One aspect of Reformed theology, piety, and practice that distnguishes confessional Protestantism from broad evangelicalism is a high view of the visible, institutional church. Calvin spent most of book 4 of the Institutes on the visible church. The Belgic Confession spends two . . . Continue reading →
church membership
On Lapsing Members: Coping with a Transient Culture
Re-Posted from Sept 9, 2009. The HB has addressed the problem of “churchless evangelicals” before. This question is a little different. How should consistories/sessions address the problem of members of a congregation who simply seem to disappear as if they’ve fallen off . . . Continue reading →
4,251 Hours To Become A Christian
In the wake of the publication of Malcolm Gladwell’s 2008 book, Outliers, there was much discussion of his 10,000 hours rule, i.e., his claim that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to master something. Since that time, however, there’s been reaction and . . . Continue reading →
If It Was True Then, How Much More Now?
…it should, I think, be made much harder than it now is to enter the Church: the confession of faith that is required should be a credible confession; and if it becomes evident upon examination that a candidate has no notion of . . . Continue reading →
Church Membership Is Biblical
“I am a member of the church universal. I do not need to be a member of an organized church.” “Our church does not believe in church membership.” “Church membership is unbiblical. It is a man-made tradition.” These are but a few . . . Continue reading →
American Christianity Needs A Stronger Ecclesiology
While the higher statistic is heartening, it is at the same time disconcerting: barely over half of self-identified evangelicals take issue with an individualistic Christian mindset. Barely over half of self-identified evangelicals, presumably, object to this statement which downplays a corporate sensibility . . . Continue reading →
Why Membership Matters
Kevin DeYoung offers several practical reasons why church membership matters.1 At least one of the comments on his article called for biblical proof for the idea of church membership. I offer these biblical considerations.2 There is a widespread notion that a truly . . . Continue reading →