Purpose of church

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Abandoned

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Abandoned

What Elaine and I saw the other night was an astonishing and wonderful sight: a roomful of people abandoned in life but now abandoned to God.

For the last few years, we have been in contact with the remarkable ministry of Junction 42 as it reaches out into the prisons of northern England. Our interaction has been with one of the groups established for those released from prison and their friends and partners.

Most of the men and women in the room were known to the police. More importantly, as it turned out, they were known also to God.

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The worst enemy of the kingdom

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The worst enemy of the kingdom

The great British Bible teacher David Pawson was in fine form. Visiting a rather traditional church with a large choir, he made this statement: “Sentimentality is the worst enemy of the kingdom.” And then he stuck his hand out in the general direction of the choir and said, “That is sentimentality!”

I never ceased to be amazed he was not shot from behind before he finished the rest of his message.

You may argue with the way he made his point, but the point itself is worth considering.

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The downfall of leadership

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The downfall of leadership

I came across a sad story the other day. It involved another Christian leader who had got himself into a major mess.

Why does this happen?

No doubt there are lots of different causes. Love of money, sexual immorality, false teaching and so on. But I think the downfall of many leaders is caused by something else. And that something else is ambition.

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How to stop the revolving door

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How to stop the revolving door

“But our church isn’t anything like that!”

I was having coffee last week with a young man new to our church. He was asking about our history. And I was telling him about the ups and downs, and how long it took for the church to take root. At the end of my description, those were his words.

And I agreed. I replied: “You’re right. This is a whole new church.”