“Although Furtick says this is a miracle, it’s not a miracle,” Duncan said. “It’s emotional manipulation.” The spontaneous baptism how-to guide describes its purpose as to “pull off our part in God’s miracle.” Church leaders have repeatedly referred to the mass response as a “miracle.” But the guide reveals plenty of human staging.   You... Continue Reading

Center Grove Presbyterian Church, in Greenwood, Ind., was dismissed from the PCUSA to become part of the Christian Reformed Church of North America. Community Presbyterian Church in Ventura, Calif., was dismissed to become part of ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians.   Center Grove Departs PCUSA for CRC After 30 years as part of... Continue Reading

Birchfield said it was too early to assess the long-term repercussions of the attempt to switch denominations, and he declined to predict whether some members will leave the church as a result. He said his immediate task is to begin smoothing over the differences for the sake of keeping the 3,100 member church intact.  ... Continue Reading

Elevation even produces coloring pages for the children which carry the caption “We Are United Under the Visionary” displayed over a depiction of Pastor Steven. The coloring page goes on to say, “Elevation is built on the vision God gave Pastor Steven. We will protect our unity by supporting his vision.” I have not read language like... Continue Reading

The reason behind the overture is that the current paragraph in the Book of Order “implies that Scripture is merely equal to the confessions and has no binding authority in the life of an ordained person or in a council of the church. The new language clearly recognizes the authority of Scripture and conforms to the language... Continue Reading

The statement ends with a warning that, although “the C of E has a long tradition of tolerating conscientious dissent and of seeking to avoid drawing lines too firmly”, the Bishops expected their clergy to honour the vow of obedience made at ordination.   AS THE first same-sex marriages loom, the C of E House... Continue Reading

Pastors’ wives have shared a common plight: they are very lonely. Indeed the transparency of these pastors’ wives is amazing. Many have shared with each other on this blog about their battles with depression. My desire to offer help to pastors’ wives has increased greatly. My respect and admiration of them has also grown significantly.... Continue Reading

Special revelation is indeed special. God has spoken, clearly revealing Himself to us through His inerrant word. Through His special revelation, we can know God, His creation, our fall, and our redemption that came from the Father through the Son and by the Holy Spirit. Everything we do, say, and display when we preach must serve... Continue Reading

By comparing some of the above dates, it becomes clear that as soon as RTS opened up [Fall of 1966], students soon began going there instead of to Columbia. Some appear to have finished at Columbia rather than transfer, while others did transfer mid-program. It may also be noteworthy that the entire group of RTS... Continue Reading

“There is great fear among some, here and round the world, that that will lead to the betrayal of our traditions, to the denial of the authority of scripture, to apostasy, not to use too strong a word,” he said. “And there is also a great fear that our decisions will lead us to the... Continue Reading