Sentences with phrase «identity as church»

The scriptures remind of us of our particular identity as church and, as a living text, mediate God's presence and confer power for ministry and mission.

Is it possible to maintain our identity as the church and to be a «successful» institution at the same time?

Our mission focuses have changed our very identity as church.

Not exact matches

The Church maintains her public identity as an adversary of the sexual revolution.

As Catholics become more and more concerned with their personal identity, the ideals and morals of the Universal Church begin to disintegrate when faced with the «subjectivism, relativism, emotivism, and nihilism so much in fashion in Western democracies today.»

Confessional Protestants — those whose churches explicitly hold to one of the great Protestant confessions of the sixteenth or seventeenth centuries and who value classical orthodox formulations as being faithful to scripture — should focus their ecumenical energy in dialoguing and working with those denominations which share their most basic commitments, especially to the Nicene Trinitarian identity of God.

Insofar as a church's identity is consciously fashioned in response to a sociological imperative, it is not likely to be enduring or persuasive anyway.

More recently, Coronation Street's Rev Billy Mayhew (Daniel Griffith) is a gay character who struggles with the apparent conflict between his sexual identity and the Church he loves, which could be viewed either as a reflection of real life, or a deliberate ploy to drum up viewing figures by exploiting a delicate and complicated theological subject.

The authors judge, correctly I reckon, that however individualistic conservatives» political and theological ideology may be, their churches are apt to function more like authentic communities — close - knit groups, commitment to which is viewed by their members not as optional but as integral to individual identity.

The Church had welcomed the uncatechized, counting on a «natural» churching to take place later, as if Christian identity would come automatically.

Although Calvin never lost sight of these themes, he is perhaps best remembered for his detailed exposition of the leading themes of the Reformed faith in his Institutes of the Christian Religion» widely regarded as the most significant religious work of the sixteenth century» and his wrestling with issues concerning the identity of the church and its place in public life.

Much of what passed as conciliar - inspired church reform, they argued, was an accommodation to the world and a betrayal of the church's identity.

Moreover, in the Church the threatening schisms are often related to identity politics: race, colonial history and cultural issues such as gay marriage and the role of women.

The drama of sacraments as occasions in which the power of God comes to dwell in the believer can become obscured when a church takes its rites for granted or forgets the radical nature of Christian identity.

In the history of educational enterprise of the Christian Church in India, there were several articulations and re-articulations of the Christian identity in Higher Education as spiritual responses of the Christian Mission / Church to changes in the cultural scenario of India.

I think the church, from a position of strength, conceded far too much by supporting the legislature's use of dubious psychological concepts such as «gender identity» and «sexual orientation» in state anti-discrimination law.

This «one magnificent sweep of creation», to use Holloway's words, re-founds and renews the Church's theology of creation as well as filling out our insight into the very identity of Jesus Christ.

The identity of the Church according to the model we have been suggesting is not found in an essential definition of its nature as an institution, but in the function of its evolution.

Churches tend to take on the cultural influences and traditions of its members and community, but how many predominantly white churches own a white identity and name its culture as beinChurches tend to take on the cultural influences and traditions of its members and community, but how many predominantly white churches own a white identity and name its culture as beinchurches own a white identity and name its culture as being white?

As such, Protestant churches provided many Americans with a great part of their social identity.

In departing from the clear teaching of the Church on our sexual identity, we do injury to our personal dignity as being male or female image - bearers of God and prevent ourselves from resolving the most fundamental question each of us strives to answer: «Who am I?»

The movements Howell mentioned were all led by powerful personalities, but they also dealt with basic issues of Baptist identity and Christian faith: namely, the balance of Scripture and tradition as norms of belief and practice (Campbellism); the nature of the true church and its identity markers (Landmarkism); and the reality of divine grace in the plan of salvation (hyper «Calvinism).

«A higher religion imposes a conflict, a division, torment and struggle within the individual... we escape from this strain by attempting to revert to an identity of religion and culture which prevailed at a more primitive stage; as when we indulge in alcohol as an anodyne, we consciously seek unconsciousness» (Notes, p. 68) Typically, Eliot did not attempt to lessen the strain; rather, he saw the church as the «salt of the earth,» affecting society at its deepest levels.

Otherwise the peculiar Mormon identity will dissipate, and, as have other Christian churches, this one will divide.

But I am convinced that the churches that will be most effective in recapturing their life as missional communities will discover their identities at the margins.

I want to consider three ways in which the church confers a Christian identity and focus on the challenges presented in each of these areas: the church as a community of memory, the church as denomination, and the church as a supportive community.

Another problem arises from the church's increasingly local identity: If laity care less and less about the denomination as a larger entity, then clergy will be the guardians of denominationalism.

The church declares that what matters is not one's corporeal identity as either Jew or gentile, but One's inward spiritual identity as one who believes.

The vision of this church is to engage in those things which strengthen our primary identity as a family and which allow our pastor to attend to the primary practice of prayer, study of scripture, and teaching.

If the church acknowledges the permanence and centrality of Israel's election as central to its own identity, it will expect baptized Jews to continue to affirm their Jewish identity and continue to observe Torah.

In Poland, the Church relied on its traditional role as bearer of national identity.

The age old problem of SELF often is manifest in a false identity such as; «we are children of Abraham» (therefore I am righteous), «I go to... «church»» (somehow this «church» makes you something) or «all you say we will do» (the people of Israel saying they in themself can meet God's standard), «I give to the church» (not personally meeting others needs), «I do this program or that program» (though you do not desire to glorify God but rather there is some intrinsic value in doing a program).

During the period when a college simply functioned as a gathering of the church, with its foibles and deficiencies as well as its advantages and virtues, its Christian identity seemed not to require affirmation or reflection.

All external signs of identity, all structures, associations, and programs, valuable or even essential as they may be, ultimately exist only to support and foster the deeper unity which is, in Christ, God's indefectible gift to his Church.»

As for Matthew Levering's fears of a «twofold ecclesiology» if we embrace a special identity for Messianic Jews in the Church, he should read what John Paul II had to say about the twofold composition of the Church, that is, the East and the West.

Chilean Pentecostalism shares the basic characteristics of the Pentecostal identity: an emphasis on evangelization oriented to conversion, the baptism of the Holy Spirit, the church as a charismatic and healing community, the belief in a spiritual world, and the anticipation of the Second Coming of Christ.

As such, the Church has its own identity.

The theological and historical dimensions of a church's corporate identity account for its uniqueness as a social organism.

I've been in full time ministry, got fired, struggled for decades with my self - identity as a construction worker to raise a family, and ended up joining a Church where I had a snowball's chance in hell of getting ordained but still held out hope, but it has never happened after 14 years now.

Only as a community that does not find its source of identity and vocation within its cultural milieu can the church acquire any intimations of «good news» for its cultural milieu.

Even though the church and the world are relational concepts, the church finds its identity by separating itself from the world, and in turn is able to show the world its proper identity as a consequence of that separation.

During the formative years of Dutch influence in the late seventeenth century, the religion of the Reformed Church was given special protection as the vehicle through which the Afrikaner identity was forged.

Pastor Tim Criss of the Blame Street Baptist Church in Peoria commented, «Our program is unabashedly religious and nothing in our contract prevents our identity as a faith - based organization.»

The strongest evidence on that point appears on the first page of her book, where «Bill,» a member of Grace, talks about his identity as a Christian and an American and about his volunteer work, through the church, at a local shelter for disadvantaged teens.

Don't allow the end of this relationship to define the end of your identity as a beloved friend, brother or sister in the church, or leader to others.

As a kid in Missouri, I was a Baptist, and that identity said not only that I belonged to an important church but that I was on the right side of the great eternal divide, ready to defend my salvation against the other contenders around me.

He blessed that wee new girl, and her family, and it was that moment when the quiet unassuming one is revealed as their true identity in the movie, he's still a pastor, still a teacher, even after all of the deconstruction and pulling apart and rebuilding of our faith, and our understanding of church and go - go - go - programs on the premise of compounds and build - it - they - will - come, coupled with a new understanding of vocation and ministry, even with his business acumen, and the new normal life in the secular marketplace.

This condition is one factor behind the steady decay of purpose and the decline in identity among mainline denominations: The second volume of the United Methodist Church's «Into Our Third Century» series argues that the denomination's most pressing need as it approaches its bicentennial in 1984 is «to develop a clear sense of purpose and identity for its life and work.»

Tim i found it liberating to just do what the Lord wants you to do i work within his boundarys and yes i attend church and enjoy it.I love the people and i love hearing the word and worshipping the Lord even if others are still bound up with traditions thats not my walk thats theres.My focus is to do what the Lord wants me to do.There have been times i have said no to the pastor he does nt understand why i choose not to lead the worship.i query him as well regarding the idea that its not just performing a function because there is a need our hearts have to be in the right place so that the Lord can use us but he did nt understand where i was coming from and thats okay because of that i just said no until my heart is right i am better not being involved in leading.But i am happy to be an encouragement to others in the worship team i havent wanted to be the leader i have done that in the past.So my focus has been just the singing and being part of different worship teams i think the Lord has other plans as the groups i am in seem to be changing at the same time i am aware that i do nt to worry about change as the Lord knows whats best.I used to be quite comfortable leading the music but that was before when i was operating in my own self confidence and pride.The Lord did such a huge change in my life that i lost my self confidence and that is not a bad thing at all as my spiritual growth has been incredible.The big change was my identity moved from me and what i could do to knowing who i was in Christ and that he is my strength and confidence.Now i know that without him i can do nothing in fact i am dependent on his empowerment through his holy spirit all the time in everything.In the weekend i was asked to lead the music at another church i attend multiple churchs although i attend two regularly one has services in the morning and one has services in the evening so the two do nt really clash.In the weekend i was asked to lead the music its been two years since i did that and i was worried on how i would go.All i can say is that it went really well and because i stepped out in Faith the Lord really blessed the morning to the congregation.The difference is knowing that i serve the Lord with the gifts he has given me but my heart has to be right and when i do it in his way it builds up the body and it brings glory to him.May the Lord continue to show you what he wants you to do even though others may not understand your reasons i just want you to know that you do nt have to pull away completely just work within the boundarys that the Lord gives you and do nt feel pressured by others expectations to do anything that feel uncomfortable.Be involved just as you feel lead by the holy spirit even if it is in a very minor way take small steps.regards brentnz

For this aspect of tradition — the dimension of symbolic distinctiveness preserved in the ancient patterns of the worship and ritual life of the Church — is at least as central to Catholic identity as many of the doctrinal positions worried about by those who conceive of tradition primarily as a body of authoritative teaching.