Someone once said that if a lie is told often enough, it will be believed as truth. Unfortunately, this has happened in Christianity. Growing up in the church, you meet a lot of different people who have an interesting way of interpreting the Bible. I believe that many of these lies often came from a folk theology which creates a hybrid of tradition and Scripture, thereby creating a Faux-ology. Continue Reading…

I had a conversation with a friend recently which was really eye-opening. He told me about a huge regret that he had. For about one decade of his life, there was no clear mission or vision in his life. He knew there was more to life, but failed to realize what to do with his life. This time was spent on trivial matters that did not at all make a significant impact upon the people around him. When this season ended and a clear call from God was finally realized, the one piece of advice that he had for me was this: Continue Reading…

This past Sunday, we celebrated six months since the launch of a brand new English service at The Slavic Church | Orange County. It has been exhilarating to see what Jesus has done in just half a year. By some estimates, less than five percent of Russian churches in the United States have launched a fully functioning English service. Because this is such unchartered territory, our only blueprint was the grace Jesus provided, a lead pastor who decided to step out in faith and a dedicated team, full of dreams and visions. Continue Reading…

All they care about is their traditions. They are stuck in the ’90′s. They don’t care about reaching the culture with Christ. They are resistant to any change. They do not want to assimilate to their local environment. Young people are not welcomed there. These are all things that I have heard from people who choose to speak using superlatives –  with the subject being the Russian Church in the United States.

Continue Reading…

A fellow blogger posted some great content surrounding his concerns with the missional movement.

The post is actually very balanced, fair and encouraging. Take a look at what he said in its entirety by clicking here.

This upcoming Saturday, our church is hosting a conference entitled The Collision Conference: When Christ & Culture Collide.

The Collision Conference: When Christ & Culture Collide

If you are going to be in Southern California this weekend, you are personally invited to this conference. Click here to visit the official conference website. Click here to join the event on Facebook. We will also be streaming live this conference. Links and details will be available on the official conference website.

Please participate by either attending in person or watching live — and join in asking questions which will be answered during a live Q&A session.

Join us in praying that this conference would glorify Christ and that His gospel would transform the life of each participant.

This past Sunday was the first time our church gathered in our new facility. It is a great opportunity that God has blessed us with. We are grateful to the host church for being so gracious.

We are excited to partner together for the gospel. Here is a short photo essay of the first Sunday at our new facility: Continue Reading…

This post that went live Tuesday of this week, entitled: The Most Inexplainable Issue I Have Ever Faced In The Church caused quite a stir. The discussion about the post was rather lively and gracious. It was a really good sharpening session of various approaches to the issue.

One of the commenters provided some really good insight that speaks to and explains why this issue exists in the church. If you do not yet know what issue I speak of, click here to read the original post. The reason I want to post the comment front and center is simple: It hits at the crux of the matter and does so in a very succinct manner. Here we go:

Continue Reading…

I have faced an issue that I just can’t quite figure out. I hope that you as the discerning reader will be able to help shed light onto it. It seems like a particular mode of reasoning is prevalent everywhere but the church.

Only in the church will you find people who constantly disagree and argue with someone who has devoted their life to diligently studying the Scriptures. Before you start thinking of a rebuttal, read this: Continue Reading…

In this post, I want to outline four types (groups) of people that populate and dominate the Russian church in the United States. This is all based on my twenty year observation while being in the Russian church in America.

Let me say right out of the gate that I love the church in general and the Russian church in particular. I do not remember a time when I was not a part of a church. I was born into a fourth generation Christian home. Continue Reading…

One of the many marks of a healthy community is a culture of confession. The bible calls us to confess our sins to one another. The bible calls us to pray for one another. These instructions are for our good and for our benefit.

We are called to confess our sin and to ask for forgiveness from our sin. Before healing can occur, confession must take place. An acidic environment in a church culture can exist because Continue Reading…

I absolutely love the local church. I really do believe that the church is the hope of the world. If you call yourself a Christian but are not a committed member of a local church, the authenticity of your claim may be challenged.

When I invite people to come to church, some say they do not believe in “organized religion.” I tell them that if they actually stepped into a church, they would realize it is not that organized. Some are more than others. So why should everyone be a part of a local church? I want to present five reasons to substantiate this statement: Continue Reading…

I often hear people say that they absolutely love Jesus, just not the church. I call this the comfortable deception condition (cdc). This cdc stunts the spiritual growth of a Christian and robs the community of learning from another. It usurps the individual of progress they would otherwise experience.

To say that you love Jesus and not the church is to assert an illogical statement. The two go together. In fact, Jesus died for her (Eph. 5:25). It is a package deal. The are inextricably tethered together. They cannot be separated. They are eternally connected. They are not mutually exclusive. They cannot be.

What makes so many people steer clear from being a committed member of a local church? Why do people stray away from intentionally naming a particular community of faith, their home community? Many people are addicted to being bunny believers. They hop from church to church, always looking for the next best thing. Settling in and down in one church is just not their thing.

Today, I am not going to defend or decry official church membership. Even though I believe that it is biblical and a case can be made for it. What I want to do today is point out five popular reasons why a person refuses to be a committed member of a local church: Continue Reading…

The Apostle Paul planted an exemplary church in the city of Thessalonica. It was a church that was imitated and it is a church that should be imitated (1 Thess. 1:1-5).

Here are eight characteritics of a church, centered around the person and work of Jesus. Continue Reading…

This week, I want to publish some posts specifically on the church. I want to write not so much what the church is but rather what the church does (or should do). Although I will provide a cursory definition of what the church is simply for clarification.

The word church literally means “a public assembly of people.”  I would add that it is a gathering of people who have been saved by grace through faith in Jesus. They have been saved by the Christ and have declared Him as Lord over every aspect of life. The church then is a body of believers, living together as a called out people, worshiping with one another, for the glory of God and to bring joy to one another.

I love the church. I love both the local and universal church. I cant remember a time in my life when I was not part of a church. I really do believe that the church is the hope of the world. What does the church do? What should the church do? What is it’s function? Continue Reading…