I propose that every time a congregation in the United States calls a pastor from another country, that congregation …also send back some form of subsidy to the communion that lost its minister to the United States. Monetary assistance would be one form…U.S. Reformed and Presbyterians might also consider sending to other Reformed communions…young ministers... Continue Reading

Even after God saves us, there is no part of us that becomes sin free–we remain sinful and imperfect in all of our capacities, in the “totality” of our being. Even after God saves us, our thoughts, words, motives, deeds, and affections need the constant cleansing of Christ’s blood and the forgiveness that comes our way for free

[Marriage] is a discipline of hard work, persistence, curiosity, diligence, systematic study, recording results, experimentation, and pursuit of good answers. So, if this is chemistry, what does it mean that marriage doesn’t work because “chemistry” is missing?   Marriage is an institution under assault, a relational commitment on the decline in our society. Statistics bear... Continue Reading

Over at the Gospel Coalition, Trevin Wax has warned us against what he calls the Puritan paralysis: that crippling, morbid self-analysis - what Mr Wax calls hyper-introspection - that directs all our spiritual attention toward self and our efforts rather than toward Christ as the object of saving faith, and so cuts the nerve of Christian service as assured saints. He writes:

We must remember that the Reformation generated new questions. The fact is that the Reformers pushed for personal assurance against a background of medieval theology where such was simply not an issue. Reformation theology generated new pastoral questions, questions it was not in its aboriginal form able to answer

We shouldn’t criticize British Reformed writers of the 16th and 17th centuries but rather than invoking dated, unhelpful, and misleading generalizations as if “everyone knows” about “the Puritans” let us speak about “this writer” or “that writer.” That will slow down our writing by making us go back to sources and to distinguish between this one and that one but that’s a good thing.

People were so kind and hospitable and they couldn't be warmer in their welcome. The only thing I can possibly complain about is the amount of cushions you find on your bed. By the time you've moved them off the bed it's nearly time to get up! I nearly put my back out a couple of times lifting them off.

Male violence against women is a real problem in our culture, one the church must address. Our responsibility here is not simply at the level of social justice but at the level of ecclesical justice as well.

Jesus Christ has come into the world as the Jewish Messiah, and his own people rejected him and broke covenant with their God. Therefore, the secular state of Israel today may not claim a present divine right to the Land, but they and we should seek a peaceful settlement not based on present divine rights, but on international principles of justice, mercy, and practical feasibility.

Mr. Tuininga sadly appears to compare us to militant radicals.  Christian Reconstructionism has always promoted a “bottom-up” motif for the expansion of the Kingdom – not a “top-down” motif.  It is through the preaching of the gospel and the power of the Holy Spirit that hearts will be changed and converts will then become desirous... Continue Reading