"The biblical fact is that there are no successful churches. There are, instead, communities of sinners, gathered before God week after week in towns and villages all over the world. The Holy Spirit gathers them and does his work in them. In these communities of sinners, one of the sinners is called pastor and given … Continue reading Quote of Note #94: Churches and Pastors
Tag: church
Pastor Note #90: The Fearless Church
Fear can be a distressingly common feature of church life across America. The Bible is quite clear on this point. The only proper source of fear for Christians should be God. Nothing else in all creation should cause us fear. Of course, I know what it is to feel fear and anxiety. As do, I … Continue reading Pastor Note #90: The Fearless Church
Quote of Note #46: Christ is Lord, Not Party or Nation
"The question to ask about such things -- the identification of the Bible with England in the nineteenth century or American foreign policy in the twenty-first -- is 'What does this do to the reach of the gospel and the church?' The answer is simple: It creates a dividing line in the church, which is … Continue reading Quote of Note #46: Christ is Lord, Not Party or Nation
Pastor Note #54 — The Church, Its Reason for Existing, and Its Stuff
There is a church of my acquaintance that, a few years ago, faced a challenging problem. The story I’m going to tell you about that church might sound to you like a fable that I’ve made up in order to teach some lesson. But the church is a real … Continue reading Pastor Note #54 — The Church, Its Reason for Existing, and Its Stuff
Pastor Note #52 — Ministry Q. & A. — 3/18/2013
As with most organizations, the church tends to follow the 80/20 rule. How should a pastor encourage others to get involved in church activities? Accept leadership positions? Participate in Sunday Worship? Is this even a pastor’s responsibility? Bluntly put, there is nothing that a pastor, as a human being, can do to accomplish what is … Continue reading Pastor Note #52 — Ministry Q. & A. — 3/18/2013
Pastor Note #44 — Coffee Mugs and Robust Coffee, Churches and the Powerful Presence of Jesus
There are several steady coffee mugs in my life. In our kitchen cabinets at home, we have quite a stable of coffee mugs. Coffee mugs seem to just accumulate over time. Recently, we cleared some of them out because we were running out of room on the shelves. I’m willing to drink coffee out of … Continue reading Pastor Note #44 — Coffee Mugs and Robust Coffee, Churches and the Powerful Presence of Jesus
Pastor Note #43 — Blood on the Pew (A day in March 2000)
It was Tuesday noontime. I had gone into the big, dark Romanesque sanctuary of my church in downtown Columbus, Ohio for a weekly prayer meeting with a handful or so of people, mostly not members of my congregation but rather folks who worked downtown and constituted part of my weekday ancillary congregation. As I sat … Continue reading Pastor Note #43 — Blood on the Pew (A day in March 2000)
Pastor Note #31 — “Does God Ever Say, ‘Ooops!’?”
The church of Jesus Christ does not mark time in years but in generations, in centuries. One year in the eyes of God is but a fleeting moment. That kind of long timeframe is not natural for human beings. Few of us ever experience life over even one century, much less centuries. This … Continue reading Pastor Note #31 — “Does God Ever Say, ‘Ooops!’?”
Pastor#14
“Believing and Belonging – Belonging and Believing” Those terms are often used to name two elements – the two elements? – that are involved when a person becomes part of the community of God’s people. What we might mean by “believing” is probably pretty simple and straightforward. But maybe not quite so simple and straightforward … Continue reading Pastor#14
Pastor Notes #11: A Desperate Act by One of the Least of These
[From my journal while pastoring a church in downtown Columbus:] It was a sad and difficult situation. We have a locked wooden box bolted to the back wall of the church. It has a slot in the top for receiving gifts that visitors (and members) might drop into it for the maintenance of our old … Continue reading Pastor Notes #11: A Desperate Act by One of the Least of These
Gary Chorpenning's Notebooks 