Category Archives: Heterogenous Church

May they be one as you, Father, and I are one: overcoming segregation in the church

Posted on March 19, 2018 by

God is using the changes in our parish to make us read the scriptures from a fresh perspective.  In the space of ten or fifteen years, people from all over the world have moved into our small, once settled community.  … Continue reading →

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How “good disagreement” and “radical inclusion” are close cousins of incipient secularism.

Posted on April 10, 2017 by

I was recently asked to complete a survey about how seriously my son’s school takes character development. The survey was fascinating, because it imagined a very different kind of education to our current secular model with its results-based obsession. Survey … Continue reading →

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Anti-homogenous church in Ruth

Posted on October 24, 2012 by

Homogenous church of cold people During my time at Oak Hill College (2002-05) I wrote an essay on the work of Donald McGavran and his homogenous church growth principle.  McGavran had been brought up as a missionary kid in India … Continue reading →

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Anti-homogenous church in the Sermon on the Mount

Posted on June 22, 2011 by

Have you ever noticed that circles of friends, interest groups and religious bodies, including churches, are mostly made up of people who look like each other or act like each other?   White middle-class churches, black churches, Asian churches are obvious … Continue reading →

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Being missional – made simple

Posted on February 8, 2010 by

If you’ve seen the lady who won Ukraine’s got talent by doing a live animation of the history of the Ukraine in sand then you’ll enjoy this live animation explaining what a missional church looks like.   I posted similar … Continue reading →

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When division in the church is illegitimate

Posted on June 25, 2009 by

Evangelicals in Britain are at present dividing over various (arguably secondary) issues and yet are uniting with Anglo-Catholics and charismatics. These three groups have been historically suspicious of each other and yet they have been brought together by a common … Continue reading →

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When churches schism or grow

Posted on April 22, 2009 by

I blogged yesterday on acceptance and godliness in marriage and relationships. The principle of not mixing acceptance (justification) and behaviour (sanctification) in relating to God and each other applies to church as well as marriage. The result of mixing acceptance … Continue reading →

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