh, I was…

It’s Ok, We’re All Messed Up

So what does NineSevenZero Church look like? Who is it for? These are extremely important questions for a church plant to be able to answer, but they are surprisingly difficult to succinctly express. Looking at a spectrum of church types it’s easier to say what we don’t want to be rather than what we desire to be. On one end of the spectrum is the hyper liberal church that has abandoned the truth of the Bible and embraced cultural mores. They emphasize the love…

God`s Social Change Agent

Cultural norms and morals don’t originate in in the political and legal structures of our government. Our political leaders and systems are simply a reflection of the character and values of the people of our nation. Positive social change and movement rarely begins in our nation’s capital and usually is the last place it appears. Washington is a place where tenured bureaucrats are totally invested in maintaining the status-quo, politicians are consumed with managing public opinion and getting re-elected, and powerful special interest…

A Church Rising Up Out of the Culture

One of the books that we have referenced in the formation process of NineSevenZero Church is John Burke’s, No Perfect People Allowed. There he described a type of missional church that resonated with our hearts and our intentions – A Church Rising Up Out of the Culture. “This is…not a church for a post-Christian culture, where Christians huddle up behind the fortress walls and make forays outside into the messy culture, but a church molded out of a post-Christian people ~…
Sam and Frodo, Lord of the Rings

While There`s Hope There`s Life

Most people (me included) use the word hope as a verb, like in the closing of a conversation, “I hope things get better.” Honestly, it’s usually just wishful thinking and a way to sound compassionate but that’s not what people need. While there is a active part to the hope that people need, the first thing that our community needs is for us to be a people of hope. The noun form of the word, a hope that is as…
Basilica of St. Louis

The Problem with the Big Box Church

The way we do church is working with fewer people in our culture all the time.The model of church that most of us are a product of is quickly becoming ineffective in today’s world. This isn’t about styles of worship, high church or low church, mainline or independent, protestant or catholic, liturgical or pentecostal. This is about all of the Christian churches. Just about every church in America can be described with three words: “Come to us.” That is it.…