Evaluating a Complex Movement

D.A. Carson

D.A. Carson presents an analysis of the emergent church. This complex movement, born in the 20th century and following us today, arose out of an attempt to relate to the current culture. There are many difficulties with the emergent church, because as people focus more on winning people in their culture, they may lose the focus on winning people to the Lord, who is unchanging and above culture. Carson describes new changes in this movement, what this movement is, and implications of some emergent theology. Finally, he makes it clear that the center of Christianity is and should always be the plain gospel with nothing extra added and nothing taken away from its truth.

Reaching College and High School Students in an Age of Cynicism

Scott Risley

Conrad Hilario

2 Corinthians 5:11

The percentage of student involvement in a church is decreasing at a staggering rate. Today's youth are growing up in an age of extreme cynicism toward everything from people and institutions to knowing truth. In order to effectively reach high school and college students, it's essential to look at the culture they were raised in and be able to both critique what the world has taught them about significance and replace that with God's perspective.

Are we Getting the Job Done? Is the Church Still Relevant?

Dennis McCallum

2 Timothy 4:1-2

The Church's mission is to reconcile the world to Christ, both bringing people to know to know the Lord and then to grow with him. Unfortunately, the American church is failing at this mission. Transfer growth has caused the appearance of perhaps doing well in areas, but this is not our mission. Across the country, it seems our culture is harder to reach than it was before, but we need to be careful to avoid the faults of the emergent church and other responses. The answer to this problem is not to dilute the gospel and avoid the hard truths, nor is it not to create a fortress around us, walling believers off from the world of temptation. We must stay relevant with our culture without changing the gospel, and we must make sure we are faithfully and boldly preaching God's Word.

The Second Missionary Journey

Ryan Lowery

Acts 15:36-16:40

In Paul's second missionary journey, five principles about ministry can be observed: 1) Christians are immediately qualified to share their faith with those around them; 2) ministry should include mentoring; 3) ministry must be led by the Holy Spirit; 4) ministry is war with a sophisticated enemy; and 5) successful ministry requires the right attitude.

The First Missionary Journey

Ryan Lowery

Acts 13:1-40

The history of missions is split between the harmful and the helpful, but if the claims of the Bible are true then missionaries are essential. Luke's historical account of Paul's first missionary journey shows what missions look like when done correctly. All of us should seek to be missionaries in our own culture or another.

A Model Church

Gary DeLashmutt

John 14:6

Jesus reveals in his words that he is the only way to God. The church in Philadelphia understood this truth. They were faithful to His Word and shared the gospel to the people in their city. We too can look to the opportunities that God gives us to share the gospel in our city. We can share with boldness and without fear, knowing that God gives us everything that matters.

8 Habits of Effective Small Group Leaders

Dave Earley

John 14:6

There are eight habits you can cultivate to become an effective small group leader. They include: dreaming and casting vision; praying for growth; inviting people to come out to Bible studies; following up with people; preparing for your meeting; discipleship; planning fun group activities; and being committed to your own personal growth.

Guard What has been Entrusted to You

Tom Dixon

2 Timothy 2:2-7

True spirituality is caught and taught within the context of close, intentional relationships. This is the main method of evangelism that was used by Jesus and the early church fathers through multiplication. Modeling this method involved entrusting sound doctrine about grace to reliable men.

The Sacred Deposit of Truth

Dennis McCallum

2 Timothy 1:13-2:2

God has entrusted us with the precious treasure that is the Word of God. It is our responsibility as Christians to accurately impart the Word to other reliable Christians. The best way to impart this truth is by working one-on-one with individuals and studying the truth in the context of a close friendship. We call this discipleship. Through discipleship, we can multiply the amount of quality Christians that are committed to sharing the truth with others.