Reading Time: 6 minutesQuestion 04121. Laying on hands for the sick is one of those practices that can provoke suspicion in one congregation and warm expectation in another, and I think both reactions usually owe more to cultural memory than to careful exegesis. Before we let televangelist excess on one side, or stiff cessationist caution on the other,…
Reading Time: 3 minutesQuestion 09032 The term “parachurch” refers to organisations that operate alongside the church, serving Christians and advancing the gospel through ministries that are distinct from the local congregation. The prefix para means “alongside,” and the concept is straightforward: these are ministries that support, supplement, and extend the work of the church without being churches themselves….
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 09031 Church planting is the intentional establishment of new local congregations where none existed before, or where existing churches are insufficient to reach the people in a given area. It is one of the primary strategies by which the gospel has advanced throughout history, and it has clear precedent in the New Testament itself,…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 09099 The landscape of Christian ministry includes thousands of organisations that are not churches but exist to serve Christian purposes: mission agencies, campus ministries, Bible translation societies, relief organisations, theological seminaries, and many more. These parachurch organisations play an enormous role in global Christianity. The question is how they relate to the local church…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 09028 The way a church handles its preaching ministry shapes the spiritual health of its congregation more than almost any other single factor. Expository preaching is the approach that takes the biblical text as the foundation, structure, and authority of the sermon, allowing the passage itself to determine the message rather than using Scripture…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 09024 Few pastoral situations are more delicate or more important than the question of what the church should do when a member sins publicly. Get it wrong in one direction — moving too quickly, too harshly, or with the wrong spirit — and the church becomes a place of fear rather than grace. Get…
Reading Time: 3 minutesQuestion 8029 Evangelism is the responsibility and privilege of God’s people, but Scripture makes clear that it is never a purely human enterprise. The Holy Spirit convicts, the gospel of Christ is the power of God for salvation (Romans 1:16), and the angels, as ministering spirits serving those who are to inherit salvation, are not…
Reading Time: 3 minutesQuestion 09114 “Touch not my anointed” is quoted with surprising frequency in certain church circles as a warning against criticising or questioning Christian leaders, pastors, or prominent figures. The appeal is almost invariably a misuse of the text, and understanding what the passage actually says is important both for good biblical interpretation and for healthy…