Category: Church
Posted on February 2, 2021
by Brad Bates
Leave a Comment
It’s Black History Month…and I am reminded of the “I have a dream” speech that Dr. King gave as he fought for the rights of the community he represented…the black community. His words were simple and powerful…and, like a sword, they pierced to the… Continue Reading “Dr. King, I Have a Dream Too!”
Category: ChurchTags: 1 Corinthians 12, 1 Corinthians 1:10, Church, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, Ephesians 4, Galatians 5:22-23, God is Love, I Have a Dream, John 13:35, love, Love god, Love One Another, Love others, Matthew 22:36-40, MLK, Philippians 2:10-11
Posted on January 13, 2021
by Brad Bates
Leave a Comment
This morning there was a fun discussion happening on a friends Facebook thread. Basically, it revolved around a call to the church to focus more on character than charisma when it comes to church leadership. Below are some of the thoughts that came to… Continue Reading “Thoughts on Church Leader Qualifications (The Modern Church Vs the New Testament Church)”
Category: Church, education, Ministry, PastorsTags: Accomplishments, Acts 4:13, character, Charisma, Church Leader Qualifications, Church Leaders, Churches, education, Love god, Love others, Pastors, Peter and John, Qualifications, Qualifications of Elders
Posted on December 8, 2020
by Brad Bates
Leave a Comment
Yesterday I posted an article where I began to raise some questions about the immense amount of focus that gets placed on the role of the pastor. If you haven’t read it, check it out HERE. I talked with my wife a little bit… Continue Reading “The Unexpected Familial Casualties of Being a Pastor in the Modern Church”
Posted on December 7, 2020
by Brad Bates
1 Comment
Over the years of my life I have noticed something that few like to talk about or question and that is this: why there is so much emphasis placed on pastors in the church? Especially when one takes a look through scripture and you… Continue Reading “Why is so Much Attention Given to Pastors Over all the Roles Found in Ephesians 4?”
Category: Church, Ministry, Pastors, PropheticTags: Apostles, Church, Ephesians 4, Evangelists, Pastor Resources, Pastors, Prophets, Shepherds, Spiritual Gifts, Teachers
Posted on December 1, 2020
by Brad Bates
Leave a Comment
There are many applications of the definition of foundation. It is the underlying base of support that a building is built upon (see def. 4 and 5 above). It is an institution that donations can be made to (see def. 3 above). It is… Continue Reading “The Indispensable Worth of Discipleship and the Longevity of Faith”
Category: Church, discipleshipTags: Christian, Church, Church planting, Church program, discipleship, discipleship according to the scriptures, discipleship training, Ephesians 4, Faith, Faithful, Faithfulness, importance of discipleship, Longevity, Matthew 28, Missionary, Pastor, true discipleship, What is discipleship, Youth Pastor
Posted on November 16, 2020
by Brad Bates
1 Comment
What is worship? Can governments restrict worship? Can churches really be shut down? We talk about this and more!
Category: Church, Ministry, Music, WorshipTags: CCM, Church, Church gathering, Coffee with Jesus, contemporary, COVID19, Governments, Hymns, Lockdowns, Music, Prayer, traditional, what is worship, Worship
Posted on October 23, 2020
by Brad Bates
Leave a Comment
I think some people assume that I’m anti-large church gatherings, or anti-a lot of things apparently, because of the stuff I often write about micro-church expressions. So, my hope is to offer some clarification in 4 areas: church gatherings, facilities, paid ministers, and education.
Category: ChurchTags: Church facilities, Church gathering, Church services, education, Large churches, Mega churches, Micro-church, Microchurches, Misunderstandings, Paid ministers, Paid staff, Seminaries, small churches
Posted on August 25, 2020
by Brad Bates
Leave a Comment
You see, we’ve spent countless years building our little castles in the sand, adorning them with seashells and other ocean matter, inviting people to come see what we have done instead of inviting people into a relationship with a mighty God and see what HE is doing, enjoying ourselves immensely as the masses are entertained, only to have 2020 come in and a virus come along and wash it all away.
Posted on August 3, 2020
by Brad Bates
Leave a Comment
There is such a thing as an optimal environment for everything in life. Optimal environments for raising children. Optimal environments for pets. Optimal work environments. Optimal health environments. And so on. There is one thing I’ve been learning with my wife as we explore… Continue Reading “Optimal Church Environment”
Posted on July 13, 2020
by Brad Bates
Leave a Comment
The Age of the Shopping Mall Perhaps I’m dating myself here a little, but I remember when shopping malls were all the rage and acted as the primary place where people of all ages would come and spend their weekends. Friday nights, especially, were… Continue Reading “COVID19 – Shopping Mall Churches Face the Music”
Category: ChurchTags: Brian Sanders, Churches, COVID-19, COVID19, Face the Music, Francis Chan, Frank Viola, Letters to the Church, Live Streaming, Microchurches, Organic church, Pagan Christianity, Shopping Malls, Tampa Underground, Underground Church, Underground Network, Virtual Church
Posted on May 7, 2020
by Brad Bates
1 Comment
Yesterday (05/06/2020), a new social media storm began to brew as social media everywhere (from Twitter to Facebook) erupted in outrage over the fact that the killers of Ahmaud Arbery still have not been arrested or charged since they killed him back in February… Continue Reading “Racism: Does God Really Not See Color?”
Category: Church, Cultural Engagement, Hate, racismTags: Ahmaud Arbery, Black Man Jogging, Brunswick GA, God Does Not See Color, God Does Not Show Favoritism, God Does See Color, Hate, Jogging, Race, racism, Violence
Posted on April 27, 2020
by Brad Bates
Leave a Comment
Imagine with me, for a moment, a Church where… there is no paid staff, and the pastor and other staff do not rely on the local church to provide for their families. there is a pastor, and other leaders are organically raised up from… Continue Reading “All Has Been Stripped Away, But Will We Simply Come?”
Category: Church, discipleship, LifeTags: Church, Church mission, clear the stage, discipleship, Ephesians 4, Heart of worship, idols, jimmy needham, Missions, Pastors, What does the church look like, What is Church, What is discipleship, worship is more than a song
Posted on March 27, 2020
by Brad Bates
1 Comment
Most churches are still putting a great deal of effort into making the 1 hour Sunday gathering viable over the internet for most of their church body. Some are making efforts to find discipleship opportunities outside of Sunday morning. And unfortunately, a great deal of people are still screaming that they want things to go back to the way they were.
Seeing all of these reactions, I can’t help but ask, should we go back?
Category: Change, Church, Faith, Life, Ministry, Pastors, UnityTags: Church, Church Growth, Consumer Church, Consumerism, COVID19, Egypt, Hebrews, Numbers 14, Pandemic, Promised Land, Seeker Sensitive, Success, The Way Things Were
Posted on March 16, 2020
by Brad Bates
4 Comments
According to Pew Research, about 15-20% of Christians in America are under the age of 30 leaving the mass majority of individuals identifying as Christian in America over the age of 30, with about 45-50% being over the age of 50.
Category: Church, Ministry, Pastors, UnityTags: Age distribution, Blog, CDC, Christian Blog, Christian Podcast, Church, Church Closing, Coronavirus, COVID19, Pew Research, Podcast, School Closings, Social Distancing, The Walking Dead, To Close or Not to Close, Toilet paper, Wuhan Virus
Posted on March 11, 2020
by Brad Bates
Leave a Comment
I cannot hold others accountable for the wounds they did not inflict on me.
Category: Church, OffenseTags: Angry Christian Podcast, Christian Blog, Christian Podcast, Church hurt, church hurt quotes, church hurt statistics, church hurt the wounded trying to heal, dealing with offenses in the church, examples of church hurt, examples of church hurt in the bible, holding on to offense, Podcast, Salty Dogs Podcast, signs of church hurt, The effects of church hurt, types of church hurt
Posted on February 24, 2020
by Brian Baldwin
Leave a Comment
I’ve got to admit that I do miss the predominantly black church. The big choir, the animated sing/preaching, the dancing during praise, the soulful southern gospel style of music — almost everything. Yes, it is easier to go and be with people that also… Continue Reading “Black Christian/White Church”
Category: Church, Cultural Engagement, RaceTags: Black Community, Black History, Black Lives Matter, Christianity, Church, Minority, Politics, Prayer, Race, racism, relationships, Worship
Posted on January 28, 2020
by Brad Bates
Leave a Comment
Matthew 19:13-14 NLT – One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could lay his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering him. But Jesus said, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.”
Category: Angry Christian, Church, Family, Pastors, WorshipTags: Age Segregated Worship, Angry Christian Podcast, Battle of the Ages, Big Church, Church, Church Growth, Church Wars, Cottage Grove Minnesota, Gallitin Tennessee, Generational Wars, In fighting, Matthew 19, Multi-Generational Church, Parenting, Parents, Podcast, Worship, Young and Old
Posted on January 13, 2020
by Brad Bates
Leave a Comment
Before The Mandalorian told us that “This is the way” as he protected that undeniably cute baby Yoda (spawning COUNTLESS memes), Jesus had already come before and shook up the world as he claimed and proved to be “the Way”, the Truth, and the life (John 14:6), and Paul who was once persecuting the followers of “The Way” was now claiming to be a follower of the teachings of “the Way” (Acts 24:14).
Category: Angry Christian, Church, Faith, Life, Pastors, Social Media, Truth, UnityTags: Acts 24:14, Angry Christian Podcast, Angry Christians, Apostasy, Apostate, Baby Yoda, Battle of the Ages, Christianity, Christians, Church, Church Growth, Church Wars, Cottage Grove Minnesota, Disney, Gallitin Tennessee, Generational Wars, Grace Christian Fellowship, In fighting, John 14:6, Journey Church, Knightsville United Methodist Church, Little Christs, Local Church, Martin Luther, Multi-Generational Church, Social Media, Southern Baptist Church, The Mandalorian, The Way, The Way the Truth the Life, This is the Way, United Methodist Church, Young and Old
Posted on January 8, 2020
by Brad Bates
3 Comments
What is to follow is a response from me to the article, Why Churches Should Ditch The Projector Screens and Bring Back Hymnals that was posted to http://www.thefederalist.com back in June of last year (2019). I have seen this article numerous times before, and had debated on responding, but it seems to have resurfaced again, and so I felt a respectful push back would do the discussion some good. And that is what I intend to do.
Please note that this article is not intended to attack traditional churches, or solely support contemporary churches, but to directly address the points made by this author in his article. As a worship leader, I have a deep appreciation for all aspects of church musical worship, so I appreciate and see the value in it all.
Category: Angry Christian, Church, Music, Unity, WorshipTags: 1 Peter 3:15-16, 1 Samuel 16:7, 2 Samuel 6:16-23, Amen, Church, Contemporary Church, Drums, Formal Church, Hymnals, Liturgy, Projectors, Psalm 138:6, Shape Note Hymnals, The Federalist, Tom Raabe, Traditional Church, Worship
Posted on January 6, 2020
by Brad Bates
Leave a Comment
I’ve started noticing a trend with some (not all or even most) Christians, especially male Christians, and even more specifically male Christians who would consider themselves “culturally engaged” or taking on cultural ideologies that conflict with Biblical principles and moral standards found in the Bible.
That trend is this…any time someone (like myself) mentions that we as believers need to love others better (not just those within the church, but also those outside of the church) and be kinder, more patient, and more gentle with people…there seems to rise up from the ranks of the individuals I mentioned above an immediate defensive posture, and their responses come across as almost a disdain for what is being said.
Category: Angry Christian, Church, LifeTags: 1 Corinthians 13, Anger, Angry, Christians, Church, Faithfulness, Fruit of the Spirit, Galatians 5:22-23, Gentleness, Goodness, Joy, Kindness, Local Church, love, Next Generation, Patience, Peace, Self-control, Triggered
Posted on November 21, 2019
by Brad Bates
4 Comments
After watching the western church response to John MacArthur/Beth Moore, Kanye, then Kanye/Joel Osteen, and now Chick-fil-A I can confidently say that the reality is these folks get triggered just as easily as their liberal and millennial counterparts…they just get triggered over different things.
Category: Angry Christian, Church, Cultural Engagement, Life, Truth, UnityTags: Beth Moore, Chick-fil-A, Chick-fil-A donations, Christian Outrage Culture, Fruit of the Spirit, Galatians 5:22-23, Go Home, Houston, Jesus is King, Joel Osteen, John MacArthur, John MacArthur and Beth Moore, Kanye West, Kanye West and Joel Osteen, Lakewood Church Houston, Liberals, Millennial Generation, Outrage, Outrage Culture, Texas, Triggered
Posted on November 11, 2019
by Brad Bates
Leave a Comment
You may not believe this, but I don’t agree with every Christian about every topic to come across the Church table. An even bigger shock is that every Christian doesn’t agree with me about every topic to come across the Church table. I mean they should…because I’m usually right…but that’s beside the point (totally joking!).
Category: Angry Christian, Church, UnityTags: baptism, Beth Moore, bible versions, Disagreement, Division, eschatology, Grace, John MacArthur, Kanye West, musical preferences, one baptism, one body, one faith, one god, one hope, one lord, one spirit, Sticks and stones, Unity, where the church meets, Women in Ministry
Posted on November 1, 2019
by Brad Bates
1 Comment
In case you’ve been living under a rock or out of the country for the last month, let me just tell you…it’s been a busy couple of weeks for the American Church.
Category: Angry Christian, Church, Faith, Hate, Ministry, Truth, UnityTags: Angry Christian Podcast, Beth Moore, Christian Podcast, Complimentarianism, Division, Jesus is King, John MacArthur, Kanye Gets Saved, Kanye West, Unity, Women in Ministry
Posted on October 21, 2019
by Brad Bates
1 Comment
On one side you have the pastors and church leaders (the shepherds), and on the other you have the church body (the sheep). For decades (if not centuries) there has always been a tension between these 2 sides of the coin, which results in church splits, hurt relationships, broken testimonies, people being turned away from and turned off of the church, and a whole lot more. Each side of the coin seems to think they ARE the coin not realizing that they are but one side of the same coin….that there is another side.
Category: Angry Christian, Church, Life, Ministry, Truth, UnityTags: Angry Christian Podcast, bite the shepherd, Christian Podcast, Church abuse, Church Leaders, church members, Ephesians 4, health, hebrews 13:17, Jesus, love, mistreatment of pastors, Unity
Posted on September 24, 2019
by Brad Bates
Leave a Comment
Recently, I started a podcast with several friends called The Angry Christian Podcast, which explores the topic of anger as it relates to being a Christian. We talk through various topics and questions and scriptures trying to explore and understand better the concept of… Continue Reading “Is Being Angry a Sin?”
Category: Angry Christian, Church, LifeTags: 2 Kings 17:18, Anger, Angry Christian, Destructive anger, Ephesians 4:26-27, Is Anger a Sin, Is being angry a sin, Isasiah 48:9, Reddit, Sin
Posted on August 27, 2019
by Brad Bates
1 Comment
We have all been there before. Someone (or perhaps even it is us) is trying to communicate something very important but the delivery of the message is conducted in such a way that it immediately causes the hearer to throw up walls, tune them out, or flat out reject the message. It doesn’t matter if what is being communicated is true, important, or eternally impacting…the delivery is simply abysmal and causing more harm than it is helping.
Category: Church, Cultural Engagement, LifeTags: Angry Christians, Body Language, Bullhorn Guy, Christian, Church, Communication, Delivery, Environment, Motive, Posture, Tone, Words
Posted on July 29, 2019
by Brad Bates
Leave a Comment
I’ve been in a lot of churches over the years, and not just ones that I have served on staff at or been a member at, but also visited alone or with friends, and there is a phrase I have heard quite frequently no… Continue Reading “The Fine Line Between Culture and Cult”
Category: ChurchTags: Accountability, Church Cult, church Culture, Cult, Culture, DNA, Elder, Fine Line, Pastor, Plurality, Safeguards
Posted on July 26, 2019
by Brad Bates
Leave a Comment
There once was a man who was in the market for a car that was really good on gas mileage, was cheap, and was small (he worked in a downtown area where parking was minimal). This man found a 2002 Mini Cooper with 56,000… Continue Reading “The Parable of the 2002 Mini Cooper: A Lesson On Getting Help”
Category: Change, Church, Cultural Engagement, Family, Life, Marriage, Ministry, Offense, Parenting, Pastors, TruthTags: 2002 Mini Cooper, Clinical Counseling, Clutch, Counseling, Despair, Help, Issues, Mini, Parable, Problems, Transmission
Posted on June 11, 2019
by Brad Bates
Leave a Comment
I’ve always struggled a bit with my temper. OK…scratch that…I have always struggled with getting angry ENTIRELY too quickly. Just ask my wife…my kids…people who have served along side me in ministry…people in traffic…Let me just be real for a moment…more often than not, my fuse was (and sometimes still is) shorter than the line to the men’s restroom at a Backstreet Boys concert.
Category: Church, Faith, Hate, Life, Ministry, TruthTags: 1 Corinthians 13, A better way, Angry, Angry Christians, Backstreet boys, Christian, clanging cymbal, hypocrites, Kingdom Justice Warrior, Mirror, Peter Griffin, Politics, Robin Williams ad lib, Truth in Love, You know what really grinds my gears
Posted on May 30, 2019
by Brad Bates
3 Comments
I used to be pretty critical about those who didn’t “go to church”. Clearly, they lacked something I didn’t because they didn’t want to be AT church. Clearly they weren’t as committed to God and the Church as I was…I who was on staff… Continue Reading “Don’t Just Judge, Judge Rightly: An Inconvenient Truth”
Category: Church, LifeTags: An Inconvenient Truth, Church, Church Leaders, Disconnect, John 7:24, Judge, Judge rightly, Judgement, Pastors, Struggle
Posted on March 19, 2019
by Brad Bates
Leave a Comment
Being called a Spiritual Son or hearing someone call themselves my Spiritual Father (or mother) was something I wasn’t used to growing up in the Southern Baptist Church. Which is odd, because there is certainly this type of relationship displayed throughout the Bible.
Posted on February 5, 2019
by Brad Bates
5 Comments
au-thor-i-tar-i-an /əˌTHôrəˈterēən/ adjective: favoring or enforcing strict obedience to authority, especially that of the government at the expense of personal freedom showing a lack of concern for the wishes or opinions of others; domineering; dictatorial. noun: an authoritarian person Nothing is more unattractive to… Continue Reading “6 Signs of an Authoritarian Church Leader”
Category: Church, Ministry, Pastors, TruthTags: About Jesus, Abuse, Anger, Angry Christians, Authoritarian, Authoritarianism, Best Sermon Podcast, Christian Podcast, Church Leaders, Church Leadership, Ezekiel 34:1-11, Globe Trotters, Good Christian Podcast, Grinch, Jesus, Leadership, Matthew 20:25-28, Mr. Rogers Neighborhood, Pastors, Podcast, Podcast Religion, Qualifications of Elders, Ray Stevens, Sheep, Shepherds, Spiritual abuse, Untouchable
Posted on January 27, 2019
by Brad Bates
1 Comment
THROWING UP THE WALLS Since I’ve begun my foray into examining and critiquing modern Church practices and settings in hopes to find what the Church really should look like, I have found that from the moment I began I have been met with a… Continue Reading “Obese Church VS Keto Church”
Category: Church, Ministry, TruthTags: Church, Church Body, Church Growth, Church Health, Consumer Christianity, Consumerism, Keto, Keto Friendly, Obesity, Walls
Posted on January 24, 2019
by Brad Bates
Leave a Comment
CLEARING THE STAGE AND THE AIR Jimmy Needham put out a cover of the song “Clear the Stage” back in 2012, but I was only introduced to it a year or 2 ago by my former pastor. It is a song that challenges the… Continue Reading “Worship Is More Than a Song”
Category: Church, Music, Truth, WorshipTags: clear the stage, idols, jimmy needham, living sacrific, Music, power of music, Romans 12, what is worship, Worship, worship is more than a song, Worship music
Posted on January 20, 2019
by Brian Baldwin
Leave a Comment
On January 20th, 2013, my life changed drastically in an instant. In the span of maybe an hour, I went from looking for trouble at the bar to being distraught at the realization that I was at the mercy of a God I didn’t… Continue Reading “Identifying a True Christian”
Category: Church, UnityTags: Christianity, Church, Death, Faith, God, Jesus, Life, Prayer, Religion, Sin, Truth
Posted on January 14, 2019
by Brad Bates
6 Comments
THE MOVEMENT Around 1997, a man by the name of Jay Shafer began a now growing and increasingly popular movement known as The Tiny House Movement. The purpose or vision of most who are moving toward the Tiny House movement is really quite simple:… Continue Reading “The Tiny House Movement: A Big Lesson for the American Church”
Category: Church, Life, Ministry, Truth, UnityTags: Acts 2:42, American Church, Church, Clutter, Early Church, Excess, Francis Chan, Letters to the Church, Steve Timmis, Tim Chester, Tiny House, Tiny House Movement, Total Church
Posted on January 9, 2019
by Brad Bates
2 Comments
A ROYAL INVITATION Imagine, the Queen of England sends word to you that she would like for you to pay her a visit. She would like for you to come to England, sit down in her living room (or whatever that looks like in… Continue Reading “An Audience With the King”
Category: Church, Prayer, Truth, Unity, WorshipTags: Audience With a King, Church, If two or more, King, Prayer, Queen Elizabeth, Royal Invitation, Throne Room
Posted on January 6, 2019
by Brad Bates
Leave a Comment
It was announced back at the end of October that the church I had been serving on staff at would close it’s doors on December 30, 2018. And so it did. This, of course, left my family wondering what we were going to do… Continue Reading “The Table – What is Fellowship?”
Category: Church, Family, Life, Ministry, TruthTags: 1 John 1, Acts 2:42, Church, Communion, Ephesians 5, Family, Fellowship, Gathering, House Church, Table, The Table
Posted on January 3, 2019
by Brad Bates
3 Comments
Have you ever seen those commercials or read the inserts on some prescriptions that seem to describe side-effects that far exceed the issue it is supposedly treating? You know, crazy things like, “This drug treating a mild cough could cause internal bleeding, the breakdown… Continue Reading “No, Your Pastor Shouldn’t Be Expected to Lead Your Friend to Jesus and The Church Gathering is Not For The Unbeliever”
Posted on September 26, 2018
by Brad Bates
Leave a Comment
If you’re seeing this article, and haven’t had a chance to read Part 1, I HIGHLY encourage you to start there as I lay this whole thing out in a fairly structured way. And much of what will be said in Part 2 gets… Continue Reading “A Pastoral Epidemic of Biblical Proportions (Part 2)”