The most important divide is over this question: Do we come to church primarily to receive or primarily to do something? In other words, is God not only the object but the primary actor in the service, or are we?

On the other hand, refusing to adopt theistic evolution also has a price. We would be mocked and ridiculed by the world. But, given the choice between these two prices—losing the doctrine of imputation or being mocked and ridiculed by the world—I will pay the latter. After all, the latter is true already.

Sadly, we’re currently amid a period when we’ll observe a palpable increase in the flags at the cemetery, and a corresponding decrease in the gentlemen talking about the war at the hospital or McDonald’s. It’s a process that’s irreversible. There’s nothing we mere mortals can do about it. It’s in God’s hands.

“There is room for examining and reviewing all human creeds and doctrinal articles” in the light of Scripture, for “it is possible that our Fathers have erred.” --John Dick, 1796

You know, this year I kept thinking of a Beatles' song that I remembered back in the 60s, because my wife still needs me and she still feeds me and I am 64

Leaders make mistakes, but create blame-free cultures. "I'd rather reward a great failure, than a mediocre success," Upton commented. Failure without blame is not a bad thing for organizations, and part of the learning curve of innovative cultures.

If you and your spouse nag each other about picking up the clothes on the floor or backing the car in the garage the right way, your marriage is normal. If you or your spouse secretly unplugs the dishwasher because you think your spouse doesn't use it properly and therefore shouldn't be allowed to use it, your marriage is not.

Christ declares that his kingdom is explosive in its growth. The kingdom of heaven is like a tiny mustard seed, which explodes in growth and produces massive growth. The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman hides in flour. A tiny lump of leaven leavens the whole loaf. The Gospel is like a contagion that cannot be stopped, and Christ’s rule is irresistible energy. The kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ is unshakable, unstoppable, unquenchable.

From all this it is clear that the two kingdoms doctrine is better understood as a doctrine of two ages and two governments, rather than of two realms. For as the power of the kingdom extends in this present evil age, believers are to walk “in Christ” (that is, in the power of the kingdom of the age to come) in everything that they do. On the other hand, the world in which they do this still very much remains the present evil age, governed by God’s providential rule and by coercive government.

Today, seven out of ten high school graduates immediately go on to college, but about 30% will never become sophomores, and almost half will not have graduated even six years later. Many who do graduate move right back home with their parents, assuming little responsibility and armed with little ambition for Christ.