The Leadership Team answers your questions.  

Q1 (1:50): Why are matters such as leasingbuying a building put to vote by the whole church? Specifically, what issues are to be decided by the church members? Why is it biblical?

Q2 (13:30): Hi and thank you for reading this: I recently heard Andy Stanley tell a story about how they had lost one of their pastoral staff to cancer. It was a terribly sad story. The man who lost the fight to cancer was a man of God in his early 30’s and was a father of two. Mr. Stanley said, shortly before he passed away, that the church elders gathered and anointed him with oil and prayed over him. Obviously the desires of the hearts were not to be granted on this occasion. I struggle with this because James 5:13-15 seems to assure us such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick. This seems to be a situation where our experience does not line up with scripture. I very possibly have a limited understanding of these verses but I am having a tough time with this and genuinely appreciate your team’s guidance.

Q3 (21:53):  In James 1:14-17, it says faith is dead without action. Do you believe this to be true? If so, how does that relate to times in which I don’t trust in God? It would seem that this “formula” gives no room for personal weakness.

Q4 (30:52):  Here is one I hear all the time…”If God told you to sacrifice your son, would you?” How would you respond?

Q5 (39:18):  On the blog post of Pastor Dan on June 2 (“Is Repentance Required for Salvation”) said the following: “The very nature of trusting in something is to not trust in something else. This is abundantly true when it comes to the recognition of an activity or a state of mind (whether good works, a good life, a religious activity, etc.) that holds no value in rescuing me from a Holy God. Therefore, when a person comes to the knowledge of their desperate spiritual condition they must repent (a change of mind) of how they have been living, thinking, and believing. If a person does not turn to Christ, then they may “repent” but they truly don’t remedy their sinful condition. A person can repent of how they have been living and seek to “turn over a new leaf” but, at best, it is a moral improvement that will gain him or her nothing in the eyes of a Holy God. So, if a person does not (at some fixed point in time) have a change of mind (repent) from trusting in something or someone to trusting in Christ alone, that person cannot rightly be called a Christian.” This statement seems to be almost too conditional and restrictive. While I know Pastor Dan cited a lot of Scripture, I would like more discussion regarding this dynamic of faith since I don’t normally hear this from and through other Bible teachers. BTW. Thanks for having a forum like “GraceTalk” to launch tough questions like this.

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