It is no accident that the PCA’s formative meeting was on December 7, 1973, the anniversary of the founding of the Southern Presbyterian denomination in 1861. This letter is as clear a herald as we have of the basic values of the birth of the PCA, often summarized as “True to the Scriptures, the Reformed... Continue Reading

How does celebrity-ism start? It always—always—begins when we forget who we are. For pastors, maybe the congregation’s grown to a size when people are starting to take notice. More people show up. Podcasts downloads increase. Someone suggests writing a book. That book sells more than three copies.   Monday, after sharing a few thoughts on... Continue Reading

Jones argues well that historic Reformed theologians typically critiqued antinomian rhetoric (i.e. our sanctification means going back to our justification).  They critiqued it because it was unclear, because it had a primarily negative view of the law, because it became a hermeneutical grid, and because it lacked a balanced approach to Christology and the Christian... Continue Reading

Seventeen people — mostly dance students — attended that first meal in 2010. The afternoon ended with somewhat of an impromptu performance. “We put on a performance of ‘Nutcracker’ while we were clearing the table,” Don Hubele said with a smile. “They were all doing ballet while they’re washing dishes.”   Belhaven University student Kerry Jones... Continue Reading

Notice that Jesus is using comparative language (more than) to contrast our love for him to our love for family. He is not saying we should actively hate our families. Instead he is saying something quite radical—you can’t be his disciple unless you treasure him above everything else.  Our love for him must far surpass... Continue Reading

If unbelieving Josephus could see the wisdom in making it a custom for God’s people to gather to ‘every week’ at the expense of ‘desert[ing] their other occupations’ to ‘obtain a thorough and accurate knowledge’ the law of Moses, doesn’t it seem like all the more important for believing Christians to gather together to obtain... Continue Reading

I thought they were just bigots, wrote one journalist, but Peter and Hazelmary Bull’s sincerity on the BBC made me realise “bigot” was entirely the wrong word. That was the conclusion of one hardened journalist, who does not share the Bulls’ beliefs, but thinks it is a shame they have been taken to court by... Continue Reading

O’Reilly’s biggest problem is that he does not appear to understand what Jesus’s purpose on earth really was or what he actually accomplished. The book jacket tells us that “Killing Jesus…recounts the seismic, political and historical events that made Jesus’s death inevitable.” And in their book, the authors do tell us the facts about how... Continue Reading

Why do we do this? So often the answer I have been given and have read from pastors is a pragmatic answer. We hear some combination of the following: Doctrine is difficult for people to understand. Unbelievers don’t have the ability to understand deep theology. And we want to win them to Jesus. I have... Continue Reading

Second, it is possible that we will see a re-run of the Elephant Room debacle.  The whistleblowers will be maligned, marginalised and then safely ignored. Maybe, if we are lucky, there will be a public statement talking about ‘errors of judgment’ and ‘mistakes that have been made’ along with a humble commitment to ‘do better... Continue Reading