Man constantly seeks to compete and to get ahead. And he trips over others in the process. I got a lot of hate mail last week in response to my column about Joel Osteen. Much of the hate mail was from the usual sources. But much of it came from so-called conservative atheists. These conservative... Continue Reading

Watch this development carefully. Claremont may be the first multifaith seminary, but it will almost surely not be the last. Protestantism is hardly news, but on occasion a development arises that serves as something of a parable of that trajectory. Such is the case this week with news from California that the Claremont School of... Continue Reading

Latimer said, “We can talk about grace but lead lives that are very judgmental and disparaging that push people away.” One of the Milwaukee ballgame conversations Saturday night concerned work. Lutheran pastor Don Thompson described a Midwestern work ethic: “If you say you’ll do it, you’ll do it. If you say you’ll be there, you’ll... Continue Reading

The Strategic Plan presents itself as a gift promising better obedience to the Great Commission. Upon closer inspection, it looks like it might be a Trojan Horse bearing ecumenism and the social gospel. The PCA Strategic Plan includes a number of controversial proposals. However, the item that probably represents the greatest risk has gone almost... Continue Reading

The sovereignty of this Lord is announced in many ways in churches, in word and sacrament, to be sure. But it’s also proclaimed visually. It’s interesting when a teenage agnostic and a federal judge understand the nature of the church better than do some church staff. A plaintiff known as Doe 2 recently said that... Continue Reading

O use me, Lord, use even me, Just as Thou wilt and when and where; Every once in a while I get a call from a fellow staff member that runs something like this. “Howard, I know it is not part of your job description, but I have a project with which I need your... Continue Reading

It depends on what “book lovers” means. If you mean collecting old books so that you can have a room full of books, then no. It’s probably prejudiced against them, not biased toward them. But if you mean you are glad that God ordained to reveal himself and preserve that revelation in a book, then... Continue Reading

Shall we pray to God that the Gulf disaster get fixed? It was clearly our fault, so what exactly would honest prayer ask for? That BP be more careful next time? That we confront our own oil gluttony? That we ask forgiveness of God’s animal kingdom? As the disasters get more unmanageable, more heartbreaking, our... Continue Reading

“Woe to you, O churches of the land, who tithe and fast, who preach and pray, who grow megachurches in the twinkling of an eye, who care about souls but not the land on which they live, which I too have made and called good” Some conservative Christians, from Sarah Palin to Ken Blackwell of... Continue Reading

These are (Tony Stephens) reflections on Bruce’s life, to which I say a hearty Amen! I had the joy of spending most of an hour over the weekend on the phone with PCA Pastor Tony Stephens, who is planting Stillwaters Presbyterian Church in Kennett Square, PA. Tony will preside and preach at Bruce Howe’s Memorial... Continue Reading