PCA Minister J. Nelson Jennings Appointed Executive Director of Mission Study Center
The Overseas Ministries Study Center Board of Trustees appointed J. Nelson Jennings as executive director, effective July 1
Jennings and his wife, Kathy, joined the OMSC staff on July 1, 2011, he as director of program and community life and she as the English for Speakers of Other Languages teacher. In 1999 Jennings joined the faculty of Covenant Theological Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri, where he was professor of world mission; he was also... Continue Reading
The Church’s Collapse Into Worldliness
Quite often a church’s quest for relevance ends up in unfaithfulness to Christ and his Word. How does this happen?
What links all these movements in the church [these emphases on baby-boomers, youth, the urban crowd, etc.] is the same principle. The authentic church is the relevant church, and the relevant church is the attuned church, and the attuned church is in sync with its audience. A great part of the evangelical community has made... Continue Reading
“Gay Marriage”: Is it All the Church’s Fault?
My view is that had it not been for the church, it all would have happened a lot sooner, and a lot more completely.
No, “gay marriage” is not the church’s fault. “Gay marriage” is the end result of an individualistic libertarian culture whose war cry has been, “Stay out of my bedroom, and away from my chemical indulgences.” The church remains. Her testimony remains. And this (“gay marriage”) shall pass in time. Only what is of God will... Continue Reading
Persecution in America? Chicken Little vs. the Ostrich
Will pastors face persecution via the same sex marriage issue? Christian laymen already are
Think I’m Chicken Little? Stanley Hauerwas, “America’s Best Theologian” (Time Magazine, 2001) began to make just such an argument back in 1993. The Bible is already well on its way to being labeled morally degenerate in terms of its moral condemnation of homosexuality. Already opponents of same sex marriage are shying away from making a... Continue Reading
When Denominations Disappoint: Setting Priorities
The answer to denominational disappointment is to begin setting one’s house in order
There are other priorities that must be set too. Confession trumps church order. The latter is nothing but a tool to allow the church to do its proper work before the Lord. If a church order becomes so cumbersome and complex as to require canon lawyers, then we have lost a major Reformation battle. Remember,... Continue Reading
Al Mohler’s Literal Six-Day Young-Earth Creationism and the State of the Question
At the end of the day, Mohler has not demonstrated that an old-earth, non-literal interpretation of Genesis 1 is theologically untenable.
It is not only possible but desirable that advocates of LSDYEC (Literal Six Day Young Earth Creationism), Day-Agers, Framework proponents, and Analogical Day advocates join together in their common affirmation of the full authority of Scripture and discuss the merits and problems of the various positions—without anathemas and ad hominem arguments, and with the recognition... Continue Reading
Reflections on the 2013 PCA General Assembly and the Age of the Earth
Some thoughts on the state of creationism in the PCA and on the seminar at the PCA General Assembly on young earth creation
My semi-educated guess is that there is a fairly even split between committed young earth and old earth proponents in the PCA. Now that doesn’t mean the PCA is split 50-50 on the issue. What I mean is that there is a strong core of committed young-earth-only proponents and a similar core of those convinced... Continue Reading
The PCA Insider Movement Report: Times Are Changing, and Staying Exactly the Same
The moment when the rubber of theological innovation meets the road of practical consequence often happens with missions policy
The recent General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America featured a brief, but heated argument about the seemingly inconsequential … issue of foreign missions. Particularly, whether to receive and approve the Majority Report of the Committee on Insider Movements or whether to receive, as well, the Minority Report, written by a single committee member.... Continue Reading
Worldview Clash and the Repeal of DOMA: The Supreme Court Decision on Marriage
The Supreme Court accelerated the advance of gay marriage in the US, and decided that defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman is unconstitutional
This decision is symptomatic of a disordered liberty, and another indication of how lost our Western world is becoming. But having said this, I am not hopeless. Nor should you be. Truth is truth. God’s moral law and order stand. There is an ordered liberty which is good. And Jesus Christ still sets people free!... Continue Reading
Ten Points to Understand Politics and Religion
Religion and politics don’t appear to mix, but they influence each other; can we make sense of how they work together?
America is no longer a melting pot. It is a boiling pot. When America was Christian, other Christians were invited to become a part of our nation. Other religions were tolerated as long as they conformed to our Christian laws. America has been religiously Balkanized. The fight for dominance is on. Everyone is religious. The... Continue Reading