The Gospel of The Gospel Coalition
This tends to make the whole thing about what God did for us, for me instead of what God is doing to establish is rule in this world. What Tom Wright calls “God becoming King.” So, any gospel that is driven by soteriology is going to miss these things, and this chapter by (Bryan) Chapell... Continue Reading
You and I Have a Different God, I Think
The Gospel does not teach me that it is a problem for God to enter into the human experience and allow that human experience to shape–from beginning to end–how the Bible behaves. The Gospel teaches me exactly the opposite. I’ve been watching the Adam and evolution debates/discussions on line, in social media, and in print.... Continue Reading
His Passion—Our Pattern: Following Jesus in Holy Week
Imagine that this great preacher-poet of St. Paul’s was also the one who wrote illicit, erotic lines as a profligate young man. He begged the unscrupulous, money-hungry publishers of his day to stop printing the filthy verses of his youth, but their coffers were all the fuller with the Dean of St. Paul’s preaching the... Continue Reading
Bible Wallpaper – Stamps, Bumper Stickers, and a thrown-away Bible
The value of bumper sticker witnesses can be debated, but I know of at least one case where gospel words written on a wall, with no personal speaker present, have changed the course of history. The Tract League of Grand Rapids, Mich., sent me stamps with a variety of Bible verses on them to affix... Continue Reading
Postmodernity, The Emergent Church, and the Reformation
I agree with D. A. Carson’s assessment: one positive contribution of the Emergent Church is their desire to present an authentic Christianity that moves beyond a formal religious faith. This desire has lead many Emergent leaders to see the problems with nineteenth and twentieth-century evangelicalism and seek to offer something with more integrity. Ref 21... Continue Reading
Sincerity – does it really trump the Constitution of the Church?
However, in the negotiations that took place, the plaintiffs attempted to extract from General Synod’s representatives a statement that would have provided immunity from ecclesiastical discipline for those ARP elders who had raised their hand to sue their church in civil court. Of course, such a concession could not be given. Among those who are... Continue Reading
Encouraging the Patience of Pastors
I would argue that most ministry leaders struggle most with patience. It is downright, earth-grinding, soul-wrenching, blood-letting, tear-inducing, exhausting to minster to a person who seems, despite our every effort, resistant. And we grow impatient. The small, grass-filled space seems barely large enough to hold a three story building. I’m talking about the spot where... Continue Reading
What’s Killing Our Congregation? Hidden Factors Undermining the Health of Your Church
The longer congregations are in existence, the more they are comfortable with the way things happen in their congregation. They have lost the prophetic, cutting edge nature of the vision they are seeking to fulfill. Good enough has become good enough. A subtle mediocrity has set in. Life is fragile. But you know that. All... Continue Reading
Dr. Tim Keller and BioLogos
The first year, Dr. Keller spoke at the workshop on the topic, “Barriers to Accepting the Possibility of Creation by Means of an Evolutionary Process: II. Concerns of the Typical Parishoner” and presented his paper, “Creation, Evolution, and Christian Laypeople.” Last August, I noticed that Dr. Keller was no longer listed as a “leading figure”... Continue Reading
Blind to Our Blindness
The third stage in this sad progression, falling away, captures this well. When we cut the rope that connects us to Scripture and rest in the grace of Christ, we will always end up drifting further. Do you really know yourself as well as you think you do? I ended my last article asking you... Continue Reading