“Yes Sir! Living the dream! I am called to preach, called to be a chaplain and I find myself this very moment in chaplain school, preparing for ministry. I am literally living the dream.” I am on chaplain duty today. I am ministering at the US Army Chaplain Center and School. I came to instruct,... Continue Reading

My argument against deaconesses and “commissioning” male and female deacons without ordaining them has nothing whatsoever to do with women being either inept or incompetent… However, as I will argue later, I also am fully convinced that the practice of “commissioning” male and female deacons is not merely a matter of preference. I will argue... Continue Reading

‘The traditional question of theodicy is, Why does God permit moral evil and permit suffering that serves no discernible good? If we hold that God is not impassible, then in addition to that question we have another: Why does God permit what disturbs God? Why does God allow what God endures in tears? I do... Continue Reading

Declines in the youth population over all have occurred twice before in the last century. First in the 1930s, when the Depression gripped the country, dragging down the birth rate, and then in the 1970s and 1980s, as the baby boomers aged out of childhood and women delayed marriage and went to work. Demographers sifting... Continue Reading

Dear Shadow Guide, The enemy may now lay claim to your quarry, but he is still of great value to our cause. Our adversary, whom he now calls Lord, is not a realist. Idealism is the weakness of His kingdom. This specific prey of yours has a proclivity toward our utilitarian skepticism. Shadow Guide, you... Continue Reading

The New Testament clearly establishes the Gospel of Jesus Christ upon the foundation of the Bible’s account of creation. If there was no historical Adam and no historical Fall, the Gospel is no longer understood in biblical terms. The debate over Darwinism rages on, with almost every week bringing a new salvo in the Great... Continue Reading

If denominationalism simply denotes a “brand” vying for market share, then let denominationalism fall. But many of us believe denominations can represent fidelity to living traditions of local congregations that care about what Jesus cared about—personal conversion, discipleship, mission and community. Perhaps the denominational era has just begun. Are we witnessing the death of America’s... Continue Reading

We live in a free country, and FOX can decide—based on its own business calculations and current FCC regulations—to air whatever it so chooses. No Doritos. No adultery. No John 3:16. As a Christian, I can live with that. Forget about tight ends, tackles, and touchdowns. What many want to know is whether the television... Continue Reading

Retrospectives on Ronald Reagan as the nation marks the centennial of his birth will touch upon every imaginable aspect of the man. I suspect, however, that the thing most integral to the man, and most consistent throughout his life — that is, his religious faith — will not be as front and center as it... Continue Reading

Thus the clear, bright line that Missionals seek to draw cannot be drawn with such clarity. God is a sending God. God is also an attracting God. He sends forth his Spirit and attracts the elect not only to himself, but also to his people. He may draw them to his people before he draws... Continue Reading