Is it possible to live a faithful Christian life without being a faithful part of a local church? I’ve heard many people make the argument that it is indeed possible—especially if there are no good churches around. I disagree. At the bare minimum, there are forty different commands in the New Testament to live life […]
I love books. I whizz through them no bother at all. When a book grabs me, then I positively crunch through it. A couple of hundred pages doesn’t take me longer than a couple of hours. I have a few personal rules when it comes to reading. The title needs to be interesting, the concept […]
“Women participate equally with men in the priesthood of all believers. Their role is crucial, their wisdom, grace, and commitment exemplary. While Scripture teaches that a woman’s role is not identical to that of men in every respect, and that pastoral leadership is assigned to men, it also teaches that women are equal in value to men.” […]
We have just finished a 10-day trip to Canada sharing about the work of 20schemes and also partnering with 9Marks for a day conference on church planting among the poor. Some of the questions we were seeking to answer were: Why is the local church so important in the life of the Christian? Why does […]
We have just finished a 10-day trip to Canada sharing about the work of 20schemes and also partnering with 9Marks for a day conference on church planting among the poor. Some of the questions we were seeking to answer were: Why is the local church so important in the life of the Christian? Why does […]
So, I am going to go through one book a month for the next year with my Assistant Pastor, one of our first 20schemes Ministry Apprentices, and some other men in the city (pastors and planters). The idea is to take one Tuesday off per month for a time of discussion, prayer, and reflection on […]
20schemes is a cross-denominational ministry. Our concern is to revitalise/plant gospel-centred churches. I have said elsewhere that our intention is to plant Baptist churches (if we have to). However, we are happy to partner with any and all who can agree to our statement of faith (see website). That is why we are seeking to […]
So, a friend of mine asked me if I could review his wife’s new book some time ago. He even gave me a free copy to sweeten the deal! I promptly lost the copy somewhere between the US and the UK, and so I sent an email and was graciously sent a pdf copy. I […]
About six months ago, a couple of American church planters visited our Sunday service at Niddrie. They claimed to have ‘provable methods’ to grow any church in any context. They’d heard about Niddrie through contacts in their network and wanted to come along and experience it for themselves. Warning them that our Sunday service did […]