Mark Galli wrote a provocative article at Christianity Today entitled “How to Shrink a Church.” As one who has been part of “growing” two churches to half their original sizes, I was especially intrigued. I could not agree more with Galli’s “dilemma” (pg 2). We’re (sinfully) conditioned to assume bigger is better and more equals health. Consumerism has hijacked the church so that we evaluate ministry like we would a […]
I love godly widows who have read rich theological books and pass them on to their ignorant and immature pastors. I often wonder who exactly is pastoring whom! A latest offering is Horatius Bonar’s The Everlasting Righteousness, from which we enjoy this: Man has always treated sin as a misfortune, not a crime; as disease, not guilt; as a case for the physician, not for the judge. Herein lies the […]
Then the king will say to those on his right, “Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I . . . was a stranger, and you invited me in” (Mt 25.34, 35c). A recent Tennessee Baptist & Reflector article provoked me to consider whether or not the church takes Jesus seriously. It seems the 118-year-old Tennessee […]
I can’t put this down. Gerhard Forde’s interaction with Luther’s Heidelberg Disputation is now one of my must-reads for preparing men for eldership. Read Calvin’s Institutes first and then this. Most modern church “leadership” books seek to empower men for ministry. Luther (and Forde) seek to kill them for it. Dead men make better gospel preachers. Thesis 22 of the Disputation reads, “That wisdom which perceives the invisible things of […]
In the Jan/Feb 2009 issue of Touchstone Magazine Stephen Baskerville wrote a penetrating article entitled “Divorced from Reality.” In it Dr. Baskerville connects dots between no-fault divorce, child abuse, the child support industy and the welfare state. They all ultimate derive from a government-sponsored assault on the family. Having interacted somewhat with the state foster care system I’m afraid he may be right. I entice you with his closing excerpt: […]
Kairos Journal has a helpful article on Christians and in vitro fertilization. The science and procedure are front-page news these days, which means they are front-pew issues. Like many technological advances Christians are often swept up in the current before realizing there was one. IVF is by no means an easy issue, especially for those struggling through infertility. Those born via in vitro fertilization would undoubtedly have a strong opinion! […]
This is a great story. I’m seeing a blockbuster hit starring – oh, I don’t know – The Rock. Do you smell it? HT: Michael Phillips