Stopping to Think

  "Neglecting the church is neglecting Jesus." Sam Allberry, Why bother with church? , pg 31

  "Doctrine is not a distraction but the church's main business: living each day, all day, to the glory of God." Kevin J. Vanhoozer, Hearers & Doers, pg 134

  So next time you hear someone say, "The church is a people, not a place," you might respond: "Sort of. The people become a people by regularly assembling in a place. You can't call the team a team if they never play together." Jonathan Leeman, One Assembly, pg 64

  "Change a church's structure and you change the moral shape of the church." Jonathan Leeman, One Assembly, pg 21

  "God wonderfully delivers his church from death by death." John Calvin, Commentary on the Catholic Epistles, pg 22

  "The final purpose of God's communicative action is to form a people for his treasured possession: not simply a group of holy individuals but a 'holy nation' (1 Peter 2:9)." Kevin J. Vanhoozer, Hearers & Doers, pg 138

  "Baptism is not necessary for salvation, but it is necessary for obedience." Sam Allberry, Why bother with church? , pg 51

Nine Marks of a Healthy Church by Mark Dever My rating: 4 of 5 stars Dever's book is helpful. I've listened to a lot of 9 Marks interviews and sermons/lectures and read extensively from their website, so not a lot of the content here was new to me. But because they were originally sermons, it was helpful to watch a skilled expositor teach topically. Homiletically helpful, one might say. View all my reviews

  "Lacking a church is not equivalent to lacking a decent supermarket or movie theatre; it is like lacking a hospital or a source of water. It is an utter necessity." Sam Allberry, Why bother with church? , pg 19

  "Church leader, are you as interested in promoting the kingdom of Christ as you are your own church's program? Getting catholic and working with other churches means making sacrifices and losing control." Jonathan Leeman, One Assembly, pg 107

 The first thing to say in this post is that I am profoundly thankful to live in Iowa these days. While there has certainly been COVID in our area (including among some members of our church), it hasn't reached the levels of other parts of the county. Additionally, our government, both local and state, have been very restrained as to what they restrain.  As to the question I headed this post with, should churches remain open?, I don't propose to have an actual answer. Our church decided to begin meeting in person again the 1st Sunday in June, about a month after  the legal ban on group gatherings lifted here. To be honest, it is a decision that I do feel was correct and prudent, but it is also one that I have lingering doubts toward. The balance between obeying Christ's command to gather, coupled with vital role of gathering in the Christian life seems to me to outweigh the potential risks to life and health--especially in a place where bars and restaurants remain open. W...

"The Church will outlive the universe." C.S. Lewis Commonplace Monday is a series of posts wherein, on Monday mornings, I share short quips, sentences -perhaps as much as a paragraph- which I have collected in my various commonplace books and files. If I wrote down or recall where it came from I will certainly give attribution. However, sometimes I write down things and not where they came from. So if you see anything like that here and recognize it, that's what comment sections are for. 

The following is most of an email I sent to a friend. We had talked recently about my support for Evan McMullin in his run for President (check out evanmcmullin.com ) and had a couple questions about how I process his positions on abortion and Same-Sex marriage. Here's what I said: ______, good questions. Here is what his website says on Life: "Our respect for life is the most important measure of our humanity. From conception to death - and any time in between - life is precious and we have a responsibility to protect it. A culture that subsidizes abortion on demand runs counter to the fundamental American belief in the potential of every person - it undermines the dignity of mother and child alike. Americans can and should work together to increase support and resources to reduce unintended pregnancies and encourage adoption, even if they may have different opinions on abortion rights." There are a few things of note here. The first is what seems clear is a ...

"Church is too often a place of pretense and therefore a place without hope." Larry Crabb Commonplace Monday is a series of posts wherein, on Monday mornings, I share short quips, sentences -perhaps as much as a paragraph- which I have collected in my various commonplace books and files. If I wrote down or recall where it came from I will certainly give attribution. However, sometimes I write down things and not where they came from. So if you see anything like that here and recognize it, that's what comment sections are for. 

"[The church is] the community of the joyful broken." Larry Crabb Commonplace Monday is a series of posts wherein, on Monday mornings, I share short quips, sentences -perhaps as much as a paragraph- which I have collected in my various commonplace books and files. If I wrote down or recall where it came from I will certainly give attribution. However, sometimes I write down things and not where they came from. So if you see anything like that here and recognize it, that's what comment sections are for. 

Today marks my parents 27th anniversary. 27 years of commitment, 27 years of struggle, 27 years of life together. 27 years of good, bad, and everything in between. My parents are far from perfect (doesn't that go without saying, at least assuming that we have human parents?). But today I want to meditate and dwell on one thing that I have learned from my parents that has already served me well, and I pray will continue to do so. What is this one thing? That staying married is a matter of desiring to stay married. What do I mean? Well, there is a self-evident reality to this. Why do marriages, over half of them today, dissolve? Because one or both parties desire that they no longer wish to be yoked together. Now, my parents never sat down and explained this fact to me. But when you watch two people, who in very many ways are polar opposites in thought, opinion, personality, etc., and watch them disagree, be frustrated with one another, argue--many people in our society wo...

"I rejected the church for a time because I found so little grace there. I returned because I found grace nowhere else." Phillip Yancey Commonplace Monday is a series of posts wherein, on Monday mornings, I share short quips, sentences -perhaps as much as a paragraph- which I have collected in my various commonplace books and files. If I wrote down or recall where it came from I will certainly give attribution. However, sometimes I write down things and not where they came from. So if you see anything like that here and recognize it, that's what comment sections are for. 

Commonplace Monday is a series of post wherein, on Monday mornings, I share short quips, sentences -perhaps as much as a paragraph- which I have collected in my various commonplace books and files. If I wrote down or recall where it came from I will certainly give attribution. However, sometimes I write down things and not where they came from. So if you see anything like that here and recognize it, that's what comment sections are for. Anyhow. Here's this week's installment : Church discipline is almost impossible in the era of the automobile. Carl Trueman

Commonplace Monday is a series of post wherein, on Monday mornings, I share short quips, sentences -perhaps as much as a paragraph- which I have collected in my various commonplace books and files. If I wrote down or recall where it came from I will certainly give attribution. However, sometimes I write down things and not where they came from. So if you see anything like that here and recognize it, that's what comment sections are for. Anyhow. Here's this week's installment : There would be more real laughter in our churches if there were more tears.   John Piper

Commonplace Monday is a series of post wherein, on Monday mornings, I share short quips, sentences -perhaps as much as a paragraph- which I have collected in my various commonplace books and files. If I wrote down or recall where it came from I will certainly give attribution. However, sometimes I write down things and not where they came from. So if you see anything like that here and recognize it, that's what comment sections are for. Anyhow. Here's this week's installment : A church that doesn't know what it believes doesn't know what it is.   Carl Trueman