James speaks against these in his teaching. He exhorts them to remain true to the teachings and practices of the faith. James’ teachings are often compared to Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, which would be logical due to him being brought up in the same environment as Jesus. The book of James is a protest against hypocrisy. Some have criticized James in that they thought he was teaching that salvation was by works alone, but in reality he is complementing Paul’s teaching of salvation by faith.
Early in my ministry, I made a conscious commitment to biblical preaching. My first priority has always been to answer the ques- tion, "What does this passage mean?" After I've explained as clearly and accurately as possible the meaning of God's Word, then I exhort people to obey and apply it to their own lives. The Bible speaks for itself to the human heart; it is not my role as a preacher to try to tailor the message. That's why I preach my way through entire books of the Bible, dealing carefully with each verse and phrase--even though that occasionally means spending time in passages that don't readily lend themselves to anecdotal or motivational messages.
Many believers do not count the cost of following Christ. One is told to accept the free gift of eternal life, repent of sins, join a church, and then learn to do the best one can concerning all the rest. One is usually not told about the cost of being a Christ-follower, nor does one have much of an idea of what God expects of them now that they are saved. Stewardship is entirely based on the first commandment, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Holy Bible, NIV, Mat 22:37). Stewardship is the product of one’s new worldview that is brought about by one’s conversion.
Backus and Chapian (2000) discuss how the fruit of a person stems from what they believe, so if a person believes an error the actions and behavior will be based off what he believe. According to Backus misbelief is the self-talk, the stinking thinking that people have. The thoughts that people tend to dwell on and relive constantly in their mind is misbelief the concept of self-talk. Dr. Adams approach to counseling is founded on the word “of God”. Adams references scripture throughout the process of his theory but he specifically references 2 Timothy 3:14-17 pertaining to change.
Believers practicing loving God with all their mind would be a witness to this world and even a way of reaching out in compassion and gentleness we have left behind by burying our arguments in our Bibles and not engaging the questions raised by the lost. Understanding where Evangelicals have fallen intellectually will help foster obedience to Christ’s command to love God with all of our mind. The major arguments held by critics Richard Hofstadter, George M. Marsden, and Alister McGrath, declare modern Evangelicalism anti-intellectual. Some of the main reasons for this are the average Evangelicals fear of defending their faith, the separation of the spiritual and secular, and the slothfulness Evangelicals have to
Purpose Sanders’ Spiritual Leadership begins with an initial assumption that readers are looking to begin or strengthen their leadership skills as it relates to the ongoing work of God in the world and through the body of Christ. He takes the readers through many examples of sacred and secular attributes of what leadership looks like and provides examples of various styles. The quest to become a leader, or better leader, is a good one, yet Sanders does not want to give a false impression of the realities of spiritual leadership. The needs, responsibilities, cost and perils of leadership are plainly put forth to be straight forward with the reader of all that could and will be required of spiritual leadership positions. Believing that God is searching for leaders to bring about changes on the earth, he begins the book by highlighting the principle: true greatness, true leadership, is found in giving yourself in service to others, not in manipulating others to serve you, admonishing, “we must put more into life that we take out," and that history will only remember a man for "the quality of his deeds and the character of his mind and heart" (15).
Trinitarian theology is essential to the evangelic mind. We find the theme of Father, Son, and Spirit woven throughout our various Christian theologies in a masterful way. But what of the Atonement of Jesus Christ for the sins of the world? Where do we see the Trinity in God’s beautiful conclusion to his much larger redemptive story? The evangelic community seems silent when it comes to this region of theology and the Trinity.
There is no reason why celebration cannot be included in that, but worship in God is a time to be silent, reflect on your life and pray for help of others. “Joyful” and “Lively” can stand for completely different meaning for different people. While “joyful” worship for some may be singing hymns, receiving Holy Communion or even just praying to God; others may define “joyful” as speaking in tongue or just enjoying God freely without a set form of worship. Then the answer to “Should Christian worship always be joyful?” must surely be yes. As joy is the basis of worship to worship God, to receive and give joy.
For the last century, philosophers have focused on problems concerning religious language. After understanding that language is the way that we communicate concept, trying to describe concepts that no one physically sees and hears, such as God became a massive dilemma. Religious believers have to use language to make statements about God and his being and aspects known to be able to express human understanding. How do the meanings of words change when applied to God? To use univocal or universal language for God raises the problem being that if we argue God is ‘all loving,’ we would also be able to describe a loved one as such, thus demining his almighty status as a supreme being, so how can we use words to accurately describe God?
The only person we need to be like, as a servant leader is Jesus. He shows us how to lead by example in ( John 13:2-17). We need to listen, sit quietly with the Lord, to hear His plan, so we well be able to help others grow, in the Lord. We need empathy, people need to be accepted and recognized for their ideas and feelings. We need Awareness, of what you can change, for our- selfs and others to be a better servant leader.