Many smaller congregations seem to have too many single men or too many single women. But by making the pool of potential spouses a bit larger, Bressler believes that the Internet can increase fellowship with others by providing a godly environment for single adults in the OPC to meet and build God-blessed relationships.   Looking... Continue Reading

The 900-member congregation, which has been divided over gay marriage and other doctrinal issues, voted 266 to 146 in favor of the measure. But the number fell short of the 274 votes needed for dismissal from the denomination, which required a two-thirds vote. Some members were seeking to separate from the national denomination, which has... Continue Reading

If our church life is exclusively or even primarily segregated, it is difficult for a student to pursue inter-generational relationships with the rest of the congregation, at precisely the time when such relationships are most needed. To be sure, a college-and-career group or young adults group can be valuable. But it can also be a... Continue Reading

I have witnessed more than a few good men step away from the ministry having been chewed up and spit out by some carnal church.  Much has been written about abusive pastors but not enough ink has been spilled describing toxic churches and battered pastors.  Both camps dishonor the reputation of the Christ they claim to represent.   While I am... Continue Reading

“Increasingly, the conservative, evangelical members of the 1.8-million-member mainline Protestant denomination are finding themselves at odds with socially progressive congregations and leadership that seem to have moved in line with the secular world.”   Across Christian denominations, the debate over gay marriage has fundamentally pitted the views of socially progressive – if not radical –... Continue Reading

If we really believe that the gospel is the power of God for salvation we probably would not mess with it. It is not wise to edit perfection; we have not been given proofreading writes by God to add or delete elements from his masterpiece of Christ exalting truth.   Recently I’ve been thinking about... Continue Reading

I’m posting this letter here for two reasons—one is simply because you didn’t respond to my email and you refused to talk to me in person. The second is to spare others the time. I want other churches to know if you go there, your goal is not anybody’s repentance. Your goal is simply to... Continue Reading

“How easy is it to not keep the main thing, the main thing? How easy is it to get so caught up in “doing for the Lord” that we forget to “be with the Lord”? How easy is it to get so caught up doing our 9th annual rummage sale at our church, that we... Continue Reading

A biblical understanding of worship sees every Lord’s Day corporate gathering as an extraordinary event where the people of God come into the presence of the Almighty and through His blessed gift of the means of grace grow spiritually in their understanding of His attributes and the thorough and perfect nature of the sacrifice of... Continue Reading

They are in this sense more like religious believers under compulsion in a society with an established church than like believers denied the freedom to exercise their religion. Liberals are in this respect right to say they’re not trying to kill religious liberty. They’re trying to take it back to something like the form it... Continue Reading