Matt Recker and The Gospel Coalition
Are Pastor Recker's criticisms of The Gospel Coalition well-founded?
All human organizations have faults and are liable to criticism. The Gospel Coalition is no exception. Those criticisms, however, must be thoughtful and fair, not based upon guilt-by-association or misunderstanding. Parts of Pastor Recker’s evaluation are spot on. For other evaluations, he relies upon a flawed appropriation of a 1956 article from Christian Life magazine.... Continue Reading
Some Thoughts on the Mosaic Covenant
Seeking to understand the relationship between the covenant of works, made with Adam in the Garden, and the Mosaic Covenant, made with Israel at Sinai
We must be clear that God’s solution to this predicament is not a graciously structured covenant. God’s solution to this problem is the incarnation, death, and exaltation of his Son, and the outpouring of the Spirit of the risen Christ. The covenant of grace–in any and every one of its administrations–is only a covenant of... Continue Reading
Bavinck on Calvinism
Bavinck’s ode to the Calvinist tradition
For this reason the Calvinist in all things recurs upon God, and does not rest satisfied before he has traced back everything to the sovereign good-pleasure of God as its ultimate and deepest cause. He never loses himself in the appearance of things, but penetrates to their realities. In 1894 Herman Bavinck wrote... Continue Reading
Does God Have a Plan for Israel?
Is there a divine purpose in the Jewish return to the land?
Interest in the Holy Land was high because interest in the end times rose among evangelicals in the European nations. Also during the 19th century archaeology was emerging as an academic discipline that defended the historicity of the Scriptures. The 19th century saw the rise of examining the Bible as any other literary or historical... Continue Reading
The Top 5 Things You Should Never Do At Work
Avoiding these blunders at work will help you survive in the workplace
And I made a great number of huge mistakes. I did some important things right too, but my missteps were legendary (at least in my own mind). When I look back on my 30 years of working, and the careers of the hundreds of folks I train, coach and teach, five blunders stand out from... Continue Reading
Let’s Rethink The Reaction to Ted Cruz’s Persecute Christian Speech
Divergent views on Ted Cruz’s speech at the ‘In Defense of Christians’ summit
And while many of us engaged in some regrettable fights with friends and others in the last week, one hopes that we also learned from each other and that we can work together to understand the plight of threatened Christians and other minorities in the Middle East, the problem of entanglements with bad actors, ways... Continue Reading
Book on Pastoral Succession: ‘All Pastors Are Interim Pastors’
When pastor Max Lucado greeted his successor at his San Antonio church, the two stood onstage and tried to put on each other’s shoes. They couldn’t
“Pastoral successions, especially after a long-term founding or well-established pastor, are one of the most crucial times in a congregation’s life cycle,” Granberg-Michaelson said. “When done well, the congregation’s ministry and life is re-energized and revived for the future. When done poorly, decades of successful and thriving ministry can deteriorate, heading the congregation into a... Continue Reading
In McAllen, Texas, Faith Groups Responded, While Washington Dithered
With an imploding immigration system, it was religious leaders who rallied to form a humanitarian response to the surge of unaccompanied children crossing the border
By September, 66,127 unaccompanied children and 66,142 Salvadoran, Guatemalan and Honduran families had crossed into the Southwest, mostly into the Rio Grande Valley. The flood contributed to a backlog in U.S. immigration courts of nearly 400,000 cases. Nowhere was the religious leadership more apparent than in McAllen, Texas, where churches and local government forged an effective and... Continue Reading
Wanted: Men Who Are Above Reproach
To the end, Daniel was a man whose testimony was stellar; he was a man above reproach
“If we spent less time on our feet and more time on our knees; and if we spent less time talking with men and more time talking with God; and if we spent less time caring about our neighbors thoughts and more time meditating in prayer on God’s Word, we would be more holy, consistent, and... Continue Reading
Quality Over Quantity
What is finally and eternally important is that with our whole heart we love God and seek to please Him
“To the average listener at the time of Jesus, the Pharisee was an example of the best, the most religious of men. Is Jesus here demanding that we must rate higher than them to go to kingdom of heaven? No, it is not as if Jesus is saying that on a test out of 100,... Continue Reading