Leaders make mistakes, but create blame-free cultures. "I'd rather reward a great failure, than a mediocre success," Upton commented. Failure without blame is not a bad thing for organizations, and part of the learning curve of innovative cultures.

If you and your spouse nag each other about picking up the clothes on the floor or backing the car in the garage the right way, your marriage is normal. If you or your spouse secretly unplugs the dishwasher because you think your spouse doesn't use it properly and therefore shouldn't be allowed to use it, your marriage is not.

Professor John McIntosh said that finance was “a spiritual issue” and that for years the Church had been “reprehensible” for failing to properly address and foster tithing within its congregations.

"If, after the World Evangelical Alliance panel review is complete, Wycliffe's position concerning familial language is compatible with AGWM's … we will gratefully continue what has been a long-standing and effective partnership." At present, 34 Assemblies of God missionaries work with Wycliffe.

Christ declares that his kingdom is explosive in its growth. The kingdom of heaven is like a tiny mustard seed, which explodes in growth and produces massive growth. The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman hides in flour. A tiny lump of leaven leavens the whole loaf. The Gospel is like a contagion that cannot be stopped, and Christ’s rule is irresistible energy. The kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ is unshakable, unstoppable, unquenchable.

The trip started in Istanbul (I write from Izmir fka Smyrna). We saw the spectacular Aya Sophia, the former Orthodox patriarchal basilica, later a mosque, and now a museum.

Mr MacMillan voiced his concern that there were only 19 adult baptisms and less than 100 infant baptisms last year. Although there were no concrete ways forward, it was acknowledged that church plants had a better track record in reaching out to the “un-churched” and that the Free Church has a responsibility to take the Gospel to where the people are

Concerns about moral values during the sexual revolution…galvanized evangelical leaders into action, said the Rev. George Grant of Parish Presbyterian Church [PCA] in Franklin. “There was a great deal of alarm about the future of our world,” he said.

But for those who blatantly disagree with the school's theological view and act against its policy, "we will live in a state of tension," Grace said. If they persist, even after conversations with the faculty, the students will be violating their signed contract. In that case, Grace tells them: "This isn't the place for you."

The answer is yes! Baptists historically have held to covenant theology; the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith makes this fact plain (see chapter 7)