Category Archives: christian

“Based on a True Story”

Posted on March 8, 2014 by Don Merritt

Don’t you love it when you see a movie that is “based on a true story”? Sometimes the story is fairly decent history, other times it’s wild fantasy with almost no hint of truth, but both can say “based” in … Continue reading →

Posted in christian | Tagged 19th Century, Christian, church, history, hope, inspiration, Jesus, life, perspective | 14 Comments

Seriously…?

Posted on March 8, 2014 by Don Merritt

The other day my wife sent me a picture and asked me to “crush it” and my immediate reaction was just to let it go… what’s the point? You see these kinds of things all the time here on WP, … Continue reading →

Posted in christian | Tagged attitude, Christian, hope, Jesus, love, perspective, thoughts | 24 Comments

A Friday Reflection

Posted on March 7, 2014 by Don Merritt

I was going to post another installment of our ongoing “Case Study” today, but then I thought maybe we could take a little break from that and I could share a thought or two of a more personal nature. I … Continue reading →

Posted in christian | Tagged church, discipleship, encouragement, hope, inspiration, Jesus, life, love, personal thoughts, perspective, thoughts | 11 Comments

Making Disciples: A Conversation Across the Atlantic

Posted on March 6, 2014 by Don Merritt

Over the past or week or so, we’ve been at it… posting. Posting again, separated by an ocean, united by Christ. We both approached the same subject from different angles, both concerned, both grieving, both seeking the answer. Paul in … Continue reading →

Posted in christian | Tagged Applied Theology, attitude, Christian, church, discipleship, hope, Jesus, life, perspective | 22 Comments

Case Study: Appeal to Men

Posted on March 6, 2014 by Don Merritt

I hope the title today didn’t scare off the women! This post is not in any way about denigrating, demeaning or neglecting women; quite the opposite! Churches in general, for about the last 40 to 45 years in the US … Continue reading →

Posted in christian | Tagged attitude, Christian, church, church growth, discipleship, encouragement, hope, Jesus, life, love, perspective | 3 Comments

Case Study: A New Way to See Things

Posted on March 5, 2014 by Don Merritt

When we were together yesterday, we went over some strategy ideas for Franklin Christian Church to use to begin their transformative process from a small and drifting congregation to a vital and active one where lives are changed for Christ. … Continue reading →

Posted in christian | Tagged attitude, Christian, church, church growth, discipleship, encouragement, hope, Jesus, life, perspective | 3 Comments

Case Study: Here We Go!

Posted on March 4, 2014 by Don Merritt

Now the fun begins; let’s get down to the nitty-gritty… Franklin Christian Church, our case study subject has a fascinating opportunity to change the lives of its people, and through them to make a signficant impact in its community for … Continue reading →

Posted in christian | Tagged Bible, Christianity, church, church growth, discipleship, encouragement, hope, Jesus, life, love, perspective | 5 Comments

Thirsting

Posted on March 2, 2014 by Don Merritt

“but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst.Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life” — John 14:4 If you’ve ever been really thirsty and parched, you … Continue reading →

Posted in christian | Tagged attitude, Bible, Christian, Devotional, encouragement, hope, inspiration, Jesus, life, love, perspective | 15 Comments

Case Study: Meet the People

Posted on March 1, 2014 by Don Merritt

Welcome back to our case study of FCC. Today we get to know a little more about the congregation… Out of the 60 members of FCC, roughly 35% are young adults ranging from 18 to 35 years of age, roughly … Continue reading →

Posted in christian | Tagged Christian, church, church growth, discipleship, encouragement, hope, Jesus, life, perspective | 2 Comments

Case Study: Initial Recommendations

Posted on February 28, 2014 by Don Merritt

Well, here we are again sitting around the conference table, getting ready to make a couple of recommendations to our brothers at Franklin Christian Church. FIRST: The Leadership Team needs to get together and craft a Biblical Vision Statement for … Continue reading →