Ruling elders ought to visibly and actively participate in the leadership of public worship, the church’s most important weekly activity. When ruling elders call the congregation to worship, lead prayers and confessions, read scripture, and assist in the administration of the sacraments the people are reminded that they have several pastors, not just one. Ruling... Continue Reading

A helpful critique of culture is whether or not human dignity is recognized and valued. Are the powerless, particularly women, the elderly, the poor, and the outcast, given opportunity and protection? Is human ingenuity encouraged in areas such as science, the arts, as well as practical and personal liberties? And are these areas aimed at... Continue Reading

We should be equipping people to discern God’s still, small voice encountered through the Scriptures or the Body, not teaching them to ask God to say it again, this time to them personally and audibly if possible. The truth is, our “frame” may be immanent, but reality itself inherently participates in the transcendent. If it is... Continue Reading

Are we all that different from what these folks did 2000 years ago? When crunch time comes along, how many will simply submit to whatever dictates the State hands down to us – even those that conflict with our Christian faith? If the Covid wars of 2020-2022 were a test run to see how easily... Continue Reading

I am not a prophet, but I suspect (and cannot know) that we will become or already are a non-literary society. And that a sub-group (pastors, classical school kids, educators, etc.) will continue to value the life of the mind.   I think we are seeing the end of reading as a societal activity. Most... Continue Reading

Perhaps the most obvious corruption of our thought upon this point has been the substitution of “same sex attraction” for “lust.” …working off of Scripture’s framework, our constitution and ethical tradition know nothing of mere attraction, especially where it is conceived as a potential weakness or liability rather than as the sin of unnatural lust.... Continue Reading

The world has believed that marriage is for a man and a woman.  Men and women are different.  Viva la difference! They were made to complement one another and to be close, just like the positive and negative charges in physics. This was part of God’s created order.  From God’s creation comes order, predictability, productivity,... Continue Reading

The reason why we find ourselves often in a lesser-of-two-evil election is because we think like 1 Samuel 8 Israelites way too often. We end up in a kind of Judas-esque situation trying to back a different horse at the last minute because what we thought we had is not what we actually wanted. Lots... Continue Reading

How does deception happen? Does it come packaged in clear, straightforward arguments? Or are distortions advanced incrementally, with hedging and disclaimers, until error is fully embraced, like when Barack Obama insisted he believed marriage was between a man and a woman, even as his rhetoric moved the ball forward on same-sex marriage until he could... Continue Reading

For when feminists diminish or deny all the differences between male and female, the only remaining distinction between the sexes is the capacity of women to give birth. In other words, the Christian vision of the sexes celebrates feminine gifts beyond the birthing room, but the feminist vision of interchangeable cogs can give no reason... Continue Reading