We run our website the way we wished the whole internet worked: we provide high quality original content with no ads. We are funded solely by your direct support. Please consider supporting this project.
We Need The Church
Vicki & Chuck Rogers via Compfight
Last week we shared a thought-provoking article by Rachel Held Evans on the reasons millennials are leaving the church. This week we want to share a follow-up to that article that appeared on CNN’s Belief blog. Rachel lists the reasons why millennials actually need the church. Her thoughts actually apply to us all. Even in the midst of a deeply flawed collection of people and traditions, there is something basic and necessary about gathering with others to pray and wrestle with our faith. Here is a peek at Rachel’s thoughts on this:
Those who follow Jesus long for the day when their communion with him becomes complete, and Jesus promises this will happen through the church. The apostle Paul compared this union to a marriage. Jesus describes it as a banquet. No matter what the latest stats or studies say, Christians believe the future of the church is secure and not even “the gates of hell” will prevail against it. As much as I may struggle to fit in sometimes, as much as I doubt, question and fight for reforms, I am a part of this church, through good times and bad, for better or worse.
Category: General
Tags: Church, Faithfulness, Rachel Held Evans
Related Reading
What Kind of Sinners Feel Welcomed by Your Church?
Perhaps the greatest indictment on evangelical churches today is that they are not generally known as refuge houses for sinners—places where hurting, wounded, sinful people can run and find love that does not question, an understanding that does not judge, and an acceptance that knows no conditions. To be sure, evangelical churches are usually refuge…
3 Traits of a Jesus Kind of Church
A Jesus kind of church (See an introductory post on this here) is called to represent God, just as Christ did. The church is Christ continuing to manifest the true God. Bonhoeffer put it this way, “The Church is not a religious community of worshippers of Christ but is Christ Himself who has taken form…
The Case for Women in Ministry
Kathy’s Struggle with Temptation Kathy was one of the brightest students I ever had when I taught Theology at Bethel University. She asked insightful questions and often contributed to lively class discussions. The time and energy she put into her theology classes was motivated by more than just a desire to get a good grade.…
McChurch
In the West, we tend to think of church as a weekend gathering in a special religious building. As a result, many mistakenly assume that Paul wrote his letters to a single body of people in a specific town who gathered together as a rather large group once a week. In reality, the regional churches…
Thinking Biblically?
Olga Caprotti via Compfight Micah J. Murray over at Redemption Pictures posted this reflection called Beware of Thinking Biblically. The image of a google search on the topic is worth the price of admission. Christians throw around this phrase in some really damaging ways, as Rachel Held Evans demonstrated in her recent publication of A Year…
Lessons from Jimmy Fallon
David Henson published a blog last week entitled 6 Things the Church Can Learn From Jimmy Fallon that we thought was a tad profound. What would the church look like if we embraced these lessons? Well, let’s just say that we’d take ourselves a little less seriously. You should read the entire blog post, but…