Remember…
Never forget that when I recommend another resource, whether it’s a book, podcast, blog, or something else, that I’m not necessarily endorsing everything in that resource. I believe that we can learn from people we disagree with, even people we strongly disagree with.
I believe when it comes to resources that I recommend, that you can “eat the chicken, but spit out the bones.” That means you can take from any resource the things that are helpful even if they occur alongside of something that may not be helpful. This requires you and I to be discerning and wise.
God calls us, like Jeremiah, to separate the precious things from the vile ones. Only the Bible is inspired and only Jesus was perfect, so take every recommendation I make with a grain of salt and if you have a specific concern about something I reference, please email me at PursuingGlory@gmail.com.
Photo Credit: Remember by Loving Earth
The Didache – A Podcast Series by Keith Giles
Long time readers will know that though I talk about house churches, church planting, and revival a lot, the passion of my heart is seeing Jesus raise up apostolic Christianity in the Earth. And while Jesus continually raises up movements that have bits and pieces of apostolic Christianity in them, there are fewer true examples of apostolic Christianity than the first century church.
That’s why I was thrilled when Keith Giles produced a 9 part podcast on the Didache, a first century discipleship handbook created from the teachings of the original apostles. In case you didn’t know, the Didache is widely acknowledged to pre-date all of our New Testament books but wasn’t included in the New Testament. It gives a glimpse into the early lifestyle of the church and how they trained new disciples. While I wouldn’t call the Didache “inspired,” it definitely gives us good context to understand what the apostolic church looked like as it emerged in the first century.
Keith does a great job of walking through the different chapters of the Didache and as a result, he’s produced a valuable resource for the church. If you’re interested at all in what the church returning to her apostolic roots might look like, I would highly encourage you to check out this series. I’ve listed the various episodes below.
Also, several times throughout the podcast, Keith encourages you to go out on the internet and find a copy. Just for ease, you can read the whole Didache here or you can buy a copy here.
Thanks, Keith, for this great resource!
The Didache – Part One: What is It?
The Didache – Part Two: Structure/Teaching
The Didache – Part Three: Chapter 1 wrap-up & Chapter 2
The Didache – Part Four: Chapter 3
The Didache – Part Five: Chapter 4
The Didache – Part Six: “The Way of Death”
The Didache – Part Seven: Chapters 8-10
The Didache – Part Eight: Teacher and Prophet
The Didache – Part Nine: Watch Your Life
Photo Credit: The Didache: Faith, Hope, and Life of the Earliest Christian Communities by Aaron Milavec
Guest Posting: Spirit-led Gatherings
Dave over at Searching God’s Heart asked me to guest post about the topic of Spirit-led Meetings. Have you been part of a Spirit-Led Gathering? How do you know? So many people have different ideas about what a Spirit-led gathering is that it’s hard to know. Here’s a paragraph from the post:
Joy floods the room as everyone begins to glorify God. Several brothers surround the man and begin to pray for him. Plans are made for a baptism the next day, which interferes very little with everyone’s plans because most had planned to assemble together the next day anyways. The gathering goes late into the night as others share about the greatness of Christ, the worth of following Him despite the cost, and the imminence of His return. You leave late into the evening encouraged by the supernatural work that has obviously taken place.
I’d like to encourage you to jump over to Searching God’s Heart and read the rest of the post. This is the first in a series of three posts. Join Dave, his readers, and myself as we discuss the importance of churches being corporately led by the Holy Spirit.
UPDATE: You can see all three parts of this series. I will update the links as they come out:
Part One: Have You Met With Christians Like This? Part Two: What is a Spirit-Led Gathering? Part Three: A Case Study
Photo Credit: Holy Spirit Dove by John Kroll
Cluster Map
Pursuing Glory 