Young, Restless, No Longer Reformed
A review of Austin Fischer's book on why he's no longer Reformed
Austin has a different approach to biblical authority, a different place for substitutionary atonement, a different understanding of the freedom of the will, a different take on epistemology, a different level of confidence in whether God knows all things, and a whole different set of authors he looks to for theological guidance. These are not... Continue Reading
Take Me to Church
Love can't be separated from truth, and God's people are set apart by that truth.
It’s disturbing how many articles and interviews I have seen just this week by professing Christian pastors and writers that are singing the message, “Love is god.” Even more disturbing are the droves of followers singing along. There’s this sense that doctrine divides and love unites. And as much as we may be hearing about... Continue Reading
Your Husband Doesn’t Have To Earn Your Respect
Disrespect for men is a joke to us now.
A wife ought to respect her husband because he is her husband, just as he ought to love and honor her because she is his wife. Your husband might “deserve” it when you mock him, berate him, belittle him, and nag him, but you don’t marry someone in order to give them what they deserve.... Continue Reading
The Secret Will of God
Christians confuse God's secret will with his revealed will.
The Bible is profitable for correcting – it gives us the steps of change we need to follow where God wants us to be. And the Bible is useful for training – it tells us all the skills we need to acquire to live life God’s way. God has revealed many things to us through... Continue Reading
Sometimes We All Feel Like Frauds
There is no end of books that expose our dissatisfaction and propose solutions. None of the solutions last.
You could follow every application in every one of those books and you would still be discontent. We will all die dissatisfied, still longing for more. But. But those who die in Christ have the great promise that we will awake to all the pleasures, all the satisfaction we have ever longed for, and so... Continue Reading
Crucifixion in Kiev
Ukrainians who may disagree on course, are nonetheless allied in this: the time of systemic injustice, bullying, intimidation, and trampling of rights is finished
This vision of a greater Russia was recently echoed by the Patriarch of Moscow, in an ominous warning that Russia would be obligated to intervene should the situation in Ukraine devolve into civil war. Indeed, over the past year, the Patriarch has led a parallel campaign for an ecclesial hegemony that would subsume all Ukrainian... Continue Reading
True Greatness Never Goes Viral
Biblical greatness almost always involves doing things no one ever sees.
By worldly standards, my grandpa wasn’t great. He didn’t have a single Facebook friend or Twitter follower. He never wrote a book, never spoke at a conference, never created a viral video. He didn’t have a popular blog. He never played a Super Bowl halftime show, never participated in the Olympics, never was featured in... Continue Reading
Why Miscarriage Matters When You’re Pro-life
Are we guilty of mixed messages regarding miscarriage and abortion?
And yet after we lost Olivia, it didn’t take long for me to realize that in this Christian microcosm of ours, somehow an aborted baby had so much more to offer the world than a miscarried one. Both babies may have died at the same gestation — one by choice, the other by chance. But... Continue Reading
Montreat College and Point University Will Not Merger After All
Point University board of trustees has determined, not to pursue the merger with Montreat College
“We felt that driven by a common vision, the combined institution would be uniquely positioned to expand program offerings while cost-effectively using its resources to benefit students. After careful and prayerful consideration, the board of trustees of Point University has determined, due to complications involving legal agreements regarding Montreat’s main campus and concerns about the... Continue Reading
He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named
A letter to a congregation about sharing missionary names who serve in sensitive countries
A pastor came to visit from a country with only 3000 believers, all of whom live under threat. He showed us a book that extremists in his country had compiled. They had cobbled together bits from the internet, pieces from church bulletins and web sites to produce an incredible tale of conspiracy that casts American... Continue Reading