When Counselors Make House Calls
An eighty-five year old in a nursing home confesses a longstanding sin and finds release in Jesus
He quickly responded, “All my relationships are bad.” Now we were getting somewhere. The sparks of humility and insight were starting to fly. He continued, “I don’t even think I am a Christian.” He was looking through eyes overflowing with tears. “I disagree, but why do you say that?” His string of broken relationships was... Continue Reading
What is R2k Theology?
R2k affirms that God’s law and His Son rule the world in two related but distinct ways
At their best, those who espouse R2K theology rightly reject the common temptation among evangelicals to wrap up our theological convictions in the American flag, to confuse God’s kingdom with these United States…. At their worst, however, R2K theology can silence the prophetic voice of the church. While many R2K advocates would be comfortable with... Continue Reading
50 ‘Hand-Picked’ Christians Trained To Convince Churches To Re-Interpret Scripture’s Gay Boundaries
Fifty hand-picked Christians were part of a seminal conference in an effort to spread the idea in the American church that Scripture allows for monogamous homosexual activity
Many Christians think they cannot believe in the full authority and inspiration of the Bible and at the same time support same-sex relationships, says Matthew Vines, though he hopes to convince them that isn’t the case. Vines says he’s received several hundred emails over the course of the last year-and-a-half from conservative-minded Christians who have... Continue Reading
A Global Slaughter of Christians, But America’s Churches Stay Silent
Christians are being singled out and massacred from Pakistan to Syria to the Nairobi shopping mall. There deafening silence from U.S. pews and pulpits
Lela Gilbert is the author of Saturday People, Sunday People, which details the expulsion of 850,000 Jews who fled or were forced to leave Muslim countries in the mid-20th century. The title of her book comes from an Islamist slogan, “First the Saturday People, then the Sunday People,” which means “first we kill the Jews,... Continue Reading
Secession or Being Faithful – Is This the Real Choice Facing Church of Scotland Evangelicals?
A response to Alastair Morrice, one of the most senior and respected evangelicals in the Church of Scotland, to his article on why he believes that evangelicals should stay within the Kirk
I was recently talking to an elder who has left the Church of Scotland. He spoke of feeling free and the shackles coming off…. It may be that you can operate with the shackles of a bureaucratic Presbyterianism in a declining church in an increasingly secular culture, desperately trying to relive the glories of the... Continue Reading
Covenantal Apologetics
A review of K. Scott Oliphint's Covenantal Apologetics: Principles and Practice in Defense of Our Faith.
One of the greatest strengths of Oliphint’s project is that, in a covenantal apologetic, there is no clear boundary between apologetics and evangelism. As Oliphint reiterates throughout his work, apologetics ought to be understood foremost as persuasion; persuading men and women of the truth of the Gospel. K. Scott Oliphint, Covenantal Apologetics: Principles and Practice... Continue Reading
As Christians Rise or Fall, So Do 100 Country Credit Ratings
Study finds surprising correlation between sovereign ratings and changes in Christian populations—especially evangelicals.
“Changes in the percentage of Christians within a society exert a measurable correlated influence of the economic well-being of that society.” Should a country’s Christians-to-debt ratio be added to the list of economic indicators worth watching? Or more specifically, its evangelicals-to-debt ratio? According to a study of more than 100 nations, changes in the... Continue Reading
Noll, the Evangelical Mind, and the Elephants in the Room
A critique of The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind
The most interesting part of Noll’s criticism is the fact that he chooses not to look closely at his own brand of evangelicalism: the Reformed churches. When Mark Noll’s Scandal of the Evangelical Mind hit the market in the early 1990s it created a “title” wave that continues to move out in multiple directions. This fact... Continue Reading
Neighbor’s Pit Bulls Devour PCA Family’s Pet
Pet beagle attacked and eaten by three pit bulls in a neighbor's yard
“This is a dog that needs to be watched, obviously. The dog needs to be put down, frankly,” said Webb, who carried a .380-caliber handgun in his back yard Friday as the pit bull barked and growled at him from the other side of a weathered wood fence. “I got four kids, and they’re home-schooled,... Continue Reading
Grace Doesn’t Mean You Get to Do Whatever You Want
True grace leads to obedience rooted in faith.
We have taken a few truths about Grace and distorted them, thinking freedom means we can do whatever we want instead of seeing the beautiful freedom of living like God intended. Had we actually been paying attention to the teaching we so like to abuse, we would find a few truths about Grace would smack... Continue Reading