I am tempted to say `I don’t know how to define art, but I know it when I see it.’ Except, other than understanding that Thomas Kinkade is not art, that statement would not be true. I am told Jackson Pollock is art but that, as they say, is clearly above my paygrade. Over at... Continue Reading

Twenty years from now, when looking back on the “return to the Gospel” movement that is currently gaining speed throughout the world today, what are some things that have gone a little off course? That’s the question that three pastors and authors, J.D. Greear, Trevin Wax and Greg Gilbert, asked themselves on The Gospel Coalition... Continue Reading

Ministry mistakes I’ve made and seen: 1) Buying into the greener pastures myth 2) Going for the silver bullet 3) Wishing you were someone else I’m not the oldest kid on the block but I’m sadly realizing I’m not the youngest either at age 48. My ministry experience to date has been somewhat varied. Prior... Continue Reading

Those of us who have made the effort to engage Mormons in friendly and sustained give-and-take conversations have come to see them as good citizens whose life of faith often exhibits qualities that are worthy of the Christian label, even as we continue to engage in friendly arguments with them about crucial theological issues. Some... Continue Reading

One of the great Scottish myths is that for four hundred years Calvinism dominated the life of Scotland and that this explains all our problems from endemic national alcoholism to our failure to produce great epic drama. Everything is the fault of John Knox. A wise Roman Catholic once remarked that there is no one... Continue Reading

Elders are to…protect…the minister from hypercritical members of the congregation. This is not because the minister is above criticism but because he is always vulnerable to discouragement at the hands of cranks with assorted axes to grind. Elders should function as his bodyguard, weeding out unfair criticism and rebuking crackpots. Last week, I posted a... Continue Reading

Yes, I know class hatred. A year after graduation, hatred led me into the Communist Party USA. Envy led me to advocate murderous revolution of the kind that ravaged Russia, China, Cuba, Cambodia, and other countries. Envy leads to class warfare. Class warfare kills. It might kill this country. Last month I wrote about creating... Continue Reading

What the Wall Street horde and Roseanne do not understand is that in America people generally get rich by providing a product or service that people want. Sure, there are exceptions….By and large, however, “the rich” earn their riches through the consent of millions of citizens who voluntarily purchase products and service through their own... Continue Reading

Confessional traditions exist, not as ends in themselves, but to point us to Christ and to help us understand the richness of Scripture more fully… While we must be on guard against explicit and implicit confessional revisions that subvert the teachings of Scripture, at the same time we should welcome those that enable the confessional... Continue Reading

You’ve heard it said, “You can’t legislate morality.” Baloney. That’s exactly what legislation is. The question is: Whose morality are we going to legislate? “Progressive” secular-socialists like President Obama insist it’s their own, postmodern brand of moral relativism. Liberals are nervous. They should be. As the 2012 election grows closer a soft rumble builds throughout... Continue Reading