75 Incorrectly Used Words That Can Make You Look Dumb
Using the right word can matter. Using the wrong word can matter even more.
Using the right word can matter. Using the wrong word can matter even more. I once lost a potential writing gig because I used “who” instead of “whom” in a proposal letter. (And I still have trouble getting “who” and “whom” right.) Even just one incorrectly used word – especially when you’re trying to make... Continue Reading
The Sexual Revolution, Entertainment, and Christian Art
The sexual revolution was in large part successful because it used entertainment media as a principal tool of cultural subversion.
Those are stories worth telling, and the only thing stopping Christians from telling them is a reductionist view of what Christian art can and should be. It is a brave new entertainment world; making art that goes against the flow of the sexual revolution requires bravery. But, on the other hand, the darkness of the... Continue Reading
More Than Two Thirds of Patients on Anti-Depressants Not Depressed
When I am counseling anyone with symptoms of depression and the subject of medication comes up, I always make the following points
Don’t be ashamed of meds: Just because some misuse and over use them doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use them. Try to view them as a gift of God and ask for God’s blessing upon them. Also pray for researchers as they seek to develop more drugs that will be more sophisticated and successful in the future.... Continue Reading
Tips For Being a False Teacher
You face a challenge, the bane of false teachers everywhere. That’s right, I’m talking about biblical literacy.
There is absolutely nothing worse than some punter with their head in the Bible while you’re trying to tell them what God really says. You’ll find them regularly popping up at the worst moments, quoting parts of the Bible and requesting references. Worse still, when you provide those references (ideally obscure Old Testament passages from... Continue Reading
Letting The Law In The Back Door of Justification
In The Gospel Mystery of Sanctification Walter Marshall does an excellent job explaining how the law keeps creeping into the picture of acceptance with God (justification)
People still do things like this today, mixing a bit of law with the gospel, mixing works with grace. They talk about a “lawful gospel” or say that the gospel includes law, or they say that we are justified by faith alone – but define faith as “faithfulness” or “obedient faith.” These types of statements... Continue Reading
Top 5 Reasons Churches Went to Court in 2014
Has your church addressed these common legal liabilities and risk management concerns?
Sadly, for several years the sexual molestation of minors has been the number one reason that churches went to court. Victims in these cases generally allege that a church is responsible for their injuries on the basis of negligent selection, retention, or supervision of the perpetrator. Churches have lost many of these cases due to... Continue Reading
Historical Is Not Enough
There is a temptation to confuse the historical with the true. That is not Christianity.
And so it can be with Christianity. I worry that the return to the old paths in much of the Christian world is simply a return to what is considered safe and convenient. Perhaps it reflects little more than a nostalgic longing for a way of life now gone and offers merely a spiritual-sounding idiom... Continue Reading
My Share in the Pastor’s Study
As a pastor’s wife—but also simply as a church member—his study is my privilege to participate in.
If the Word is proclaimed from the pulpit with power, I have a share in that. If sinners are brought to repentance, I have a share. If the Word rightly ministered reconciles marriages, directs the ignorant, shepherds the flock, I have a share. Only the last day will reveal what my sacrifice for his study... Continue Reading
A Christian Classic on Sanctification
One of the best treatments of the entire subject is a classic written by J.C. Ryle
Ryle was a deeply committed and non-compromising evangelical Christian. In fact, Charles Spurgeon referred to him as an “evangelical champion.” His book ‘Holiness’ has been reprinted numerous times since its original publication in 1879. It is deservedly considered a Christian classic on the subject of sanctification. In the early centuries of the church’s existence,... Continue Reading
A New Way To View Vitality in Smaller Congregations
There are other worthy dramas for congregations besides “grow bigger.”
“I have found it helpful to describe a dynamic equilibrium for this congregation and other small to mid-sized congregations I have served, and then to hold that condition before them as a measure of vitality. Dynamic equilibrium suggests that the congregation is a complex organism with staying power, but an organism with certain key indicators... Continue Reading