Advocates of the social gospel believed the church should be engaged in the culture, fighting against injustice and working to uplift the impoverished and downtrodden—all admirable goals. The problem was they unwittingly allowed secular assumptions to inform their theology of cultural engagement.   Today’s social justice debate in the evangelical church feels eerily similar to the... Continue Reading

Many called him the last of the Calvinistic Methodist preachers because he combined Calvin’s love for truth and sound Reformed doctrine with the fire and passion of the eighteenth-century Methodist revival (Five Evangelical Leaders, 55). For thirty years he preached from the pulpit at Westminster Chapel in London. Usually that meant three different sermons each... Continue Reading

Note well, she didn’t say, ‘I don’t do hospitality.’ Nor did she say, ‘I don’t like people.’ Neither of those things are true. In fact, her husband was clear that she does hospitality well. People are always dropping in, stopping over, being fed and whatnot. No messing, no complaining, and – by all accounts –... Continue Reading

From NFL games and our children’s sporting events to yard work and homework, we are inundated with temptations to do many other things than worship corporately. Going to church might sound like a small thing to some, but our keeping of the Sabbath by gathering with the church on Sunday is a testimony to the... Continue Reading

Our culture focuses on outward appearance, beauty, physical and social power, self-sufficiency, and self-achievement. But our cultural pursuit of these is idolatry. We have made little gods of ourselves. But Paul tells us that “God chose what is foolish . . . weak . . . low . . . despised . . . things that... Continue Reading

“A divide of the United Methodist Church, which has 12 million members worldwide, appears imminent. Some pastors and bishops in the United States are already talking about leaving the denomination and possibly creating a new alliance for gay-friendly churches.” This is without question good news. The United Methodists are now the lone hold-out among the... Continue Reading

People are drawn by God to the gospel, they go to a local church where they hear the Word of God faithfully preached, they see other disciples living faithful lives, and they see faithful church leaders watching over the church. People have their gifts and callings verified and are presented with opportunities for service. Some... Continue Reading

Like most African Americans I knew there was a battle taking place within me as I struggled with being both black and American. Yet, at the same time, the views I had of myself were also influenced by the perceptions white Americans held about black Americans. As these two opposing views struggled for dominance I... Continue Reading

In addition to the categorization of churches as declining/subtracting (Level 1), plateauing (Level 2), and growing/adding (Level 3), the study looked at two other supplemental categories. A Level 4 (reproducing) church places a high value and priority on starting new churches. A level 5 (multiplying) church takes church planting to multiple generations of congregations.  ... Continue Reading

Wouldn’t we all assume if the Bible tells pastors, “do the work of an evangelist!” (2 Timothy 4.5) that every pastor would know how to do it?  Wouldn’t we all assume that pastors could teach the rest of us how to do it?  The reality is that many of them don’t know how, and they... Continue Reading