Simply ChurchIn 1965,Paul Harvey was a renowned radio newsman and commentator, his talks, at their height reaching as many as 24 million people per week. In 1965, he gave a talk entitled “If I were the devil…” I was recently stunned by this talk when I heard it at a fundraising banquet. It is eerily prophetic. Remember,… Read More
From time to time, I come across people with such painful issues in their background that they find it almost impossible to forgive the person who has wronged them. It’s easy for me to advise them that forgiveness is a choice, that Jesus will help them, and so on. Yet despite an apparent willingness, they have an ongoing… Read More
Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of seeing much in the way of healing. I’ve been in meetings where people have been prayed for who walked for the first time, or whose hearing was restored. I’ve seen arthritis disappear, legs lengthened, epilepsy healed. (It’s not that I prayed for most of these people–just that I… Read More
I’ve recently been re-reading Christ the Healer by F. F. Bosworth (the second time through in the last three months). An excellent book on healing. Bosworth continuously raises the question, is physical healing part of Christ’s redemptive work on the cross? His conclusion is, yes, Christ died to redeem us physically as well as spiritually. We… Read More
A few years ago, I had the privilege of training a church in India in the principles of church planting. One of the activities we did was to listen to the Lord on behalf of the church. What was he saying to them as a body of believers? They were a wonderful group of people and… Read More
In the late 70s and 80s, Tony and I lived in community. We didn’t all live under the same roof, but many families lived in a very small area of the East End of London, which at that time was 92 percent government housing. They were amazing days. We shared meals, tools, at times, cars.… Read More
I came across a shocking statistic earlier today. According to the International Bulletin of Missionary Research (2012), the cost per baptism globally is $762,000! What are we thinking? I’m sure these figures include seminaries, buildings, training pastors etc., but sometimes I wonder, is this why Jesus died? I know you cannot put a figure on the… Read More
Sometimes being a Christian in this country is synonymous with having a certain political opinion. Ross Rohde wrote an interesting post on this topic. David Theroux is Founder and President of the CS Lewis Society in California. He recently sent me a quote from a lecture he gave on how C.S. Lewis’ viewed liberty: The… Read More
A few days ago, I received a link to a most extraordinary video. It shows the response of Egyptian Christians to the violence that has gone on there. The video came with this comment: “Millions were totally astonished by watching the content of this video which was broadcasted on National TV. It was a real… Read More
Len Sweet is one of the most influential Christians in North America. So when he writes a book (From Tablet to Table: Where Community Is Found and Identity Is Formed) that espouses principles that we who are involved in the simple/organic/house church movement hold dear, I sit up and take notice. From Tablet to Table examines… Read More