In Depth:  Joanthan Leeman

Church life

‘Prayer is the measure of a man, spiritually, in a way that nothing else is,’ said J. I. Packer. Our prayers reveal what our hearts want. They reveal how we regard God and His power. They reveal the quality and measure of faith. Do we pray often and carefully, or not much at all?

The same must be true of a church’s prayers. They reveal what a church values, and where it places its hope.

Church life

This one goes out to the doctrine lovers. The ones with opinions about church.

There’s a temptation you and I are susceptible to: we can love our vision of what a church should be more than we love the people who comprise it. We can be like the unmarried man who loves the idea of a wife, but who marries a real woman and finds it harder to love her than the idea of her.

Church life

When people think about leadership, ‘up’ is good and ‘down’ is bad. People want to be ‘over’ others, the ‘top dog’, the ‘pinnacle’ of power. They want to move ‘up’ the ladder, not be ‘under’ others, the ‘low’ man on the totem pole, at the ‘bottom’ rung.

Scripture uses spatial metaphors this way too. ‘God reigns over the nations’ (Ps. 47:8). His throne is ‘high and lifted up’ (Isa.6:1). Elders have ‘oversight’ (1 Peter 5:2). The up/ down language makes sense. To lead, you need a view of the landscape.

Church life

You disciple everyone around you. Whether you mean to or not, inevitably and invariably, your actions and words impact people in your world. You assist them toward righteousness or wickedness.

That’s true whether you are three or 30, a senior pastor or the office intern. Yes, people higher on the totem pole make a bigger impact. They have more social leverage. But everyone leaves some dent on others.

Church life

Do the words ‘love’ and ‘church discipline’ sound like an oxymoron?

It’s true, church discipline can be unloving. Yet if your church is a loving church, it will practice church discipline.

Church life

‘I have a lot to catch you up on. So I’m just going to talk, okay?’ I smiled at Chris and nodded. I had nothing to talk about. Plus, I enjoy hearing about my friend’s life. He took a sip of coffee. I took a sip. Then he talked for, maybe, 45 minutes? Maybe 60?

He walked me through the last month of a relationship that looks to be heading to marriage. The month presented some challenges. Some inner turmoil. Some misunderstandings with another church member. But the major theme of his story: God walked him through the challenges, the turmoil, the misunderstandings.

Church life

Is evangelism an individual sport or a team sport? It’s both. Jesus commands every Christian to make disciples. But we should make disciples in and through our churches.

Think of the first chapters of Acts, where the apostles proclaimed the resurrection. Behind them was the church, living together and sharing everything in common, ‘praising God and enjoying the favour of the people’ (Acts 2:47; also 5:13). Somehow, the life of the church served as a positive witness to the gospel. Then, when persecution broke out and the church scattered, ‘Those who had been scattered preached the gospel wherever they went’ (Acts 8:4).

Church life

For years I lived as a nominal Christian – a Christian in name only. I believed the right things, but I didn’t love the right things.

True Christians love God, God’s word, and God’s people, or at least they have begun to. Nominal Christians don’t. Sure enough I had little to no interest, in my nominal days, in God’s people or God’s book (knowing it or obeying it). In fact, I was a little embarrassed to be seen with either.

Church life

Have you ever met someone who says they love the gospel, but not the church? Doing so is impossible, and I want to help you understand why.

The gospel is a message. That message, when embraced and trusted, creates a people. And those people in turn demonstrate the promises and truth of the message.

Church life

The discipline of biblical theology is just as important to the life of your church as systematic theology.

Biblical theology is the root of doctrine; systematic theology is the fruit. And we need to get both right if we want to know who Jesus is, what the gospel is, and how to guard and guide our churches.

Church life

photo: iStock

This article is not just for the preachers, but for anyone who teaches the Bible, whether on a Sunday, in a small group, or in a 1-2-1. And doesn’t that include every Christian (see Ephesians 4:15, 25, 29)?