“A Southern Baptist Calvinist could get the impression that he is not welcomed in the SBC and, as another prominent SBC leader suggested, should consider looking for a home in a Presbyterian denomination.”   “Why should we stay in the SBC?” I’ve had that question put to me from pastors, elders, deacons, and whole congregations... Continue Reading

“Unlike mainline Prot­estant denominations, North America’s Baptists in recent decades have generally maintained their numbers. Matters might change in the future, but at present that success at home is the key explanation of why these churches have not been overwhelmed by emerging counterparts overseas.”   When I wrote The Next Christen­dom back in 2002, I... Continue Reading

“According to a Greenville News article about same-sex couples seeking the city’s first marriage licenses after a federal court order finding South Carolina’s ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional took effect on Nov. 20, 2014, Sarratt and Swearingen met six years earlier at Greenville First Baptist Church, when Swearingen served the church as an intern.”  ... Continue Reading

“Against this backdrop, it’s difficult not to see this attack as having a deeply political purpose: to encourage the exodus of Christian Egyptians from their homeland. Through attacks like these, the perpetrators appear to be indicating that they don’t simply want to make life difficult for Christians—they want Egypt to be Christian-free.”   Friday is... Continue Reading

On August 29, 1726, he is asked to assist his grandfather, Solomon Stoddard, in the church in Northampton. He is ordained on February 15, 1727. On February 11, 1729, Stoddard dies and Edwards becomes pastor of the church. The church in 1735 had approximately 620 members. It was customary for Edwards to spend 13 hours... Continue Reading

Over the past four years, Becket Law notes, class-action lawyers have “brought nearly 100 lawsuits against various Catholic and Protestant hospitals around the country, arguing that these nonprofit hospitals had broken the law by participating in nonprofit church pension plans instead of using lower-benefit pension plans designed for large for-profit corporations like Exxon and Walmart.”... Continue Reading

“I know it’s not particularly common in The United Methodist Church, but I intend to wear a collar every single day because for a person like me to navigate society in a collar provides some profound and urgently needed pastoral opportunities, particularly for queer and trans people.”   The Northern Illinois Conference commissioned M Barclay,... Continue Reading

The Synod 2017 discussions around the topic of justice revealed the underlying differences within today’s CRC. Rev. Andrew Beunk from Classis British Columbia Northwest noticed this and perceptively spoke of it during the discussion on the Belhar Confession: “I think that we are experiencing at the synod a tension that I want to name …... Continue Reading

On the national level, commissioners from churches make decisions at General Assembly (GA) that set the course of future decades in the work of ministry. GA is not a minor irritant or an opportunity for simply catching up with old friends; it’s a vital component in preserving the health and faithfulness of the ecclesial body... Continue Reading

If this sounds harsh, it is because we are in a dire moment. People are being exiled from their homes and communities while Christians attend conferences on church planting. We are centering the wrong people in these conversations, and we have misapplied scripture egregiously. As Cole Brown says, Jeremiah 29:4-7 was written originally to people... Continue Reading