So I must ask: Are you a happy pastor? Let me encourage you not to rely on self-evaluation here. I’d suggest asking your wife: “Am I a happy pastor?” And don’t stop there — ask your kids. As the star of the television series Dirty Jobs, Mike Rowe suits up and labors in some of... Continue Reading

“The message is Good News; it is not moralism. What you hear in church today is moralism. We don’t hear that we are sinners saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. That is what people need to hear. That is what we have to offer.” Declaring that he would be obedient to the Word... Continue Reading

The celebrity culture that characterizes much of the YRR movement has compelled some to just want to plug their ears. They don’t want to hear anything negative about their heroes (Last) week Justin Taylor posted a 2008 interview of Pastor Tim Keller by Martin Bashir at Columbia University. The interview was spring-boarded by his then-newly... Continue Reading

The love of a man and woman in a fallen world is both pain and pleasure. We know that from experience. But we know it also because God tells us so in this ancient book. I want briefly to summarize what it has to say about the love There is a book of the Bible... Continue Reading

Resurgence of religious debate after September 11 challenges notion that theism is doomed. 9/11 strengthened fundamentalism in every global faith – and in atheism too. But it has also led to backlashes against these doctrines wherever they have appeared. In Islam there have been positive developments. The attacks were repeatedly and clearly condemned by Muslim... Continue Reading

On July 14, California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law SB 48, which dictates that California schools adopt instructional materials in social science classes that emphasize “the role and contributions of … lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans” in history. (WNS)–Though my mastery of Greek mythology is not strong enough to know off-hand the muse... Continue Reading

(This message was preached on September 13, 2001–two days after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2011. It is republished in commemoration of the tenth anniversary of those attacks. An extended reflection on these events from the perspective of 2011 will follow.] Preachers are expected to speak when no one else has any idea what... Continue Reading

The public relations disaster that would have followed this elementary stand for biblical truth and exclusivity would have been spectacular. After all, how could one maintain that one is taking seriously 1 Timothy 2 while sharing prayer time with a real-life incarnate lama? It seems a bit of a brouhaha is developing over the exclusion... Continue Reading

…Recognize the necessity and importance of homogeneous ethnic churches because of the reality of white privilege. So far, the Rev. Tim Keller, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, is the only white evangelical I know of who can accurately explain why ethnically homogenous churches are necessary in America. Two of my heroes... Continue Reading

Thus, as we approach this anniversary, we owe it to those who lost their lives on 9/11 and in the war-filled years since to do more than offer up amorphous patriotic tributes to their courage. Rather, let this anniversary be a wake-up call to a sleeping nation to rouse ourselves from a spirit of complacency... Continue Reading