Reading Time: 6 minutesQuestion 4124. The gift of leadership is one of those gifts about which there is both too much talk and too little clarity in the contemporary church. Leadership has become something of a cultural obsession, and Christian ministry has not been immune to the trend. Books on leadership proliferate; conferences promise to develop leaders; organisations…
Reading Time: 6 minutesQuestion 4168. The Holy Spirit empowers elders for the work of leading a local church, and the New Testament shows us how, in the appointing of overseers, in the gifts He gives them, and in the daily strength He supplies for a demanding task. When people ask how the Spirit empowers elders, they often picture…
Reading Time: 6 minutesQuestion 4177. What is the Spirit’s role in a person’s calling to ministry, and how can anyone be sure that the call is from God rather than from their own ambition or a passing enthusiasm? This is one of the weightiest questions a believer can face, because a genuine calling to ministry shapes the whole…
Reading Time: 7 minutesQuestion 4169. The Holy Spirit and ordination are joined together in the New Testament far more closely than our tidy modern ceremonies sometimes let on. We tend to picture ordination as a service of certificates, robes and a kind handshake from the deacons, and there is nothing wrong with marking the moment well. Yet when…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 09096 The office of deacon is one of the most familiar roles in church life, yet what churches actually do with their deacons varies enormously. In some traditions, deacons function as a governing board. In others, they serve in a purely ceremonial capacity. The question is what the New Testament itself says about the…
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 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 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…