Copts March on Washington
Demonstrators also came to be a witness to the world, and particularly to Americans, of the persecution of Egyptian Christians.
Like their fellow Copts in Egypt, and like all Egyptians who supported the People’s Coup, the Egyptian Americans now look to the Egyptian Army and General Abdel Fatah el-Sissi as the defenders of Egypt. They are outraged that the U.S. government continues to defend the Muslim Brotherhood and to insist that all of the Islamists should be included in... Continue Reading
We See Jesus
New Testament use of the old in Hebrews 1:4-14
The Puritan theologian, Thomas Manton, once said: “The great skill of Christians is to find the New Testament prefigured in the Old, and the Old Testament fulfilled in the New Testament.” What helps us most in this endeavor is that it doesn’t take long when reading through the NT to come across one of the... Continue Reading
From One Stated Clerk to Another
A continuing conversation between the EPC and PCUSA
Jeremiah’s letter goes on to address the widely disparate experiences of congregations seeking to realign from PCUSA presbyteries to the EPC. He notes that although some presbyteries take the action of the 2008 General Assembly calling for gracious dismissal seriously, many presbyteries make denominational realignment almost impossible. Jeremiah notes that the route of disaffiliation is... Continue Reading
A Dream Celebrated and Sabotaged
Thoughts on the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s “I Have A Dream Speech”
There is still hope. If low-income blacks are given a shot at making the gains that middle-class blacks have experienced since King’s era, America could be the place that we dreamed about 50 years ago. In order for this to happen low-income blacks need to be freed from the overreach of elites in government, pursue... Continue Reading
The Goal of Missions and the Work of Missionaries
What do missionaries do?
For some people “missions” means nothing but evangelism, while some ecumenical organizations would rather have mission include every good thing the church might do except seeking the conversion of the lost. Is creation care mission work? What about teaching people to read and write? Or agricultural development? Or medical care? Or digging wells? Or orphan work? What if people... Continue Reading
Mom vs. Mom: The War I Didn’t See Coming
Deep down many of us are just a little bit afraid that someone else is doing a better job at this whole thing than we are
Here is my theory–I picture the hearts of moms across the world being like a really dry forest, the kind that people warn you not to strike a match in. They are dry because they’re insecure and aching. They are exhausted and spent. They are longing to hear that they’re doing a good job, and... Continue Reading
The Pastor’s Family: Shepherding Your Family through the Challenges of Pastoral Ministry
A review of a new book by Brian and Cara Croft
All throughout the history of the church there have been pastors—and you may well know some of them—who have sacrificed their families on the altar of ministry. Too many neglected wives and forsaken children can testify to men who time and time again chose ministry in place of family. Every pastor can testify to the... Continue Reading
12 Signs You Need an Intentional Interim Pastor
What’s your first move after your pastor tells you he’s resigning?
If you attend a church that is entering the transition period that begins when your pastor leaves, please consider these danger signs. If you are a leader in such a church, please guard against uttering those five dangerous words without first giving serious thought to what you stand to lose if you don’t retain the... Continue Reading
Staying or leaving?
A critique of Alexander's reasons to stay in the Church of Scotland
I have read and re-read what Mr Alexander has to say. I have prayed and thought about the arguments and wondered whether I should change my position (which was that whilst there were some who would have to leave and should be encouraged as they do so, others would have to stay and also be... Continue Reading
I Weep for Miley
What kind of people are we? What kind of culture have we created?
Picking up a sub sandwich today, I saw a news report on CNN about Miley Cyrus’ performance at last night’s VMA’s. I was shocked, then sickened, then saddened. For the rest of the day, I wondered: What kind of people are we? What kind of culture have we created? What do we want our... Continue Reading