Tune and Prepare!

tools → Stage Effect A brief but important study for vitalizing the church's priesthood identity This writing is the direct extension of the Stage effect, part I. Here, I would like to give some practical biblical examples of the Earthly settings of the Kingdom of Heaven. Interestingly, this is partly about architecture. Meditation By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. {that the visible came out of the invisible} Heb 12:3 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. 2Cor 4:18 Main chapters The approach of the article The dynamics of the community Old Testament buildings and their activities New Testament Church/es and their activities Post Millennial Questions   Notices: Stage effect can be dimin...

But you are not to be called "Rabbi", for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth "father", for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Messiah. The greatest among you will be your servant.. Jesus' words in Mt 23:8-11

July 7, 2026 — edited version This article is part of the "Vitalize" pack , also part of the "Our Living Word" collection. Teaching and learning is not a lecture. Is there a way back to the informal? In the tapestry of a believer's life, teaching and learning are threads woven closely together, yet profoundly distinct from mere lectures and rote memorization. In the teaching of Jesus Christ, the process of imparting knowledge transcends the mundane and becomes a sacred endeavor — or, more accurately, a sacred challenge. One Way, or Peer to Peer? Our postmodern life often emphasizes one-way communication: entertainers perform, audiences consume. This "lecture culture" — TED talks and the like — keeps us in passive, unilateral exchanges rather than the mutual, peer-to-peer dialogue that is essential to genuine teaching and to relationship. Unfortunately, this pulls our hearts toward a unilateral communication that is far fro...

The Stage – Action and Reaction Behaviour and action, + reaction of the audience tools → Stage Effect pre A very large percentage of Christian communities are made up of active leaders and passive listeners. Of course, the church leaders see this too, so they try to "mend" it. They set up projects ranging from social work via food banks to a building/church/temple construction. They set up activities having a desire: building a good community. These are 2000 years old church activities, triggering the " filia " or the " storge ". Which is nice - but it is not the " agape-love " mentioned by the apostles. Earthly actions occupy the community for a while and give it a visible purpose but do not affect the core missional identity, the spread of the glory and love-principle of the Kingdom: "give and it will be given" (Lk 6:38-39), most of the time without even touching the possibilities given by divine life...

The Stage vs Jesus' Role Model Behaviour among the followers tools → Stage Effect As we previously saw, - Erik Satie's model has clearly demonstrated - the Stage and the Auditorium behave differently. We saw that the stage has a restraining influence in the post modern consumerist culture because it gives a strong entertaining message. It also showed that in such a situation the real, natural character of the actors does not necessarily cover/represent the message being shown. Important that actors are also influencers nowadays. Their lifestyle (above others) is a special way of life that presents unrealistic demands and rhythms of life for the average person. From the Christian viewpoint this is a carnal role model, the one who follows it, walks on the broad way, and this way triggers a lot of temptations. I don't think you have to wonder about the troubles and scandals of megachurches. Eric Satie There is a stark contrast between today's fashion...

Foreword   The church that changes the world.. will not look impressive. It will not possess great buildings, nor its leaders hold high social standing. It will shun wealth and political acceptance, and run shy from the world of brands, image and sound bite.   The world-changing church, will be powerful in the things that matter, a simple dependence on the power of the gospel, the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and the authority of God’s Word; a people who love their God, love each other, and live salty lives as Christ’s disciples thus provoking both conversion and persecution. What does inspirational church life look like? What does a forest look like? What does a river look like? The point is that life is unique, every snowflake different and every human being distinct. So is every church that is born of God. ... Sadly, for many of us in church life, especially leaders, we are often looking for what “works” elsewhere so we can distil it, bottle it or...

Foreword  The church that changes the world. . . will not look impressive. It will not possess great buildings, nor its leaders hold high social standing. It will shun wealth and political acceptance, and run shy from the world of brands, image and sound bite.   The world-changing church, will be powerful in the things that matter, a simple dependence on the power of the gospel, the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and the authority of God’s Word; a people who love their God, love each other, and live salty lives as Christ’s disciples thus provoking both conversion and persecution. Recent Striking Example  In 1982 a Soviet backed communist coup took place in Ethiopia. Churches were “closed,” their meetings banned, their buildings confiscated and their senior leaders imprisoned.   At that time the Mesorite Church in the capital (Addis Ababa) numbered 5,000 members. Overnight it vanished. Unaware of each other, many tiny local groups began to gather inconspicuously i...