It quickly became apparent to me that the emphasis on the Ten Commandments is not the approach of the New Testament to the Christian life; indeed, it was obscuring it. It became clear to me that the New Testament does not identify the Ten Commandments or “the law” as the primary framework for pleasing God... Continue Reading

Over the past few years, I’ve wondered if the Church is supposed to be on the offense, if we are called to blow the hinges off of Hell’s gates, then why do we plant new congregations so tepidly? Why do we prioritize the planting of churches in environments that we think will be most “receptive,”... Continue Reading

Meanwhile, for millenials thinking that the High Church traditions may hold the solution, consider this (thanks to Jeff Polet). Maybe I should say no thanks since not even the feline factor can redeem such blasphemy. All of this makes me very thankful (all about me) for a local church where the pastor proclaims the word and administers the Supper every Sunday.... Continue Reading

The demands on a pastor are great.  They force every pastor daily to choose what will get his time, and what will not.  I have observed this decision process subtly squeezes out 3 areas that many pastors would admit are not essential, but over a longer period of neglect can have significant harmful effects.  Because they are subtly neglected, when... Continue Reading

I am convinced that many of the folks who have a problem with Vision Planning (even the Biblical model) – and those folks include some very good friends of mine) stem from the same problem folks have who want to do ‘annual performance reviews’ on their pastor/ordained staff.  I think it stems from the lack... Continue Reading

We definitely aren’t the cool church in town. Our building is busted. Our worship space is puritan-plain. We are Southern Baptist (definitely not cool up here), complementarian, Reformed. There is a lot about is that is uncool in many ways–at least to many outsiders. But Jesus is here, and his people are amazing.    If... Continue Reading

The only righteousness that meets the requirements of the Law is the righteousness of Christ. It is only by imputation of that righteousness that the sinner can ever possess the righteousness of the Law. This is critical for our understanding in this day where the imputation of the righteousness of Christ is so widely under... Continue Reading

I suggest that those who are so enamored of culture that they are yogurt need to step back for a moment and ask the tough questions: is this phenomenon I am studying really conducive to evangelism, personal holiness, progress in the Christian walk? Or am I merely using this “engaging culture” mantra as a smokescreen... Continue Reading

In confessional Reformed churches, leaders who feel compelled to improve upon alleged defects of the Confessions—which is the kind way of putting a positive spin on the activity of criticizing the Confessions—are required by a Form of Subscription to submit their views to their consistory, and perhaps to the broadest assembly, the synod, for review... Continue Reading

What do I mean by the “old liturgy”? I mean the traditional Protestant order of worship that stretches back to Luther and Calvin (despite their important differences), runs through Westminster, and used to be what churches did when they didn’t know what else to do. Was it rote at times? Sure. Did some churches use... Continue Reading