Modern Church Growth

Getting people to come to a church is often very hard for pastors. So many attempt to use various methods and means to get people. But does the end result justify the means????

Wanted: A Revival of Christian Dogma

Unfortunately today basic Christian dogma is neither preached or known in most churches today. Most people have minimum scriptural knowledge in applying Christian thought and belief. One of the myths that has been thrown around in religious circles is the universalism of mankind and the overall belief that all people are generally good and God will one day save everybody. However the word of God says something very different. The nature of man is not only depraved but scripture says it is “desperately wicked “. The belief that God LOVES Everybody is neither scriptural nor philosophically logical. Here is an interesting video I thinks that makes the point

Baptism by Immersion

I feel that the only people that have it right when it comes to baptism are the BAPTIST! (well, some other folk too) But I believe that scripture clearly teaches that those who have professed faith in Christ are the ones to be baptized. Which is Credo-baptism as opposed to Paedo-Baptism (infant baptism). Dr. MacArthur has a great article pointing out the validity of Believers Baptism in this BAPTISM ARTICLE. This Saturday we will be baptizing our dear Brother Kevin Manalastas a believer at Cabrillo Beach which is located in sunny Southern California! Come on out and enjoy as we celebrate this joyous occasion for all.

The New Trend: Christian ADVISE

Dr Horton presents an interesting trend that moving through a lot of churches its called "Religion" and not the GOSPEL through the person of Christ. Unfortunately most churches are now giving biblical tidbits on living, to make the members of their congregations lives better. They do this by bringing the parishioners each Sunday, biblical steps to help them see mistakes in their lives and what they need to do to "get better" and "do better". What the churches are becoming are " pit stops" each Sunday that provide self-help fueling for the rest of the week. Therefore Christ really is not needed in the message on Sunday mornings because snapshots of scripture references, and biblical jargon about "doing stuff" are substituted for the person and work of Jesus Christ. The announcement of the gospel is replaced by the law of "what to do" to get favor and blessing from God and if you "do" what you are supposed to "do" then God will begin "doing" in your life. HELLO!!!! He has ALREADY done something it is called Calvary, the empty grave , and the Holy Spirit.

Oh No... Another Article on Preaching!!!

Yeah its true. Another article on preaching. This one was sent to be from a young lady in our church and I think that it's pretty interesting. Preaching all over is in pretty dire straits unfortunately, and any and all help is needed. As powerful as preaching is in reformed circles, sometimes sermons occasionally can be dry at times; and I think that this is because of, believe it or not, EXPOSITORY preaching ( I know I said it...bring out the stake and burn me- its heresy- I know I know.) Well with that said let me explain before I introduce the article. There are times when topical sermons fit the text much better than an exegetical verse by verse sermon. However one of the problems that I find in preaching and in many speeches for that matter, is the inability of most people to WRITE. Writing on a well organized thought, bringing out the main idea of what you want to say, or what the biblical text is saying, is a serious problem for most speakers. I believe that trick is following a well organized idea in essay form, developing the body and bringing it to conclusion for the hearers. I believe this is the foundation for the sermon and from this other aspects are added -even in expository sermons. The article points out some interesting tidbits that are relevant to preaching effectively to the congregation. I think how the preacher is able to convey information to an audience is vital, as well as, how the audience is able to understand and be moved by the information received by the preacher. Click HERE to read the article....enjoy.

The Rising of the REFORMED!

Guess what? Calvinism is back, on the rise, and getting stronger. The modern church is now embraced in capturing the teaching of Reformed Christianity. Shocked and confused? Don't be- the theology of Calvin is basically biblical Christianity recaptured during the reformation that the Catholic church just about completely abandoned during 16th century. However there is a new movement that is on the rise. According to a recent article in Time Magazine , Being starved at mega churches, young people are now hungry for deeper theology and more complex scriptural thinking and the biblically based Reformed Theology of Calvin fits the bill. The movement of the protestant reformation came about because the church in medieval times, had pretty much become a political and economic behemoth that ignored Holy Scripture and instead implemented traditions of the pope and the European culture at hand. The Reformation, with men like: Luther, Calvin, Knox, Zwingli and the like, recaptured much of the biblical church doctrine and reformed the church and its teachings to its original purpose and position. Unfortunately most modern day Christians have very little ability to think analytically, philosophically or logically in a biblical framework, therefore people dismiss or ignore the tenets introduced by such thinkers as Augustine, Luther or Calvin. Not to mention that biblical illiteracy is at an all time high in our culture, so developing a systematic paradigm to see scriptural connections is often difficult for most in our modern times. Although reformers such as Calvin, Luther, Knox, etc. had their flaws, as well as theological points I disagree with, their exegesis and exposition of biblical text was fantastic and still helpful to the modern church of today.

Claremont School of Theology Goes Off The Deep End

It turns into Claremont School of Theology. Claremont, a Methodist affiliated seminary, is now training graduates in multiple faiths other than Christianity. In a recent Los Angeles Times Article Claremont, which is located in Claremont California, a suburb of Los Angeles, is now training clerics for Islam and Rabbis for Judaism. Which simply means they are training people to present multiple ways to God. However if you are a Christian school, or call yourself a Christian school, and your job is to train men and women in your institution to properly preach the gospel, this is a contradiction. Because the gospel presents Christ as the only way and there is no other way. If the false teachings of Islam and Judaism will one day send individuals to hell, why would you promote those as legitimate teachings in an institution that is Christian? This is what happens when a seminary is interested in becoming "academic' and known, rather than orthodox and authentic. Theological liberalism is invading seminaries like a plague and Claremont is just one example of what a school will do to be anything but biblical. When a seminary tries to be relevant chances are it will be at the expense of being Christ centered and biblical. That is why we are to be in the world but not of a world that neither friendly or accepting of us.
Even though many seminaries are bastions of questionable theology it seems that some have gone even further off the deep end. For example, what happens to a seminary when it abandons the faith handed down from scripture?

Powerful Preaching

___I don't always hear that much powerful preaching for today but when I do I try and post clips once in a while. Most of the modern sermons of today are fairly weak and self centered (Unfortunately that goes for my sermons too some of the time) so to hear one with a punch, is a treat for me and I hope for you too.- Enjoy!

Holiness vs. Pentecostalism a Difference? Yes There IS!

it is virtually impossible to tell them apart. Churches are so eager to fill the building with people that they forget about filling the people with the Holy Spirit needed for holy living. The high levels of sin, sexual immorality, doctrinal error and heresy that is rampant in the church today, is evidence that the person and work of The Savior is not preached, the message of the new birth is unknown, and that self help pragmatism has become the norm on Sunday mornings. Until the Gospel of Jesus Christ is preached faithfully, and the sacrificial discipleship of the cross is implemented, a dim and fading light of influence of the church in the world is inevitable. ______ Today the cross is neither preached about nor known about. Men and women instead are looking for a Christianity that is diluted and un-sacrificial. In this video Dr. Ravenhill talks about the Pentecostal movement of old; however I believe that the modern Pentecostal movement is far from the holiness movement that began in England with great men such as Wesley. Although I am a Calvinist, I'll take one John Wesley over 100 modern Calvinist any day of the week. The immorality that exist in the modern church is appalling to say the least and the church today mirrors the world to such an extent that

Rick Warren and John Piper Together....WHAT ????

is puzzling . I met Dr. Piper at this conference in Los Angeles for African American Pastors and he seemed to be a nice man very humble and an extremely gifted preacher and speaker. In this clip he attempts to explain why he invited Warren to his conference. He mentions something about "picking his brain" I'm not sure what that means or if it's relevant. However I suspect that Rick Warren does provide an element of publicity to the Desiring God Conference and I reckon that some feel that any publicity- no matter what it is or how it comes about- is better than none. However Warren has very little in common with orthodox Christian thinkers, conservative Evangelicals, Reformed Pastors, and Calvinist proponents. He neither believes what most of the guest speakers at the conference believes nor does he adhere to most of the basic doctrines of grace as understood by basic protestant dogma via the reformation. The time alloted at the conference to someone like Rick Warren I feel, could have been given to someone in Reformed circles that would have edified the body of Christ more sufficiently, but I guess it wasn't practical.

Rick Warren is obviously a controversial individual within mainstream evangelical circles. Although popular with the laity and some in the Christian community, among knowledgeable leaders, he is a man of somewhat questionable ideas, beliefs and methods. As a pastor and author, he has made some strange statements about the social and cultural world we live in when confronted by mainstream media. Why John Piper invited such a polarizing figure as Rick Warren