Protestantism carries on with the practice of making the "pastor" the focal point in church. In The Pastor Has No Clothes, Jon Zens demonstrates that putting all the ecclesiastical eggs in the pastor's basket has no precedent in the New Testament. Using 1 Corinthians 12:14, Zens shows the usual way of doing church contradicts Paul's self-evident remark that "the body indeed is not one part" and then goes on to unfold from that Epistle how the living church functions "with many par...

It is hoped that the various perspectives provided in Elusive Community will stir you up to seek Jesus about connecting His life in you with His life in others. Father, Son and Spirit have always been an ongoing community. They created human beings for community and belonging. Humans are relational at their core. But sin has come and wrecked relationships in untold ways. Many have come to view relationships like the thorns that came after Adam and Eve’s errant behavior. But Jesus ...

When R.C. Sproul boiled everything down about church life, he concluded that "in Protestant worship, for the most part, we sit and listen to a sermon." But aren't we justified in asking, why would we devote an ounce of concern to this since there is nothing in the New Testament concerning sermons? The vital question that begs for an answer is, why have we taken scissors and cut 1 Corinthians 14 out of the NT, and substituted for it a "church service" which was unknown to the early...

Many think that the phrase "body of Christ" is just a picture or a metaphor, but in fact it is a reality. Believers are the body of Christ on earth. The ministry of Jesus has continued through His people since the Day of Pentecost in 30 A.D. Frank Viola pinpoints this truth that is revolutionary, but became buried underneath human traditions.What had taken place [on the Day of Pentecost]? The body of Christ was born on the earth. But what does that mean? It means this: The...

In They Looked Up and Saw Jesus Only, Jon chronicles the contours of his personal journey, as reflected in his 40 years of editing BRR/ST from 1978–2018. Beginning with C.H. Dodd’s 1946 lecture in England, The Gospel and the Law of Christ, which signaled a turning-point in New Testament studies, Jon then presents highlights from his early writings, which have never been published or have been long out-of-print.Triggered by his 1972 reflections on “Of God’...

A.M. Fairbairn noted concerning the early church that “regarded as to its internal relating, it was a family...in the apostles’ day churches were so small that everyone knew every other and kept a watchful eye on one another.” Most people would readily admit that now the majority of churches have lost a vital family atmosphere. In Jesus Is Family, the contours of life together in Christ are unfolded in hopes that the Lord will birth committed groups in which the joys of Spirit-led...

It was said of Jesus that "zeal for my Father's house consumes me."Is that zeal burning in us? Perhaps a big reason that such zeal has been muted or derailed in us rests in the fact that we have been led to chase after issues and ideals about Christ, instead of Christ Himself.This book suggests that the Lord's heart is revealed in the Bookends of Scripture—Genesis 1–2 and Revelation 21–22. At the beginning and the end we discover a Bride and a Groom

Just as physical families have to face difficulties, so every group of believers will face challenges in their life together. In Christ Alone, Jon Zens opens up five crucial areas that every group will wrestle with at some point in their journey. The first challenge—for Christ to be everything—is the first priority and the other four challenges flow out of it. How do we show that we trust Christ as our Leader? How can we deepen our relationships with one another? Do w...

Jesus was marked in His culture as one who hung out with those shunned by religious people. If Jesus walked our streets today, religious leaders would be shocked at the places He frequented, sharing the kingdom of God. Well, happily, Jesus is walking into venues of deep need through persons like Dotty Zens and her team. In Jesus In the Strip Clubs you will share her journey of caring for those caught in the shame and guilt connected to the sex industry. Dotty's ministry reveals th...

“Kendall's research is remarkable in setting forth the early participants and why they were motivated to challenge traditions in light of ‘Sola Scriptura’... May you find this work encouraging and engaging to the point of focusing on ‘Christ,’ the mediator of the New Covenant.”—RONALD W. MCKINNEYPastor, Kinsey Drive Baptist Church, Dalton, Georgia“Her well-documented recounting of God’s providence in raising up the New Covenant Theology move...

Author Frank Viola gives readers language for all they knew was missing in their modern church experience. He believes that many of today's congregations have shifted from God's original intent for the church. As a prominent leader of the house church movement, Frank is at the forefront of a revolution sweeping through the body of Christ. A change that is challenging the spiritual status quo and redefining the very nature of church. A movement inspired by the divine design for authenticity...

How exactly does one become wise? Pastor and teacher Ray Ortlund points out that the wisdom of God does not stand aloof, as if it were unattainable. Instead, he shows that wisdom graciously moves toward us, into our real world where we live and struggle day by day. Wisdom offers us her very best, if only we will listen. After all, "Wisdom cries aloud in the street, in the markets she raises her voice," and, if wisdom troubles herself to yell, there must be a reason to listen and a means to...