Category: Theology
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Biblical Basis for Shared Leadership in Churches
A biblical and pastoral case for shared leadership in the local church As I’ve studied Scripture and grown as a pastor, my view of church leadership has changed. I used to assume that every church had just one pastor. I thought others on staff or in leadership were assistants, but not pastors themselves. However, I’ve…
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The Power of Story: What Aladdin and the Arabian Nights Teaches Us About Biblical Narrative
I’ve been reading Aladdin and the Arabian Nights lately—a collection of tales filled with adventure, wisdom, and the power of storytelling. At the heart of these stories is Scheherazade, a young woman who captivates a ruthless king with her tales, postponing her execution night after night. She understands something profound: stories have the power to…
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The Inspiration of Scripture
if the prophets and the apostles solely wrote on their own, then the Bible is merely a human document that may contain errors. The Bible may merely be ethical teachings and history, but not the full word of God. The Bible may contain the word of God but not be the word of God. This…
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The Authority of God and His Written Word
The authority of the written word rests on the authority of the one who gives it. Let’s look at the authority of God, the authority of His written word, and the authority of those who wrote it down.
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The Authority of the Bible
The rejection of the Bible as the authoritative Word of God reflects mankind’s rejection of all authority, especially man’s rejection of God’s authority.
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Steps to Combat the Prosperity Gospel
The Prosperity Gospel provides challenges for the missionary, but they must be overcome to see the advance of the salvific gospel of Jesus Christ around the world. There are several actions missionaries can take to respond to the Prosperity Gospel.
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The Effects of the Prosperity Gospel on Missions
The effects of the Prosperity Gospel vary widely. While there have been some positive contributions, the effects have been largely negative for evangelical missions. While many of the effects overlap among different cultures, it is prudent to examine each in its own context.
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Beginnings and Spread of the Prosperity Gospel
The Prosperity Gospel is built upon a quasi-Christian heresy known as the New Thought movement. New Thought drew from the Gospels, Hinduism, philosophical idealism, transcendentalism, popular science evolution, and the optimistic spirit of progress of the late-nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
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The Challenge of the Prosperity Gospel to Missions
Evangelical churches are falling behind in missions work despite many evangelical denominations’ focus on global missions. Without a doubt, Pentecostal Spirit-filled churches represent the fastest-growing branch of world Christianity. Many of these newer Charismatic-Pentecostal churches embrace Prosperity Gospel teachings which say that material goods are a specific blessing from God.
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A Clash of Faith: Comparing the Social Gospel and Prosperity Gospel Movements
In the last couple of posts, I have been examining the Social Gospel and Prosperity Gospel movements. I first examined the historical and ideological roots of the movements. Then I looked at the major doctrinal teaching points of the two movements. In today’s post, I compare the two movements and show how they are related…
Joel McReynolds 