Only a full throated proclamation of Law and Gospel can address the deepest issues that lie behind mass shootings as well as sexual abuse in Christian denominations....

I'm tired. Yup...I said it. That feels good. I wouldn't be shocked if I speak for most of those reading this post. What we were all hoping in March would be just a few weeks of extraordinary circumstances that would give way to normality by the Easter...wait...maybe the summer...surely by Thanksgiving leaves uswondering what we can expect for 2021. The novel virus known as...

How to know the difference between healing and hurtful discernment. ...

WE are in desperate need of discernment in our day. In the next four posts, we will over important aspects to Biblical Discernment: Spiritual Discernment AS Protection Spiritual Discernment AS an Instrument of Grace Spiritual Discernment AS a Better Freedom Spiritual Discernment AS Spiritual Growth. ...

As a church planter, there is a seemingly endless cornucopiaof pressures that are forced upon my church. One of those pressures is what to do with children during our worship gatherings. Pastors are reminded constantly that there are 4 things guests will grade your church on when they visit. One of those is the children's program. At Grace Church, we have chosen to simpli...

As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith. The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a ...

By now, you have no doubt heard about the article released by the Houston Chronicleregarding sexual abuse in Southern Baptist Churches. The article details sexual abuse that has plagued Southern Baptist churches over the past 20 years. If you are like me, you are disgusted with the revelation. The most infuriating truths that it reveals are the fact that some of the victim...

The Washington Post put it most succinctly: Two Cities. Thirteen Hours. Twenty-Nine Dead. The circumstances for each mass shooting could not be more different, yet, as I will argue, they could not be more similar. One assailant was a white nationalist motivated by his hatred for the migrant population in Texas while the other was believed to be a follower of an American So...

Looking at my bookshelf right now, one thing is glaringly obvious. I have put a lot of time and resources into thinking of how to "create" community in the churches that I have served. The question that seems to nag me, though, is has it helped? I suppose it has on some levels. I can look around me and see fruitful relationships between myself and others as well as among...

In the previous post, I began by sharing about all the books I have consulted to help me "create" community in the church. This word is in quotes for a reason, namely because the idea that we can "create" community in the church is simply assinine. If we all agree that the kind of community that exists in the church is first of all supernatural, who on earth would ever b...