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Steve's Corner
Steve's Latest Blog
The Professionalization of the Church
May 19, 2008 | Steve
Elmil Brunner interpreted the history of the church as moving from a fellowship of believers to an institution that preserved…
From Movement to Organization
May 16, 2008 | Steve
It is interesting to reflect on Emil Brunner’s analysis of how the church moved from an egalitarian fellowship under the…
God’s Work in a Contemporary Clay Pot
May 15, 2008 | Steve
Let me suggest an example of how it might look to see the church as the church through which God…
Being the Humiliated God Community
May 14, 2008 | Steve
Being the humiliated God-community, the first task of a congregation and its pastor is to listen for the Word of…
A Dynamic Mark
May 13, 2008 | Steve
This mark of the church is a dynamic one. The writers of the epistles, both those of Paul and the…
An Added Mark of the True Church
May 12, 2008 | Steve
Jesus laid down the criteria for discerning the true from the false prophet, “…you will know them by their fruits.”…
Community as a Mark of the Church
May 9, 2008 | Steve
Bonhoeffer adds community to the marks of the church. The church, as the Body of Christ, requires a corporateness. This…
Sacraments and the Sacramental
May 8, 2008 | Steve
Without denying the sacramental quality of many aspects of life, the church has set forth certain sacraments that are based…
The Sacraments Truly Administered
May 7, 2008 | Steve
The Reformers also identified as a mark of the true church the sacraments that were rightly administered. Augustine defined a…
The Word Truly Preached
May 6, 2008 | Steve
In almost any gathering of Christians, the proclamation of the word, often in the form of a sermon, has been…
Apostolic Succession & Presence of the Spirit
May 5, 2008 | Steve
When we think of the church today, most Christian thinkers recognize the importance of continuity with the past. While the…
Defining Boundaries in a Pluralistic World
May 2, 2008 | Steve
We are still faced with the challenge of distinguishing the true church from a false church. While it is true…
Looking to the Head of the Body
May 1, 2008 | Steve
Even as we pursue this thesis, it is important to state that to recognize the church as the Body of…
Exegeting a Congregation (Part 3)
April 30, 2008 | Steve
And sometimes it will be in the acts of obedience which surprise even those who participated in the decision. First…
Exegeting a Congregation (Part 2)
April 29, 2008 | Steve
Sometimes the Word of God will be revealed in a person or persons who demonstrate fruits of the Spirit in…
Exegeting a Congregation (Part 1)
April 28, 2008 | Steve
How do you look for the Word of God in the life of a congregation? I would propose that in…
Church as a Piece of Qualified World
April 22, 2008 | Steve
Bonhoeffer knew of the betrayal of the church but he spoke of the church as follows: The church is a…
Grace Redeeming Betrayal
April 21, 2008 | Steve
I am not suggesting that we should “sin boldly so that grace might abound” but that God is not only…
Scriptural Pattern
April 18, 2008 | Steve
Scriptural accounts set the precedent. Judah betrays Joseph into slavery for twenty pieces of silver and Judas betrays Jesus into…
Emptying Ourselves of Pretentions
April 17, 2008 | Steve
We cannot escape the scandal of particularity. God has chosen to enter time from eternity through the incarnation. The Word…