Corporate Worship
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.
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.
Mailbag #28: Are “Unequally Yoked” Marriages Always Sin?; Can You Discipline over Sins of Omission?; Is Dancing Acceptable in Corporate Gatherings?
By Jonathan Leeman | 01.26.2016— Are marriages between Christians and non-Christians always sin? What if they have children together? — Is it wise to discipline over sins of omissions, like husbands who don’t love their wives well? — Is dancing acceptable in corporate gatherings?
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?
Mailbag #23: Giving Feedback on Bad Sermons; Ratio among Staff and Non-Staff Pastors; Church Covenants and the Regulative Principle; Difference between “Pastors” & “Elders”?
By Jonathan Leeman | 12.07.2015— How do you give your pastor feedback for his sermons, particularly when they are bad? — Jonathan, why did you recommend that your church eliminate the requirement that there must be more lay elders than staff elders? — Wait a second! You’re saying you won’t do baby dedications because of the regulative principle. And then right after that, you talk about reading the church covenant together as a church. Isn’t that a violation of the regulative principle, too? — Does it create two tiers of leadership to always call staff pastors “pastors” and lay elders “elders”?
Mailbag #21: Must Preachers Be Seminary-Trained?; Baby Dedications; Elders Disagreeing Over Calvinism
By Jonathan Leeman | 11.23.2015— Should we expect preachers to be seminary-trained? — Do baby dedications violate the regulative principle? — I’m a Calvinist, but does this mean all my fellow elders must be as well?
An Anglican, Baptist, and Presbyterian Review Going Public
By B. Jamieson, C. Van Dixhoorn, S. Norman, T. Payne | 11.04.2015Editor’s note: In July, we released a book called Going Public: Why Baptism Is Required for Church Membership by Bobby Jamieson. We asked three pastor-theologians to review the book, each of them … keep reading…
Mailbag #18: Dealing with Anxiety; Lord’s Supper Question; Christians & Multi-Level Marketing; When A Church Member Moves Away
By Jonathan Leeman | 10.30.2015—How do I battle anxiety in my life? —Is it permissible to take the Lord’s Supper in small groups? Wednesday night Bible study? —Should Christians be involved in multi-level marketing organizations? —When a church member moves away, should they automatically be taken off the membership roll?
Book Review: Pray for the Flock, by Brian Croft and Ryan Fullerton
Review by Bob Johnson | 10.29.2015As a whole, this book is more practical than profound, but that really is the point. We tend to talk a lot more about prayer than actually pray.
Re-Thinking Homogeneity: The Biblical Case for Multi-Ethnic Churches
By Aubrey Sequeira | 9Marks Journal: Multi-Ethnic Churches | 09.25.2015Does the Bible support homogeneity? Or does Scripture set forth a different vision for the local church?
How Do We Respond to Cultural Crises Over Race?
By Brian Davis | 9Marks Journal: Multi-Ethnic Churches | 09.25.2015There are few responses to hurting more hurtful than silence.
Being Asian American in a White Church
By Tim Chiang | 9Marks Journal: Multi-Ethnic Churches | 09.25.2015There is no singular Asian-American experience. But for many, navigating the differences between their two cultures brings about difficulty—even in the church.
Why White Churches Are Hard for Black People
By Isaac Adams | 9Marks Journal: Multi-Ethnic Churches | 09.25.2015These aren’t true for every white church or for every black person, but the hope is that they lead to graceful and authentic conversation, to prayer, to action, and to joy in our Lord.
Building a Multi-Cultural Ministry on Gospel Doctrine
By John Folmar | 9Marks Journal: Multi-Ethnic Churches | 09.25.2015Robust truth will keep churches and friendships together amid their diversity, whereas lowest-common-denominator theology promotes strife and feebleness.
A Sample Statement on Regular Church Attendance
By Garrett Kell | 09.01.2015Faithful attendance honors Christ and builds up His church. Non-attendance moves in the other direction. It makes light of His name and harms His church in many ways and for many reasons.
