“Every Christian has been affected, in some measure, by a parachurch ministry, whether directly or indirectly. Still, many questions remain about the relationship between the church and the parachurch: Are parachurch ministries biblical? Should we support them? What is their appropriate role in serving the church? What kind of work should parachurch ministries undertake?”   I... Continue Reading

“Jesus undoubtedly believed that God had authored the Old Testament Scriptures and that they were so infallible that sooner would the cosmos be dissolved than they would be proven false. Christ himself believed that the whole of the Old Testament originated with God and was revealed by him. If we ever question whether a verse... Continue Reading

“Sentimental humanitarianism also assumes that all religions are more-or-less the same and, given the right conditions, will vacillate their way towards something as innocuous as today’s Church of England. But as a wise recently retired pope once wrote, a major failure of imagination since the 1960s has been the disinclination to concede that there are... Continue Reading

“Yet what makes L’Abri so interesting as a model for the Benedict Option is its openness, a value not inimical to the Benedict approach but one certainly not often discussed by its proponents. L’Abri is a place where literally anyone can come and join the life of the community. During my time there I roomed... Continue Reading

“In a somewhat similar way, what happened in Rotherham was rooted both in left-wing multiculturalism and in much more old-fashioned prejudices about race and sex and class. The local bureaucracy was, indeed, too fearful of being labeled “racist,” too unwilling, as a former member of Parliament put it, to “rock the multicultural community boat.” But... Continue Reading

“Paul was not trying to retell the story of Jesus in narrative form. He was writing personal letters to communities of people he could assume already knew those stories through the oral traditions that later became the gospel. Further, Paul DOES mention several of the events in the life of Jesus, most importantly, the very... Continue Reading

“I recognize that my views on marriage are out of sync with our wider culture and that as a consequence I am likely to be accused of bigotry and homophobia. This is a small price to pay for remaining faithful to Jesus and no less than we should expect as his followers (Matt 5:11-12). It... Continue Reading

“While other theological and politically liberal groups have addressed questions relating to African American experiences, we have yet to see this happen on a broad scale from a Christian and Reformed theological perspective. Further, we have yet to see this kind of work being done by African Americans themselves in any sustained and widespread way.”... Continue Reading

“With Hipster I wanted to challenge this notion and show how form matters: that perhaps the way Christianity is understood and appropriated is different when packaged in Helvetica, skinny jeans, and small batch whisky than when it’s packaged in robes, pews, and pleated khakis. Not that one is necessarily preferable to the other, mind you;... Continue Reading

“Pastors and teachers preach and teach the Word, equipping the members of the body to build one another up to maturity. To each member is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. In these actual, gathered communities, God’s people can learn by experience what is excellent. Of course, if these assemblies pass... Continue Reading