Same-sex weddings – and the use of Methodist church buildings to host them – are against the 12 million-member denomination’s rules, but they also aren’t new in United Methodism: participating clergy usually conduct them outside of Methodist sanctuaries, as Talbert did in 2013 at a United Church of Christ (UCC) church building in Alabama.  ... Continue Reading

“Lemuel Haynes (A.D. 1753-1833) was the first African American ordained by any religious organization in America. He ministered in New England and exhibited Calvinistic thought in his sermons and writings. In one work “The Character and Work of a Spiritual Watchman Described (1792), he exhibits God’s sovereignty in election.”   While it is true that... Continue Reading

I heard a Cambridge history professor recently (lamenting the recent death of the great Patrick Collinson) say that we really need to move beyond the strange idea that Puritans were not part of the Church of England, but some kind of external, foreign-inspired invaders. They were not; many of the great names we celebrate and... Continue Reading

When numerical success becomes the primary benchmark for evaluating the success of a church, a man will sacrifice his principles and build his ministry on all the wrong things to achieve his goal. Churches built on hype, great music, and a charismatic personality may reach some people who do not know Jesus, but it will... Continue Reading

Calvin’s Strasbourg service followed the pattern of Martin Bucer’s liturgy, which began with a Confession of Sin followed by a “Word of Comfort” from holy Scripture (1 Tim. 1:15; or John 3:16; 3:35–36; Acts 10:43; 1 John 2:1–2; etc.) and the “Absolution.”…. Bucer’s liturgy makes it clear that the Absolution is an exercise of the... Continue Reading

“The dignity of the person who suffered appears in this, that it was God, the Creator himself, who died for the sins of the world; which is infinitely more than the destruction of all creatures, and avails more than the holiness of all the angels and men.”   It was necessary that our Mediator should... Continue Reading

“One of the immediate reactions to a public fall of a respected pastor is a sense of betrayal. Those who have benefited from the pastor’s ministry feel as though they have been personally deceived. That’s even more true when it’s your own pastor—the one who baptized you or did your premarital counseling or was there with... Continue Reading

“Burnout can be defined in many ways, but that’s how it looked in my situation. The seeds of this meltdown had been planted years earlier, and I had unknowingly nurtured them, carefully tending the soil and watering the plant until finally it sprouted.”   I was preaching one Wednesday night when, in the middle of... Continue Reading

I want to promote godly models of leadership both in the church and in the family; because this is not just confined to pastors. As too many stories confirm, Christian husbands and fathers can also abuse their God-appointed leadership roles. We need to skillfully apply the Bible’s principles to our practice, and to advance positive... Continue Reading

 Numerous big names have been caught out: plagiarism, bullying, cover-ups, adultery, Ashley Madison – you name it, they’ve done it – yet, just like politicians, they offer quick repentances and make come-backs in the time it takes the rest of us to make a cup of tea.  And small, hard-core activists are always available to... Continue Reading