Unmasking Abusive Spiritual Leadership Part II: Marks of Hypocrisy
In an abusive leadership structure, hypocrisy will unfailingly manifest itself.
The spiritually abusive leader creates an atmosphere of performance and law keeping that is beyond the reach of any Christian, even while publicly preaching and teaching the gospel of God’s grace. Although he does not hold himself to the same standard (the definition of hypocrisy!), those closest to him may begin to live in a... Continue Reading
Trained to Hate Their Sex and Selves, 1 in 3 Teen Girls Now Considers Suicide
Toxic feminism isn’t the only thing making teenage girls sad. The combination of social media and transgenderism makes them miserable.
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The Church’s Two Laws
There is more to becoming an officer than the laying on of hands by the elders — vows are the other essential part of officer-making.
Moral issues of officers generally get more attention than process and polity peccadilloes. But what about when someone says, “We’re not following the rules because a lot of people don’t follow the rules, and we don’t think you’re going to stop us”? What about when the seeming law of what’s allowed begins to damage the... Continue Reading
A Plea for Patience in the PCA (1)
Those in the PCA grieving because of the divisions caused by deviations from our Standards have cause for concern, but greater cause to labor patiently and faithfully within the PCA.
Calvin understood the zeal of true religion can be patient, but the rage of unbelief acts hastily. Calvin’s demeanor and his patient plodding are instructive for our present moment in the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). We should not expect the theological and practical deviations from our Standards to be dealt with speedily. But that... Continue Reading
Unmasking Abusive Spiritual Leadership Part I: Shunning
Shunning is a counterfeit of a biblical principle.
Shunning is more akin to the leadership of Diotrephes, exposed by the apostle John, than faithful church discipline. “So if I come, I will bring up what he is doing, talking wicked nonsense against us. And not content with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers, and also stops those who want to and puts... Continue Reading
Church Abuse Activism? Easy Targets and Misused Critiques
A response: There are different strands of “abuse activism,” and what I want to defend is probably different than what James wants to critique.
I make no apology for being an advocate against spiritual abuse. So when James writes that “This dynamic [of pathologizing discomfort] is evident throughout the broader Christian subcultures that have embraced a more activist approach to church abuse,” I can only conclude that he is not reading the right advocates. Samuel D. James has... Continue Reading
The Woke Wrecking Machine
Almost everything that has followed from the woke mass hysteria gripping the nation since 2020 has proved disastrous.
New woke protocols mandate race as essential rather than incidental to the human experience. Supposedly such fixations will heal racial wounds. Under the new reparatory and compensatory diversity, equity, and inclusion rules, those deemed non-white were to be hired and admitted to colleges in greater numbers than their demographics. Even the old mandated proportional representation... Continue Reading
Mainline Presbyterianism & the LGBTQ Movement
PCA is on dangerous ground if we do not incorporate more robust language in our BCO regarding issues of sexual sin for church officers.
As we in the PCA continue to deliberate about contentious and important matters of human sexuality – and about homosexuality in particular – we will hear the well-worn arguments, “We have the study report…We have the Bible…We have the Book of Church Order. We don’t need added clarity when we have so many resources that... Continue Reading
Facts Don’t Care About Your Healings
The mental health crisis is ideologically coded because it IS ideological.
Feelings are what are leading a lot of people away from the presuppositions and certainties of progressivism. The notion that secular philosophies will always appeal better to people’s emotions than historic Christianity is just dead wrong. I am convinced that the coming years are going to be marked by people finding a meaningful peace and... Continue Reading
Answering Objections to Saddleback’s Removal from the SBC
The SBC is both constitutionally and morally right to deem a church like Saddleback as no longer in “friendly cooperation.”
To be in friendly cooperation, a church must have a faith and practice that is in step with the BF&M [The Baptist Faith & Message]. Contradicting what the BF&M says about female pastors is by definition not “closely identifying” with the BF&M. Indeed, it’s a direct contradiction of the BF&M. I have seen a variety... Continue Reading
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