Kingdom Vision

"I'm spiritual, not religious." "Christianity is a relationship, not a religion." These statements are commonly used by well meaning Christians to communicate that their faith is not based on dead ritual, but on a dynamic, personal relationship with Jesus Christ... Of course, this depends completely upon a definition of "religion" that is not based on how the Bible interprets the word. The word "religion" in the Bible is not "dead ritual". It is, however, a word that describes how one responds to God, or how one honors God.  Listen to how the apostle James uses the word "religion" in relation to the Christian faith: James 1:26–27 (NIV) Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. 27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from be

The following is a brief excerpt from Robert E. Webber's Music and the Arts in Christian Worship: The place in the service when singing in the Spirit happens is quite varied. It is usually thought appropriate whenever prayer and praise are appropriate. Often, extended congregational praise will very gradually evolve into singing in the Spirit. Some congregations exercise it after a hymn or chorus, utilizing the keynote of that song as the harmonic basis of the exercise. Others sing in the Spirit at the congregational prayer times during the service or at the ending altar service. Some churches practice it regularly, others infrequently, and some not at all. As previously mentioned, singing in the Spirit most often includes the vernacular as well as tongues. It is quite natural, when engaged in intense worship and praise, for the individual to move from glossolalia to English and back again at will. One hears such phrases as “Thank you, Jesus,” “Praise the name of Jesus,” “I love yo

Hey friends, I wanted to jot down some highlights of the things I dream about as we move forward with our ministry in Freeland and beyond. Also, I want to echo some thoughts by Rick Warren in a video that was shared by Vineyard USA. First - why church size comparison doesn't work. Consider this: The population of the city (not county) of Midland is 42,000 (ish). The population of the city of Freeland is around 7000. Currently, that means that relatively speaking, our reach (people who call us their church) is very close to NLV (around 1% of the population). Yet, NLV is significantly larger - see why these numbers aren't the main thing? Then, this number gets further confusing when you look at number of people within reasonable driving distance and then -  consider the myriad of cultures and communities within that circle. This is why size comparison just doesn't work. It shouldn't. Church size and church comparisons aren't things I'm all that concerned about.  S