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‘Let no one who is not eager for truth and peace enter here’ (Plato)

Articles on this site express varying points of view, to encourage mature thinking on serious issues. The assumption is that you will want to study a controversial topic from various angles before you arrive at a conclusion, rather than simply believe what someone told you when you were impressionable! (So some stuff here is ‘hot’. Proceed at your own risk!). See the Statement of Faith for John Mark Ministries' theological stance.

Towards An Evangelistic Life-Style.

By and others ⋅ January 5, 2003 ⋅ Post a comment

The founders of this church wandered around ‘speaking the word’ (Acts 11:19-20 RSV), ‘telling the message’ (GNB). We don’t know their names: they were probably not ‘apostles’ but ordinary Christians committed to sharing the Good News with those they met. Churches everywhere are healthy or unhealthy to the extent that their members are verbalizing their […]

The Church As A Critic Of Culture

By and others ⋅ January 5, 2003 ⋅ Post a comment

Last year I talked with an Indian pastor who had been dragged many hundreds of metres through the streets of his town by militant Hindus, before being beaten with rods. ‘What did you do?’ I asked him. ‘I blessed my persecutors in the name of the Lord’ he said. ‘And what happened?’ ‘The gospel fire […]

The Best Committees Are Committees Of One! (Or, Was That Meeting Really Necessary?)

By and others ⋅ January 5, 2003 ⋅ Post a comment

The British Weekly ran an article beginning: ‘I spent an hour this morning with ten prisoners, and as we separated, I said to myself very firmly “Never again”. Our meeting was not behind barred walls… but in a suburban vestry.’ Peter Drucker, the management specialist, tells us the ‘church can be run with one-tenth of […]

Part B: What Do We Mean By ‘Renewal’?

By and others ⋅ January 5, 2003 ⋅ Post a comment

‘Church renewal’ is the process whereby church people, systems and structures receive new life, meaning and power. Or, to put it in more dramatic and dynamic terms, it is the ‘formation of an alternative community with an alternative consciousness, so that the dominant community may be criticized and finally dismantled. It is the enabling of […]

Part C – Biblical Prescriptions For Renewal:

By and others ⋅ January 5, 2003 ⋅ Post a comment

CHURCH & MINISTRY IN EPHESIANS Ephesians is the epistle par excellence concerning the church.(1) ‘What we read here is truth that sings, doctrine set ot music … the most contemporary book in the Bible’ since it promises community in a world of disunity, reconciliation in place of alienation and peace instead of war. (2) The […]

Narcissism Goes To Church: Encountering Evangelical Worship

By and others ⋅ January 5, 2003 ⋅ One comment

By Monte Wilson Have you attended any modern evangelical worship services lately? (Question: Is “Evangelical Worship” an oxymoron?) No? Well, let’s walk through one, shall we? “Good Morning!” bellows the greeter, Mr. Rapport. “Why don’t we stand and greet one another?” While every-one nervously pretends to happily welcome those around him with body language that […]

The Ten Greatest Preachers Of The Twentieth Century

By and others ⋅ January 5, 2003 ⋅ Post a comment

Note from Rowland Croucher: Dear friends, Here ¢â‚¬â„¢s a list of preachers who have inspired more preaching-pastors than any others in the 20th century. I ¢â‚¬â„¢ve read sermons from all of them  ¢â‚¬“ and adapted quite a few for my own preaching ¢â‚¬ ¦ [If you’re interested in listening to James Stewart ( ¢â‚¬ËœThe Wind of the Spirit ¢â‚¬â„¢) and W […]

Ananias And Sapphira (A Sermon)

By and others ⋅ January 4, 2003 ⋅ One comment

Here’s one version of a sermon I’ve preached hundreds of times (that’s not a misprint)! You  ask, ‘Should anything be preached that often?’ My response: anything I believe is worth  saying is worth saying again. This story has themes implicit within it  which are pivotal to our understanding of the Christian faith. Rowland Croucher Text: Acts 4:32-5:11 Preachers […]

Worship

By and others ⋅ January 3, 2003 ⋅ Post a comment

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind… One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer… Acts 2:1, 3;1. Praise God from whom all blessings flow […]

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