The Heidelberg Catechism - The Foundations Of Our Faith

Chapter 8 of Trellis And the Vine Hi folks Here is the next chapter in our church training section. Every Blessing as we chat about church structures enabling church ministry on Thursday night. Chapter 8. Why Sunday sermons are necessary but not sufficient We've come to the point in the flow of our argument where we need to pause and consider in more detail how the model of training and growth we are proposing collides with the reality of our existing church structures and models and practices. Because collide it will. By far the greatest obstacle to rethinking and reforming our ministries is the inertia of tradition—whether the long-held traditions of our denominations and churchmanship, or the more recent traditions of the church growth movement that have become a kind of unspoken orthodoxy in many evangelical churches. We will get to the somewhat alarming proposition contained in this chapter's title in ...

I must admit that I was surprised to receive this writing assignment. What do I know about being the new guy? I haven't been "new" at my church in over twenty-six years. Then again, maybe I can gather a few morsels from personal experience and observation, some of which falls into the category of what I wish I'd done differently. There is no priority of order here, except perhaps the first one. So what shouldn't you do when you're the new guy? Here are seven things to watch out for. 1. Don't forget the needs of your wife and family. You're establishing a job, but you are also helping your wife establish a home. Help her in every way you possibly can with her God-given "nesting" desires. Certainly, make sure she is content with the order of the house before you attend to your home office. Be sensitive to the needs of your children, especially their need to be with dad. But, you say, there is so much to be done to get started at the church. Sto...