He led the New Apostolic Church out of a crisis and brought it forward. Chief Apostle Walter Schmidt would have celebrated his 130th birthday today. Lest we forget, here is a look once more at how he managed to deal with the situation.

It happened in 1840/41: the apostle unity fell apart and so did the masterplan. The charismatic movement had to reinvent itself as a church. Here is the background to sealing in the Catholic Apostolic Church.

Human beings can choose what to do and what not to do. We are not free to decide, however, whether we sin by our decision and thus incur a debt before God. Personal responsibility also means being willing to bear the consequences of our actions.

The Catholic practice of confirmation as a sacrament was only accorded a few quiet centuries. But then the reformers came along and sought to anchor the Christian rite of initiation in the act of baptism alone—and nevertheless instituted their own practice of confirmation in the process.

The fall session of the District Apostle Meeting has ended. Prominent topics were our concept of ministry, biblical authorship issues, and a new Guide for Ministers.

Zero tolerance. This is the stance taken by the New Apostolic Church towards sexual abuse and assault. And this is what Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider made clear at the conference of the District Apostles in Zurich, Switzerland.

Always so many changes! There is hardly any other church that has developed so far in such a short time. For many, the reaction to this is: “I can’t even recognise my own Church any more!” And yet others are happy about the changes. How are we to deal with this?

“Let us be aware that Jesus also looks at the way we behave with children.” — And that was not even the most important message that Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider had to impart in the divine service he conducted in Kabwe, Zambia.

How does the believer receive the Holy Spirit? The Bible remains ambiguous and leaves quite a few gaps with respect to this question. Answers begin to develop of the early church. And this foundation stands to this day.

In 1960 a high school student from Germany wrote to the US Shipping Line in Tokyo. Eleven years later, the first New Apostolic congregation was established in Japan. This year, the New Apostolic Church celebrates its 50-year anniversary in Japan.

In the dark, you can’t see anything, are disoriented, and bump into objects. How wonderful when there is light to help you find the way. Our faith is such a light.

Whether it is considered a rite, a sacrament, or merely a side effect of baptism, the churches have very different ways of understanding how a Christian receives the Holy Spirit. And this diversity of perspectives has a tradition that goes back nearly 2,000 years.

Disasters hit the poor the hardest! Unfortunately, this is all too often true. The past months have shown that disasters increase poverty there where people have always been poor. Some thoughts on World Humanitarian Day.

The great shepherd’s heart has stopped beating. District Apostle (ret.) Markus Fehlbaum of Switzerland passed away yesterday after a long and serious illness with many ups and downs. As a tribute, here is his portrait once more.

Figuring out the correct dates of his life is a challenge. But then the pioneers of those days had more important things to do than writing down numbers for posterity. What matters is the spiritual legacy: Apostle George Henwood Mkandawire would have celebrated his 120th birthday in a few days.

Some look back with gratitude and joy and have happy memories, others look ahead hopefully as they face special challenges. Here is a look at some of the activities in our congregations around the world.

It was 70 years ago, on 5 August 1951, that the then Chief Apostle Johann Gottfried Bischoff retired him. Today, Ernst Güttinger would have been 144 years of age. Who was this man who left behind such a mixed legacy?

This week we take a look at an anniversary in Australia and a campaign for a better future. There certainly are reasons to celebrate, but there are also always moments to pause and reflect and pray for others.