Behind The Numbers: Religious ‘Nones’ May Not Be Who You Think They Are
Today, “nones” include many more unbranded believers than atheists, and an increasingly diverse racial and ethnic mix
Today’s young adults are starting out more unaffiliated than any prior generation of 20-year-olds. So, even if some millennials do find a faith, Jones said, “they will still be the most unaffiliated generation in history.” Jones identified another force in shifting religious demography: “There are fewer white evangelicals among millennials (ages 18 to 33) because younger... Continue Reading
Review: “Antinomianism: Reformed Theology’s Unwelcome Guest?”
A historical and theological review comparing and contrasting the doctrines of justification and sanctification
The author’s point is that God’s imputing Christ’s righteousness and his imparting righteousness must not be blurred or conflated; we are not to collapse sanctification into justification. To put it in a way that might make Calvin smile, justification and sanctification are to be distinguished but not divorced. Antinomianism: Reformed Theology’s Unwelcome Guest? Mark... Continue Reading
A Casserole Is Not Enough. Except When It Is.
It is perhaps God’s kindness to me that the most I can do is something that fits in a pan.
And, perhaps most importantly, the inadequacy of a casserole reminds me of the adequacy of my Lord. Even if I could do more than bring a casserole to seriously suffering people—if I could move in, do all the laundry, mop all the floors, play with children, and organize the medications, even if I could meet... Continue Reading
The New Calvinism is not the Old Calvinism
John Piper's "New Calvinism" compared to "Old Calvinism"
The New Calvinism embraces the essential place of the local church. It is led mainly by pastors, has a vibrant church-planting bent, produces widely-sung worship music, and exalts the preached word as central to the work of God locally and globally. The Old Calvinism does not exist apart from congregations where the marks of the... Continue Reading
How Churches Can Care for Their Pastor’s Children
What will pastors' kids say about your church when they are adults? How did you help or hurt their walk with Christ?
Give your pastors margin to minister to their families. Children need their father. But many leaders will be tempted to neglect their families to meet the unending needs of the church. Carping and demanding church members will make that temptation even greater. Even as a church member, you can encourage your pastors to care for their... Continue Reading
Atheist Group: Remove Cross-Shaped Beam from 9/11 Museum
The American Atheists claim that many of its members have been injured by seeing the cross either in person or on television, and by having a religious tradition not their own imposed on them.
“It’s difficult to follow their logic. At times they have claimed that the Ground Zero Cross is a symbol of Christian dominance and an establishment of religion that violates the Constitution and must be removed. Other times they have acknowledged the Cross’s cultural and historical significance, but argued that Atheists deserve equal representation—some kind of... Continue Reading
Evangelical Housekeeping
Do you think it is important to learn about the latest theological trends? Should your pastor bother to know about the current evangelical climate?
First of all, it’s good for me to open my eyes and see what I’m up against. I may think that it would be nice to pretend like none of these dangerous ideas and doctrines will affect my house or my church, but that would be horribly naïve. It really doesn’t take long at all... Continue Reading
Messages To Millennials (1): Marriage
Why should you, Millennial, re-think your suspicion of the institution of marriage?
Still, are the Millennials right to give up on marriage? No. Why? Because God instituted marriage for a reason. In this fallen world nothing will ever be perfect. One of the more basic reasons that we’ve lost faith in marriage as an institution is that we have been sold a bill of goods about what... Continue Reading
Friendship and the Gospel
We need grace to become the kind of friend that we ourselves want to have
We have failed, at many times and in many ways, to be the kind of friend that God would have us be. We need the grace of God to forgive us, grace to bring blessing wherever we go (Proverbs 11:25), grace to be humble (Proverbs 11:2, James 4:6), grace to stop criticizing (Proverbs 19:11), grace to... Continue Reading
Captivated: Beholding the Mystery of Jesus’ Death and Resurrection
A review of a new book from Thabiti Anyabwile
Much of the material falls in the “helpful reminder” category. Christians know this, and have learned this — but do we live it? Some of Anyabwile’s insights are refreshingly new and quite helpful. I particularly enjoyed how he showed that in most of the post-Resurrection appearances, merely seeing the physical Jesus was not enough. The minds and... Continue Reading