Mark Driscoll Returns, Unrepentant, Unapologetic, Playing the Victim
Mark Driscoll gave a sermon at the Thrive Conference on "struck shepherds."
Pastor Mark, just go away. I mean this with all Christian sincerity. Go away and heal. Go away and repent. Restoration has nothing to do with your ministry. It has to do with your walk. Based upon your sermon, you still have not repented of the role you played in the tragedy of Mars Hill.... Continue Reading
Protective Strategies Here and There
A Review Article of Stephen L. Young, “Protective Strategies…” and “Maximizing Literacy as a Protective Strategy”
An important point that has not been noted is that no one among those mentioned argues that there is a major issue with the degree of literacy in ancient Israel and with the biblical traditions. Neither Rollston, Schniedewind, Dever, nor I are concerned that evidence for an increase or decrease in literacy will affect some... Continue Reading
How to Shut Down Gossip
Gossip is one sin that seems to fall in the spiritual “No-Man’s Land” between passivity and vigilance. But this should not be.
Gossip is the RPG that blasts holes in the fabric of the church. The way I see it every time someone gossips they injure at least 3 people: the one speaking, the one hearing, and the one being gossiped about. Add to this that gossip is usually not a one time deal but rather involves... Continue Reading
Diligence
It is biblical to say that Christians are called to follow Jesus and live the Christian life with diligence.
Brakel goes on to rebuke those who are lazy and not diligent and closes the discussion with an exhortation for Christians to be diligent. Why be diligent? 1) Because it is God’s command (1 Thess. 4:11-12, 2 Thess. 3:11-12), 2) Because diligence is an ornament to the Christian and to the church of God, 3)... Continue Reading
The Heresy of Indifference
Indifference about doctrine is the mother of every heresy in all of history, and in our day indifference about doctrine is spreading like wildfire in the pulpits and pews of our churches.
Pastors who think it is relevant and cool to be indifferent about doctrine—who play down the necessity and importance of doctrine and who fail to preach and explain doctrine in their sermons—are in fact failing to give their people that which will save their souls. For us to downplay doctrine or to be intentionally fuzzy... Continue Reading
Gagnon on Arsenokoites: The Bible on Abusive vs. “Committed” Same-Sex Relationships
Those who would argue that homosexuality and Christianity are not mutually exclusive argue that these clear passages have been mistranslated
This is the level to which these discussions are approaching in our day. With the stakes so high, all Christians who hope to faithfully engage in this discussion and demonstrate Scripture’s and the Gospel’s sufficiency to address this highly controversial topic, need to be equipped to respond to arguments like these in ways that are... Continue Reading
Why Churches and Christians Must Either Grow or Wither
If we never nourish our souls with the means of grace, if we do not hunger and thirst for righteousness, can we really claim to be spiritually alive?
So what happens if a church neglects these things? A church may be very busy with programs and activities, but it won’t really be growing. The members of the church won’t be growing in maturity and the church won’t be growing closer to Christ. The community won’t be reached and the church won’t grow numerically.... Continue Reading
Heaven is Other People Too
A response to Mark Jones's "Hell's horror vs Heaven's Happiness"
On planet earth what corrects our subjective beliefs that time has dragged or speeded up to a point where it races (both of which are, after all, false beliefs, like the belief that the rails of the railroad join at the horizon, or the stick bends when it is pushed into water), are the objective... Continue Reading
How To Take Christ out of Christianity
Do churches need to make room for unbelievers who do not want to follow Christ but who want to remain connected to the community and moral vision of Christianity?
Faithful churches would do well to welcome unbelievers to hear the word preached. It is our mission to make real and vital connections to seekers. But churches would lose all integrity if they did what this author is suggesting. “Creating spaces” in the membership for those who are “culturally Christian” is making a place for... Continue Reading
Are You Now, or Have You Ever Been, a Moralistic Therapeutic Deist?
Is This What We Teach Our Children?
Perhaps these teenagers and young adults adopted MTD because that’s what they were taught. That’s basically the philosophy of life they have received from and observed in their parents. It’s what they learned in Sunday school and youth group: Be nice to other people and you’ll have a happy life, and God will be there... Continue Reading