Church Bootcamp

The church wasn’t some idea that emerged out of Paul’s missionary journeys. Jesus came to create a new stand-out community that would model to the world what it actually looked like when Jesus ruled. When we read his manifesto known as the Sermon on the Mount, we see that it was (and is) something altogether phenomenal. In these sessions, we take a close look at just what it means to be the people of God.

All the gospels end with a commissioning by the resurrected Lord. Often these commissions are interpreted as sending individuals to do evangelistic or mission work. Yet these are words that define the church in terms of its identity and its role in the biblical drama. This session opens up these comissions in terms of the way they define a missional community.

The church wasn’t some idea that emerged out of Paul’s missionary journeys. Jesus came to create a new stand-out community that would model to the world what it actually looked like when Jesus ruled. When we read his manifesto known as the Sermon on the Mount, we see that it was (and is) something altogether phenomenal. In these sessions, we take a close look at just what it means to be the people of God.

The crucifixion has often been interpreted simply in terms of its benefits for individual people. While true, this is inadequate. When the cross is placed in the context of the literary structure of the gospels and in the context of the whole biblical story, the cross has cosmic and ecclesiological significance. This talk unfolds the cosmic scope, communal significance, and the transforming power of the cross, all of which produce a missional people. Like the cross, the resurrection has often been shorn of its ecclesiological and missional implications. The resurrection stands at the centre of history with cosmic and communal significance, and this lecture also opens this up with an eye to its missional importance.

The crucifixion has often been interpreted simply in terms of its benefits for individual people. While true, this is inadequate. When the cross is placed in the context of the literary structure of the gospels and in the context of the whole biblical story, the cross has cosmic and ecclesiological significance. This talk unfolds the cosmic scope, communal significance, and the transforming power of the cross, all of which produce a missional people. Like the cross, the resurrection has often been shorn of its ecclesiological and missional implications. The resurrection stands at the centre of history with cosmic and communal significance, and this lecture also opens this up with an eye to its missional importance.

The church wasn’t some idea that emerged out of Paul’s missionary journeys. Jesus came to create a new stand-out community that would model to the world what it actually looked like when Jesus ruled. When we read his manifesto known as the Sermon on the Mount, we see that it was (and is) something altogether phenomenal. In these sessions, we take a close look at just what it means to be the people of God.

The gospel is that which creates, sustains, nurtures and perfects the church. To achieve this, the gospel needs to be at the center of all we are and do as the people of God. The gospel needs to be taken out of our pulpits and meetings and applied into the mundane and routine of our corporate and personal lives.

The gospel is that which creates, sustains, nurtures and perfects the church. To achieve this, the gospel needs to be at the center of all we are and do as the people of God. The gospel needs to be taken out of our pulpits and meetings and applied into the mundane and routine of our corporate and personal lives.

The gospel is about a King who died to rescue a people who would reveal his character by their shared lives. In keeping with who I am ‘in Adam’, I individualize and privatize the gospel so that church is reduced to a necessary but often intrusive addendum. The gospel calls us to live ‘in Christ’ corporately and so show the power of the cross to reconcile and create community.

The gospel is about a King who died to rescue a people who would reveal his character by their shared lives. In keeping with who I am "in Adam", I individualize and privatize the gospel so that church is reduced to a necessary but often intrusive addendum. The gospel calls us to live "in Christ" corporately and so show the power of the cross to reconcile and create community.