Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 09020 Episcopal church government is one of the oldest and most widespread forms of church polity in Christian history. The word “episcopal” comes from the Greek episkopos, meaning overseer or bishop, and the system is defined by the central role of bishops who hold authority over multiple congregations within a defined geographical area. Understanding…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 09012 The claim that there are apostles in the church today is made with increasing confidence by leaders within the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) and related charismatic movements. Some go so far as to insist that the church cannot function properly without a restored apostolic office carrying governmental authority over other churches and leaders….
Reading Time: 3 minutesQuestion 09010 Ordination is a word used across virtually every Christian tradition, yet it means different things in different contexts. In some traditions it confers a sacramental character that permanently changes the nature of the person ordained. In others it is a formal recognition of a calling that the church has observed and affirmed. Understanding…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 09011 The training and calling of pastors is a subject on which the New Testament says more than many churches realise and less than some seminary programmes assume. The modern pathway to pastoral ministry, which typically involves formal theological education followed by a search process and an institutional appointment, is not the only model…
Reading Time: 5 minutesQuestion 09094 The phrase “breaking bread” appears at several key points in the New Testament, and its interpretation has significant implications for how churches understand and practise the Lord’s Supper. Was the early church observing a brief, formal ordinance of bread and wine, or were they sharing a full communal meal in which the bread…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 09092 The question of whether a church should be led by a single pastor or a team of elders has been debated throughout church history and continues to generate strong convictions on both sides. The stakes are real: church governance shapes how decisions are made, how power is distributed, how accountability operates, and how…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 09093 The relationship between the church and the state has been a source of tension, compromise, and outright disaster throughout two thousand years of Christian history. The question of whether a church should partner with a government or state agency in its ministry touches on the church’s identity, its mission, its freedom, and the…
Reading Time: 3 minutesQuestion 09008 The New Testament commands the church to observe the Lord’s Supper but does not specify how frequently. This has led to considerable variation across Christian traditions, from daily celebration in some Catholic and Orthodox settings to quarterly or even annual observance in some Protestant churches. The absence of a specific command about frequency…
Reading Time: 5 minutesQuestion 09073 The Alpha course is one of the most widely used evangelistic programmes in the world. Developed at Holy Trinity Brompton (HTB) in London, an Anglican charismatic church, it has been adopted by churches across virtually every denomination, including Roman Catholic, Orthodox, mainline Protestant, and evangelical congregations. Its accessibility and conversational format have made…
Reading Time: 5 minutesQuestion 09037 The word “revival” stirs strong feelings in the church. For some, it conjures images of historic movements that transformed entire communities. For others, it evokes the manufactured emotionalism of modern conference culture, where hype is mistaken for the Holy Spirit’s work. The question deserves careful biblical examination, because what Scripture describes and what…