Some conservatives, while vocally adhering to male/female complementarity, are in fact practicing a form of chauvinism. This particular type of chauvinism rests on a hierarchical understanding of gender that extends to all male/female relationships. It is the belief that all men are called to authority and leadership; and all women are called to submission. The... Continue Reading

Under pressure one may display a form of outward repentance when faced with the consequences of their sin and even be driven by a fear of Hell, yet remain unregenerate. This is because our ability to repent and believe is impossible unless God initiates the call and enlightens the heart. We enter this world spiritually... Continue Reading

To grow in faith and bear fruit as a believer, we need to walk through the refiner’s fire. We need to be stripped of our sin. We need all those things that keep us from living for Christ removed. We need to then be molded and reshaped into the image and likeness of Christ. Paul... Continue Reading

I recall going to presbytery [PCUSA] meetings (I was in North Carolina at the time) and being asked to share bright spots of ministry. To a person, every bright spot was some service project or another. We celebrated hikers’ ministry, renting out a fellowship hall to a church youth group, food banks, you name it.... Continue Reading

“In the past few years, much has been written, advocated, and modeled to help us understand why we should be concerned about leading services in ways that people actually comprehend what we’re doing and saying so that they are impacted in the right ways (Mike Cosper’s Rhythms of Grace is one example). That might mean changing... Continue Reading

“For the Apostle, true contentment was not complacency, and it was not a condition, on this side of glory, that could admit no feelings of discontent and dissatisfaction. After all, Paul frequently expresses such feelings in his epistles as he considers the sins of the church and his own shortcomings.”   Blaise Pascal, the famous... Continue Reading

“In 2011, a young adult disclosed to me, her pastor, that my own father had sexually abused her as a young child. Three days later, my mother and I were sitting in a police station reporting my childhood hero. How was this possible?”   It’s a cold February day and I’m standing on stage eyeing... Continue Reading

There are many comments one could make about the plethora of such Bibles.  The most obvious is that, to any with eyes to see, it is a publishing racket, designed to reinvent markets and thus invigorate income streams.  It helps establish the dominance of particular individuals within the evangelical world. It meets no real need... Continue Reading

I shared earlier that a common component to the Proverbs 18:17 question is a desire not to make an assumption regarding the one being accused. In my personal experience, this concern is voiced after a wife has disclosed her husband’s abuse and the pastor is fearful of accepting her claim as the truth. While we... Continue Reading

It is clear, human beings need instruction. We need boundaries.  We need discipline and reproof.  Yet, fools despise wisdom and instruction.  Apart from God’s grace, we are arrogant, self-referential and too often buy into the “autonomy speak” that our flesh, the world, and the devil whispers~ sometimes screams~ into our ears.   Proverbs teaches us that... Continue Reading