While the structure of a typical CREC worship service has a lot in common with what visitors might call a “traditional worship service”—enough so as to simply be a variation on such services—there are certain elements about that stand out, and which probably will draw some … [Read more...]
Posture in Worship
Churches can generally be categorized as “truth oriented” or as “feelings oriented.” It would be fair to rank our churches as among the former, but one of the temptations faced by such truth oriented churches is that of sliding into thinking that this means “brain oriented” … [Read more...]
Reverence and Worship
Many worship services in modern churches tend to be informal. The model is often that of a concert or entertainment event, with a very “come as you are” attitude toward visitors. Consequently, when someone joins one of our churches Sunday morning for worship, often the most … [Read more...]
Church Membership
Because we live in a casual and breezy age, many Christians are unfamiliar with the idea of a covenanted church membership. CREC churches usually have a formal membership roster, and for some this may require a brief explanation. The biblical basis for this is found in Hebrews … [Read more...]
The Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches
Here's something you all can help us spread the word on. I spent today in the gallery of the CREC Council meeting in Minneapolis. Yesterday all seven presbyteries met, and today two delegates from each presbytery formed our tri-annual seating of Council. One of the more … [Read more...]
Here and There Both
The Pharisees were characterized by missional zeal. Unfortunately, it was missional zeal for Pharisaism, but you can't have everything. "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold … [Read more...]
Psychological Mint, Feelings Dill, Emotional Cummin
Jesus taught us to deal with the big stuff first. He said that the weightier matters of the law took precedence. The Pharisees of His day had justified their neglect of such things by making a big deal over how they tithed out of the spice rack. Look at us go, they seemed to say. … [Read more...]
Gaming the Game
Inside each capable administrator, there is a petty bureaucrat, yearning to get out. Inside each visionary, there is a wild antinomian, yearning to get out. Each one is suspicious of the inner other guy, when they ought to be suspicious of their own inner guy. Mission cannot be … [Read more...]
Five Degrees to the Left is not Upside Down
"Those of low estate are but a breath; those of high estate are a delusion; in the balances they go up; they are together lighter than a breath" (Ps. 62:9, ESV). The work of missions must be built on something more substantial than the need. The need, as Oswald Chambers put it … [Read more...]
Fathers, not Sugar Daddies
Let us start with an obvious principle, and then go on to show that it is a biblical principle. Sometimes earthy observations are dismissed by Christians as having a carnal wisdom to them but, it is supposed, they somehow are not representative of the "way of the Spirit." The … [Read more...]
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