Sharing is Caring

  Church?       [Acts 7:44-50]     The article from the Korean-American Gospel Newspaper (June 11, 2006) titled ‘Alternative Churches: Home Churches Without Pastors, Choosing Worship Freely, Trend of Increase’ describes that in the 21st century, global churches can be divided into seven categories: (1) Mega-Churches: These are churches with over 2,000 attendees at Sunday worship services.   Mega-churches are characterized by diverse auxiliary activities, including operating shops, hosting paid seminars, and running recreational facilities, which serve as significant sources of revenue.   Hiring experts with MBA backgrounds to create various business opportunities is considered standard practice.   (2) Meta-Churches: The term "meta" here signifies change. Meta-churches refer to churches in transition or turning, indicating that churches of the future are inevitably bound to change.   Pastors of meta-churches need to possess...

  The way the Lord builds His church       [Acts 4:19-20]     I have gained insight through studying Acts chapter 4 during the church leadership Bible study session.   The revelation I received is regarding how the Lord established His church (referred to as the early church).   However, what surprised me is that the pattern of how our churches are being established in this current age seems to be the opposite.   I identified the pattern of how the Lord established the early church in five steps, which I have named the "Top to Bottom Method": (1) Prayer (v. 31, see also 1:14-15), (2) Being filled with the Holy Spirit (vv. 8, 31), (3) Proclamation of the gospel (vv. 8-12), (4) Increase in believers (v. 4, see also 2:47), (5) Loving community (vv. 32-37).   However, I believe that the methods of the world are the exact opposite, which I have called the "Bottom to Top Method."   I compared the world's methods with God's ...

  The church added by the Lord     [Acts 2:42-47]     Pastor Rick Warren (Saddleback Church) said: ‘The most important issue of the 21st century church is not church growth, but church health.   The problem is not whether the number of the church membership is large or small, but its health.’   And he proposed five ways to measure church growth: The church needs … (1) To grow warmer through fellowship, (2) To deepen through discipleship, (3) To become stronger through worship, (4) To be widen through ministry, and (5) To grow bigger through evangelism.   He said that rather than the number of church members, the percentage of church members who are mobilized for ministry and mission is a more accurate measure of the health of the church.   Is our church truly healthy?   Is it becoming stronger through worship, deepening through education, expanding through ministry, growing warmer through fellowship, and experiencing significa...