At the Wenling Church in Taizhou, congregants said hundreds of Christians sang hymns at daybreak on Friday as the riot police surrounded the church, which is anchored by a distinctive clock tower capped by a bright red cross. In a phone interview, one congregant, Lemon Huang, said the show of force was overwhelming and unnecessary.... Continue Reading

Reactive churches are led by “fireman” leaders. That is, their leaders spend their time “putting out fires” rather than casting vision and raising up leaders. Keeping the congregation happy today consumes more energy than preparing them for tomorrow…. expectant churches are led by “ignitor” leaders. That is, their leaders see their responsibility as igniting fires among the... Continue Reading

Disillusioned former Mars Hill Church members, faced with senior pastor Mark Driscoll’s claim that they “remain anonymous,” have taken to Facebook to deliver on-the-record explanations of why they departed the Seattle-based megachurch. They have invited those who left the church to make a declaration:  “Dear Pastor Mark and Mars Hill: We are not anonymous.”  ... Continue Reading

“Many churches leverage today’s technology so those beyond their walls can participate. But Christian legal experts are concerned that blurred lines between “church” and “ministry” will eventually spur the IRS to reexamine what constitutes a church. (The agency last stripped a nonprofit of church status in 2004, largely because the broadcasting- and publishing-focused group mostly... Continue Reading

“While we can’t presume upon God’s timing in our lives, we do not need to enter the leadership of church revitalization as a stepping stone assignment. Change is often painfully slow, three steps forward and two steps backward. Some of the fruit of change often does not manifest until after the leader has been on... Continue Reading

“Hope Presbyterian, a congregation in Minneapolis with nearly 1,200 members, is paying more than a million dollars and losing one of its campuses but finds hope for the future with the move to a new denomination…. New Covenant Presbytery voted to release Grace Presbyterian Church of Houston on July 19. The church of more than... Continue Reading

Dr. Kim, an ordained PCA pastor, received a M.Div. from Westminster Seminary California and a Ph.D. from Fuller Theological Seminary. He served as associate pastor with New Life Mission Church (PCA) in Fullerton, Calif., before joining MTW. In 2004 Dr. Kim and his wife, Eda, a medical doctor, were sent by MTW to Manila, Philippines.... Continue Reading

A YouTube video shows ISIS taking sledgehammers to the tomb of Jonah, something that was also confirmed by Mr. Hikmat. The militants also removed the cross from St. Ephrem’s Cathedral, the seat of the Syriac Orthodox archdiocese in Mosul, and put up the black ISIS flag in its place.   BAGHDAD — By 1 p.m.... Continue Reading

“The measure approved by the synod means that women bishops will be bishops in full, with mandatory recognition of their episcopal status by all within the Church of England. This will leave conservative ministers under the authority of bishops they do not actually believe to be bishops in fact. It is hard to imagine “mutual... Continue Reading

Answering the sermon was the Rev. Clarence Macartney of Arch Street Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on July 13, 1922 with a sermon entitled “Shall Unbelief Win?”  If all those points raised by Fosdick were valid, then Christianity would be a Christianity of opinions and principles and good purposes leading to a Christianity without worship, a Christianity without God... Continue Reading