New Zealand Christian Network suggests that the growing public scrutiny of churches raises important broader questions for all New Zealand churches – irrespective of their denomination, size, style, ethnicity or location.

Questions like…

• How can our churches become thoroughly biblical, not just in our teaching and preaching, but also in our values, practices, and our life together?
• How can our churches concentrate on honouring Christ above all, and everyone who belongs to Christ (and avoid giving a too much special prestige and privilege to our human leaders, no matter how excellent they are)?
• How can our churches be places of welcome, invitation, prayer, worship, Bible teaching, and spiritual nurture (and without undue pressure, coercion, or judgment)?
• How can our churches be more effectively pastoral?
• How can our churches be generous, supportive and realistic in what we expect of both staff and volunteers, always recognising that they all have lives and many other needs and responsibilities beyond the church?
• How can our churches develop appropriate accountability for leaders at every level?
• How can our churches build good processes for participation, questions, feedback, suggestions, complaints, and correctives?

To Christ be glory in the church!

Author: Dr Stuart Lange

Dr Stuart Lange is the National Director of the NZCN and is a Senior Research Fellow at Laidlaw College, where he was formerly Vice Principal. Stuart wrote and presented the historical DVD documentary Te Rongopai: 200 years of the Gospel in New Zealand, 1814-2014.