To grow, thrive, and follow God’s call and design for their lives, Christians are to join and participate in the worship and life of a local church body, “not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together.” (Hebrews 10:25) The visible church, to the degree that it coheres to the biblical pattern given for it, is one... Continue Reading

Look at the teachings that have come out of patriocentricity, especially in the last 6 or so years. Teaching that men are the prophets, priests, and kings of their homes, daughters are helpmeets to their fathers, women are here primarily to fulfill the creation mandate and are expendable if threatened with ectopic pregnancies, women do... Continue Reading

The fact is that the Lord’s Supper is gospel proclamation. Take 1 Corinthians 11:26 as proof of this: “For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.” That word “proclaim” is a preaching word. The Lord’s Supper is a proclamation of the gospel every... Continue Reading

“We,” Westerners with a rescue mentality, will never solve “their” problems. As I write this, the country is being rocked with a national scandal the newspapers are calling “Cashgate.” High public officials and politicians have siphoned into the national treasury and the country is broke. The country’s health care system, always threadbare at best, has... Continue Reading

My sense is that conservative Christian objections to Obamacare in particular, and to the expansion of government in general, are driven not only by the unfortunate policy specifics, but also by more general concerns that are fundamentally and legitimately theological.  More specifically, such opposition is funded by real if often inchoate convictions about theological anthropology,... Continue Reading

The Reformation isn’t over, not at least for the confessional Protestant churches, who don’t equivocate, who understand what Rome is really saying, who still submit to the Word of God as the sole, unique authority for faith and life, who affirm the sole sufficiency of Christ and righteousness for us for acceptance with God, for... Continue Reading

Such threats are no doubt nasty and frightening.  But does the wider world need to know about them?  Does placing such knowledge in the public sphere serve to do anything other than enhance our own delusions of importance?   Perhaps I am alone in this but maybe, just maybe, there are others out there who... Continue Reading

I am hopeful, for the three reasons noted, that we will have fewer and fewer worship wars. I am hopeful we can worry less about our own preferences, and more about the unity of the body of Christ. Jesus Himself said in John 13:35: “By this all people will know that you are My disciples,... Continue Reading

Pastoring is like being a Gumby doll. You will get pulled in many directions and sometimes feel a limb will fall off. There are cards of encouragement to write, sick to visit, leaders to equip, lessons to plan, staff to mentor, couples to counsel, prayer to offer, weddings and funerals to perform, your own heart... Continue Reading

And all the people said … “Amen!” The “amen corner” has had an important place in the life of the church throughout the ages. However, it is rare to find such a spot among Presbyterians. We are known as God’s frozen chosen for a reason. It has been said that the Methodists like to shout... Continue Reading