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

“We denounce as sinful and unbiblical his determined effort to accuse our brethren,” the council says of Detwiler, who blogs at BrentDetwiler.com. “Consequently, we urge our brothers and sisters in Christ to avoid giving audience to Brent Detwiler’s unbiblical speech until such a time that he repents of this ungodly pattern. Such harmful speech is ruinous... Continue Reading

Those without discipline are orphans. Parents who don’t discipline their children are emotionally and spiritually abusing their children, and are setting them on a path of self-destruction. Pastors who don’t discipline their people by preaching the unvarnished Word of God in season and out of season are not good shepherds but masked thieves.   The... Continue Reading

…when he gave something the first time, there was gratitude; and when he gave something a second time to that same community, there was anticipation; the third time, there was expectation; the fourth time, there was entitlement; and the fifth time, there was dependency. That is what we’ve all experienced when we’ve wanted to do... Continue Reading

The testimony of these young men and women has been universally the same. They have listened to a few of the sermons and felt like men and women who have starved for years and stumbled into a room with food meant for a king. Hence, they have listened to everything that they can lay their... Continue Reading

The numerous red equal signs on Facebook mirror the reality that 70 percent of millennials support same-sex marriage. But these 41 students and young professionals traveled to San Diego, Calif., to learn how to defend one-woman, one-man marriage from scholars Jennifer Morse, Mark Regnerus, Robert Gagnon, and others. While the attendees eagerly discussed the necessity... Continue Reading

Montreat officials announced July 29 that they were pursuing a merger with Point University, a Christian Church (Stone-Campbell Movement) affiliated school in West Point, Ga. Montreat, which was founded nearly 100 years ago, would give up its name with the new entity being called Point University, officials said…The schools would maintain separate campuses, and “‘Montreat’... Continue Reading

The surge of interest in liberal religion, many say, reflects the renewed vitality of religious history more generally, which has spread beyond its traditional redoubts in divinity schools to become one of the most popular specializations among academic historians, according to the American Historical Association. Some scholars say that frustration with the perceived cultural and... Continue Reading