Planning Worship

Bob Waldrop on How Earth Care Led Him to God

In this edited conversation, based on emails and an April 2013 phone conversation, Bob Waldorp explains how his church work and activism fit together.

July 11, 2013
Coop's Column - Self-Searching and Self-Denial: A Servant Spirit

In this series of meditations on the work of the Holy Spirit in believers’ lives, we are considering seven features about Christians which the English Puritan Christians said are Spirit-prompted and Spirit-endowed and which ought to mark the lives of those who aim to follow Jesus faithfully. Christians who do display these qualities are LUI, Living Under the Influence of the Spirit. This week we consider the fifth of these marks: “Strong self-searching and self-denial, a servant spirit.”

June 24, 2013

Coop's Column - Longing to Delight and Honor God

In these meditations on the work of the Holy Spirit in believers’ lives, we are considering seven features about Christians which the English Puritan Christians said are Spirit-prompted and Spirit-endowed and which ought to mark the lives of those who aim to follow Jesus faithfully. Christians who do display these qualities are LUI, Living Under the Influence of the Spirit. This week we consider the fourth of these marks: “Deep Longing to Delight and Honor God.”

June 17, 2013
Coop's Column - Worshipful Intimacy with Jesus Christ

In this series of meditations on the work of the Holy Spirit in believers’ lives, we are considering seven features about Christians which, said the English Puritan Christians, are Spirit-prompted and Spirit-endowed and which ought to mark the lives of those who aim to follow Jesus faithfully.

June 10, 2013

Kristi Holmberg on Hope for Healing the Earth

Like many young adults, Kristi Holmberg is keenly aware of inheriting an earth damaged by previous generations. However, rather than despair or turn cynical, she began during college to connect with Christians who are working toward a just and sustainable future.

June 10, 2013
Jim and Kim Thomas on the Christian Music Industry

Jim and Kim Thomas are husband and wife, and are the pastor and curate, respectively, of The Village Chapel, in Nashville, TN. Over the last fifteen years the church has grown from a small Bible study of professional musicians to a church of about 1500. In addition to leading a congregation that includes many musicians, Jim and Kim were themselves touring musicians and recording artists for nearly thirty years. Jim has also authored two popular books on Christian theology. Kim, in addition to authoring several devotional books, is a highly-regarded visual artist.

June 5, 2013
Coop's Column - Eager desire to trust and obey the Bible, God’s Spirit-inspired Word

In this series of meditations on the work of the Holy Spirit in believers’ lives, we are considering seven features about Christians which English Puritan Christians said are Spirit-prompted and Spirit-endowed and which ought to mark the lives of those who aim to follow Jesus faithfully.

June 3, 2013

Coop's Column - Vivid Awareness of the Greatness and Goodness of God

This week and in the weeks following we’ll focus on seven Christian character qualities, each of which the 17th-18th century English Puritan Christians claimed is Spirit-endowed and ought to mark faithful followers of Jesus. Serious Christians, said these Puritans, measure their spiritual progress by them. The first of these marks: “Vivid Awareness of the Greatness and Goodness of God.”

May 29, 2013
Green Congregations Promote Sustainability

Whether your church goes solar, diverts money from utilities to missions or plants a community garden, you can find creative and sustainable ways to model that the earth is the Lord’s.

May 28, 2013