If you love the Heidelberg Catechism and have for a long time, read it again this year. If you learned the Heidelberg Catechism years ago and dismissed it as cruel and unusual punishment, give it another chance. If “Heidelberg” sounds like a disease to you and catechism sounds as thrilling as detasseling corn, try it... Continue Reading

If confessional congregations determine that a denomination is not presently confessional or if groups that find themselves alienated from the confession and unable to subscribe honestly to the standards, if all churchly efforts have been exhausted, and that there is no reasonable expectation of a return to the confession (theology, piety, and practice) in future,... Continue Reading

A congregation should also be able to expect certain theological precision and convictions from its leadership based upon the denomination’s stated beliefs and theology. In this way, a congregation is protected from a pastor who would come in and change the church in drastic ways (i.e. from an infant baptizing church to a believer’s only... Continue Reading

No human being engineered the course of history so that Reformed theological categories would gain increased acceptance among certain groups of African Americans. But if Christians understand the causes–both spiritual and temporal–that lead to the spread of the gospel, we can use that information to make Christ known among all kinds of people.   Reformed... Continue Reading

The letter said that the PCUSA has made changes in several areas that reflected a “significant turning away from the traditional confessions of our faith and from the historically orthodox understanding of the authority and interpretation of Scripture outlined in the brief ‘Statement of Faith’ that was unanimously adopted by session in 2011 and 2012.”... Continue Reading

There are likely far bigger disappointments to come than the one that dropped last Thursday. We did not choose this culture war and it is not about to leave us alone. The media, the academy, the government, the libertine elite–they may sully our reputation and shame our convictions, but they cannot steal our joy. We... Continue Reading

The question of the Obamacare contraception mandate has a simple answer for Christians: we must obey God instead of man. At the same time, we should realize the question of communicating our position to non-Christians is not so simple, and requires us to maintain a calm, gracious, and thoughtful demeanor in making our case before... Continue Reading

The tones of dictatorship are all over the Hobby Lobby case. No ball game I’ve ever attended included referees so blatantly determined to help one team win. If only it were just a game. It was 20 years ago this week that I argued in this space that we were in the late stages of... Continue Reading

Now, some may want to accuse me of mischievously making differences over the issue of evolution/Adam among the leaders of these new evangelical consortia into a big deal. On the contrary, I am merely drawing attention to the fact that high profile members of these consortia have themselves publicly stated that it is a very... Continue Reading

It has been curious to me that many who seem least concerned to be biblical about the Lord’s Supper are those who administer it most frequently. In fact, during the General Assembly, more than one minister who emphasizes weekly communion told me that intinction was necessary because the biblical procedure takes too long.   One... Continue Reading