Many congregations are at a tipping point. Some will die. Some will thrive. My prayer is that the summary of these trends can be used of God in your churches to move your congregation toward greater health and Great Commission obedience.   Never in my lifetime have I seen local congregations at such a critical... Continue Reading

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) recently published a report titled, “Submit to your husbands: Women told to endure domestic violence in the name of God.” The subtitle, too, issued a similar claim: “Advocates say the church is not just failing to sufficiently address domestic violence, it is both enabling and concealing it.”   As a sociologist... Continue Reading

I am working with these two authors because Bavinck (of older theologians) is especially detailed when it comes to immutability, and because Frame (of more recent theologians) is so widely read and respected. He has also taken considerable interest in Dolezal’s book. While my sympathies lie with Bavinck, I’m going to refrain from arguing one... Continue Reading

“And this is the contribution that you shall receive from them: gold, silver, and bronze, blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, goats’ hair, tanned rams’ skins, goatskins, acacia wood, oil for the lamps, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense, onyx stones, and stones for setting, for the... Continue Reading

At a storefront Christian coffeehouse serving soup, doughnuts, and the New Testament, two “straight-looking” men in bow ties told a barefoot Sacks about Jesus. He knelt on a piano bench and asked Jesus to forgive his past and give him a new future. Soon he was telling his friends about his faith.   SAN FRANCISCO—This... Continue Reading

The people heatedly debated who should be the successor for bishop. As governor, Ambrose was called to calm the crowds, and in the midst of the assembly, a voice arose calling, “Ambrose for bishop!” The popular governor was quickly acclaimed by both the Arians and the Trinitarians although he had not yet been baptized (according... Continue Reading

Herman Bavinck gave the only suitable answer when he wrote: “Neither creation, nor revelation, nor incarnation (affects, etc.) brought about any change in God. No new plan ever arose in God. In God there was always one single immutable will”2 The immutability of God is in no way whatsoever affected by the incarnation on account... Continue Reading

What I started doing a couple of years ago was to abandon the idea of New Year’s resolutions and instead start thinking about what I wanted to focus on for the next year in early December. Then I started implementing changes that would make progress on my goals before the new year begins. What this... Continue Reading

Strictly speaking, all Christians and most non-Christians are creationists, Hardin pointed out, because a creationist simply believes that the universe was created by an intelligent being. The belief that scientific methods can be used to understand the natural world, is what Hardin calls “methodological naturalism.”   MIAMI BEACH — Media coverage of debates over the... Continue Reading

Black Harry preached during the Second Great Awakening to both black and white congregations, bringing many to Christ. He was admired across racial lines for preaching the already-not-yet kingdom, but served within a church that treated him as almost-but-not-human.   Harry Hoosier, or Black Harry as he preferred, is one of the greatest preachers ever... Continue Reading