Campolo admitted that changing his view of God’s sovereignty was “the beginning of the end” of his faith. Why? “Because once you start adjusting your theology to match up to the reality you see in front of you, it’s an infinite progression. So over the course of the next 30 years…my ability to believe in... Continue Reading

The long-run, though, is quite different. Jesus will reign. In the meantime, the Good Shepherd searches the thickets for his lost sheep. And sometimes for a lost rabbit, too. The sign of the good life is not hedonism but crucifixion. The sign of the good life is not a bunny but a cross.   Overnight, we... Continue Reading

Kistemaker served as president of the Evangelical Theological Society in 1976 and as Secretary for the organization for 10 years. His address, “The Canon of the New Testament,” was delivered before the 28th annual ETS meeting. He also completed the New Testament Commentary series begun by Dr. William Hendriksen. Four of Kistemaker’s seven works from this series... Continue Reading

The first English edition of Acts and Monuments was published by John Day, who invested much time and money on this project, paying for expensive woodcuts portraying terrifying scenes of burnings and torture. The result was a massive volume, containing about 1800 pages. It included the Commentarii rerum and an introductory overview of church history, linking the suffering of... Continue Reading

Wycliffe challenged a wide range of medieval beliefs and practices: pardons, indulgences, absolutions, pilgrimages, the worship of images, the adoration of the saints and the distinction between venial and mortal sins. He gained the greatest opposition by rejecting the doctrine of transubstantiation, the belief that in Christian Communion the bread and wine (or juice) become... Continue Reading

Let them know you are hurting. Remind them you are not perfect and are not in control. The most courageous pastors are the ones who don’t perform, but rest in their identity in Christ and live in the freedom of being themselves before their people.   Courage in pastors can take on many forms.  However,... Continue Reading

Rather than asking, what could have possibly happened to Jessica to lead to her actions, people instead asked, what kind of perverse person would do this? See the difference there? The portrait of a vulnerable person as deviant allows us to avoid examining our actions towards them. It means we can point the finger. That... Continue Reading

“By examining historical data about his manner of life and written material from his method of preaching, I have deliberately aimed to prove that he is a worthy example for ministers of the Word of God.”   While Calvin’s life certainly did leave ministers a worthy example, we will consider now the second matter of... Continue Reading

For the last 13 years, Brown has worked full time for Service Over Self (SOS) to arrange and direct crews of college and high school students to renovate and repair the houses of low-income Memphis residents during the students’ summer and spring breaks. In addition, he has spent countless hours befriending and aiding the city’s... Continue Reading

Meanwhile, Karen Oliveto actually warns against those of us who “create an idol out of” Jesus Christ. The commonly accepted theological definition of an idol is something other than God, usually something created by human hands, improperly worshipped as a god. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary broadly defines an “idol” as “a false god.” So by definition, it is... Continue Reading