God hasn’t called pastors to maximize reach or maintain relevance. He’s called them to shepherd souls through the faithful ministry of His Word, and that calling doesn’t bend just because the tools have changed. Any tool that serves that calling can be used with gratitude and restraint. Any tool that begins to displace it should... Continue Reading

In an emergency, the pastor shouldn’t have operational command; that should be left to the security team. They should have the authority to decide when to evacuate, when to call law enforcement, and when to implement lockdown procedures. This distinction must be established and communicated before any incident occurs.   What Just Happened? Protesters disrupted... Continue Reading

View post-sermon discouragement as a gift, not to yourself, but to the congregation. I learned this from James Pennington at the Heritage Preaching Lectures last October. Pennington described the emotional and psychological cost of preaching as a gift the preacher gives to the congregation, one that often goes unseen and unrecognized.   A well-known preacher,... Continue Reading

Many believers carry an unspoken sense of second-tier belonging. Perhaps faith came later in life. Perhaps family history feels thin or complicated. Perhaps church culture has felt foreign…God’s saving purpose does not rely on inherited advantage. It rests on Christ, and it reaches all whom He calls. The church becomes stronger, not weaker, when it... Continue Reading

We have moved beyond postmodernism, but the contours of post-postmodernism are not quite clear. The next phase based on the premises of postmodernism is nihilism with its loss of meaning, animated resentment and violence, and drive for power…Our is a moment that calls for more than the taken-for-granted status quo. Nihilism is the frontline in... Continue Reading

Isolation from the gathered church does not occur in neutral territory. It always pulls believers back toward exile patterns where faith thins and accountability fades. Christ calls His people out of Babylon and into assembly.   We have studies now. They arrive neatly packaged, peer-reviewed, and carefully worded. They tell us that people who attend... Continue Reading

The high calling of ordination is incompatible with a settled identification as a “gay Christian” or with ongoing patterns of same-sex attraction. We affirm that God can and does deliver His people from every form of sin and disordered desire, including those of a sexual nature. And we expect that those who lead His church... Continue Reading

Those who seek stability and unity [in the PCA] would do well to set aside their preferences and rely on the plain reading of our standards, without resorting to word games or excessive subtlety. Pushing the practice envelope and engaging in ecclesial disobedience in protest of our agreed polity cannot promote peace; these things can... Continue Reading

As a missionary, I understand the difficulty of sharing the gospel with a culture that does not share our values. Yet in our desire to be missional, we must not forsake the truth of Scripture or abandon the unchanging commands of God. The Bible clearly teaches that homosexuality is an unnatural desire and contrary to... Continue Reading

As a New Geneva graduate, Dr. Holt brings familiarity with the institution and a diverse background in ministry, having pastored three churches, including a church plant in Wyoming, a church in Marietta GA, and, most recently First Presbyterian Church in Gulfport, MS. Dr. Holt has been active in presbytery leadership, and served on the PCA’s... Continue Reading