My big fun family – A small town Reformed Baptist visits a big city Presbyterian church
The many mirrors and white cinder block walls render the Presbyterian bathroom a purgatory of self-revelation. There I met a woman named Mrs. Butterfield who has a Ph.D. My eyebrows shot up, for in my red-doored church the phenomenon of a Ph.D., particularly a female one, might crack the stained glass. At home I attend... Continue Reading
On Constantly Taking Your Church’s Temperature
Love the church that is actually “among you,” not the one you wish was there. God in his wisdom has not placed you there to be a busybody or malcontent That voice in your head that keeps rehearsing the disappointments and flaws of your church is not from the Lord. It is the accuser, helping... Continue Reading
Why Hope? Grace! (A sermon on Grace from John Piper)
Sanctified by Grace. The third step in our salvation is sanctification by the Spirit. Verse 13: “God chose you from the beginning to be saved through sanctification by the Spirit.” Remember, sanctification is the process of becoming more like Christ. It’s the day-by-day working out of what it means to be chosen and called by... Continue Reading
Did Ken Ham Misrepresent Tim Keller on Genesis 1 and 2? Decide for yourself
“Because if you take it literally then you have a Bible that contradicts itself. Because the order in which God makes things in Genesis 2 contradicts Genesis 1……But if you believe that the Bible is true then you have to believe that they’re two different literary genres. You have to.” — Tim Keller A couple... Continue Reading
Get Real: Pietism is no cure for Entertainment Addiction
I am sorry, but there is more to the Christian life that praying, reading the Bible, and contemplating death. I’m sorry, but it is simply inconceivable to think that someone would use their personal “free” time—likely dozens of hours per week for average people, probably more for young people, and definitely so for people who... Continue Reading
The Bible Made Impossible or the Church Made Implausible? A Review of “Journeys of Faith” to and from evangelicalism
There is a sense in which the thoughtful conversion of learned and gracious men in the North American context is understandable: here their chosen churches represent a certain liturgical gravitas and intellectual sophistication, particularly when compared to the loud and in-your-face antics of the rising evangelical swaggerati. A year or so back I was berated... Continue Reading
The Faithful One
Pain had struck my mother’s stomach like a dagger. We were on our tour bus high in the Italian Alps. She moaned in agony all the way down the long winding road to the bottom of the mountains….God was faithful to me, his frightened and unsure child, even when I couldn’t be faithful to Him.... Continue Reading
Religious Liberty, Rhetoric, and Partisan Squawking
That the current executive branch is unwilling to accommodate the Catholic Church on religious conscience is truly troubling. More troubling indeed is a real trampling of the “First Freedom,” religious liberty. It’s all largely lost and subservient to contemporary partisanship. Concerning the HHS mandate, somehow getting lost in the shuffle is the primacy of religious... Continue Reading
Where do Introverts Fit in the Church?
I like people, but conversation, it can wear me out. I have several close friends but I am not terribly motivated to make conversation with people I don’t know well. I have a good sense of humor, but mostly because I sit around by myself a lot thinking of funny things to say When my... Continue Reading
‘Am I Pretty?’: A Troubling Question among Christian Women Like Me
The end goal is the “blessed self-forgetfulness” that Tim Keller describes – a forgetfulness that frees us from fussing over ourselves so that we can worship and serve God. “Do I look pregnant, or do I look fat?” I hate to say it, but this question has become an almost daily occurrence in my household.... Continue Reading