Pursue Justice or Extend Grace in Sexual Harassment?
How to do both in difficult circumstances
“Do I pursue justice or extend grace?” The truth is, I needed to do both. I reported the incidents and the men to the company. Then as I continued to talk openly with my faithful and godly community, by God’s grace I was able to extend grace. I was able to offer forgiveness to them... Continue Reading
‘May the Wine of Friendship Never Run Dry’
Saying Goodbye to The Aquila Report
While all formal connections with the magazine have been severed with my resignation, I have agreed to serve as a consultant from time to time when I can help in some specialized way. But with the continuing and new staff, it looks like the future is on an upward course for the magazine in the... Continue Reading
Thoughts on the “smokin’ hot wife” debate
Whether you think the phrase itself is innocuous or from the pit it seems the issue is now bigger than the phrase.
With apologies to Mercy Me, I can only imagine how this attitude is affecting young, upcoming pastors and seminarians. The expectation for a wife in ministry seems to be Rachel Ray in the kitchen, a runway model with fashion, Susanna Wesley as a mom, the Proverbs 31 woman in finance and a porn star in... Continue Reading
Superior Affections Yet a Christ-less Conception of Worship
This approach stresses that there is a right way of feeling, and that how you sing and what you sing in church, reveals if you are having right feelings toward God.
Consider the God-ward, God-glorifying form of the Pharisee in Luke 18:9-14. “I thank thee God that I am not like that poor Chris Tomlin singer over there who shuts his eyes and lifts up his hands with the pitiful, artless, crude hip-swaying style of corrupted orthopathy.” Ah, yes! The feelings of thankfulness were genuine in... Continue Reading
When the Bible Offends
What are we to do when something we read in the Bible offends us?
Submitting our thinking to Christ is one of the most difficult things to do, but it is necessary for our sanctification. We like to think that we are right, and that our own practices ought to be the standard for others. But our standard in all things is Christ, and it our responsibility as disciples... Continue Reading
Top 10 Ways to Ruin Your Child’s Imagination
Trevor Cairney’s summary of Anthony Esolen’s Ten Ways to Destroy the Imagination of Your Child:
Deny the transcendent—deny the idea of God, ignore the mystery of faith and religion, ensure that unlike the ancients in the caves of Lascaux there is little opportunity to contemplate and create a veritable cathedral born of their imaginings. Do everything possible to erase any opportunity for your child to search out the inscriptions of... Continue Reading
Why is There a New Testament at All?
Dr. Michael Kruger's new book: The Question of Canon: Challenging the Status Quo in the New Testament Debate
This idea that the New Testament canon was not a natural development within early Christianity, but a later artificial development that is out of sync with Christianity’s original purpose, is, in my opinion, a central framework that dominates much of modern canonical (and biblical) studies. … It is this overall canonical approach (which I call... Continue Reading
Schools of thought: The German government harasses and persecutes homeschoolers
A German homeschooling family’s fight for asylum in the United States will say a lot about the U.S. government’s official attitude toward the growing practice
The Romeikes worried authorities could take custody of their children. It wasn’t an unfounded fear. In 2007, German authorities took custody of Melissa Busekros, a 15-year-old girl from a homeschooling family in Bavaria. Authorities placed the girl in a psychiatric facility, and then in foster care. When she turned 16—and legally could decide where to... Continue Reading
Dr. Mark Dalbey Appointed New President of Covenant Seminary
Covenant Seminary Board names Dr. Mark Dalbey as its fifth President
Dr. Dalbey, who has served as interim president of the Seminary since June 2012, will become the fifth president to lead the institution. He has taken on several roles at Covenant since 1999, when he was named dean of students. A few years later, he became vice president of student development and assistant professor of... Continue Reading
Lament For a Bride
The church is looking more and more like the world, with less and less priority on worship
In more recent years I sit and listen, hopeful and longing for the sound of those entering. Where is everyone? Is it a holiday weekend? Is there an early football game or another soccer tournament? Did the Smiths go to their vacation home again or are they skiing this weekend? We don’t know and in... Continue Reading