Rachel Gardner on LinkedIn: Coalition of Christian Leaders Calls on Churches to 'Pray For & Stand With… (2024)

Fun and church aren't enemies. It's time to embrace the joy of worship and make Sundays exciting again. Learn how with these practical tips. #funchurch https://ow.ly/LHVJ50ORIY9

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This is the manuscript of the sixth sermon in a series on prayer as we at Christ Church Los Angeles continue in the Holy Spirit directed season of corporate prayer. Acts 12:5 NIV So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.We want the power of God, but sometimes we forget where the power comes from. We think it comes from preaching, our singing, from our strategies and purpose statements, or from our new buildings and facilities. We are fooled into thinking that we can change the culture if we elect the right people to political office. Those types of power are pretend power compared to the power the followers of Jesus have.The church that doesn’t pray forfeits the blessings and power of God. If we want to see this church soar to higher heights, we must be a praying church. If we want to see lives changed and souls saved, we must be a praying church. If we want to have an impact in this community, we must be a praying church. There is real power in a praying church.A praying church is a powerful church, and a powerful church is a productive church, and a productive church is a moving church with unlimited power. #prayer #pray #church #power

This is a two-part series concerning Christian Christmas Traditions. Be sure to come back tomorrow for the second half!Rediscovering the Meaning Behind Christian Christmas TraditionsAs the holiday season approaches, it's important to take a moment to reflect on the true meaning behind our Christian Christmas traditions.#advent #christian #christianchristmas #christmas #christmastraditions #nativity #traditions

Spicy church take. 🌶️ Jesus last command to us was this,“go and make disciples.” Mathew 28:19In the West we took that as “go and plant churches and create programs and Sunday services.” Not that these are in themselves bad, I attend a local church and love the gathering of believers, BUT, if we can be honest with ourselves, the large % of people attending our services aren’t obedient disciples. The stat is around 4% of church goers are faithful Christ followers. We spent most of our energy, time and resources in the west on building the operation of the church, the infrastructure of the building and programs, in hopes that those things will create faithful disciples.The heart here is good but the execution largely neglects or at least severely limits our capacity to spend much else on actually making disciples.The problem here is we are putting form before function.If you read about the ministry of Paul, he went about and made disciples, and then those disciples would form churches, not the churches first. If we focus more on the form of building churches, we will continue to neglect the function of the church, which is making disciples. Our focus should be on making disciples first, not churches before disciples.This is not an attack on western churches, it’s my attempt to help us ask the question, “Is our current approach to making disciples the most effective way?”I don’t have all the answers, but I do believe we need to be willing to have these conversations if our hearts are really to make disciples and see the lost saved by the love of Christ. We can’t idolize the form of church building so much that we aren’t willing to question its effectiveness at making disciples. Building churches is great, but that isn’t the gospel.

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Did Christians really get the date for Jesus's birthday - Dec. 25th - from the pagans? Or is the date based on something much more profound like the dates of Jesus's conception and death, and the Jewish belief that that creation and salvation are deeply connected? Check out this fascinating article from Yale scholar, Andrew McGowen.

What does Jesus want for His Church? What goals should we set for a local congregation? The “essential reality,” as Charles Van Engen writes, is more important than structure. The local church is the “principal instrument" and "anticipatory sign” of the kingdom's coming. In other words, every local church is called to be a missional community. Missionary organizations are “mobile churches," missionary bands made up of members from many local congregations, and therefore represent the broader Body of Christ more than the local congregation. The mobile church challenges local churches to be more missional in their context. Missionaries serve local churches through the creation of outlets for missional engagement. Perhaps the goal of a local church is the same as that of a mobile church. The local church needs missionaries. Missionaries are sent by local churches, both short-term and long-term. Missionaries are Christ's apostolic gifts, which help equip the local congregation to be Christ's witnesses to the world.

Our book released today.I have a few hopes of how it might help:1. My hope for individuals is that dechurching itself would be DEMYSTIFIED and as a result individuals would have wisdom and confidence about how to engage better.2. My hope for churches/ministries is that they would be INSPIRED to build healthier institutions that proclaim & show that we have a true, good, and beautiful gospel.3. My hope for the casually dechurched is they would find a healthy local church with people who genuinely love Jesus, one another, and their community.4. My hope for dechurched casualties is that they would find peace, shalom, and healing in Jesus and find a healthier local expression of his church in due time.5. My hope for our broader culture is they would see us changed by the good news of Jesus Christ’s life, death, resurrection and teaching and be curious about His vision for humanity and creation.

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Hello connections ! Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25[a] as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world.[2][3][4] A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, it follows the season of Advent (which begins four Sundays before) or the Nativity Fast, and initiates the season of Christmastide, which historically in the West lasts twelve days and culminates on Twelfth Night.[5] Christmas Day is a public holiday in many countries,[6][7][8] is celebrated religiously by a majority of Christians,[9] as well as culturally by many non-Christians,[1][10] and forms an integral part of the holiday season organized around it.There are different hypotheses regarding the date of Jesus' birth and in the early fourth century, the church fixed the date as December 25.[b][13][14][15] This corresponds to the traditional date of the winter solstice on the Roman calendar.[16] It is exactly nine months after Annunciation on March 25, also the date of the spring equinox.[17] Most Christians celebrate on December 25 in the Gregorian calendar, which has been adopted almost universally in the civil calendars used in countries throughout the world. However, part of the Eastern Christian Churches celebrate Christmas on December 25 of the older Julian calendar, which currently corresponds to January 7 in the Gregorian calendar. For Christians, believing that God came into the world in the form of man to atone for the sins of humanity, rather than knowing Jesus' exact birth date, is considered to be the primary purpose in celebrating Christmas#snsinstitutions #snsdesignthinking #designthinkers

Would you like to know why churches are failing? When pastors were asked across the country to name five things that indicate a growing, blessed church, they answered: 1. Great Attendance; 2. More money coming in; 3. More and greater programs; 4. Having a larger staff and Increasing the Sq ft. of your facility.With that sensibility, no wonder churches are in decline. Jesus Christ did not go to Calvary to put more butts in the pews, bring in more $$ or increase programs. Staff, or sq. ft. He did not even die to make evil men good. Jesus Christ died to make dead men alive. When we miss that point, we miss our reason for living. Churches no longer live within the wonder of the resurrection. We have learned to imitate God's power and presence and shut out the presence of the Holy Spirit in our churches.

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