This book is hard to read; it’s callous and brutal and disgusting. The horror of Chi An’s “profession” comes to life in the chapter entitled “The Little-Boy-Who-Wouldn’t-Die.” A young girl, at full term, was forced to abort her baby. One doctor, then another, plunged formaldehyde into the baby’s brain in the birth canal, but still... Continue Reading

I greatly appreciated was that Anyabwile did not just focus on the qualifications of elders or pastors (part 2 of the book), but also dedicated the entire third section of the book to the work that they are called to do.  Again, this section would be good for pastor/elder and laity alike.  We often have... Continue Reading

Among the many trends in the New Calvinism (or the Young Restless and Reformed movement) is the prominent dislike of the word “religion.”  I’ve heard a lot of people speak and write about religion as being a moral straitjacket, rigid, and not Christian.  They say religion is one thing, the gospel is another thing.  Essentially... Continue Reading

In an eternal covenant the Son of God claimed that he was for me. And I do not remember the day that I turned to him in faith and repentance. In hindsight, I see his fingerprints all over the crime scenes of my life. The evidence says, “Not her, but me.” How is this so?... Continue Reading

Urging people away from certain books and insisting that ministry staff not recommend them is an important task of the pastor these days. This is particularly so in an age when theological nonsense is so widely distributed and easily attainable. It is the pastor’s duty to protect the purity and unity of the flock he... Continue Reading

The subject of bibliography has always been a favorite of mine, and that of commentaries in particular. I have my own commentary recommendations here. So, I picked up the recent editions (both published in 2013) of Longman’s Old Testament Commentary Survey and Carson’s New Testament Commentary Survey.   I will start off with Carson’s survey,... Continue Reading

In summary, we should take aesthetic pleasure only in those things that are truly beautiful–truly worthy of delight–as compared to the absolute standard of God’s beauty and glory. To do otherwise is sin, and to regularly pursue pleasure in what is ugly hinders ordinate worship and praise to God. This is a series to further explain the... Continue Reading

Those with low self-discipline will procrastinate on activities they don’t enjoy, only do the minimum to get by and avoid exercising daily initiative. Over time, this leads to low morale and spiritual lethargy, first in oneself and eventually in the congregation.   One of the blessings of vocational ministry is the high degree of control... Continue Reading

I agree that we should be planting solid churches in large cities and urban areas.  We need to focus on population centers for sure when we consider church planting.  However, we have to be careful not to overstate the importance of the city at the expense of rural areas and smaller towns.  In my opinion,... Continue Reading

Whenever the process of sanctification slows down (or halts) in a Christian’s life, and he is not able to rectify that situation (for whatever reason), he needs the help of other believers who can direct him to God’s answers to his problems and how to bring about a change that honors Him. Counseling is not... Continue Reading