Reading Time: 3 minutesQuestion 09005 Christians who agree that believers should be baptised sometimes disagree about how it should be done. Should the person be fully immersed in water, or is pouring or sprinkling equally valid? The question is not trivial, because the mode of baptism is connected to the meaning of baptism, and the meaning is not…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 09027 The question of what regulates Christian worship is not a modern invention. From the earliest centuries of the church, believers have asked whether worship should include only what Scripture commands or whether it may include anything Scripture does not forbid. The answer to that question shapes everything from how a service is structured…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 09003 Baptism is one of the most visible acts of the Christian life, and it is also one of the most debated. Who is it for? Is it reserved for those who have already believed, or does it extend to the children of believers as well? The answer to this question shapes how churches…
Reading Time: 3 minutesQuestion 09083 The question of whether churches should pay taxes touches on the intersection of the church’s spiritual mission and its existence as an institution within a civil society. Across most Western nations, churches and religious organisations have historically been exempt from certain forms of taxation. But is this appropriate? Is there a biblical principle…
Reading Time: 5 minutesQuestion 09104 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 is one of the most debated passages in the New Testament. Paul writes, “The women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as the Law also says. If there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 09079 Across Europe, North America, and the wider Western world, churches are emptying at a pace that would have been unimaginable two generations ago. Denominations that once shaped the cultural landscape are now struggling to fill pews, retain members, and find ministers for their pulpits. The decline is not imaginary, and it is not…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 09081 Ephesians 4:11 lists the gifts Christ has given to the church: “the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers.” The phrasing of the final pair in the original Greek has generated a longstanding debate: are “pastors” and “teachers” two separate callings, or is Paul describing a single, combined role? The answer…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 09077 The rapid growth of online church services, particularly following the COVID-19 pandemic, has raised a question that would have been inconceivable for most of church history: can watching a church service on a screen constitute genuine church involvement in the biblical sense? The question is not whether online ministry has any value. It…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 09078 The role of a pastor is one of the most misunderstood callings in the modern church. Contemporary culture has turned the pastor into a CEO, a life coach, a brand manager, or an entertainer, depending on the context. The New Testament has a different picture entirely. The pastor is a shepherd, and the…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 09103 Disagreements over women’s ministry roles are among the most emotionally charged and practically consequential disputes a local church can face. They touch on deeply held convictions about Scripture, gender, authority, and calling. They can divide friendships, fracture leaderships, and leave entire congregations wounded. How a church navigates this disagreement matters as much as…