“When a church hires a pastor or appoints elders, the church pretty much gets a twofer—the leader, and the unpaid consultant to whom he is married. The question is not whether they will talk; the question is whether their talk will be governed by wisdom, discretion, and appropriate confidentiality.”   Every church leader has been... Continue Reading

“First, poor Americans became markedly less likely to get and stay married. Then, starting in the 1980s, working-class Americans became less likely to get and stay married.3 The current state of marriage and family life and the class divisions that mark America’s families can be seen by looking at contemporary trends in marriage, cohabitation, nonmarital... Continue Reading

This passage caused a blessed stumbling in me this morning. I worry too much for those who aren’t taking Jesus seriously. Yeah, I worry for some of those to whom I am witnessing. But the ones I fret over are those who’ve professed “Amen, Jesus my Lord,” and yet often do not even struggle with... Continue Reading

First, we need to have the right goal in dealing with these “hard” passages. We do not want to merely show that a doctrine is not that bad. We can’t have an attitude like, “eat your vegetables because they’re healthy for you even though they’re disgusting.” We don’t want to say, “Well, this doctrine is... Continue Reading

Sin begets sin and victimization begets victimization. I think back to the “creep” that Kohl saw in the woods, and can’t help but wonder whether he was a potential victimizer or a victim himself. Perhaps he was a pervert eager to act out. Perhaps he was a violent offender waiting for a victim.   Aileen... Continue Reading

“Had the MOTB been nothing more than an exhibit hall for its nearly 4,000 Bible-related objects, it would have been enough to make it a world-class museum. But in its presentation of the world’s most important cultural artifact—the Bible—the MOTB is an amazing cultural artifact in its own right.”   At the age of 10... Continue Reading

“A quality coffee maker and some good coffee can provide these elements for morning devotions, daily study, and preparation in pastoral ministry. Also, pastors often lack the time for hobbies. Developing a passion for coffee is an excellent way to aid in pastoral ministry (caffeine for the pick-me-up) and provide a needed distraction as one... Continue Reading

“Luther also had thoughts on how history should be done (i.e. historiography). He shared those thoughts in 1538 in the preface to a German translation of Galeatius Capella’s history of the reign of the Milanese Duke Francesco II Sforza. Given the attention Luther is receiving this year as an object of historical interest, it’s intriguing to... Continue Reading

“Even some exegetes who believe in Christ as Lord and Savior also posit a huge gulf between academy and church, thus refusing to love what Christ has loved. I do not understand how believing scholars can do their work for the academy and not for the church, unless they are motivated by the fear of... Continue Reading

Southern Baptists already have 65,000 trained volunteers; the Southern Baptist Convention’s (SBC) disaster response is so massive it financially trails only the Red Cross and the Salvation Army—and has more trained disaster relief volunteers than either one. In September, President Trump acknowledged each of “the big three” for their Harvey response.   The Southern Baptist... Continue Reading