This piece isn’t about Johnson. It isn’t about Revoice. Or even, in some ways, about the challenges facing the PCA. It is really about our call, as lay members in the PCA, to faithfully exercise our God-given, Book of Church Order confirmed responsibilities to assist our denomination in its submission to God’s authority as given... Continue Reading

I hear or even know of too many men struggling and even failing in ministry. One commonality among them is they were having to go it alone. I think congregations, church planting ministries, and mission boards need to reassess the common ministry paradigm of the singular pastorate.   Clearly history testifies that certain men have... Continue Reading

Rather than being rooted in the past, or rooted in truth, radical theology is overwhelmed by the present, and by what is currently acceptable. Put another way, the approach of the radical to religious questions is essentially tactical; he trims to what is currently in vogue. Such thinking lacks a fulcrum, a point of leverage, in terms of which... Continue Reading

I don’t think I have to spend much time making my case that the way Christians talk about one another—especially online—is growing increasingly uncharitable. Hardly a day goes by when I don’t read of people I love and look up to engage in verbal knife fights. People who are supposed to be united in love... Continue Reading

As the redeemed people of God, our future has been secured through Christ, and yet, our battle against sin is a daily struggle. This affects all parts of our life, and music is no exception. There is no comparison between the new song that we will sing in glory and our current reality. The music... Continue Reading

Miller reflects both on the manner and the message of preaching that ensures utility. In the first place, Miller suggests that the manner is of secondary importance. God has used very different men with very different methods to do tremendous good throughout the history of the church. Nevertheless, the sermon most designed for utility should... Continue Reading

Owen addresses tricky questions that were prominent in his own context. For example, he uses his definition of schism to settle a dilemma: if a church member wants to leave a congregation, what should the congregation do?   Schism is a scary, serious word. We often think of a schismatic as someone who has caused... Continue Reading

You know what I mean by a fallow year, don’t you?  Just as a farmer leaves a field fallow – unsown – for one season, in order to give the ground time to rest and render it more productive for the coming seasons, perhaps our churches could do with a fallow year.   Does your... Continue Reading

Gradually, I hope, denominational structures can downsize and assets and resources shift down to presbyteries and local churches. It represents, to me, a long, slow process but one that moves us a bit to closer to what Thornwell saw as a genuine plumb line for missions. We chose the other approach. We exercised great flexibility... Continue Reading

This past month we had the blessing of worshipping in a couple of churches in Montevideo. As our all-night flight reminded us, Uruguay is far from the U.S. In fact, this Uruguayan city is the southern most capital city in the Americas, being roughly the same latitude as Kansas, but in the southern hemisphere. And... Continue Reading