The board affirmed its historic relationship with the ARP, which echoed an affirmation the Synod made in June: “In grateful acknowledgement of the 175-year relationship between the General Synod of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church and Erskine College and Seminary, the Erskine College Board of Trustees hereby reaffirms Erskine as a valuable agency of the... Continue Reading

A portion of the upcoming Values Voter Summit in Washington will stray from its usual focus on politics and consider the Emergent Church as one of three “channels the adversary is using to bring America down.” Art Ally, president of The Timothy Plan, a Florida-based mutual fund company devoted to “biblically responsible investing,” will lead the breakout... Continue Reading

Tim McKeown, RTS/Houston’s executive director called this “wonderful news” and a great step forward for the Reformed faith in Houston and Southeast Texas. “Our goal is to develop a regional seminary offering a full complement of language and theological courses culminating in the Master of Divinity Degree and hopefully a Doctor of Ministry after that,”... Continue Reading

True discernment means not only distinguishing the right from the wrong; it means distinguishing the primary from the secondary, the essential from the indifferent, and the permanent from the transient. And, yes, it means distinguishing between the good and the better, and even between the better and the best.   Someone I know recently expressed an... Continue Reading

Pastors are pulled in countless directions. The demands and expectations are endless. But pastors, please don’t neglect your first ministry. Don’t neglect your family.   I love the community that has formed on this blog. There are several of you who are regular commenters; you have become a part of this blog family, and I... Continue Reading

 In my estimation, the primary theological problem in youth ministry is emphasizing law and neglecting grace. More specifically, grace appears when offering students eternal salvation but strangely disappears in discussions about holiness, sanctification, and the Christian life. In my experience as a teenager and a youth pastor, many of my peers in ministry faithfully proclaim... Continue Reading

Reformed Theological Seminary in Charlotte announces the appointment of Chaplain (COL) Mack Griffith as the director of the Chaplains Ministry Institute (CMI). The purpose of the CMI is to prepare students to serve as chaplains in military, hospital, and corporate settings.  As director of the CMI Chaplain Griffith will mentor those in the program, will... Continue Reading

Sadly, we pastors often lose sight of the power that works within us (Eph. 3:20) to accomplish the purposes of the Triune God through our ministries. We easily slip into complacent, comfortable sermon prep routines. I’ve often told my wife that I feel like “a sermon machine,” punching them out week after week. We can... Continue Reading

Our spies understand that churches have different worship styles, and they know to contextualize their assessment as much as possible. What we hear from them is that worship through music is often poorly done, regardless of style. Musicians have not practiced, lyrics are difficult to sing, and leaders lack passion.   Have you ever thought that... Continue Reading

Spread across the chest of the black shirt in large, red letters are the English words: “For,” “so,” and “the.” Underneath, to the right, is the reference in English and in a much smaller font “John 3:16.”  Between the English words in the main line are three Japanese characters, set in white against the black... Continue Reading