What cannot be allowed is a confessionalism which is undisciplined in both senses of the word: where the individual does not understand that, in terms of a particular church’s public ministry, his conscience is not the ultimate court of appeal and arbiter of what he can and cannot say while being an officer in the... Continue Reading

For those in ECO the PCUSA is already fully in the rear view mirror and shrinking fast on the horizon. They are enthusiastically moving on. They are very energized, highly collegial, and joyfully working to redefine what it looks like to be faithful Presbyterian in an ever changing world. But the context of ECO is... Continue Reading

For one, we know that many of these apocryphal writings are outright forgeries, pretending to be written by someone who was clearly not the author. That fact alone raises serious questions about the reliability of their content. Second, many of these apocryphal writings contain obvious embellishments and legendary additions. For example, in the Gospel of... Continue Reading

We’re often told that people quite like Jesus, but just don’t do church. Here are 300 people who do do church, and don’t like Jesus! Perhaps it’s that people like their version of Jesus (teacher, healer, nice guy, loving and affirming, non-existent, take your pick); the reason they don’t like church is because church challenges... Continue Reading

The formation of ECO represents a growing challenge for the PC(USA). Already churches have been departing from the PC(USA) for many years to denominations like the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC), which has grown from 188 churches to 420 in the last five years, primarily through the acceptance of churches departing from the PC(USA). The PC(USA)... Continue Reading

I happened to be giving some lectures in Recife for The Puritan Project, a group dedicated to translating good Reformed literature into Portuguese and sponsoring lectures and conferences on related topics. The latest project is a translation of James Bannerman’s masterful exposition of biblical ecclesiology, The Church of Christ. As some ‘up north’ are seemingly... Continue Reading

Unfortunately, many young pastors head into ministry with the perception that if they just give themselves to their congregations—if they are just personal and loving—then they will succeed in ministry. But, they soon realize that they are not enough to satisfy the church. The church needs more than the pastor can give. And inevitably they... Continue Reading

The immortal line of the old song Wonderful World begins……“don’t know much about history….” It sentimentally reveals a deep bias in American life which disposes us to look down on what is old. We celebrate what’s hot. As historian Wil Durant once put it, “we Americans are the best informed people on earth as to... Continue Reading

However, I do think we are in challenging times. The last ten years have brought us to that reality. There have been a few distractions along the way. The emerging church came promising answers to evangelicals for a “third way,” but now is largely the avant-garde wing of (declining) mainline Protestantism. Some tried to withdraw... Continue Reading

How do you celebrate this moment? Let me ask you readers, do you clap in your church after a baptism? Our church congregation doesn’t. There’s no policy about it in the Book of Church Order or anything. I don’t think I would be reprimanded for a celebratory outburst. But since it is so silent, I... Continue Reading