FrontLine
Doubling Our Efforts
Dan Wokaty When I was a missionary appointee preparing to serve at the Instituto Práctico Ebenezer in Hermosillo, Mexico, I sometimes received rejection letters stating something like this: “We are sorry, but our church supports only church planters.” Although I am involved in church planting, my main ministry focus is the Institute. Sadly, this misunderstanding…
Read MoreA Certain Sound (2)
Fred Moritz Part One ♦ This is Part Two In the first post, Dr. Moritz surveyed the confusion caused by the uncertain sounds that still come out of evangelicalism, even from sources deemed “conservative.” In this post, he surveys the certain sound we try to offer as the Fundamental Baptist Fellowship International. “For if the…
Read MoreA Certain Sound
Fred Moritz This is Part One ♦ Part Two “For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?” (1 Cor. 14:8). We live in theologically confusing days. In less than two centuries the world witnessed the birth of theological liberalism and its replacement, neoliberalism. Neo-Orthodoxy arose in opposition to…
Read MoreThe Critical Nature of Leadership
Layton Talbert The storyline is all too familiar. A well-known leader of God’s people — popular, well intentioned, and godly — forges an alliance with a notorious enemy of Biblical truth. Why? In the interest of unity, he says. An act of magnanimity and compassion — of “getting along” — no doubt. He even sought…
Read MoreDeveloping Leaders in the Church
Ken Hay Through the years church-growth specialists have published articles, books, and surveys that demonstrate a vital principle: when the pastor is the leader of the church and is inspiring the lay people to be the ministers, that church has growth potential. But on the other hand, when the people become the leaders and the…
Read MoreKids of Church Planters: CPK’s
Susannah Barba Dad’s words at breakfast on the morning of June 30, 1994, changed my life forever. “Well, kiddos, we’re going to do it, ” he said. Stephanie, Jeremiah, and I all waited to be enlightened. “Last night, the Lord made it clear to me: we’re going to go off the road and start a…
Read MoreCulture: Conformity and Contextualization
Brian Collins Pastors often warn their congregations about conformity to the culture. Missionaries are typically instructed to adapt to their new cultures. On the surface, the advice appears contradictory. The tension becomes greater because as American culture becomes more pluralistic, that is, as subcultures multiply, many are suggesting that churches must adapt to these subcultures…
Read MoreNot an Atom More of Sacred Service (3)
A week in the life of Charles Spurgeon Mark Minnick Part One ♦ Part Two ♦ This is Part Three Pastor Minnick’s introductory paragraphs, repeated from part One: At his death in 1892 at the age of just fifty-seven, C. H. Spurgeon left behind a church numbering in the thousands, a Sunday school attended by…
Read MoreHelping Church Planters
Scott and Becky Swinton We moved here to the San Francisco Bay Area at the end of 2001 because the Lord had given us a burden to help a small but dynamic church in Pleasant Hill, California. Through a bizarre set of circumstances, which only an omnipotent God could have orchestrated, we were introduced to…
Read MoreNot an Atom More of Sacred Service (2)
A week in the life of Charles Spurgeon Mark Minnick Part One ♦ This is Part Two ♦ Part Three Pastor Minnick’s introductory paragraphs, repeated from part One: At his death in 1892 at the age of just fifty-seven, C. H. Spurgeon left behind a church numbering in the thousands, a Sunday school attended by…
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