Seeking and saving the lost
In the so-called Muslim world, it’s local Christian believers who carry the Great Commission
According to Miraculous Movements by Jerry Trousdale (2012), 45 different “unreached” Muslim-majority people groups, groups that a few years ago had no access to God’s Word, now have more than 3,000 new churches among them. And the typical agent of change is himself olive- or dark-skinned—most likely an Egyptian missionary, perhaps an Ethiopian, or a... Continue Reading
Center Church: Doing Balanced, Gospel-Centered Ministry in Your City
A Review of Pastor Tim Keller's book detailing his philosophy of ministry
My advice, essentially, is to rip out the introduction (the fruitfulness stuff) and maybe chapter 10 (the “A” to “B” stuff) which sets up chapters 1 to 30 as the key to successful ministry, and read chapters 1 to 30 because most of them are really, really good. I was recently on a conference... Continue Reading
United States Army Threatened With Lawsuit Over Chaplain’s Prayer to ‘Heavenly Father’
Atheist soldier complained because she was offended by the overtly Christian prayer
While Gettman acknowledged that the closing prayer was optional, she asserted that some of those in attendance may have been from other faiths and were not aware that they did not have to participate. She filed a complaint last year with the Army’s equal opportunity office and also discussed the matter with her superiors. However,... Continue Reading
Any Place for the God of Job?
Is depression sinful? Is it always the result of personal sin? Or poor preaching?
Christians are no more exempt from depression than they are from cancer or strokes; and the idea that these things are necessarily linked to our lack of faith, to our personal sin, to our outlook on life, or, indeed, to anything intrinsic to us, is nonsense and unbiblical. A pastoral theology which has not grappled... Continue Reading
What We Need More Than Anything
Like the Samaritan women we're in danger if we don't recognize who Jesus is
What she needed more than anything — what we need more than anything — is to know Jesus. Our most severe problem would be hopelessness in solving our fundamental problem. Our most severe problem would be that we don’t recognize Jesus as the only rescue from our sins. Our fundamental problem is that we’re... Continue Reading
Top 10 Reasons Our Kids Leave Church
The American Evangelical church is losing and will continue to lose its youth; why?
I work in a major college town with a large number of 20-somethings. Nearly all of them were raised in very typical evangelical churches. Nearly all of them have left the church with no intention of returning….here are the most common thoughts taken from dozens of conversations. I hope some of them make you angry.... Continue Reading
Tornado Update: MNA Disaster Response Mobilizes for Hattiesburg/Petal Miss.
Volunteers and gifts sought to assist with relief and recovery in tornado-ravaged Hattiesburg
At the request of First Presbyterian Church-Hattiesburg MS, MNA Disaster Response is mobilizing volunteers who would be willing to come and help meet the needs of the local PCA members and reach out to the greater community through Hope for Hattiesburg, a local outreach ministry of FPC-Hattiesburg. Day teams are welcome. On Sunday evening,... Continue Reading
27 Propositions and Counter Points Concerning Two Kingdom Theology
Counterpoints in the “two kingdoms” theology discussion
4. The Decalogue was given for the covenant community only. The Reformed confessions testify the Decalogue was given “to” the covenant community, but is given “for” all men. 5. The provisional and ceremonial aspects of the Decalogue were binding on the O.T. covenant community only. Generally agreeable, except that the Reformed confessions also testify that... Continue Reading
PCUSA Ohio Valley Presbytery Appeals Church Property Case to U.S. Supreme Court
Indiana Supreme Court: The neutral-principles-of-law approach permits greater fairness, consistency, and equality of application to all church property disputes
The court’s decision established Indiana as a “neutral principles of law” state. “Because the neutral-principles-of-law approach permits greater fairness, consistency, and equality of application to all church property disputes regardless of the structure of the denominational church organization, we adopt the neutral-principles-of-law approach for settling property disputes between religious organizations in Indiana,” the decision read.... Continue Reading
Conventional Education Will Go the Way of Farming
Like the housing bubble, the education bubble is about security and insurance against the future, or is it?
In a piece questioning the need for colleges offering majors in business, David Glenn writes that employers are looking for “22-year-olds who can write coherently, think creatively and analyze quantitative data, and they’re perfectly happy to hire English or biology majors.”….The ability to use, understand, and communicate those facts is what must be taught and... Continue Reading