18 results for tag: Church
Is My Church Legalistic? – by Greg Albrecht
Question:
I have been a member of a "fundamental, Bible-believing" church for six years and recently, some things have come to light that concern me. First, our church is adamant about the clear gospel in that it is not of works and that you can't ever earn your way into heaven. I know it's a free gift and that is the core of our teaching.
However, there are strict rules for the members—no going to movies, no listening to anything that resembles Christian rock music—men must wear suits and women must wear dresses or skirts in church. Our pastor calls these requirements "standards."
My most disturbing concern is when people leave our ...
The Christ-Centered Mission of CWR/PTM – Greg Albrecht
How CWR/PTM fulfills our mission as a media ministry, and the resources and services we offer, often leads to questions and comments about how we in some ways function as or like a church, and then to comparisons of our ministry with a more conventional, traditional brick-and-mortar church.
We conclude, as many do, that we are a media ministry, and a bit more. Being more than just an electronic media ministry means we are a para-church ministry working outside and across denominations and congregations that worship in a brick-and-mortar building.
Perhaps it would help to understand how CWR/PTM is both a Christ-centered media/...
Guest Post: “Where Do We See Jesus?” Jessica Boudreaux
If Jesus doesn’t look like me, then he doesn’t look like the beggar on the street—or the widow or the orphan or the hungry or the sick- because all of those people live inside the depths of my own heart. There is no ‘us’ and ‘them’ that we need to reconcile—only the paradigm of division. This signifies that it needs to be healed. There is only the One Body of Christ, and we desperately need to remember that we are all tiny little crumbs, pressed together, and together, forming One Holy Loaf.
Browbeaten and Bullied at Church – by Greg Albrecht
One of the most gratifying experiences we have at PTM is when we hear from someone for whom God has "turned on the light." By God's grace they realize their primary allegiance is not to a human religious authority. They realize that churches and church leadership are fellow-servants and laborers for the gospel—and that such organizations and authorities lose their credibility the moment they allow the gospel to be subverted by religion and its legalisms.
The following letter is a wonderful example:
I recently wrote an article about tithing for our church newspaper. My conclusion is the same as that of PTM—"tithing" is an old ...
Sinead O’Connor: “Take me to church, but not the ones that hurt …” by Brad Jersak
"Take me to churchbut not the ones that hurt'Cause that ain't the truth"Sinead O'Connor
Just because someone has been hurt badly or offended greatly in the context of a 'church' (whatever that means) and has stormed away in anger and wailed and railed about ... does not mean they have renounced love or forgiveness or the need for a safe place to belong. It does not mean they've shut out their own conscience or have no regrets about harm they've done. It does not mean they've let go of their own beautiful song ... songs of love and joy and lament and healing.
Within Sinead O'Connor's beautiful repertoire, ...
A Jesus Kind of Church — by Greg Albrecht
"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." —Luke 4: 18-19
No Country for Old Men
Out in the endless, desolate desert of west Texas, a hunter looking for antelope stumbles on a crime scene. Abandoned cars and trucks are pock marked with bullet holes, and a half dozen or so dead bodies are scattered around.
In that odd and somewhat glib euphemism used by the media, it's apparently a drug deal "gone wrong" (if indeed there was ...
Grace at Church – by Greg Albrecht
KEYNOTE SCRIPTURE:
To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: "God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get. But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, "God, have mercy on me, a sinner." I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home ...
Pastoral Perspective with Greg Albrecht: “What should I look for in a church?”
Question:
What should I look for in a church? I am loving your emphasis on the inclusiveness of the Triune God, his love and grace. Over the past 35 years I have had a long journey through Baptist, evangelical, Calvinist and charismatic churches. I am feeling more free in Christ than ever before. Thanks for your great teaching!
Response:
1) For many years I searched official teachings and practices of denominations – at first, I confined my search within the Protestant world. I parsed through evangelical churches – by the way, many evangelicals call themselves ...
Is My Church Legalistic?
Q: I have been a member of a "fundamental, Bible-believing" church for six years and recently, some things have come to light that concern me. First, our church is adamant about the clear gospel in that it is not of works and that you can't ever earn your way into heaven. I know it's a free gift and that is the core of our teaching.
However, there are strict rules for the members—no going to movies, no listening to anything that resembles Christian rock music—men must wear suits and women must wear dresses or skirts in church. Our pastor calls these requirements "standards."
My most disturbing concern is when people leave our ...
October 2021
CLICK HERE to read now
(PDF Format)
Laura Urista: The Gospel According to Pooh-Bear– pg. 2
Brad Jersak: Of Heretics, Kings & Foxes– pg. 4
Greg Albrecht: How Far Will God Go for Love? – pg. 7
May 2021
CLICK HERE to read now
(PDF Format)
Articles:
What Is and Who Is the Church? – pg. 1
Break It Up – pg. 2
My Two "Moms" – pg. 5
Buzzy – pg. 7
Quotes & Connections – pg. 8
How God Chooses His Team
By Greg Albrecht
Remember those times when you gathered with a group of your friends and schoolmates to participate in a game that involved two teams? My memories are of two captains who were popularly chosen, or who, by virtue of their size, age and ability (or all three) appointed themselves.
Then the captains started choosing people for their teams. They always chose those who they felt would help them win—that's logical. Games are all about winning. So when sides were chosen the fastest, strongest, most popular and most athletic were chosen first.
As each person was chosen they walked over and stood next to their captain, until ...
Church of Bad Religion – Monte Wolverton
Church of Bad Religion
Monte Wolverton
(To the tune of Hotel California,
with apologies to the Eagles)
-----------
On a bright Sunday morning,
Warm wind in my hair,
Smell of coffee and donuts
Rising up through the air,
Up ahead in the distance
Stood a building of mortar and brick.
The sermon title on the sign told me
I should repent right quick.
----------
There he stood in the doorway
I heard the steeple bell
And I was thinking to myself,
This could keep me out of hell.
Then he gave me a program
And he showed me a seat,
The praise band was singing,
I thought I heard them repeat...
----------
Welcome to the church of bad religio...
A Jesus Kind of Church
By Greg Albrecht—
"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." —Luke 4: 18-19
Out in the endless, desolate desert of west Texas, a hunter looking for antelope stumbles on a crime scene. Abandoned cars and trucks are pock marked with bullet holes, and a half dozen or so dead bodies are scattered around.
In that odd and somewhat glib euphemism used by the media, it's apparently a drug deal "gone wrong" (if indeed there was ever a ...
“Back-to-Church Sunday” – Greg Albrecht
by Greg Albrecht
Many of the letters I receive are like Forrest Gump's box of chocolates—"you never know what you're gonna get." Recently I received a clever promotional message urging PTM and CWR to participate in "Back-to-Church Sunday."
The letter explained that Back-to-Church Sunday is a great way to get the "unchurched" and the "de-churched" back to church. The coalition responsible for the letter explained that Back-to-Church Sunday is held annually in early to mid September, taking advantage of the time when students are going "back to school." The message implored me to help this new initiative, because, as the message claimed, people's ...
April 2018
CLICK HERE to read now
(PDF Format)
Brad Jersak: Why Did Jesus Die? – pg. 3
Kenneth Tanner: Lazarus' Story is the World's Story – pg. 6
Greg Albrecht: The Church: It's the People, Not the Steeple – pg. 9
Stephen Crosby: The Cleansing of the Temple: Did Jesus Sanction Violence? – pg. 12
Greg Albrecht: “Who's Going to Heaven?” -pg. 15
Summer 2015
Articles:
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For -p4
Would you Choose the Truth Over Christ? -p11
Would you Choose Christ Over the Truth? -p12
"The Bible clearly says..." -p13
You Can't Imagine How Much He Loves You -p15
The Church As We Know It -p17
Regret--the Silent Killer -p18
Rx for Remorse, Regret, Resentment -p22
In the Shadow of the Mushroom Cloud -p24
Behaving Badly -p26
The Calf Path -p30
The Only Way to Really Get It -p31
Plain Truth Ministries | Box 300 | Pasadena, CA 91129-0300
