What will happen if this lament, that uses terminology born far outside Scripture, becomes a driving force? Terms originating from some who reject Scripture may unintentionally shape how congregants interpret sin and reconciliation. How can we expect restitution or peace when worldly expressions replace our ecclesiastical language? Naming a group as inherently grieved and another... Continue Reading

I’m not saying, if you play violent video games you’ll go out and commit mass murder, but I am saying that it can lead you ever so indiscernibly away from Christ until your conscience is numb to the things of God. Whatever we do in life can have negative or positive cumulative effect upon us.... Continue Reading

We must therefore dispense with that extreme view of Matt. 5:39 that regards government itself as unjust in its evil-resisting capacities. And we must therefore also disregard that softer version that says government is a necessary evil in which believers may not participate. Christ did not forbid official resistance to and punishment of evil by... Continue Reading

These foibles are a good reminder that ministers too are jars of clay, sometimes struggling with fear (real or not), or worrying about things which are in reality the fruit of an inflated sense of importance.   It should not come as a surprise that when pastors get together (at denominational meetings, joint services, or... Continue Reading

We can save future generations from spiritual devastation. We can bring down those high rates of agreement that “life often feels meaningless.” We can—and must—defeat the Devil and reclaim childhood in the real world.   Earlier this year, someone started a viral trend of asking ChatGPT this question: If you were the devil, how would... Continue Reading

The New Year is upon us. If you want, make a book list, but you don’t have to. And if you want, share it with others, but you don’t have to. But if you do, do it for the good reasons, not the bad ones.   It’s that time of year again. Time for resolutions,... Continue Reading

America of course has her fair share of faults. The leftist and critical theorists love to only concentrate on those faults, without ever looking at any positives.   In recent articles I have looked at various related issues, including the injunction for believers to seek the welfare of the city they find themselves in (Jeremiah... Continue Reading

Believers need not be shy about binaries—at least legitimate biblical ones. Yes, in many areas we need a more full-orbed understanding, and nuance can be called for. But in some other areas things really ARE black and white.   We hear a lot lately about the term “binary”. It of course is especially coming from... Continue Reading

The God who created language also created the heavens and the earth. Whenever we speak, we ultimately speak of Him. Cursing does not necessarily reveal a meager vocabulary or low intelligence; but it does show a deficit of wonder and imagination.   In the summer of 1995, my father spent weeks building a shed in... Continue Reading

Treating people as adults is not treating people as experts. It’s assuming that if you start at the beginning and go at an appropriate pace, you can reach almost anywhere.   I fear that, without really intending to, churches have a habit of infantilising people. We should treat people like adults. My new staff team... Continue Reading