Admit it – on a weekday at some point somewhere, you were driving by church after church with 1 or 2 cars in the parking lot noticing that all of those buildings sit largely idle six days a week. If you wondered whether that’s a responsible use of donated dollars, you’re not alone. Many Christians and non-believers alike question the … Read More
10 Practices You Rarely See in Church Anymore
Not only have church growth models changed in recent years to accommodate American culture, but traditional practices churches leveraged for centuries to foster evangelism, discipleship and service have also been scrapped. Church leaders contend that new practices are necessary to adapt to culture. When comparing the new practices to the ones they replaced, it becomes clear that churches have in … Read More
Praying for Unbelievers
Lord, we, Your people, have become so accustomed to being prayed for. Prayer lines are common. We flock to mighty men of God looking for a miracle. And yet, You called us to give the gift of prayer. We confess that we find it hard to pray for lambs. You want us to pray for wolves. It is precisely to … Read More
Featured Interview – Carmen LaBerge
LISTEN to the interview with Loving Our Communities to Christ Website Twitter
10 Ways Jesus’ Church Growth Model Differs from Yours
Many church leaders contend that it’s necessary to adapt to culture. They see older conventions for planting a church and growing a congregation as outdated. However, Jesus was countercultural and counterintuitive. Therefore, it’s worth evaluating, as we do in today’s post, whether modern deviations from Jesus’ model for building a following (i.e. church) represent compromise to accommodate: The Shortcomings of … Read More
10 Popular Bible Verses Taken out of Context
The last straw for us was the sermon series immediately following Easter – “What Jesus’ resurrection gives to you”. My wife and I left the church before the end of the 6 week series. I think we made it through “Victory”, “Freedom”, “Power” and “Joy” before we could no longer stomach the concept that Jesus suffered and died to make … Read More
10 Words No Longer Heard in Church or Christian Music
American churches eagerly accommodate Christians who have professed belief but have no intention of becoming disciples. In fact, churches have worked so hard to build an environment that will attract and retain nominal Christians (and non-believers) that nearly all have abandoned discipleship entirely, replacing intensive and personal mentoring with optional fellowship groups. The starting line (salvation) has become the finish … Read More
Are You Disturbed?
I doubt seriously if I am the only person to be confused and disturbed about things we see around us. I am horrified by the bizarre extremes of the sexual revolution being forced down our throats. At the same time those who would to some extent agree about that are proclaiming America first, which sounds to me like selfishness encoded … Read More
Orality Nexus: The Continuing and Growing Learning Journey in the Orality Movement
By Jerry Wiles, North America Regional Director, International Orality Network, President Emeritus, Living Water International, Special to ASSIST News Service HOUSTON, TX (ANS – June 2, 2017) — In a recent Orality Consultation and Advanced Training in East Africa, I was once again reminded of the power of networks and collaborative learning. The focus of this training was on … Read More
Prayer, Care, Share
The prayer-care-share model is super – and succeeding. To everyone using it. Bravo! As Lon Allison admits, however, it’s a lot easier to do the prayer and care part. The actual sharing of the gospel tends to get left behind. What will it take to uncork the life-changing, miracle-producing power of the church to share the gospel? We’ve found some … Read More