Articles — Advent Christian Voices

"Establishing Believers, Leaders, and Churches"- Resources for the 2018 Eastern Regional Annual Convention

Leading up to the 2018 Eastern Regional Annual Convention, Advent Christian Voices will be featuring a series of articles highlighting the central topic for this year’s convention, which invites us to consider what means to establish believers, leaders, and churches. This feature has been submitted by the Eastern Regional office and is intended to encourage conversation heading into the convention. The following is a set of helpful resources from BILD meant to inform and give context to the Region’s discourse at the convention. Articles from Advent Christian authors on pertinent topics will be forthcoming.

News, Church PracticesThomas LoghryOctober 8, 2018ERA, establishing, 2018, Jeff Reed, BILD, leaders, believers, churchesComment

The Cost of Planting...

Can you think of a good reason NOT to plant a church? There are a plethora of good answers: a declining community, a bad location, no church planter or core group and no vision for reaching the lost. I am sure you could add finances to the list. While the cost of planting a church can be significant, it largely depends on the context in which one is planting. In 2002, we planted Northside Community Church in Knightdale, North Carolina, a suburban community just outside of Raleigh.

"Is Our Denomination Dying?"

Thom Rainer recently published a new episode on his weekly podcast Revitalize & Replant that caught my attention. For those unfamiliar, Dr. Rainer is the President of LifeWay Resources, the publishing arm of the Southern Baptist Convention. Rainer is well respected across…

Unity, Church PracticesErik ReynoldsJune 22, 2018podcast, them rainer, denomination Comment

Does the Church Need Apologetics?

“Oh, you’re a Christian? Why do you hate gays? Why do you want to stop people from love?”

“Oh, you’re a Christian? Why do you hate science and reason?”

“Oh, you’re a Christian? How did Noah fit all those Dinosaurs on the Ark?”

Biblical Theology, Church PracticesJack MumfordMay 29, 2018church, apologetics, atheismComment

The Way Towards Restoration

A recent Advent Christian Voices exchange captured my attention. It began with a four-part series by Corey McLaughlin covering four aspects of “theological fragmentation” in the Advent Christian Church.

12 Key Questions & Answers About BILD International

There has been a great deal of confusion surrounding BILD and its philosophy and it is my prayer this clarifies the matter helpfully regardless of whether one remains a proponent or opponent of their unique system.

Are Advent Christians Fragmented?

Corey McLaughlin has put forth a monumental effort in his four-part series...After reading these articles, I found myself agreeing with most of them, so much so that it has ironically led me to disagree with the basic contention of the series, that we are in fact fragmented along the lines Corey describes.

The Advent Christian General Conference Strategic Plan

Over the past few weeks, Advent Christian Voices has featured articles highlighting the ACGC Strategic Plan. We feature those articles once again in the space below, but in addition we are now providing the complete ACGC Strategic Plan for 2018-2020. You can view the plan on your web browser or download it in PDF format by clicking the link below:

News, Church PracticesThomas LoghryApril 11, 2018ACGC, strategic planComment

Advent Christians Must Plant Churches- Here's What We're Doing About It

As we look at the figures on churches in America across denominational lines, we see most groups are losing ground. We are currently averaging more than three churches per year closing in the Advent Christian denomination. However, numbers are not the most important thing to consider. The real heart of ministry is sharing the message of Jesus Christ with those who desperately need to hear it.

The Fragmentation of the Christian Worldview (4/4)

As we come to the end with this last post we have covered the problem of fragmentation by…well, fragmenting the problem into four parts and offering suggestions for how to put humpty dumpty together again in each section (see previous posts Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and the end of the article for a link to the full pdf). This final contribution will not rehash or summarize the previous posts, but will instead add a more practical tool to tie the major concepts together.

Unity, Discipleship, Church PracticesCorey J. McLaughlinMarch 27, 2018wisdom, worldview, James k.a. smith, st. augustine, loveComment

The Fragmentation of Christian Perspective- with special attention given to the Book of Acts (3/4)

“In essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, in all things charity,”[1] but what are the essentials? While both R.C. Sproul and John MacArthur can share a pulpit to give their differing positions on baptism (infant vs. believers baptism respectively), and speak at the same conferences, the fact remains that if R.C. Sproul were faithfully attending MacArthur’s church he still would not meet the requirements for membership and therefore could not join. While the general concept of baptism is necessary in order to be unified with the essentials o

Christian Ministry Fragmentation- Part 2 in a Leadership Series Pointing the Church Forward

in part 2 we zoom in to examine one major culprit in ministry fragmentation and how to solve it

Reversing Our Church Health Crisis

Eighty-five to ninety percent of churches in North America are either declining, plateaued or growing at a rate slower than the community in which they are located. Ten percent of the churches in North America are at imminent risk of closing.

Leadership Development: Where We’ve Been, Where We Must Go

1987. This was the year campus operations ceased at Berkshire Christian College. At that time, Berkshire was the primary means through which pastors were trained and developed within the Advent Christian Church. It had been more than a decade since pastoral studies programs had ceased at the Advent Christian Church’s other college, Aurora College, so with Berkshire’s closure, the Advent Christian Church was left without a clear avenue through which pastors and key denominational leaders could emerge.

Hold on Tom and Corey...I want to go on vacation!

Corey McLaughlin and Tom Loghry have levied some heavy charges over the last couple of weeks. They have indicated that it is our responsibility as Advent Christians to hasten the Second Coming of Christ. I want these good and well meaning servants of Christ to know this…I’m not ready for that. I certainly want Christ to return, but can’t he wait until I’ve gone on vacation first?

Advent Christians in the 21st Century Part 2 - Living Forward

The passionate, zealous, spirit of the Second Advent movement is still sought today by many in the Advent Christian denomination who pant with drought stricken desperation for the same radical demonstrations of faith as our early brethren. David Platt’s challenging call in Radical: Taking Back Your Faith From The American Dream, and John Piper’s Don’t Waste Your Life capture the essence of this spirit many seek while avoiding the pitfalls of fanaticism and abuse.

Gun Violence and Our Futile Answers

There is no need for me to give a lengthy account of the rampant gun violence and other massive acts of violence in America. You know about Las Vegas, Manhattan, and now Sutherland Springs. You know about the countless events that have preceded these more recent ones. It is horrific and is increasingly so as we grow ever more numb to it and it grows ever more normal to us. How tragic that our children have never known a world without all of this. Can they ever know such a world?

Can We Overcome Theological Fragmentation? A Way Forward

When I was invited to write this paper, there was a discussion about the possibility of coming to “one mind” about any issue in the AC churches. Is this possible? We all know that if three Advent Christians have a debate, the outcome is four opinions--at least!

A Reformation Meditation on Solus Christus: Inadvertent Attacks by the Church? (4/4)

But our God is no mere object to be worshipped, He is a subject, a someone, The Someone, the Hero, the protagonist of the greatest story ever told. He is active, not passive, close not far away. He moves and we are moved. He pours out His grace, and we receive and return it back with praise. Theologian Marva Dawn captures the picture well, “The gifts of worship flow from God the subject and return to God as the object of our reverence.”[2]

Church Practices, TheologyCorey J. McLaughlinOctober 25, 2017advent christian, reformation, solus christus, worship, preachingComment

Advent Christian Unity

The reason we are talking about unity is because we have a sense that we are lacking in unity.

Unity, Dialogue, Church PracticesMike AlixOctober 13, 2017unity, mike alix, advent christian, maine state Comments

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