Our Field of Ministry: Demographics of Christ Covenant's Target Area

In June of 2009, Christ Covenant commissioned a demographic study of our target area by the Percept Group - a demographic study organization specializing in information for Christian ministries.


Percept prepared a report focused on the people living in a 5-mile radius of Salem Elementary School - 4501 Jackson Rd. - where we meet on Sunday mornings for worship.  It is a large report, full of numbers, graphs and comparisons.  Lots of interesting things to think about and ponder.

Bearing Fruit or Doing Better? The Gospel of Grace and Christian Maturity

What does Christian Maturity (theologically speaking: the process of sanctification) look like in the real world?  What should people around us see happening in our life over time as we grow in Christ-likeness?  I've been learning that the Gospel of Grace has a surprising answer to questions of this sort.

They Did Not Really Belong To Us . . .

Whatever the Supreme Court might decide to do with him, I think the Apostle John would consider Fred Phelps of Westboro Baptist Church to be an anti-christ.  Not the big Anti-christ, mind you, but an antichrist all the same.  I say that knowing that the Apostle John knew Jesus first hand.

For The Record: The Man Speaks For No One I know

Including the God of the Bible.

The man I'm referring to is Terry Jones - leader of the Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, FL.  I'm having trouble referring to him as a pastor.

Weeds in the Yard, Weeds in My Heart

A few days ago, while walking back from picking up the mail, I bent over a flower bed to pull up a few weeds that had sprouted up.  Within minutes, my hands were dirty, I was dripping with perspiration and quite frustrated by this pointless, unending task.  What was most frustrating.  .  .  .

Potluck or Drive Through? A Culinary Perspective on Ecclesiology (Look that one up in your wikkipedia!)

People joke about how connected church life is to food and eating sometimes, but maybe there is more there than first meets the eye.  It seems to me that far too often we approach church life as if it were a fast-food drive-through window while the Father intends it to be more like a potluck.  Here's what I mean:

Church Conflict and "Reading the Bible With Gospel Eyes"

I've been in ministry long enough now to have seen - and been part of - all the church conflict I need for a life time.  For many of my unbelieving friends, church conflict born of pettiness or self-righteousness is sufficient reason - in their minds, at least - to step back from anything church related.  I'm sympathetic, but not convinced.  Sadly, church conflict becomes for them the noise that drowns out the music of the Gospel of grace.