S. Michael Craven

Latest

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  Sep 19, 2011

  The Church in Post-Christendom (Part 4): In Pursuit of Community

  What hinders this community is not a weakness of the institutional church and its leadership but rather the radical individualism of its members.

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  Sep 7, 2011

  The Church in Post-Christendom (Part 3): Recovering the Mission of the Church

  We have a myriad of personal preferences that we impose on the church about worship styles, music, and the like. We grade the pastor on whether or not he has met our needs through his sermon. We argue and divide over inconsequential issues. We simply do not fulfill this essential part of God’s mission because we fail to demonstrate the reign of God within this authenticating community.

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  Aug 30, 2011

  The Church in Post-Christendom: Understanding the 'Good News' (Part 2)

  What exactly is the church’s mission? In order to answer this question, we must first accurately define the gospel or “good news.” I say accurately because I think many Christians, particularly in our highly individualized culture, have come to view the gospel as simply the personal plan of salvation.

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  Aug 16, 2011

  The Church's Moment in the Unraveling of the West

  I do not think it too strong or sensational to say that we are witnessing the collapse of Western civilization. Across the Western world, the fruits of apostasy and secularism are manifesting themselves in overwhelmingly destructive ways.

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  Aug 9, 2011

  Being the Church in a Post-Christian Culture

  In the age of Christendom, the church occupied a central and influential place in society and the Western world considered itself both formally and officially Christian. So when we speak of post-Christendom, we are making the point that the church no longer occupies this central place

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  Aug 2, 2011

  What Happened to Discipleship?

  There is a growing body of research demonstrating that there is a significant disconnect between professing faith in Jesus Christ and actually following Jesus.

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  Jul 26, 2011

  Are Christians Contributing to Unbelief?

  Every indication suggests that America is becoming increasingly secular. However, if we mean increasingly secular in the sense that more and more people are now irreligious, secularism has a long way to go.

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  Jul 19, 2011

  Why Should We Redeem Society?

  It seems necessary to address why and even if Christians should be involved in redeeming society and culture. There are many who deride such activity as being a diversion from the “real” work of the church

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  Jul 6, 2011

  Being the Church When Empires Fall

  It was at the pinnacle of Roman debauchery that the Christian church appeared. It was into this sexually immoral environment that Christians would bring forth a radically different sexual ethic.

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  Jun 29, 2011

  A Time of Troubles

  Our culture today is rife with moral and religious challenges and scarcely do our leaders demonstrate a coherent understanding of the challenges much less offer real wisdom.