Life is complicated and the enemy deceiving; without a disciplined pursuit of wisdom and instruction, we risk falling captive to lies and short-cut solutions to our problems. The diligent pursuit of wisdom will train us to act wisely and prepare us for difficulties in life.   Teachable people don’t have to be the smartest to... Continue Reading

At the time of the Reformation, it was forbidden to put a bible into the hands of a layperson because only the scholars had the proper training to interpret the bible correctly. A layperson would mess it up to no end and start talking about justification by faith apart from works and salvation by the... Continue Reading

Single-sex colleges are founded on the gender binary. Deny that binary, and their reason for existence vanishes. But we live at a cultural moment when thinking on sexuality has become so clouded by emotion and psychobabble that minor concerns, such as logical coherence or any connection to practical reality, can be brushed aside.   For... Continue Reading

 In prayer, God’s people admit their own frailty and together call upon the name of almighty God.  And in answer to our prayer, God stirs and refreshes the hearts of his people and pours out his Spirit on the church (Isa. 62:6-7, Luke 11:13). God holds out wonderful promises to the church on her knees!  ... Continue Reading

The good news is that pastoral care is something that can be scaled to help your church reach hundreds, and even thousands, of new families. I address this issue comprehensively in my new course, Breaking 200 Without Breaking You (click here if you want to learn more). But what do you do in the meantime... Continue Reading

Sibbes is saying that on the one hand, we need to understand our sin and be humble because of it.  On the other hand, we need to understand our Savior and realize that in him God sees us as perfect, forgiven, justified.   One of the greatest things about being a Christian is knowing that... Continue Reading

McLaren is driven to interfaith thinking and practice because he believes “Religion will not survive if we believe that our religion is the only one true religion” (102). This is why McLaren’s god is surprisingly like, as he claims, the impersonal tribal deities of Africa and the gods of Hinduism, Buddhism and other Eastern religions... Continue Reading

The biggest way leaders undermine themselves is by not living the vision and values they champion. A leader’s lack of commitment to the values that hang on a wall empty those values of any real culture-shaping authority.   The dictionary first defines undermine as “eroding the base or foundation” and second as “damaging or weakening someone or... Continue Reading

The U.S. State Department twice declared ISIS responsible for genocide. Despite this, government bureaucrats still have not allocated a single dollar of federal money to support victims in the region. In the final appropriations bill at the end of the last fiscal year, Congress required the executive branch to fund assistance efforts.   (WNS)–Religious minorities... Continue Reading

We hence conclude, that God does not pay us a debt, but performs what he has of himself freely promised, and thus performs it, inasmuch as he pardons us and our works; nay, he looks not so much on our works as on his own grace in our works. It is on this account that... Continue Reading