Staying in Our Lane
Our responsibility is obedience, despite any dissonance we may have with the hand dealt us.
Whatever our lot, we must resist the temptation to rebel and buck against our creaturely limitations, instead entrusting ourselves to our faithful God and endeavoring to walk in faithfulness to His revealed, recorded will. Along with Paul in pondering the perplexities of a sovereign God, our response is not to pout but to praise. ... Continue Reading
Cru Chose Critical Race Theory Over Christian Unity
A report prepared by at least 350 members of Cru for review by top organization leadership details how racial divisions and hurt feelings were the result of Cru’s Social Justice emphasis.
Cru Elevated Ethnic Identity over Christian Identity. Of particular concern is Cru’s Cultural Training called the Lenses Institute. Lenses was an in-depth “cultural competency training for Cru staff. However, it functioned as an ideological re-education camp where Christian unity was replaced by the primacy of ethnic identity. Cru’s Cultural Training functioned like indoctrination into... Continue Reading
Amid Calls for Cancelation, Promise Keepers Stands Strong
"We're teaching men to lay down their lives, to be godly leaders...It's amazing that anybody would be threatened by that."
USA Today’s Mike Freeman, a columnist for the paper, is the latest to bet that the NFL will back him in his absurd quest to cancel a Christian conference for daring men to act like… men! In today’s world, that’s apparently a shocking enough concept that Freeman thinks Dallas’s AT&T Stadium should call off the... Continue Reading
Same-Sex Attracted Identification is Not Above Reproach
This year’s PCA General Assembly will be focusing on the core issues around the question of same-sex-attracted (SSA) men and ordination to sacred office.
As of today, I am even more persuaded that an SSA-Christian man is not qualified for/not called to sacred office. He is not above reproach. Such a man has established as part of his identity a sin that is against nature (Jude 1:7; Rom 1:26). This identification may be nothing more than a confusion of... Continue Reading
Let’s Be Sure Our Worship Songs Do Not Contain Error
Worship, and especially corporate worship, is perhaps the highest calling for a church and Christians.
The hymns and songs we sing need to be biblically, doctrinally, and theologically correct because they are expressions of what we believe about God, the Father, God, the Son, and God, the Holy Spirit. They also express what we believe our relationship to be to each of the three in one. Words are important and... Continue Reading
The Unbiblical – and Common!! – Way to Handle Reports of Abuse in the Church
On abuse in the church, “A Cry For Justice,” gives an outline of what typically (and sadly!) happens when a victim goes to her pastor or church leadership for help.
The authors note that they have seen this scenario played out in real life more than a few times. And I believe them because I’ve seen it before and/or heard of it before. Please, don’t take reports of abuse lightly! Take them seriously – and get this book to help you walk through these tough... Continue Reading
How Is Social Media Undermining the Mission of the Church?
The church today, more than ever, needs to boldly fulfill the call to preach the gospel and exercise discipline to preserve the integrity of Christ’s Great Commission.
Much of social media behavior today functions to undermine the design and authority of Christ’s church in the opening and closing of the kingdom according to these keys. And many of our problems come because the church has not been faithful to exercise the key that shuts the kingdom of heaven against those who stand... Continue Reading
Key Signs of an Abusive Pastor #3: Overly Critical and Harsh with Others
Spiritually abusive pastors typically lead through fault-finding
The New Testament is not unaware of the problem of pastors who are overly critical and harsh with their sheep. In the long list of qualifications, Paul is keen to mention it: “Therefore an overseer must be . . . not violent but gentle” (1 Tim 3:3; cf. Titus 1:7)…Paul believes gentleness matters very much. No... Continue Reading
When the Abused Become Abusers
What is wrong is when the abused become abusers, the oppressed become oppressors, and the victims become the victimizers.
Notice that for Frankl, the abused can become abusers and the oppressed become oppressors because they can fall prey to a “danger (in the sense of psychological hygiene) [that] is the psychological counterpart of the bends.”7 For him, it’s not that external factors in such cases bring out what is already in people (i.e., their... Continue Reading
What Do Pastors Do with Power? Owning and Using the Uncomfortable Gift
Faithful, healthy pastors, and their churches, handle power differently than the world does.
Spreading power around, and pushing it out, is very different than giving into grabs. Power, like money, can be acquired justly or unjustly. It can be earned or seized. It can be given or taken, whether outright or through manipulation. Mature pastors, and congregants, know this. Healthy churches give their pastors space to take proactive... Continue Reading
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