Church

The Ethics of Church Discipline

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Church Discipline and Individualism Along with the preaching of God’s word and the administration of the sacraments, church discipline is one of the three marks of the church.  Without it, there cannot be a genuine community of Christian disciples.  Both Jesus (Matt 15:18-20) and the apostle Paul (I Cor 5:1-13, 2 Thess 3:6-14) clearly teach … Read more

The Ethical Importance of Going to Church

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This entry is part 3 of 6 in the series Ethics and Spiritual Practices

Only about half of American Christians attend church every Sunday.  About a third attend church irregularly (some as little as a few times a year).  And about 15% of American Christians attend church seldom or never.[1]Statistics from the Pew Research Center, https://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/attendance-at-religious-services/ Apparently, many American Christians think that going to church is an optional part … Read more

The Problem with Having a Personal Relationship with God

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Personal Relationship and Individualism Evangelicals emphasize that being a Christian means having a personal relationship with God.  We define conversion to Christianity as “accepting Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior.”  There is nothing wrong with this per se.  There is certainly a sense in which the Christian’s relationship with God is personal.  However, … Read more

The Authority of the Church

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For most American Christians today, the idea that the church and those in positions of church leadership have real authority over the lives of individual Christians has to a large extent been forgotten.  If, as many Christians think, Christianity is about having a personal, individual relationship with Jesus, then the idea of the church having … Read more