The Simple Pastor

“Kingdom people seek first the Kingdom of God and its justice; church people often put the church work above concerns of justice, mercy and truth. Church people think about how to get people into the church; Kingdom people think about how to get the church into the world. Church people worry that the world might [...]

Sometimes when I read the early church fathers I find their writings impenetrable. This might be because the translation is hard work or because the debates and concerns just don’t connect. Other times I am stunned by the power of prose and the immediacy with which it speaks to us today in different cultures, 1800+ [...]

“For if our preaching were a matter of display and ambition, it would have been right to jump from one subject to another and change about continually, taking no thought for you but only for your applauses. But since we have not devoted our zeal to this, but our labours are all for your profit, [...]

“Do not say, ‘Why am I not rich?’ or ‘If I were rich, I would give to the poor.’ You cannot know that you would not covet riches if you had any. For now indeed you say these things, but, if you were put to the test, you would be different.” – John Chrysostom, On [...]

This is interesting, or at least I think so. Adrian Warnock recently listed some quotes from Love Wins by Rob Bell published 2011. I recently read Is there a hell? published 1913. Here’s how they compare: 2011 (Rob Bell) 1913 (various) “God gives us what we want, and if that’s hell, we can have it.” [...]

I’m reading Richard Foster’s Devotional Classics (not currently in print) as a fresh source for my discipleship and very much enjoying it. Here’s CS Lewis from Mere Christianity on the Christian way. “The Christian way is different: harder, and easier. Christ says, ‘Give me All. I don’t want so much of your time and so [...]

I’m reading Henry Chadwick’s history The Early Church and there are some absolute gems which I’ll post for your reflection, edification and application. Clement of Alexandria wrote a ‘special discourse on to help Christians puzzled about the right use of their money and troubled by the absolute command of the Lord to the rich young [...]

I’m reading Henry Chadwick’s history The Early Church and there are some absolute gems which I’ll post for your reflection, edification and application. Why did the early church grow and succeed? It’s a fascinating question. Chadwick gives some support to those that love cities but also says, “Nevertheless, the Christian mission was not directed merely [...]

I’m reading Henry Chadwick’s history The Early Church and there are some absolute gems which I’ll post for your reflection, edification and application. Chadwick writes that in the 2nd century AD a ‘vivid and cruel portrait [of the church] was painted by the pagan satirist Lucian of Samosata (c.170)’ and then he says this, “Lucian [...]

This is from his foreword to Dave Stroud’s Planting Churches, Changing Communities “Church planting is not simply a matter of getting a number of individuals saved; it is about the advance of God’s community in the earth. He wants a community, his city, his family in which he could dwell. Church planting is an extension [...]

“A person who is obsessed with Jesus knows that the best thing he can do is be faithful to his Saviour in every aspect of his life, continually saying ‘thank you!’ to God. An obsessed person knows there can never be intimacy if he is always trying to pay God back or work hard enough [...]

“A person who is obsessed with Jesus is more concerned with his or her character than comfort. Obsessed people know that true joy doesn’t depend on circumstances or environment; it is a gift that must be chosen and cultivated, a gift that ultimately comes from God (James 1:2-4).” – Francis Chan, Crazy Love