It’s nice to be right, at least sometimes. Even partly right is an encouragement. The Beginning – in the UK Way back in 2008, I wrote an article for Good Idea called “Is Fresh Expressions just the latest ‘Flavour of the Month’?” At that time, everyone seemed to be talking about Fresh Expressions. The Church […]
Whatever happened to Fresh Expressions – and where is it now? Read More »
The world divides into two categories: those who divide the world into two categories and those who don’t. I’m one of the first. So the people reading this divide into two broad groups: some are people who have decided that they want to be followers of Jesus, Christians; others are people who are not sure
Seven Reasons You Should Not Become A Christian (And One Reason You Should) Read More »
John Bowen’s book, Evangelism for ‘Normal’ People, was published in 2002. Since then it has sold 10,000 copies, and been used as a textbook in several seminaries. But 2002 is a long time ago. What does the author think now? It all began with an email. I had known Andy when he was a
Having Second Thoughts about Evangelism Read More »
We sometimes forget that the church exists from Monday to Saturday, and not only on Sunday. So why do we spend so much time thinking about our gathering on Sunday—and so little about being the church during the week? Have you heard the term “vacuum cleaner church”? Whether you’ve heard it or not, you’ve probably
Vacuum Cleaner Church Read More »
“Discipleship” is rapidly becoming one of those irritating buzz-words, like missional, inclusive, and green, guaranteed to get people asking with a certain edge in their voice, “But what exactly do you mean by that?”
In the case of discipleship, at least we can blame Jesus. His Great Commission is often cited as justification for our interest in the topic. And as you might expect, Jesus sheds some light on what we mean by the word. After all
How Disciples are Made Today Read More »
This summer, my wife and I spent some time in the UK. One day, we checked online for churches to visit that Sunday, and found one that seemed very lively. I clicked on the “staff” page. There I found an impressive number of staff, both full and part-time, but I confess I was baffled by
Online and On Message: one way to write a church website with impact Read More »
I don\’t know if you have ever had the experience of knowing what you should have said — only when the opportunity to say it has long past. It seems to happen to me frequently — and perhaps more often as I get older. On this occasion it was during lunch. My friend and I
Liturgical and Missional: Do I Have to Choose? Read More »
The simplest definition of evangelism I ever heard is: \”preaching the Gospel.\” But that of course begs the question: What exactly is the Gospel? A few years ago, I was leading a workshop on evangelism, and said something about \”the Gospel.\” An elderly gentleman in the front row spoke up and said, \”I\’ve been in
What is the Gospel? Read More »
by John Bowen and Harold PercyIn a world where many are “exploring their spirituality”, how can the church communicate the faith in ways that are faithful but fresh to those who have no background in church or Bible? The authors offer from their experience an outline of how an introductory course of four sessions can
Just the Basics: Teaching the Faith to Beginners Read More »
Jesus\’ Great Commission, traditionally seen as the motivation for evangelism, strangely enough says nothing about evangelism. What Jesus actually commands is three things-making disciples, baptizing, and teaching them to obey (Matthew 28:18-20). Of course, one could argue that those three together add up to a fair definition of evangelism. Yet how does one make disciples
Teaching the Gospel – The Challenge of Evangelistic Teaching Read More »