Articles for tag: Prosperity Gospel

July 1, 2022

Tyler McKenzie

8 Ways Church Growth Has Reached an Idolatrous Level (Part 1)

8 Ways Church Growth Has Reached an Idolatrous Level (Part 1)

By Tyler McKenzie I love the church. That’s why I would like to suggest that pursuit of church growth by some leaders has reached an idolatrous level. Growth has become synonymous with health and success. It’s why we invest so many resources in the weekend gathering. It’s why we platform the leaders we do. Having led a large congregation for a decade now, I’ve experienced some of the lusts and obsessions in my own heart.   Growth shouldn’t be the main thing. Tim Keller wrote in “Leadership and Church Size Dynamics,” Out of necessity, the large church must use organizational

April 1, 2021

Megan Rawlings

Megan Rawlings

The Most Important Aspect of Meeting Together

I visited many churches for various reasons during 2020. In quite a few houses of worship, I experienced roughly the same thing. As the doors opened, I could feel vibrations from the percussion and bass in my chest. The smell of coffee would drift toward my nose and awaken me. The welcoming team would greet me and ask about my week with genuine interest. “Don’t forget to check in on social media!” they would say. Sign-up sheets for “groups who do life together” and other activities to “get involved” were on strategically placed tables. Finally, I’d enter the sanctuary, grab

August 11, 2018

Christian Standard

Can You Define Deception?

By Costi Hinn The church’s greatest threat has never been from the outside, but rather, from deception within. The Bible is clear. Satan doesn’t show up at the foot of your bed with red horns and a pitchfork claiming, “Here I am to distract and deceive you!” Neither do his false prophets. They are disguised in light; seeming to be workers of righteousness (2 Corinthians 11:13-15). Our adversary’s deceptive strategy is to infiltrate our ranks. Like a Trojan horse entering through the city gates, darkness often hides in plain sight. Satan doesn’t fight fair and false teachers take no prisoners.

September 4, 2016

Christian Standard

Work as Worship (Book Review)

Work as Worship: How the CEOs of Interstate Batteries, Hobby Lobby, PepsiCo, Tyson Foods and More Bring Meaning to Their Work Mark L. Russell, author and editor Boise: Elevate Faith, 2012 A book review by Matt Johnson Worship is not just a Sunday event; it is a lifestyle. Decades of worship wars often focused on worship as what happens only on Sunday mornings, but an examination of our practices and the Scriptures has expanded our definition of worship to include both nonmusical and non-Sunday events. With the proliferation of books on leadership, it was only a matter of time before an interdisciplinary entrepreneur like

September 16, 2015

Christian Standard

Just Breathe

  By Jim Tune Breathe on me, Breath of God, Until my heart is pure, Until with Thee I will one will, To do and to endure. “”Edwin Hatch, from the hymn “Breathe on Me, Breath of God” Job reaches the limits of his ability to endure. He plunks himself down, ruined, infected, septic. He has lost everything: his children, livestock, livelihood, house, and now his health. He is abandoned on the ash heap, scraping his wounds with the sharp-edged fragments of clay pots. Job is dying: physically, emotionally, and spiritually. In the valley of the shadow of death, but

August 1, 2014

Christian Standard

Real Issues, Real Talk

By Jennifer Johnson After Real Life Christian Church (Clermont, FL) began broadcasting its weekend services on a local TV station, it started brainstorming ideas for a second show. “So much Christian TV is so lame, and we didn”t want to create something like that,” says Marc Naugler, creative video director, and Chris Gingrasso, communications pastor at Real Life. “Our church name reflects who we are””real people talking about real issues in a real way and helping people find real faith. Real Talk extends those values in a new format to a new audience.” Justin Miller, Real Life”s lead pastor, hosts

January 13, 2014

Christian Standard

Proclaiming Release: Captives Caught by “˜Felt Needs”

By T.R. Robertson Shortly after our arrival at the prison chapel, the two-way radios crackle with the announcement: “Release Christian Campus House to the chapel.” Within minutes a few dozen offenders, as we”re told to call them, come walking across the central prison yard. We actually call them by their first names. We make a point to learn and remember their names, since no one else here offers them that courtesy. The courts have mandated the prisoners” freedom to practice their chosen religion. The weekly chapel schedule is filled with a wide variety of offerings in 10 different “fully accommodated”

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