This is no surprise, on one level. The constellation of parachurch evangelical ministries founded after World War II have been running headlong, with some notable exceptions, toward the very mainline liberalism to which they were founded as alternatives. Some think if we can just barter away Christian orthodoxy fast enough we can catch the wave... Continue Reading

We must talk of predestination in such a way that it is also for our comfort. What comfort does Romans 9 have for you, for the world, and for me? After starting with recorded redemptive history in the Old Testament, then tracing backward into eternity, Paul ends up placing the gospel right in our laps, in... Continue Reading

Many of the urban pastors that I know are experts at ministering to the people in their neighborhoods. But they serve low-income populations and are desperately under-resourced. Just because they don’t have a huge church or haven’t single-handedly transformed a broken neighborhood, doesn’t mean that they’re not effectively ministering within their limited means. If suburban... Continue Reading

Survivors need to know that their denomination or mission organization is taking steps to prevent abuse. They also need the organization to acknowledge and accept responsibility, said Beverly Shellrude Thompson, president of MK Safety Net and a Mamou survivor. They need their perpetrator brought to justice in a criminal court and kept away from children.... Continue Reading

What should one expect from one’s hired minister? One should expect them to speak only that which the Lord has revealed. One should also expect some of the minister’s sermons to be most pleasant and encouraging, while others are irritating and convicting. And what should the hired minister expect? He should expect that some will greatly... Continue Reading

Being a parent has given me just a tiny glimpse of God’s fatherly love. The love I have for my own children and the sacrifices I have made for them are only a shadow of what God has done for me. The lengths that He went to in rescuing me, the sacrifice He made by... Continue Reading

But the board did acknowledge turmoil and turnover involving the Mars Hill staff in the past two years: “A number of these staff transitions were acrimonious. Pastor Mark and the other executive Elders own their part in any discord that could have been avoided with a better process or a more patient interaction.”   (WNS)–The... Continue Reading

Longtime volunteer co-leaders of Bowdoin Christian Fellowship, a husband and wife, who operated the group under InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, resigned rather than submit to a new school policy requiring their pledge not to discriminate based on “sexual orientation.” The husband explained: “The Bible teaches that human sexuality is expected to find its fulfillment inside of... Continue Reading

So let’s begin with the biblical basis for a women’s ministry in the local church. Have you noticed that in social settings the women tend to cluster together? There are aspects of the feminine life that can only be understood by other women. Women profit from being with other females–they learn from each other and... Continue Reading

“The preacher should have grappled with the meaning of the text in his preparation, desiring the Spirit-given purpose of the biblical text to become real in his own life. He should enter the pulpit as someone who has been chastened by the Spirit, or given new hope, or set out on a new course of... Continue Reading