Recently, we were told that the Christian church in America is “hemorrhaging members” and that the church is shrinking. It is true that the number of Americans who claim to be Christian is shrinking. However, as usual, Ed Stetzer provides some real clarity in his interpretation of statistics. Turns out that people are not so much “leaving church” as they…
Why Plant Churches Part 2: Worship
What Does a Church Do? There are many ideas prevalent today on what a church should do. Some will say that the church exists for social action, while others say it exists to proclaim the gospel or to worship. All of those are true. However, the church is, by her nature, a worshipping body before…
Is Worship Escapism?
Sometimes people may believe that worship is merely an act of make-believe and that my role as a pastor is to uphold an inspiring fairy tale. Life is busy, life is rushed, life is complex; modern life is debilitating. People die, people suffer, people deal with the cynical corporate world. Come to church to escape that….
Anglican Worship: The Object of Our Worship
Anglican Worship of the Holy Trinity Like other Christian churches, we worship God. This God is identified clearly and consistently in our liturgy as the Trinitarian Godhead taught in the Christian creeds. We gather to pray about, to sing about, and to meditate upon his character and attributes. We speak to him, thanking him, for the goodness…
Anglican Worship: The Center of Parish Life
Worship “Why” & “How” is What Shapes Christians At the heart of every church tradition is one priority that shapes the community’s identity. This central aspect is the source of its energy and vision and becomes the first of all other priorities. This aspect determines much, if not all, of its distinctive traits and eventually becomes…
