“The question is not whether Christians are free to tithe of their income. Certainly, they are. The question is whether Christians are obligated to tithe of their income. Does the Bible legislate to believers under the New Covenant a specific percentage of their income that they are to give? The answer, I believe, is no.”... Continue Reading

“It is true that Calvin was generally more irenic toward other Protestants than was Luther and he was critical of Luther’s rhetoric on the Supper (inter alia) but there is a problem with the way you relate Calvin to Luther.”   You can catch up with the flow of the discussion via Derek Rishmawy’s interesting... Continue Reading

Notice that Paul stresses that discipleship is done in the context of the church with the influence of many others. Thus, examples and commands abound in the New Testament of how the body of Christ ministers to one another and participates in the disciple making process. A grandmother and mother first trained Timothy in the... Continue Reading

The truth is, church is not all about us. Church is not what we think it should be. Church is not how we feel it should be, or even how we are feeling that day. Church is about God giving to us, and us giving to others. “Let us consider how to stir up one... Continue Reading

“Observing evangelicals debate the doctrine of the Trinity over the last few months, I’ve thought about that breakfast room and the essay on polemic theology and wondered what would Roger Nicole think?”   The first time I attended the national meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society, I was an aspiring-but-not-yet PhD student. A classmate and... Continue Reading

“Tocqueville contrasts the moral witness of the Church in the U.S. with its Gospel witness—setting the clarity and harmony with which churches preach the law or morality against the public discord caused by their differences in worship.”   In Democracy in America, Tocqueville discusses what he thought was a strength of American Christianity—and it is... Continue Reading

These are simple and general measures you can take to reduce the likelihood of abusing spiritual power that leaders have over congregants. While you may think such abuse is extremely rare, our call to be like our head Jesus demands that we hoist no millstones around the necks of vulnerable members.   Anyone in a... Continue Reading

Second, know what your church believes. If you haven’t done so already, become informed regarding your church’s positions on key biblical teachings. Most churches have a statement of faith. Are you familiar with what your church’s statement declares?  Who taught the person who is teaching you? How do his or her positions differ from those of other... Continue Reading

I have several friends who live in these kind of towns and their Sunday morning options are bleak. There’s the church where you’re sure to hear a rousing sermon on how bad the liberals have messed everything up in America. There’s the church where the pastor shares a few tips picked up from a conference... Continue Reading

Presbytery naturally becomes a catalyst for ministry. We need to beg, borrow and steal good ideas from one another. Often from spending time together, ideas and initiatives proceed. Presbytery must not just be meetings; it must be a band of brothers. The famous quote that ‘The Battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of... Continue Reading