Increasingly, religion was looking more like the oppressor than the victim. Why should a Christian baker or photographer be able to turn down same-sex couples looking for wedding services? Why should a church get to limit its building to heterosexual wedding ceremonies? Why should a college get to limit its hiring to those who believe... Continue Reading

In a statement the Presbyterian Church [in] Ireland] said it “had the right to order its own affairs under the Word of God, our supreme standard, and guided by our confessional subordinate standards. A consequence of this is that those in ordained leadership within our church are required to subscribe to the church’s subordinate standards... Continue Reading

Those words I sang as a seven-year old on a hot summer night in Chicago or around campfires in northern Minnesota or in Vacation Bible school now speak to me, every day. In fact, I can hardly finish singing a hymn without my lips quivering and my heart full of emotion. When I hear “Jesus... Continue Reading

At this juncture, we need clear definitions and we need to be sure that throughout this controversy within evangelicalism that we’re working from the same dictionary. It serves little purpose to have an honest conversation without working from the same set of terms.   One of the great tragedies of our day has been parade... Continue Reading

Edwards (1703–1758) was a local church pastor, which happens to be the same vocation that I share. As I began to research his numerous written works and treatises, I became increasingly aware of his incredible personal and professional organizational skills. With meetings, projects, sermons, lectures, and Bible studies always coming due, most pastors can stand... Continue Reading

Next year the General Synod will meet in a special session to confer on the issue of same-sex blessings and same-sex marriage…The General Synod must make a clear statement about the teaching of the Bible on the sanctity of sex within the marriage bond of a man and a woman, so that marriage is held... Continue Reading

From his first outdoor sermon on February 17, 1739, at the age of 24, to the coal miners of Kingswood near Bristol, England, until his death thirty years later on September 30, 1770, in Newburyport, Massachusetts (where he is buried), his life was one of almost daily preaching. Sober estimates are that he spoke about... Continue Reading

Let’s not forget the exchange, in the nineteenth chapter of Matthew’s gospel, between Jesus and the rich young ruler when Jesus told the man the realities of true discipleship. As the rich man realized that personal sacrifice is required to live in God’s kingdom, he walked away. What did Jesus do? He did not do... Continue Reading

You are called and equipped to fulfill the role using your God-given abilities in a unique way that will cause you to depend upon Him. Don’t let the temptation to be more like your predecessor creep in when you hear the accolades heaped upon that person by others. It’s okay that you are different from... Continue Reading

When you pray, you pray about you, your family, your concerns, and those in your church and life for which you are concerned. At the end of the day, you are spiritually responsible for a limited group. When your pastor prays, he has all the same concerns as you in terms of normal life. However,... Continue Reading