The Best Matches Are Made at Church
The show, It Takes a Church, reminded me of some areas for caution in church matchmaking.
Most of our churches are not as one-dimensional as a game show, but it is possible for a church’s real purpose and character to recede into the background of advancing marriage and families. Christopher Ash helpfully cautions that we can sometimes “end up making church, prayer, and the Christian life a means to the idolatrous... Continue Reading
Blessed To Not Be Blessed
God is so wise that sometimes he withholds blessings from us because he knows we couldn’t handle them.
God withholds NO good thing from those he loves. So if God does withhold something from us, we can know that it must not be a good thing for us. We might think it would be a good thing, but we need to trust God’s wisdom. He knows what we’re made of and what would... Continue Reading
Five Questions for Christians Who Believe the Bible Supports Gay Marriage
How have all Christians at all times and in all places interpreted the Bible so wrongly for so long?
As far as you are concerned, you haven’t rejected your evangelical faith. You haven’t turned your back on God. You haven’t become a moral relativist. You’ve never suggested anything goes when it comes to sexual behavior. In most things, you tend to be quite conservative. You affirm the family, and you believe in the permanence... Continue Reading
It’s Abuse, Not an Affair, and It Appears We Need to be Reminded… Again…
Hashtag activism gave a voice to the abused last week.
Raping a child cannot be compared to other kinds of moral failure. Abuse is trivialized with these kinds of “quit smoking” comparisons. A 30-something youth pastor taking advantage of a teenage girl, both sexually and emotionally, goes beyond the bounds of desecrating the marital bed and playing the role of infidel. With or without the... Continue Reading
Are We All Really Abraham’s Children?
Is it true, as the ecumenicists claim, that “we (Christians, Jews, and Muslims) are all Abraham’s children”? Yes and no.
Back to the point, however, Jesus here makes it impossible for all three world religions “common root” in Abraham. Jesus is too pointed here to allow such a facile claim. He doesn’t concede any such thing to the Jews. He concedes that they are “offspring” of Abraham (ESV) but he doesn’t care about that. The... Continue Reading
Insider Movements Defined…Biblically
Confessional and historic Christianity is entirely at odds with "Insider Movements"
“Is it possible for a Muslim Background Believer (MBB) to continue to live in his Muslim society? This is how the issue is often framed by IM advocates, causing a confusion of categories. In this scheme, Christian is not contrasted with Muslim nor “Christian society” with “Muslim society.” Rather, the emphasis is placed on the... Continue Reading
Practical Questions for the Insider Movements Discussion
Key practical questions that are intertwined with the perspectives in the Study Committee on the Insider Movements and the Minority Reports
So the practical question is this: do we walk with these new believers, repeatedly drawing them back to the Scriptures, showing them the absolute claims of Christ on their lives, and yet expecting that not all of the “incongruities” in their lives will be worked out immediately? As I’ve reflected on the majority and... Continue Reading
Charismatic Teaching Is Breeding Spiritual Havoc
The Zambian government is concerned about the abuses of Charistmatic churches
“I have many Charismatic friends who I deeply respect and so far they are keeping a safe distance away from the edge. Many of them, for instance, are concerned about the Nigerian religious junk that is engulfing the continent. However, I am still asking the question: Can’t they see that intrinsic in their doctrinal position... Continue Reading
A Lost Friendship In Florida
Despite its efforts to provide a satisfactory counter offer, a Florida congregation has been dismissed from the Presbyterian Church (USA) without its property
“At the presbytery meeting, Friendship offered a counter proposal to the presbytery’s motion to dismiss the church without property in the form of a substitute motion with an offer of a payment of $191,000 over three years. The figure represented more than 10 percent of the total value of the church’s assets, per capita for... Continue Reading
The Religion Of Sports
Too often Christians see non-Christians as those on an opposing team
“On a larger scale, sports are very much like a religion to fans like me. We worship and study. We proselytize. We tell others how to act. We abide by a rhythmic calendar and a set of rituals. We seek to argue people into agreement with us and try to persuade them with everything from... Continue Reading