I remember the first time I heard about a “house-church.” My initial impression was, “What is the big deal? Most congregations begin in the homes of Christians.” Then I was told, the modern house-church movement thinks homes are the only scriptural place for a church to assemble. My ears perked up at that point and… Read More »
Year In Review 2024
Escape velocity is the speed an object must achieve to leave the gravity and atmosphere of a planet. The gravitational pull of the third rock from the sun and our generous blanket of atmosphere dictates a breath-taking velocity of nearly 25-thousand miles per hour to reach into space. That is a speed of seven miles… Read More »
Two Years As A Proper Flock
Just over 24-months ago, the people of God who meet at North Second Street ordained elders to serve and lead the congregation. David Brown and David Muiznieks have been feeding, tending, and guiding the flock as true shepherds and we are being blessed because of our submission to the will of God through Jesus the… Read More »
Why Don’t You Call Your Preacher “Pastor?” (Reverend, Father, or Bishop)
Because no one man can be “the Pastor.” If only my sermons could be as short as that answer! But alas there is usually more to my sermons and there is definitely more to answering this question. At North Second Street, we strive to, “Call Bible things by Bible names and do Bible things in… Read More »
CENI: Communication or Interpretation
Every six months or so, it seems there is an attack on “CENI.” Opponents decry this “intellectual relic from an earlier time.” We are told we need a “new hermeneutic” or a “Jesus-centered approach” to face the issues of the 21st century. Just this month, the Christian magazine Pressing On published a special edition entitled,… Read More »
The Bounds Of Christian Fellowship
One year ago this week, the North Second Street Church of Christ ordained David Brown and David Muiznieks as elders in this congregation. Soon after, Scott Ford and Jim Lahue were named deacons of the church. Having been set in order according to the plan of God, we have been on a path of numeric… Read More »
What If Two Cords Stay Home?
“Two are better than one…And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”-Ecclesiastes 4:9, 12 We talk quite a bit about our congregation at North Second Street in the corporate sense. God continues to bless us. We are growing. What are we going… Read More »
Mid-Year Report 2022
This is our first full reporting period of the post-COVID era1. Last year we noted an elder at a large congregation in middle Tennessee reported their attendance was down 15-percent. It is estimated only one-in-ten churches gained in numbers during 2020-2021. North Second Street actually saw a slight increase in 2021 as we got back… Read More »
Put In Order 2022
How do you measure the success of an eldership process? Certainly, the best outcome is the ordination of a plurality of men who come to the office with the congregation at peace and little to no objection to be overcome. But what does it mean if men are selected but never installed? Sound familiar? I… Read More »
About The Number Two
Plurality; Merriam-Webster defines the word as, “the state of being plural.” That’s not much help. Dictionary.com is a little more to the point with, “a number greater than one.” So, one is not a plurality of anything but two or more is. We must have two for there to be a plurality. The number two… Read More »