Posts by Mere Agency (Page 6)
Why The Trinity Matters!
By Andy Constable Last week we were at a conference for gospel centred churches who are working in housing scheme/housing estate ministry. The conference was focused on the book of Titus and the main speakers did a great job at expounding it for the context of estate ministries. One of the things that struck me at the conference was Titus 1:1: “Paul, a servant of God and…
But Doctrine is Just Soooo Boring!! Isn’t it?
By Andy Constable One of the words that is dirty among the newer generation of Christians is the word ‘doctrine’. Christians of my generation think that doctrine hinders our ‘worship’ of God rather than helps. Doctrine is something that we don’t have to think about because worship is…
Building a Gospel Centred Community
by Andy Constable I am very privileged to work in an environment that is gospel focused. I came onto the Niddrie team 2 years ago and one of the reasons for doing so was because Mez’s vision was and is to bring the gospel to bear in his life, the life of the church and into the community of Niddrie. I haven’t had to build a gospel community because the building…
Five Tips on How to Survive Long Term in Housing Schemes
By Andy Constable It can be tough working and living in a scheme at the same time. There are the ‘normal’ ministerial pressures like preparing sermons, counselling and driving the vision of the church forward. And then there are the added stresses like reaching out to the people on the scheme and…
Engaging Muslims with the Gospel
By Andy Constable This week I was privileged to attend the Acts29WE conference in London. Mez is going to write a report on what he learned from the main sessions, but I thought I would share one of the seminars that I attended on ‘engaging with Muslims’. It was taken by J.D. Greear who spent 2 years planting a church in Indonesia (a place that is 99% Islamic)…
What’s the point of meeting on a Sunday?
By Andy Constable A couple of weeks ago, I blogged that worship isn’t simply a Sunday activity while we sing songs but involves our heart attitude in all of life (see: http://niddriepastor.com/2012/04/06/dont-just-sing-about-it-start-worshipping-god-today-everyday/) The question that necessarily…
Don’t Just Sing About It! Start Worshipping God Today & Everyday!
By Andy Constable Recently, I have been doing a series in the evenings on the subject of Biblical Worship. It is an important subject to think about in a culture where worship is simply seen as what we sing on a Sunday and/or, perhaps, connected with having an emotional experience. Because of the…
Why the Right Wife is Important for Housing Scheme Ministry
By Andy Constable The most important decision for any man who wants to work in schemes, after professing Christ, is choosing a suitable wife (if you plan to get married). This ministry is tough and tiring and if your wife isn’t on board and supportive then you will flag very quickly. The last thing…
How To Keep Going when People Screw Us & We Want To Give Up!
By Andy Constable The last couple of weeks have been particularly tough and tiring in Niddrie. One of our “pre-interns” who was getting his life together in Christ made a very unwise decision to leave the structure of our tailored discipleship programme/life to go back to his home town.…
Reaching Out to the Heartbreak Hotel!!
By Andy Constable Last week I was able to have a meeting with Kenny Macaskill who is the MSP for Eastern Edinburgh. We were meeting to discuss the possibility of opening a drop in centre up at Greendykes flats. As a church we are desperate to start a ministry up there because the area is filled with many difficulties. The flats are known as heartbreak hotel in Niddrie.…