Will YOU pray and work for Scriptural reform in the churches?
Jesus flipped the tables and the script on the Temple money changers. But why? Travelers came in from everywhere and truly needed to make change. To buy the sacrificial animals which they could not easily transport over long distances.
Ananias and Sapphira. They sold a property for the church, to benefit those in need. But.... they did not disclose the whole story. Hours later their friends were wondering what they might say at the funeral. And what to write in the obituary.
Simon, a former magician, just wanted to see that others 'received the Holy Spirit'. Even offered to pay for it.
In each case, there was a hidden agenda. And an undisclosed motive of personal profit. Same as the dreaded tax collectors of this era.
Despite these dramatic stories with surprizing unhappy endings, determined fake people still smile at you as they transform the Jesus story into the greatest story ever sold.
Freely we received, freely let us give.
This is an extremely important and urgent topic for your perusal. Please consider this world-changing conversation.
Folks, we are a long way from the shore. For this topic to have so few views is, to me, unbelievable.
At the heart of contemporary Protestant ministry lies a fundamental tension between two competing paradigms: ministry as sacrificial service (diakonia) and ministry as clerical status. This study examines the theological foundations of both models through biblical exegesis, Reformation theology, and contemporary scholarship, while incorporating African theological perspectives, particularly from Angola and the Tocoista church movement.
Drawing from extensive research across Protestant theological literature and African contextual theology, this analysis reveals that the biblical model of servant leadership, exemplified in Christ's washing of the disciples' feet (John 13) and his teaching on greatness through service (Mark 10:42-45), stands in sharp contrast to hierarchical clericalism that prioritizes status over service.
Contemporary challenges including authority crises, formation deficits, and the tension between presence and active service further complicate ministerial identity. African theological voices, particularly the servant-king model and Ubuntu philosophy, offer valuable insights for reclaiming diakonia as the essence of Christian ministry.
This study argues for a radical rediscovery of ministry as sacrificial service, moving from status-oriented clericalism toward functional, community-empowering leadership that reflects Christ's model of humble service.
Here is an intriguing volume. One so daring, the author had to self publish it under a pseudonym.
So, Jesus himself ate with sinners and publicans. Often comparing himself to the bread of life and water of life. Encouraged those who gave banquets to invite the undesirables. Compared a relationship with Himself to sitting together and eating a meal.
Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. Revelation 3:20
We are learning that the original Lord's Supper was a meal. A memorial meal traditionally eaten in a Jewish home. Known as Passover. We also can surmise from the early literature that some meetings of the early church were essentially dinner meetings.
When you come together, it is not the Lord’s supper that you eat. For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk. 1 Corinthians 11
Given that every meal was to be received with thanksgiving. And that all actions were to have reference to HIM - even whether we eat or drink... 1 Corinthians 10 31.
The question arises: Would a hungry unbeliever be allowed to partake? Partake in whole or in part?
This volume delves into that question. A question few in the West consider because the whole concept to feeding the hungry belongs to the state. Actually, the Constitution of the USA does not provide or even consider such charity, assuming (falsely) that the Christian Church would do it's basic duty.
Only they would that we should remember the poor; the same which I also was forward to do. Galatians 2:10
One of you say unto them, “Depart in peace; be ye warmed and filled,” without giving them those things which are needful to the body, what doth it profit? James 2:16
Finally, notice in Jude's letter that some were eating with them who were there on false pretense. The remedy was not to terminate the feasts nor to replace them with a micro meal which does nothing to satisfy hunger.
These are hidden reefs at your love feasts, as they feast with you without fear, shepherds feeding themselves; waterless clouds, swept along by winds; fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted. Jude 12
Hi all, let's look ahead and prayerfully ask about how this venue might fit into the future. The site is finally functional and has good potential if God wills.
Good news! We are just getting started and have already found 2 others who are eager to assist and oversee. They are proven workers and are already quite active elsewhere in the Lord's Vineyard. @irnawan silitonga and @Onesmas Riungu.
In view of the grim statistics about traditional church closures, we are very concerned. We believe that many churches can and should be saved, along with their property if they own any. This will require honest evaluation and simplification in every possible way - thus simple church.
Some failing churches will need to depend less upon their denominational headquarters and their seminaries, if those have been corrupted. Sadly, this is usually the case. Many exceptions, thankfully.
Looking forward, we are more interested in challenging unscriptural systems - not waging endless war with individual saints. We are not interested in duplicating the efforts of others - we have plenty of unique free content of our own to publish. We are interested in activating every believer into service or ministry (diakonia).
If you did not notice, we are advocates of a commercial-free version of Christianity. Requiring that we take a look at modern methods of church finance and the associated traditions.
Nor do we want to fall out with any saint over pet doctrines. Our unity is much deeper than that. We are definitely not here to attack other believers. Many other sites have that covered. Our beliefs are offensive enough...
So, we desire to see mass conversions, which will result in more churches and in some churches getting a needed refresh! More voluntarism on the part of men, women, and even youth! More of Jesus pulling down the strongholds in every area of life and learning - in every neighborhood in every country.
What would YOU like to see with regard to this site? And how might you fit in?
A non-governmental organization, Twin Alive Foundation, has called on the United Nations and the Federal Government to designate December 2 as a global day to celebrate Mary Slessor, the Scottish missionary credited with ending the killing of twins in Nigeria.
The founder of the foundation, Mr. Jude Idongesit Mbonmkponam who is also a twin, made the appeal during an interview with Radio Nigeria.
He said the petition, once signed, would help immortalize the extraordinary contributions of Mary Slessor to humanity.
Amazing people from a distant Island! There are none quite like them. Which is why you pull up to intersections around the world and see many of their automobiles. Or motorcycles.
Unfortunately, there were critical issues which Western Missionaries taught them long ago which are turning out to be... the seeds of death. I am referring to issues of church structure and leadership. If plurality and parity of eldership had been adapted rather than a traditional single pastor model, things would surely be much different today.
Instead they were taught that a "teaching elder" is the actual clergyman - and all others are merely laymen. Yes, there are other factors regarding Japan's situation. There always are.
The question now is: Is it too late? The obvious answer should be an emphatic NO. "The knowledge of God will eventually cover the earth as the waters the sea." Including this ancient island nation. Let us bow in prayer on their behalf...
Source: Japan Testimonies
Attention all new members or would-be new members. Bots, without the aid of human assistance, are roving the internet looking to create fake Profile pages in order to advertise products or services which you do not need nor want.
So, just be sure and create a Profile when you join this site. This will serve as a spam prevention measure. You can actually create more than one Profile if your spouse or other family member is interested.
Just give as little or as much Profile information as you feel comfortable about. You can even use a nickname. Good.
Mary heard that David Livingston had died and she knew she wanted to assist in the work of God in Africa. Soon thereafter she boarded an ocean liner.
Her denomination in Scotland, the Presbyterian Church, did not allow women to preach.... unless they did it far away. :)
There are a number of statues of her in Scotland and Nigeria. She is depicted holding two precious African children. She had taught the natives that twin children were a blessing and not a curse.
One reason that people are abandoning church and just giving up on Christianity is the pervasive doom and gloom mentality which has become so popular among Christians. This view is not that of Scripture as this notable scholar reveals.
Please consider his sincere words and "report for duty". Our labor in the Lord is NOT in vain,
Source: Phone interview featuring NT Wright. Entitled: The Book of Revelation - What we get wrong.
Our friend and Kingdom worker @irnawan silitonga mentioned books by Marvin Vincent. His famous Word Studies have assisted many. His is a true scholar, especially compared to all the "scholars" and "doctors" in the church today.
Looking at this essay I was reminded of road trips where one wrong turn necessitated many more turns in order to simply return to the previous starting point. The church today is so far from the scriptural patterns that controversies about church government became endless. And as he observes, most of our research is undertaken to validate our own opinions and systems.
Things have become much more complicated and expensive than the apostles themselves could have ever imagined.
So, let us return to the point of our departure and open our minds to the truth of Scripture.
Psalm 139:14.
It is estimated that tens of thousands of different types of chemical reactions occur in the human body. However, in terms of sheer volume, your body processes an astonishing 30 billion billion chemical reactions every single second (30 followed by 18 zeros). Source: Google AI
I mention this fact because one of the main pillars of the modern system is that blind fate brought this world, and everything in it, into being. All from nothing.
Go to the link below and view all the Presbyterian Churches for sale right now in Scotland. Dozens and dozens. With more on the way. Thousands, across Europe.
Even though this denomination is named after the "eldership" - they completely misunderstand the New Testament concept of it. Not to mention the Old Testament concept as well. And not to mention their mistaken concept of "preaching".
If the mere principle of eldership parity (equality) had been brought into view, none of these useful properties would have to be sold.
(On a minor note, notice the belfry which contained a bell which was rung on the hour. Since clocks were a rarity. Also notice the usual adjoining cemetery for the burial of the dead. Reminiscent of the early church purchasing land for burials.)
Grab a handkerchief and as you scroll and scroll.
Bad doctrines - do they not have bad consequences?
Let us rejoice with those who have found their Messiah. And have made their peace with the Almighty. Let us rejoice with the angels in Heaven.
Conversion to Christianity, by the way, requires a huge amount of courage in many parts of the world.
Too often, we hear that Islam is taking over. But in reality most of the growth is by physical multiplication. Islamic men are allowed multiple wives, you see.
(As always, the appearance of a video is not a complete endorsement of the presenter.)
Meet Thomas Smyth. A guy from South Carolina with a library of 20,000 volumes. According to this forgotten genius author, the traditional "call to preach" is: Unwarrantable, unattainable, and delusive.
In other words, the Scripture alone, containing the command of Christ, is sufficient in order for a qualified person of any gender to confidently enter Christian "ministry". Granted, there is a spiritual aspect to these things but NOT to the degree of complexity and mysticism currently being practiced.
I inquire. Where would the Church of Christ be today if a (spurious) standard and needless barrier had not been in place now for hundreds of years among even the Reformed Churches?
In his day, the laborers were few. As a result of the mysterious "call to preach" the problem is now worse.
With such an open and enlarged view of ministry and missions, it is only natural that Smyth would author another book: "The Duty of Interesting Children in the Missionary Cause.” The keyword is DUTY.
Therefore those who were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the Word. Acts 8:4
Summary: The response argues that mission is not an optional activity of the Church but its very purpose, rooted in the Father’s heart and clearly commanded by Jesus in the Great Commission. It challenges the Church to examine its stewardship, noting that the minimal resources directed toward unreached peoples reveal a misalignment between stated beliefs and actual priorities.
Call To Action: By comparing current spending patterns to mismanagement in any organization, the response calls the Church to repentance and realignment, urging believers to place their resources where God’s heart is—so that the gospel reaches those who have never heard.
Church Exist For Missions, Does Our Budgets Reflect That?
Thank you for this article. It raises a painful but necessary question—one the Church must face honestly if we are to remain faithful to Christ.
Mission is not one of the Church’s activities; it is the reason the Church exists. From Genesis to Revelation, God reveals Himself as a missionary God. The Father’s heart has always been directed toward the nations. God called Abraham so that all families of the earth would be blessed. Israel was chosen not as an end in itself, but as a light to the nations. Jesus Christ came as the ultimate missionary—sent by the Father to seek and save what was lost.
When Jesus gave His final command, it was not ambiguous:
“Go and make disciples of all nations.”
This was not addressed to a missions department, nor to a select group of professionals, but to the Church itself. A church that is not mission-centered has drifted from its original purpose.
The statistics quoted are deeply troubling. If for every $100,000 given, only $102 goes toward reaching Unreached People Groups—even if that figure is off by a factor of ten—we are still left with a devastating reality: missions to the unreached are not a priority. And these are the very people with little or no access to the gospel or the Scriptures in their own language.
To put it plainly, if a company manager spent over 90% of company resources outside the company’s stated mission, it would rightly be called embezzlement. Yet we rarely apply the same moral clarity to how God’s resources are used. When the vast majority of church budgets are consumed by maintaining internal systems, buildings, and comfort—while billions remain unreached—we must ask hard questions.
This is not an argument against pastoral care, discipleship, or local ministry. These are essential. But when internal maintenance eclipses Heaven’s mission, something has gone wrong. Jesus never promised us comfort; He entrusted us with a commission.
Some leaders argue that “everything the church does is missions.” I would lovingly challenge that claim. Is the modern church truly a missionary movement—or has it become a charity primarily serving itself? Mission is not defined by geography alone, but it is defined by intentionality toward the lost. If our spending does not reflect God’s burden for the unreached, then our theology, however sound, is contradicted by our stewardship.
Jesus made it clear:
“Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Budgets reveal priorities more honestly than mission statements.
This is a moment for the Church to wake up—not with condemnation, but with repentance and realignment. To ask: Does our use of God’s resources reflect God’s heart? If the Father sent His Son, and the Son sends His Church, then missions cannot remain peripheral.
Money for missions is not optional—it is obedience.
The gospel was never meant to stop with us.
My prayer is that we rediscover the Church not as an institution to be preserved, but as a people sent—joyfully, sacrificially, and urgently—until the unreached hear the name of Jesus.
Amen, brother. So many wonderful thoughts you bring to us.
God could have sent Angels to perform this harvesting task. It would have not taken so long, I suppose. However, that was not the plan.
He has appointed us to it - not unto some phantom group known as clergy. It is He, the Lord of the Harvest, who has commissioned all of us to this work.
So let us arise. And be filled with the Holy Spirit. More than a work - it is a privilege to be his ambassador in reconciling others to their Creator.
Kingdom stratagist Wolfgang Simson has done a noble service for the church with this excellent book. If you read it, you will be inspired in the coming days of 2026 and beyond. He writes:
This small book is about our ultimate human purpose. It explains a global vision and the resulting mission that is probably bigger than anything you have heard before. The Starfish Vision is based on four things: biblical revelation, a response to the critical times we live in, prophetic insights and strategic thinking.
Published almost 20 years ago, the internet links at the conclusion no longer seem to work.
Enjoy!
The End-Time Harvest speaks of reaping souls that have reached maturity for His glory. The end-time harvest is connected with the three major feasts of Israel, namely Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. In the end, all souls will be harvested so that the Father may be all in all.
Summary: Worship has outward forms such as rituals, creeds, religious rules, and so on. However, the essence of worship is in spirit and in truth. Let us enter into the essence of worship and not become trapped in the outward forms of worship to Elohim.
150? No. 1500? No, try 10 times that number...
Watch just the first few minutes, if you have the time.
A systematic explanation of perfect salvation using three terms: justification by faith, sanctification by faith, and glorification by faith.
Owen is referred to as the Prince of the Puritans. Yet how many of his admirers today will agree with him on this important point? Not many.
"Mutual watchfulness over one another by persons in any society is a prime dictate of the law of our creation which was first rejected by this first murderer, " Owen writes.
The passage in view from Hebrews demonstrates that all believers are responsible for oversight in the church - not just elders or pastors. This fact is not commonly known. Much less practiced.
Failure to care for others put us on the level as Cain, the first murderer, according to this author.
Another post regarding this urgent matter is found on our sister site for those interested in house churches.
We rejoice when good news comes our way. And we pray that the European churches will advance on better principles than those who came before. Without the hierarchy and the priestcraft which has plagued them (and us) since the Reformation. And of course, prior to it.
Summary: The church is an organism. All its members are fellow servants, and none has authority over another. The offices in the church are merely functions for serving. Call to action: By the grace of God, let us serve the church as true servants in the full sense of the word.
A fascinating volume. By a bold pioneer. By a real Christian scholar.
George Bush (June 12, 1796 – September 19, 1859) Was a relative of 2 USA Presidents who bore his name.
Born in Vermont, Bush graduated from Dartmouth in 1818 and then studied theology at Princeton, where he was a tutor 1823–1824. He spent four years as a Christian missionary in Indiana, and in 1831 became professor of Hebrew and Oriental Literature at New York University.
The section here, page 57ff, on the imaginary subject of "the office of deacon" is especially enlightening and long overdue.
Enjoy this free book!
For every $100,000 church members give to American churches - only $102 funds missions to Unreached People Groups.
People who know missions financing far better than I will say those numbers are likely pessimistic. So let’s imagine they’re off by a factor of 10. That gets us to 1.02 percent for UPGs.
Is 1 percent of American church budgets enough for the least reached parts of the world? We’re talking about places where people have virtually no access either to the gospel or to the Scriptures in their languages? Source: Gospel Coalition.
Such statistics are difficult to verify, of course. And some modern church leaders would declare that their whole budget is for missions. I would challenge such a sentiment and inquire: Is the modern church really a charity or merely a charity unto itself?
D
In the above post I mentioned "grim statistics". Here is the source.
According to predictions, one third of the country's 350,000 Christian congregations are "on the brink of extinction."