Where God communicates His will it is my duty to not just be quiet, but to desire obedience unto His word and to lovingly follow as a sheep following my Shepherd. Both the 2nd and 4th Commandment have become provocative in our Reformed circles, and they should not be. This is a case where our forefathers... Continue Reading

For Calvin, the call to be a Christian pastor was a high and holy calling — but it was also a most challenging vocation, not to be lived in isolation. Ministers of the gospel flourished as they experienced communion with Christ through his word, were empowered by the Holy Spirit, and enjoyed the precious gift... Continue Reading

God, who causes the sun to rise and tells the waves of the ocean how far they can reach on the shore, will be glorified through those of us whom he has tasked with shepherding his people. He is the treasure that has come to us. In your weakness, your church will be well-served to... Continue Reading

The antagonists in this ecclesial conflict are not conservatives vs. liberals, Christians vs. post-Christian pagans, or even confessionalists (broadly construed) vs. non-confessionalists. The conflict is between radical contextualizers on one hand and advocates of  simple, ordinary means-of-grace ministry, subject to the plain reading of the denomination’s standards on the other.   Revoice theology or the tenets... Continue Reading

Expecting congregants to deplete their mental energy in efforts to prevent certain verbal descriptions from prompting mental images is counterproductive. I think it better for congregants to focus on the sermon’s message without troubling themselves about any mental images that may naturally occur in the process.   The Bible is not a logically organized collection... Continue Reading

The Ten Commandments search out the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Each commandment speaks to a whole category of sins, and a proper understanding of the law will lead you to say, “I am a sinner who needs a Savior.”   A proper understanding of the Ten Commandments will lead you to faith in... Continue Reading

This book makes some crucial distinctions in defining natural theology that make it possible to speak more precisely about the issue. These distinctions are absolutely necessary if the debate is to take place in a profitable manner.   This book is a valuable contribution to theology despite being an incomplete treatment of its topic. It is... Continue Reading

Do LGBT people need to change who they are and who they love? If they want to follow Jesus, then, yes, of course. God calls us to change our unbiblical identity (whatever it is) and align our will (whatever its desires) with the Father.   I’m told I’ve got this wrong. I’m told that when... Continue Reading

We should not be surprised to see more men and congregations leave the PCA for the EPC, ECO, RCA, and other American Presbyterian and/or Reformed denominations out of NAPARC. The pipeline in the direction of churches that are philosophically committed to more peaceful “bigger tent” expressions of Reformed faith and practice is certainly fuller than... Continue Reading

We should contemplate these different fates not as autonomous futures that threaten us, but as different possibilities for how the risen Jesus will empower his church. We can and should pray for a dynamic era of repentance and mission.   The populist movement alluded to in my previous post is closely connected (though not synonymous) with a... Continue Reading