The Parent Trap
The overprotection and overreaction of caring for children leading to the criminalization of parenthood
last issue presents a distinctive challenge to conservatives like me, who believe such work requirements are essential. If we want women like Debra Harrell to take jobs instead of welfare, we have to also find a way to defend their liberty as parents, instead of expecting them to hover like helicopters and then literally arresting... Continue Reading
Christian Cake Baker Appeals Government ‘Re-Education’ Order
A Christian cake artist in Colorado filed an appeal Wednesday challenging a government order that says he and his staff must take “re-education” classes
“Americans should not be forced by the government — or by another citizen — to endorse or promote ideas with which they disagree,” said Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) Lead Counsel Nicolle Martin. “This is not about the people who asked for a cake; it’s about the message the cake communicates. A Christian cake artist... Continue Reading
Justification and Sanctification at the Table
Forgiveness is found not by mere confession of sin but by confession of Christ
Confession and forgiveness are not terminal destinations; they are pivot points of new commencement. They are not ends but beginnings of new obedience, exercised by the grace of God that teaches and trains “us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age” “If we... Continue Reading
6 Points on Leading Funeral Services: An Open Letter To Pastors
I hear the same story with alarming frequency: a funeral that could have brought comfort and hope instead led to guilt and frustration
“Don’t talk about the glories of heaven before you talk about the person who is now there. Instead, establish rapport with the grieving community by articulating what made the deceased person unique. A funeral congregation is often one whose ear you have to earn—and you earn those ears in your descriptions of the deceased. If... Continue Reading
Husband Arrested? Pack Him a Lunch
How to be a pastor’s wife under persecution
I have long held, with my tongue only partly in my cheek, that the primary job of a pastor’s wife is to keep the pastor alive. Most churches have at least some people who will organize events, or lead Bible studies, or play the piano. We’ve got members who greet, members who teach, and members... Continue Reading
The Dangers and Duty of Confessing Sin to One Another
If James does not teach treating pastor and congregation as priest for penance, or confession of sin in undifferentiated settings, what does he have in mind?
Is James speaking of going around and confessing any sin that you can point to in your life to just about anyone you are in fellowship with in the church so that they will pray for you? Or, does he have in mind the practice of “keeping short accounts” with the brethren? Does he mean... Continue Reading
When You Should NOT Submit to a Church
How do you recognize abusive leadership?
All of us will, at times, be called to endure humbly a leader’s mistakes and sins. Nonetheless, should you find yourself in a church where the leadership is characteristically abusive, I would, in most cases, encourage you to flee. Flee to protect your discipleship, to protect your family, to set a good example for the... Continue Reading
Disillusionment with the Church
The key to understanding biblical fellowship is that it is rooted in a spiritual reality, rather than something that is physical.
Many of our disappointments in the local church are rooted, founded, and based upon the ethic of other communities. We are disappointed and critical of our brothers and sisters in Christ, because they are not giving us what we want or what we think we need. But true fellowship isn’t grounded in what others can... Continue Reading
Shame on you Bowdoin College
A good example of how anti-Christian hostility can manifest itself in our society.
College administrators, in their role of administrators, should not choose sides in this theological debate. But when they imply that a Christian group should accept a non-Christian leader, then they have entered that debate. That Christian group has decided that leadership must be with their same religious tradition and does not accept the premise that... Continue Reading
Was Jonathan Edwards a Puritan?
Theologically, Puritanism was not quite as monolithic as we might think or as some might like to think
So, was Jonathan Edwards a Puritan? No, he was not a Puritan. That may be a disappointment for some and a relief for others. But my admiration for the man doesn’t depend on whether he was a Puritan or not. Edwards may have had the “spirit” of Puritanism in him, for he read them with... Continue Reading