Seven Minute Seminary

What happens when the church reads the Bible out of context? Some of our most cherished beliefs, songs, and platitudes are based on proof-texting, which means that the original historical and literary context of the Bible is ignored.

How do gospel movements affect current, existing churches? In this Seven Minute Seminary video, Steve Addison offers a different starting point for church-planting—evangelism and discipleship. He then explores how this movement model multiplies and how traditional churches can participate in this kind of gospel work.

Planting a new church is an exciting gospel commission, but it can also involve many complex processes. Fundraising is one of those challenging aspects of church planting that can feel overwhelming. Watch this Seven Minute Seminary video by William Chaney of Path1 ministries as he shares three steps to launching a fundraising campaign and understanding those who want to give to your church plant.

In the Gospels, Jesus performs many miracles that are sometimes called signs. His apostles also carry out important healing ministry, as did the prophets of the Old Testament. When John the Baptist doubted Jesus, his response was to demonstrate how his ministry fulfills the prophecies of Isaiah. As such, signs and miracles are a promise of God’s in-breaking kingdom and his full, future restoration of heaven and earth.

In regions where people need the gospel direly—church-planting based on the addition model cannot sustain the profound cultural needs for the church. In today’s Seven Minute Seminary video, Ric Thorpe shares how the Church of England transitioned toward a multiplying church-planting movement that has, from the outset, the intention of planting churches that are reproducing themselves.

Many consider the 21st century to present a unique set of challenges to Christian evangelism and discipleship.

Does the gospel still work in the Western world like it used to? In this Seven Minute Seminary video, Steve Addison challenges our notions of mission and points us to a simpler way of obedience to Jesus and his Great Commission. Read and watch more of our resources on evangelism here. If you’d like to explore church planting, get a copy of Winfield Bevins’ Church Planting Revolution from our store here.

What is the church? By examining three stories in the Gospels where Jesus hosts a meal, we learn that the bread was handled by him in these three ways.

When looking at the Gospels, we notice that Jesus ministered in a pattern that united evangelism and compassion. Watch today’s Seven Minute Seminary by Dr. Matt Friedeman to learn more about the significance of holistic ministry.

How can we reach new Christians and help train them in the path of discipleship? In today’s Seven Minute Seminary, Iosmar Alvarez shares a five step strategy that can be implemented to effectively move new believers into authentic followers of Jesus.

If it were a possibility at all, what would Christian, or Christ-like, politics look like? In today’s Seven Minute Seminary, Dr. Stephen Backhouse uses the hymn found in Philippians 2 to cast a vision for how Christian leaders and politicians should aspire to office and use their influence. The model set by the life of Jesus stands in stark contrast to the ways of ancient rulers, especially Roman emperors.

So many professing Christians are trusting in a deficient form of the gospel, namely, that Christianity is about believing in Jesus and then going to heaven in the afterlife. However, the totality of Scriptures casts a very different picture. The gospel is about heaven coming to earth through the saving work of Jesus Christ and the giving of the Holy Spirit. This means that those who follow Jesus are empowered to live a life transformed by grace.

Who was John Calvin the Reformer? In this Seven Minute Seminary video, Dr. Scott Kisker offers a helpful sketch of the influential figure John Calvin. By setting him in his historical context, Kisker helps us understand the lasting impact that his thoughts and pastoral work in Geneva had on the world.

The Western church has tended to neglect the biblical reality of spirits and spiritual warfare. In this Seven Minute Seminary, Dr. Sue Russell uses personal stories to challenge the mistaken dualism that divides the spiritual and physical in our worldview.

The Great Commission from Jesus should orient the church toward making and multiplying disciples: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

In the early centuries of the Christian faith, the church stood as a counter-cultural testimony to the totalizing claims of the Roman empire and its leaders. In proclaiming Jesus as Lord, many Christians faced trials, persecution, and even martyrdom. Watch this Seven Minute Seminary by Dr. Jackson Lashier as he explains how the lives of Christian martyrs are instructive for disciples of Jesus today.

What is the purpose of gathering together as a church to worship God? How should its function be understood in the life of the church? In today’s Seven Minute Seminary, Rev. Glenn Packiam shares three paradigms for understanding congregational worship: 1) Encounter, 2) Formation, 3) Mission. While it’s tempting to privilege one model over the other, a deep theology of the Holy Spirit can help the church keep these purposes of worship in healthy tension.

What did the Old Testament anticipate in the coming Messiah? What is the message that Jesus proclaimed throughout the gospels? What did Paul and the rest of the apostles preach to their Jewish and Gentile audiences?

The band meeting was a form of discipleship that helped small groups of men and women practice intense vulnerability and confession of sin together. It helped sustain the Methodist revival in the 18th century, which was preceded by other versions of this spiritual renewal across Europe. Watch this Seven Minute Seminary video by Dr. Scott Kisker as he traces the history of this powerful spiritual discipline.

On October 31 in 539 BC, Cyrus knocked on the door of Babylon and conquered its kingdom. In decreeing that the Jewish exiles return to Israel, Cyrus empowered a determination in Judaism to never depart from their covenant with God.