On the Thorny Matter of Signatures and Assent
By Brad Wheeler | 9Marks Journal: Confessions, Covenants, and Constitutions: How to Organize Your Church | 03.14.2016Should we risk agitating people by asking them to formally sign something? And what if someone wants to join, but is unsure of a doctrinal matter? Is submission enough, or is agreement necessary?
Waters That Unite: Five Truths About Water Baptism
By David Schrock | 03.14.20161. Baptism identifies us with Christ. 2. Baptism doesn’t save; it announces salvation. 3. Baptism is an individual announcement. 4. Baptism is also a church announcement. 5. Baptism follows belief.
Can I View My Small Group as My Church?
By Sam Allberry | 03.11.2016Small groups can therefore be a terrific supplement to the gathered life of the church, but they should never be a replacement for it.
A Sample Marriage Policy
9Marks | 03.09.2016Editor’s note: Read Nick Gatzke’s piece “How Our Church Has Found a Marriage Policy to be Useful” for an introduction to marriage policies. ***** ____________ is happy to participate in instituting … keep reading…
How Our Church Has Found a Marriage Policy to be Useful
By Nick Gatzke | 9Marks Journal: Confessions, Covenants, and Constitutions: How to Organize Your Church | 03.09.2016In the life of a church, we create policies to help guide us to practices that help our people. May our marriage policies do just that.
Which Church Documents? And Why?
By Aaron Menikoff | 9Marks Journal: Confessions, Covenants, and Constitutions: How to Organize Your Church | 03.04.2016As unglamorous as church documents may be, they are a crucial component of a pastor’s toolbox.
Church Planters, Don’t Wait To Put Your Documents in Place!
By Joel Kurz | 9Marks Journal: Confessions, Covenants, and Constitutions: How to Organize Your Church | 03.01.2016Our church waited three years to put our church documents in order, and we suffered for it.
Dear Pastor, Know Your Theology of Sanctification
By Mike Christ | 02.29.2016There’s a push in evangelical circles to understand justification. This is good. But let’s make sure we haven’t neglected sanctification.
How Your Understanding of Conversion Impacts Your Ministry
By Jonathan Leeman | 02.17.2016Your doctrine of conversion will push or drive—like an engine—your ministerial practices in this direction or that.
The Worth of Waiting: A Word to Aspiring Elders
By Johnny Antle | 02.08.2016Don’t set your hope fully on being an elder. Set your hope fully on Jesus—he’s definitely coming back, and he’s definitely better.
In Poor Communities, Does Doctrine Matter?
By M. McConnell, M. McKinley | 02.01.2016Does a commitment to teaching and believing doctrine hinder the spread of the gospel in hard places? Hardly.
Transition and the Pastor’s Wife
By Erin Wheeler | 01.29.2016How do two people from coastal northern California and the nation’s capitol end up in Arkansas? God does it. That’s how.
Pastoring Dementia Patients
By Lewis Allen | 01.21.2016Here are 15 things to remember when pastoring folks through the difficulties of dementia.
Baptism Is a Church’s Act
By Bobby Jamieson | 01.19.2016People today tend to think that baptism is a symbol that people can simply choose to place upon themselves. Is that the biblical picture?
Jesus’ Discipleship Program for Your Church
By Jonathan Leeman | 01.15.2016When Jesus and the apostles talked about church government, it wasn’t just a discussion of bureaucratic decision-making. It was most fundamentally and importantly a matter of discipleship!
