Search Results for: blog how to handle differences of opinion in church

How To Handle Disagreements – Part 2

So, you’re finding yourself at odds with someone in your church, family or neighborhood. What can you do about it? Someone once said that ‘the faults we notice most in others are those we have ourselves.’ So before we start criticizing and trying to sort out the other person and their thinking and attitudes, it’s a good idea to look at our own lives and ask the Lord to show us what needs to be changed there. Too often we are reluctant to do that. But that’s what growing as a Christian is all about, changing to become more like … Continue reading →

A Common Problem in Churches

In just about every church I’ve ever belonged to there is a common problem. Too much is left to too few people. But then it’s not just a problem with churches but a problem with any organization. What happens is a person become overcommitted, overworked and can end up burning out. So what is the solution? Maybe it’s as simple as learning to say ‘no.’ The whole problem is people can end up with a false sense of responsibility and think ‘but if I don’t do it, who will?’ No-one is indispensable. If one person does not do the job … Continue reading →

What’s Most Important with Church Music?

When you’re in charge of church music, the saying ‘you can’t please all the people all the time,’ is never truer. Everyone has an opinion! I remember one woman complaining one song was ‘an awful noise.’ What she meant was the song wasn’t to her taste, even though the truths in it were scriptural. Is it any wonder churches end up splitting over church music? Church music is as varied as the people who attend church. When Queen Angie asked about church music on a forum she got answers that ranged from traditional and bell choirs to jazz or contemporary/pop. … Continue reading →

Why Should You Leave a Church?

On my last blog I suggested there are times when we should leave a church – if the church and its leaders are not faithful in the teaching of God’s Word and do not accept basic tenets of the Christian faith. These basic tenets include: Jesus is the Son of God who came in Human form Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin. The bodily resurrection of Jesus. I was brought up in Anglican churches which regularly said the Nicene Creed. They are the tenets of faith. By saying them we agree that we believe … Continue reading →

How To Handle Differences Of Opinion In Church

Today we’re going look at a church in New Testament times. As you read, think about how your behavior and your church stacks up against this model in Acts 15:1-35. There are always those who come into a church situation seeking to cause trouble. This is exactly what happened here. Men, possibly Pharisees, came down from Antioch and started to teach Gentile believers that they had to be circumcised, verse 1. These men wanted to add extra conditions to the gospel message. This brought them into dispute with Paul and Barnabas, verse 2. There are those today who want to … Continue reading →

Listen to the Music

What purpose does music and singing serve in church? To some people it may seem a pointless exercise. I mean how many other places do people gather together and sing? At a football game when passions are aroused or possibly at a karaoke night if that is your thing. So it’s not common for people to get together and sing these days, so why do it at church? Some people think it’s to set the mood. But music does more than that. When it is done properly music can set the whole tone of the service, it can reinforce the … Continue reading →

What is Life to You?

What does life mean to you? Life for Paul meant living for Jesus, taking the opportunities presented to Him to tell others the gospel message. That’s what he meant be fruitful labor, seeing others brought into the kingdom. He is well aware of the need around him. Our world is in great need. Men and women need to hear the truth of the gospel. How are you and I going about fulfilling that need? Paul urges believers to ‘conduct themselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ,’ verse 27. We need to look at the manner in which … Continue reading →

Making The Old New Again

Church music can create problems, largely because everyone has their own ideas about what is good and appropriate music for church and what is not. Just take a look at the forum on church music and see how different people’s ideas are just within our families.com community. I admit that though I like the newer songs written for church, I also appreciate and love to sing some of the older hymns like, ‘And Can it Be,’ ‘I Cannot Tell,’ and ‘To God Be The Glory,’ etc. What is interesting is when the old becomes new again -in other words, when … Continue reading →

What to Do When A Friend is in Danger

My blog yesterday reminded me of one of a difficult decision I once had to make concerning a difference of opinion. Some years back I received a letter from a friend who’d been a faithful Christian and a member of the church and a bible study group I attended. She moved interstate. We kept in touch but she didn’t mention having hooked up with a new church since the move. Then one day I got a letter that alarmed me. She had become meeting with a sect that came to the door with their literature. This was more than just … Continue reading →