Only 46% of children grow up in an intact home, Family Research Council study says
The percentage of children who reach age 17 with married biological parents falls drastically as one travels down the (Mississippi) River, from 57 percent in Minnesota, to 49 percent in Illinois, 40 percent in Tennessee and 34 percent in Mississippi. At the same time, the graduation rate also falls significantly (Minnesota, 86 percent; Illinois, 80... Continue Reading
Churches not typically first reporters of sexual abuse
Southern Baptist churches are rarely the first party to report allegations of child sexual abuse by clergy to legal authorities, according to an analysis of news stories aggregated at a website maintained by an advocate for victims. StopBaptistPredators.org links to news stories about 130 separate Southern Baptist clergy persons who were arrested, convicted or sued... Continue Reading
Reservation Legalism – A Cultic Form of Legalism
…when that ugly spirit of Reservation Legalism rears its head, the Berean spirit is quenched. If you are a part of a certain group, and you even begin to question the way that something is usually taught, you are likely to be considered an oddball, if not an outright heretic. Not for teaching false teaching,... Continue Reading
Being “Berean” about the Bereans
If you have any questions about the accuracy of the message, ask the pastor to explain his reasoning from Scripture: like both Paul and the Bereans, he should also be eager to submit all his teaching to the standard of the Word of God. In Acts 17:10-11, we find Paul and Silas preaching in the... Continue Reading
A Divine Recipe for a Transformative Thanksgiving: An Exposition of Psalm 100
The greatest family recipe you can give those who come after you is not just a recipe for pecan pie, or even that wonderful pink, fluffy stuff that my wife makes so well. No. The greatest Thanksgiving recipe you can give is to know how to give thanks…And that only comes when you are thankful... Continue Reading
The Thanksgiving Day 2011 Presidential Proclamation
In President Obama’s Thanksgiving Day Proclamation, he reminds us to ‘set aside our daily concerns and give thanks for the providence bestowed upon us,’ and ‘pause to recount the simple gifts that sustain us, and resolve to pay them forward in the year to come.’ One of our Nation’s oldest and most cherished traditions, Thanksgiving... Continue Reading
An “Occupy Wall Street” Thanksgiving?
Particularly dispiriting—and my interest here—was the role of the Religious Left. Amid this rampage in Chicago, liberal Christians stepped in to offer aid and comfort to the revolutionaries. It was a matter of “social justice.” Consider: Just like at Wall Street today, numerous leftists occupied the streets of Chicago. Last week, a deranged malefactor was... Continue Reading
The Next Big Thing – Debate on ‘The Mission of the Church’
The gospel-centred world seems divided over whether the gospel is primarily about transforming culture or individual forgiveness for sins. Of course, there is a spectrum of opinion on this matter and not everyone is at one end of it or the other. Yet the passions generated by DeYoung and Gilbert highlight the problem and indicate... Continue Reading
Why the Disagreement Over the Church’s Mission?: A Potential Insight into the Current Debate
Over the last week I’ve been trying to figure why some of my Young, Restless, and Reformed heroes can’t get along when it comes to defining and discussing the church’s mission. Indeed, the discussion has been, for the most part, charitable. It seems that The Gospel Coalition, 9Marks, Acts 29, and Together 4 the Gospel... Continue Reading
Meet the New Sin, Same as the Old
The truth is, there were no good old days. Edwards railed against the moral turpitude of the youth of his day; as did Augustine, Chrysostom, Luther, Calvin, and Baxter. Sin has always and will always attack us where we are most easily tempted. The youth are tempted with passion and lust; the elders are tempted... Continue Reading