Virtual schools are different than home schooling in several ways. They are part of the public school system, employ state-certified teachers, administer state assessment tests, and follow standardized curriculums. There are also report cards and transcripts. In a typical week, students spend about 20 to 25 hours on textbook reading and class work, and another... Continue Reading

So, if the Scripture is clear and the standards are clear, why are we even having these debates? The only reason is because many people in our denomination (a majority, if a recent poll is accurate) want us to be more tolerant and accepting of divergent views than our standards would permit.     I... Continue Reading

Because of the Roe decision, America is (along with Canada) one of the only Western countries in offering no legal protection to the unborn at any stage of development. On the fortieth anniversary of the landmark abortion decision, Roe v. Wade, a new poll shows the majority of people under 30 can’t name what the... Continue Reading

In a church of 100 people, 20 people will likely experience an episode of depression at some stage in their life. If you are in a church of that size, there are probably 5-10 people struggling with anxiety or depression right now. But instead of finding comfort and consolation in the preaching of God’s Word,... Continue Reading

When President Obama signed a defense spending bill into law on Jan. 2, he included a statement suggesting that his administration might ignore a provision in the law providing religious liberty protections to service members. Obama called the law’s conscience clause, designed to shield military chaplains from being forced to conduct same-sex marriages, “unnecessary and... Continue Reading

When he was awarded the Series MVP, he thanked the presenter in English, then immediately spoke in Spanish, blessing his family, thanking his parents, and asking for their blessing as well on “the most important day of my life.” It was a moment all Latinos who saw remember with pride and emotion—and still moves anyone... Continue Reading

If you love the Heidelberg Catechism and have for a long time, read it again this year. If you learned the Heidelberg Catechism years ago and dismissed it as cruel and unusual punishment, give it another chance. If “Heidelberg” sounds like a disease to you and catechism sounds as thrilling as detasseling corn, try it... Continue Reading

With the inauguration only days away, the Presidential Inauguration Committee has asked for a back-up third-string pastor to be ready to give the benediction should Luis Leon be pressured out. Sources close to the committee gave the IRD a sneak peak at the written version of a prayer to be given by an unnamed Emergent... Continue Reading

If confessional congregations determine that a denomination is not presently confessional or if groups that find themselves alienated from the confession and unable to subscribe honestly to the standards, if all churchly efforts have been exhausted, and that there is no reasonable expectation of a return to the confession (theology, piety, and practice) in future,... Continue Reading

For the record, tyranny—arbitrary or unrestrained exercise of power, despotic abuse of authority—cloaked in socialist sentiment is still tyranny. The Obama administration is considering 19 “executive actions” against our right to keep and bear arms. So-called assault weapons bans, universal background checks, and ammunition restrictions move us that much closer to a kingly denial of... Continue Reading