It should, I think, be made much harder than it now is to enter the Church: the confession of faith that is required should be a credible confession; and if it becomes evident upon examination that a candidate has no notion of what he is doing, he should be advised to enter upon a course... Continue Reading

“When you fly over Europe, you can see a lot of beautiful historic church buildings. Once you are on the ground and you visit some of the churches, you find out that some of those church buildings have been turned into museums; they are no longer places where Christ crucified and risen is proclaimed.”  ... Continue Reading

“I think many of the old hymns, the ones that have endured–and plenty of the newer hymns too, actually–tap into a deeper reality than a lot of the more explicitly emotive stuff. In a strange way, the old gospel hymns affect us more emotionally by not dealing primarily with how we feel.”   The gospel... Continue Reading

This experience gave me a new appreciation for a goal of the church. Christians are of course ambassadors (Eph 6:20; 2 Cor 5:20). But in a deeper sense, the church is our embassy. When Sunday comes and the church gathers, it is a collection of ambassadors coming home. We are not in heaven yet, but as... Continue Reading

A power group continues to wreak havoc in a church. The story is not uncommon. The same power group opposes any change again and again. Pastoral tenure declines due to the leaders’ frustration with this group. At some point a large group in the church declares, “enough,” and departs en masse.   “Where did everyone go?” A... Continue Reading

The distinctions of the seven churches of Revelation are set forth clearly in that book. They manifest different greatnesses and frailties, but they all faced perils. Each confronted the dangers that assaulted the church in the first century. They faced hazards of varying proportions, but there was a common threat to the health of the... Continue Reading

Given that the Regulative Principle of Worship (RPW) limits the elements of worship to those God has set out in Scripture, we should expect a significant degree of liturgical uniformity. The six, basic elements (i.e. the reading and preaching Scripture, prayer, singing praises, administering the sacraments, and lawful oaths) should be found in all of our services. Other things (i.e. unauthorized rituals, ceremonies, programs, gestures... Continue Reading

The utility and morality of orthodox Christian social beliefs can be debated. But according to Christian teaching, it is licit, perhaps even mandatory, to withdraw and walk away—“shake the dust off your feet”—rather than violate one’s conscience or become corrupted by the world.   We’ve all heard of the idea of a general worker’s strike.... Continue Reading

I love pastors. I love their hearts. I love their commitment to God and to the churches they serve. I also love new pastors. It is fascinating to hear their thoughts after they have served as a pastor for a year or two. I have assembled some of those thoughts in the form of direct... Continue Reading

In fact, prior to the 1920s, all stripes of white Protestants who were in the mainline churches were Progressive in politics and had no trouble with Prohibition, opposing Roman Catholicism, or censoring American letters. It may come as a surprise to learn that “evangelicals” were Progressive.   Readers may be hard pressed to figure out... Continue Reading