As leaders in the church we must insist on maturity that translates into sending our best people. We must send mature disciples that meet the scriptural qualifications of leadership. The scriptures give us clear examples and marks of godliness that a mature disciple must have that equate to us sending our best.    One of... Continue Reading

What we need to concern ourselves with is what both Kevin Vanhoozer and Nicholas Wolterstorff call “fittingness.” Wolterstorff defines fittingness as “similarity across modalities.” Modalities are different forms of expression—literature, music, rhetoric, architecture, drama, visual arts, etc.   For a couple weeks I have been developing the idea that in order to disciple people through corporate... Continue Reading

Every book, every chapter, every sentence, every line – even “the smallest letter or stroke” (Matt. 5:18)—proceeds from God, and has been given to us by God so that we might know Him more intimately, worship and serve Him more faithfully, and proclaim Him more urgently. So when it comes to selecting texts of Scripture... Continue Reading

If there is an organizing theme, it is, as the title indicates, about life together in the church: how we can maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Eph. 4:3) and grow into maturity together in Christ (vv. 13–16). My 15 suggestions apply to race most specifically, but I hope that... Continue Reading

We watch the news and are shocked to see young people who are without Christ and without hope behaving like the sinners they are. Had you encountered me during my teenage years, you likely would have been repulsed at my attitude, my language, my clothing, everything. I went out of my way to try to... Continue Reading

Like shaping your soul, the work of shaping a church takes years of persistence.   You can’t do it in a five-year pastorate. It takes a commitment to stay in place, to love your people, to persist when it’s painful, to preach the Word with patience, and not give up in the face of opposition. ... Continue Reading

If we look at Paul for example – the one apostle we are allowed to get to know more intimately than any of his fellow-apostles – we are struck most forcibly by the way he copes under duress. Whether it be through Luke’s biographical glimpses given in the book of Acts, or through Paul’s own... Continue Reading

We will live as sinners, saved by grace yet “growing in grace” until Christ returns to consummate His grace. At that moment, we will be delivered into the unalterable glory of the perfections of Christ and, together, we will be with Christ forever. Therefore, the church and believers must neither dismiss the past nor live... Continue Reading

There were 94 people present for the Convocation with over 350 others watching the live stream. The actual numbers of how many people watched cannot be determined. One minister who was present placed the link to the Convocation on his church website. Within a day or so, 1400 people had gone to the link to... Continue Reading

Every text has a central truth. And every text has a natural tone. To discover the truth of the text is to discover the tone of the text. Some passages teach doctrine. Others offer comfort. There are passages that state commands. Still others give issue warnings. Some passages encourage the weary soldier to fight on,... Continue Reading