I welcomed the unspoken challenge throughout to aspire to excellence in the basics of pastoral ministry. I didn’t find Erroll’s use of these mighty men of God as our models in any way discouraging; rather I found it uplifting and motivating. It’s a high calling and therefore any who follow it must aspire to the highest of... Continue Reading

When you love the Muslims around you by treating them like family and helping those who need help, they will come to know you more and perhaps even wonder what makes you so loving. When they see you loving the Lord your God with all that you are, they will have their answer. Do not... Continue Reading

Are we to suppose that in the far midst of eternity, when our calling and redemption were only in the mind of God, Christ was unaware of what this would entail? Was he caught by surprise after he became incarnate? Do we ever hear him reproaching the Father for not having told him what this... Continue Reading

To be sure, our works contribute nothing to our justification, but the presence of the Holy Spirit is real and his enabling, compelling power is real. Good works of believers are really good – not because of the inherent goodness of man, but because of the power of the God. Grace is astounding not just because God... Continue Reading

With the commendations in place, he dedicates chapter 4 to a series of cautions and concerns. He warns of: the pragmatism and commercialism that may lie at the root of this movement; an unbalanced view of culture that allows people to Christianize what ought to be rejected outright; a troubling approach to holiness displayed in... Continue Reading

Amazing perseverance! Variety reported Tuesday that a new musical, Amazing Grace, will have its world premiere this October, presented by Broadway in Chicago at the Bank of America Theatre in the Windy City. Variety said the musical “has all the earmarks of a show with New York in its sights.”   Read More

If you took one hour per day away from the TV and gave it to the reading of the Early Church Fathers, you would have a truly astonishing theological education in about four years. If you read as fast as I did (and I was reading as slowly as I know how), the figure falls... Continue Reading

 “If you are a Christian, we want to challenge you to begin connecting the reality of what God has done for you in Christ to your job, thinking carefully about how this applies to and changes the way you think about your work.”   If you keep even half an eye on Christian publishing, then you... Continue Reading

While very evangelistic, the book is also a polemic of sorts against the shift in evangelical thinking on hell. He confronts the books that have been written to suggest hell doesn’t exist, the prosperity pastors who promote a “non-judgmental Santa-god,” as well as those who may just be too embarrassed to bring up the whole... Continue Reading

Pop music used to be about superficial fun, a bit of escapism in the midst of life. Then it gained messianic aspirations. At the time, it looked ridiculously self-important. It is still superficial fun; but perhaps it does not look quite so ridiculous any more.   At the Grammys last night Queen Latifah officiated a mass... Continue Reading