Gyros, Lamb Chops, and the Church: A Warning Against Doing Christianity Alone
The Good Shepherd never intended His sheep to live outside the flock He gathers and sustains. You need the Shepherd, and you need His herd.
Perhaps you have a good reason for being unchurched. Maybe pain or disappointment from the family of God has left you with a bad taste in your mouth. If that’s your story, that pain matters, and it shouldn’t be minimized. Just “going back to church” may not be reasonable. I instead challenge you to take... Continue Reading
God’s Purpose Develops a Discerning Mind
God’s mercy deserves everything you have, and God’s will demands everything you are. Give Him everything, and you will find His will to be good, pleasing, and perfect.
The consecrated life and the discerning life turn out to be one and the same, and this is where every Christian should rest. God pours out His pleasure on the child who is given over to His will and able to discern it. The renewed mind is given for a purpose, and the close... Continue Reading
Conscience – Minister’s Letter June 26
God has gone to enormous lengths to speak to us in ways that are designed to get through to even the most damaged conscience.
Dear all at IPC, What is it that makes the difference between hearing God’s words, even listening to God’s words, and then responding to him in the way that we should? What is it that makes the difference between the days when we are actually arrested, grabbed by the word of God and have to... Continue Reading
Pastor’s Job Description
Four essential responsibilities of a shepherd.
Sheep are defenseless and vulnerable. They are not predators but prey. Therefore, they need shepherds to protect them, particularly when it comes to false teachers who prey on the flock (Acts 20:29; Eph. 4:14). These teachers make lies sound like truth; they make slavery look like freedom; they offer poison as candy. They present the pathway to... Continue Reading
Presbyterian Polity and the American Revolution
By describing the American Revolution as a “Presbyterian rebellion,” the king [George III) was closer to the truth than anyone giving credit to Thomas Paine or John Locke.
Critiques of political rulers based on Presbyterianism was nowhere more pronounced in the case of English and Scottish exiles who brought the ideals of Geneva home to their respective realms. Among the first advocates of Presbyterianism, such as Knox in Scotland and Thomas Cartwright in England, this new church government not only questioned the rule... Continue Reading
Asbury Theological Seminary Cut by United Methodist Church over Same-Sex Marriage Issue
The decision was attributed to Asbury’s objections to the new version of the denomination’s social principles that no longer solely affirm heterosexual marriage.
The denomination’s social principles were revised during its quadrennial 2024 General Conference, when delegates voted to remove from the UMC’s rule book a statement added in 1972 that called homosexuality “incompatible with Christian teaching.” (RNS)—Asbury Theological Seminary, a 103-year-old Kentucky evangelical seminary, is no longer approved as a school for United Methodist candidates for... Continue Reading
The King Has Spoken: I Am With You Always
Do not fear. The One who holds all authority in heaven and earth does not merely send you — He goes with you. He is not directing the mission from a distance. He is present, active, and involved with His people wherever they go and whatever the cost.
Jesus Christ is the Savior King who came to redeem us to God through His death and resurrection so that we might join His mission to gather His people from among the nations. Though we may face resistance, hardship, and even persecution, we are assured of God’s presence, His power, and His ultimate triumph. Matthew... Continue Reading
Episcopal Church Withdrawal?
In ten years The Episcopal Church will sink to below a million members for the first time in a hundred years.
The Episcopal Church in America was never very large, like Methodism or Baptists, but it was, as The Post noted, prestigious beyond its numbers and occupied a unique niche in American Christianity. For that reason, although its decline will continue, it may outlast other Mainline Protestant denominations. The Episcopal Church is selling or leasing... Continue Reading
Why Pastoral Ministry Can Be Difficult
Pastors do not persevere by sheer grit. They persevere through ordinary means of grace – Scripture, prayer, fellowship, repentance, rest, and the hope of Christ’s return.
A congregation sees the sermon on Sunday, but not the hours of study, prayer, and wrestling beforehand. They may notice a hospital visit, but not the many quiet phone calls, follow-up conversations, and intercessory prayers. They benefit from the church’s spiritual health without seeing the behind-the-scenes work of planning, conflict resolution, discipleship, and administration. This... Continue Reading
Why A Woman Serving as Senior Warden in the Anglican Church Is Analogous to the Office of Ruling Elder Though It Is “Lay Ministry” and Not Ordained
The question before us is not her character, but whether the specific authority exercised in the Senior Warden role aligns with the biblical qualifications for elder-like oversight.
We have an invisible wall of distinction between ordained ministers and the other offices. The Anglicans shape their clerical office by separating the clerical and lay offices through the use of the terms “ordained” and “commissioned,” and we do not. We ordain every officer, lay or not, and this should not confuse us as to... Continue Reading