Healthy churches require good seed and deep roots.    That is the point I made in my previous blog.   In this blog we will discover more wisdom from the garden.   As I learned from my dad, when you plant a garden you must avoid overcrowding, but don't force plants to stand alone. It is like this, when you plant a garden, you first must make sure the young seedlings are not overcrowded.     If you...

How central is mission to the message of the Bible and the identity of the church?   Over the past number of years, as CRC churches here in Australia, we have been exploring these questions as we seek to be churches that are reforming to reach the lost for Christ. In the last Recharge Conference held in Sydney (May 2013) Mike Goheen, Mark Glanville, and Erin Goheen-Glanville clearly showed how central mission is to our core...

There is much we can learn about growing healthy churches and planting new ones just by observing a garden.   This is the point I made in a previous blog.   There is much wisdom we can learn from the garden.    In this blog I will explore the need for good seed and deep roots. For a church to be healthy, roots need to be firmly planted. This is a lesson I learned working with...

O God, you are the fountain of all truth; we ask you to protect your church from all false teaching.

Protect the Church

From all teaching and preaching which would destroy people's faith;

"Unto us a child is born, to us a son is given... and he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."  Isaiah 9:6 

These words from the prophet Isaiah take on special meaning when we see them fulfilled in the coming and birth of Jesus Christ.