The Church of the Living God

Why we will no longer be a welcoming church

We’ve decided to quit being a welcoming church. No kidding. We’re giving it up. Like so many congregations, we’ve sunk an amazing amount of time and energy into becoming a welcoming church. We changed worship styles, trained greeters and ushers, wore name tags, brewed coffee, went to workshops on hospitality and put our friendliest people …

What alcoholics can teach churches

Daybreak Fellowship blends language of addiction recovery with Christian worship

Why I’m Grateful for the Local Church

I love my church where I serve, but I’m also very grateful for the local church in general. In all its beauty and flaws, I can’t imagine culture surviving without it.

Why Homosexuality Is Not Like Other Sins

Homosexuality is not the only sin prohibited in the Bible, but it is different from all the rest, at least right now. And we have really good news for homosexuals.

How To Reach Unchurched People Who Don't Think They Need God

I read a survey the other day that made me literally sit up straight as I took notice. The number of people in Canada (my country) who profess “no religion” is now at 24%, up from 16.5% a decade earlier. That’s a massive shift in a mere ten years. As I reflect on it all,…

10 Ways to Be a Welcoming Church to Those With Special Needs

For those willing to welcome those with special needs, how can today’s churches better serve these families? One parent shares some tips.

What You Need to Know Before Joining a Church

Before we attend a church, we should know that it is a legitimate church. Now, obviously, if the sign on the front of the church reads “Church of Satan,” we know it isn’t a legitimate body of Christian believers.

Being Church: Reflections on How to Live as the People of God

What modern church doesn’t call itself a “community”? Yet for how many is it real? How many churches form disciples intimately connected enough to call themselves Christ’s “body”? How many churches form disciples who know the relational arts that create a robust unity? How many form disciples practiced in the ways of sacrificial love?

Does God Want Your Church to Grow? Yes, But...

Does God desire for your church to grow? The short and simple answer is “yes.” We can make this deduction from the fact that God has called us to make disc

3 Signs God Is on the Move in Your Church

Does God Care if I Don't Go to Church?

While failing to attend church will not send a Christian to hell, it is not what God intended for His people.

Are You Planting a Worshipping, Witnessing, Living or Sending Church?

"Wherever you are in the church-planting process, it’s never too early to become a sending church!"

What names can we use for God?

Is Your Church Helping People Experience God Through Worship?

Our pastors and worship leaders need to remember that the people they are leading and teaching do not necessarily experience God the same way they do. This is such an obvious point but really made me consider if as leaders we think through this when we plan out our services and worship experiences.

Psalms 42:2 NLT; I thirst for God, the living God. When can I go and stand before him?

I thirst for God, the living God. When can I go and stand before him?

How God Gives You His Vision for Your Church

You start with leadership. Everything rises and falls on leadership. I see churches in great locations that struggle because of bad leadership.

Does God Really Care About My Church Attendance?

God wants us to regularly attend church and for good reason. It is central to our faith. There are a number of spiritual growth, faith benefits to going to church.

Church membership not required to know, love God: Letters to the editor

I never knew you had to graft yourself organically into a living breathing whole to come to God.

God doesn't want you to be happy

Yes, really. I said it. Although to be clear, I didn't say, "God wants you to be unhappy." There's a difference. But your happiness is not on His todo lis

Is God Really Good?

I once overheard a conversation between two moms in a church parking lot. One asked the other about her son who had been seriously ill. The mother of the boy r