There’s only so much you can learn about a church from their website. ... But the calendar and confession don’t necessarily tell you about the church’s culture. Culture is the heart of your church, the atmosphere your church creates – whatever makes your church unique. Read more...

... I've been watching the discussion about complementarianism - "new wave" and "old wave." ... I wonder if there's an aspect in this conversation that has been overlooked. It's not about the specifics of complementarian viewpoints, but the kind of culture that sometimes grows up around complementarianism. Read more...

Western readers have tended to read the Great Commission passages (especially Luke 24 and Matthew 28) in light of the autonomous individual. We interpret the commissioning scenes as tasks assigned to individual Christians. But a proper focus on the corporate dimension of these accounts helps us understand the commissionings in light of . . . Read more...

. . . We are a people in a special relationship with God whose behaviour reflects that unique status. Nurturing that special relationship is part of what believers are to do . . . Reflecting on sacred space can also help us to recall our special relationship with God.     Read more...

It is Advent season once again. Evangelicals don't usually give much attention to the church calendar and it may be that our neglect of it results in the loss of something that is vital to our holiness. If holy community is about being a special people to God then our lives ought to center on God.   Read more...

To describe the church as "holy" is to assert, as Peter declares, that it is to be a "people for God's own possession." That is, it has a unique and exclusive relationship to God. Israel as a community was to serve as a model of this privileged status . . . Read more...

. . . At its most basic level, the Church as holy community means that it is “set apart for God.” This involves at least two aspects. The community is both for God's pleasure and for His purposes.  Israel’s formation as a people testifies to this . . . Read more...

For twelve days in July the world was captivated by the Olympic Games held in London, England. As I watched the games, I could not help but notice some parallels with the life of the church. Let me share several of them. Read more...

(Excerpted)  when sin entered the world, the family became a primary target. Not only did Adam and Eve experience alienation but their offspring Cain and Abel were affected by it as well . . .  But God did not abandon his intention to grow community through family.
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