Equipper Blog
How Do You Serve the Poor?
By Gary Alloway Redemption Church is a 2-year old church plant in Bristol, PA, a post-industrial small town just outside Philadelphia. About 2 miles from where we meet for worship, there is a tent encampment where about a dozen homeless folks live. For almost 2 years, we have made weekly visits to the camp and [...]
Posted in Equipper Blog → Missional
Ecclesia Network Bloggers
The heart of Ecclesia is, of course, the people of Ecclesia. Here are some of the Ecclesia Network bloggers. If we missed you or someone you know, leave a comment and a link and we’ll add it to the list. Ben Sternke Bob Hyatt David Fitch Doug Paul Dustin Bagby Gary Alloway Jim Pace J.R. [...]
Posted in Ecclesia People → Equipper Blog
As Pastors: Can We Be “down” on Christians?
By Adam Gustine Recently, I have seen a slew of blog posts and twitter updates from pastors, both high and low profile, who have said something like, “I’m down on Christians who ____”, or “I can’t stand Christians who ______.” This isn’t the, oftentimes, intense online dialogue between church leaders who hold differing views. Passionate [...]
Posted in Equipper Blog → Leadership
The Kingdom in Everyday Life
by Tracy Commons Currently, I am working full-time and finishing up my last semester at Temple University. It’s been stressful trying to balance everything, trying to have it “together” – and continuing to build relationships with others. Even though I know this is my last semester and graduation is so near- I still get “ants [...]
Posted in Ecclesia People → Equipper Blog
Leading From Where You’ve Actually Been
by Eric Phillips “The true Christian leader is one who walks with others, leading them to a place where he himself has already been.” This is an idea that recently has been on the forefront of my mind. Recently I have wrestled with the fact that there seems to be so little power in my [...]
Posted in Ecclesia People → Equipper Blog
Formation as Excavation
Lindsey Sullivan. Junior at Lynchburg College. [lcf] leader. Though the attractive colors may lure you to this visual metaphor of Excavation, I thought it best to further explain why I am digging deeper. Reading the picture left to right, our eye rests on the giant volcano first. We see lava spewing from the top and [...]
Posted in Ecclesia People → Equipper Blog
First Free: A Test-case for the Declining Evangelical Urban Congregation
by Adam Gustine I came to First Free, with my family and co-pastor Ben, when the church was coming out of a long transition period that had followed an even longer period of conflict and trouble. You could say that our church was a test-case for the declining evangelical urban congregation, struggling to make sense [...]
Posted in Ecclesia People → Equipper Blog
Christlike love is not practical
by Evan Curry “As kingdom people we are called to live in love, which means we are called and empowered to live free of fear. Because our source of worth, significance, and security is found exclusively in God’s love and God’s reign, not our own immediate well-being, and because we believe in the resurrection, we [...]
Posted in Ecclesia People → Equipper Blog
The Baptism of Jesus
by Cyd Holsclaw In preparation for Epiphany, I recently re-read Ancient Future Time, by the late Robert Webber: “In our spiritual pilgrimage God calls us to break through a passive spirit concerning the baptism of Jesus and recover the full meaning of this event for our own spirituality… It defines our spirituality and gives impetus [...]
Posted in Ecclesia People → Equipper Blog
The Church as a Three-Legged Dog
By Winn Collier In our first year, my wife Miska described All Souls as a “three-legged dog.” She meant it an endearing way. Miska has always been drawn to those of us who hop along in life; and she’s always eschewed the pretensions many of us so easily take on. Somehow, All Souls became a [...]
Posted in Ecclesia People → Equipper Blog