June 26th, 2018
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When I was a kid I had a number of heroes—people I looked up to, admired, and wanted to emulate. I wanted to have the calm and cool mind of Joe Montana, who could run the two-minute drill without breaking a sweat.
June 19th, 2018
One of the biggest weekly challenges I face is getting my children to pay attention in church. My kids are probably no worse than any other. And, let me be clear, they are generally very well behaved in church.
June 12th, 2018
I was once asked to do a funeral for the grandmother of one of my younger church members. This young man told me that his grandmother was a believer, so I was a bit relieved. It’s difficult enough to do a funeral for a Christian, let alone an unbeliever who died in an unrepentant state.
June 5th, 2018
In the church many godly Christians have well-intended but nevertheless misguided notions about the doctrine of sanctification, especially when it comes to their children.
May 29th, 2018
I can remember sitting in various classes in seminary (not WSC) and hearing all about the supposed composition of the Bible. Moses didn’t write the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible) but was instead written by at least four different authors spread over several hundred years long after Moses lived, if he lived at all.
May 22nd, 2018
“If you play with fire, you’re bound to get burned,” is an adage that conveys both great wisdom and warning for would-be pyromaniacs. But the warning is equally apt for theologians in the church. Sometimes they find ideas that they believe are useful, especially in theological debate.
May 15th, 2018
One of the most pressing issues in our day is the growth of Islam. Some statistics claim that Islam is the fastest growing religion and that if current growth rates continue that Muslims will surpass the world’s Christian population by the end of the century.
May 8th, 2018
John Calvin had many friends in his life, but some of his friendships did not stand the test of time and the stress of ministry. One friend in particular, Sebastian Castellio, embraced the Reformation and joined Calvin in Strasbourg to work alongside of him.
May 1st, 2018
We live in a day and age when activism of all kinds is on display on the internet, cable news broadcasts, and print media. The world’s mentality is, if you want to get something done, you have to protest, march, boycott, or do something to wield power and influence to promote your agenda
April 24th, 2018
One of the casualties of the modern theological curriculum is the division of the different theological disciplines. In the nineteenth-century theologians created the fourfold division of theology: biblical studies, church history, theology, and practical theology.
April 17th, 2018
A retired football player recently made headlines when he was flummoxed by the fact that he was not nominated to the pro football hall of fame. On the one hand, the player has a point. He was one of the NFL’s top players and has the statistics to prove it.
April 10th, 2018
I can remember that over the course of 24 months I had more than ten families tell me that they were re-locating due to job transfers. When I received the first intimations of these moves, I thought, “Well, that’s ok. God willing we can find some other families to fill the space.”
April 3rd, 2018
I regularly run across statistics that say that thousands of pastors each year leave the ministry and cite burn out as a chief reason. While some have challenged the accuracy of these statistics, it doesn’t change the fact that burn out is a real problem for many pastors.
March 27th, 2018
Sigmund Freud once famously opined that religion was merely the wishful projection of weak people who were looking for their lost father figure. Freud was echoing the earlier theory of Ludwig Feurbach, who made the same claim.
March 20th, 2018
I was recently was perusing the newly added movies to Netflix and amidst the usual collection of never-heard-of movies was a title that caught my attention, The Case for Christ. I knew of the book, written by Lee Strobel, but was unaware that there was a movie.
March 13th, 2018
Preachers often give thought to the question of how they will get the message of the gospel out to people who need to hear it. The church is, after all, supposed to evangelize the nations.
March 6th, 2018
I can’t help but wonder how many preachers and teachers spend a great deal of time in prayer before they undertake their sacred task. There is a story about Martin Luther King Jr. that illustrates my point.
February 27th, 2018
I’ve recently befriended a young man who is in the process of undergoing training for an elite military unit. I’m not only impressed by the challenges of the training but also by the young man’s quiet and humble spirit.
February 20th, 2018
Within any decent-sized congregation there are bound to be some who are widows, usually those that are older, but in some cases, there might be younger widows. In the world outside the church, many might look upon widows as a regular part of life.
February 13th, 2018
I regularly receive notices of ministers who have served the church for decades but reach the end of their lives and die. As I read of such men I often wonder who they are and how many lives they impacted for the sake of Christ and his gospel.
