Courageous pastors or overbearing leaders: how do we tell the difference?

Andrews Wilson offer some helpful diagnostic tools in this one.

Is numerical decline on the way for UK evangelicals?

This cheery one is from my friend Stephen Watkinson. Miserable as the picture he presents may seem, there is much worth thinking about and useful action that we can take if his analysis is correct.

Take heart! God works through human conflicts

I think it is the most beguiling of all ministry idols: the desire for a quiet life. We so often assume our faithfulness will be rewarded by Christ through peaceable relations. But such is never promised in scripture and conflict seems to be an unavoidable fact of Christian ministry. Trevin Wax takes a look at just that here.

When Gaza came to Rochdale

Next door to us – a town in which we planted a new church that went fully independent in January – there is a rather unpleasant by-election going on. Michael Crick, the journalist, shows you what the by-election in Rochdale is like and points to some of the wider issues in the town. It is a good insight this one into what areas like Oldham and Rochdale are like.

What does the bible say about dealing with divisive people in the church?

‘As society is presently ripped apart with divisions on every issue, the church is likewise bombarded with divisive people who are using the current cultural divide to mimic the culture and tear apart the body of Christ. Christians have to be acutely aware that Satan uses cultural moments like this in the church to separate the body of Christ. I can’t think of a more appropriate caution at the moment than to call Christians to awareness regarding both to whom they listen and how they handle themselves before those who seek the ruin of the church.’

Never preach to one person

I think this one is about right. I do think we want to think of particular people, or at least particular kinds of people, when we are thinking through application. But even then, we should apply in more than one way to hit as wide a range of people as possible.

From the archive: Three reasons to keep going to church

‘There are lots of reasons people might be tempted to give up meeting together with the Lord’s people. Every church, at pretty much any given time, has people who are in danger of drifting away or neglecting the local gathering of the church. Tim Challies – in a recent flashback – outlined some of the reasons we might be tempted to do one. Instead of pressing down the same line here, I want to offer some reasons why you should press into the local church instead.’