We must challenge the church and ask the continual question, “What are the marks of a true church?” and “is my church holding to those marks?” There is an old saying the applies here: “choose your battles.” Sometimes in “protesting” we want to fight every fight, we want to draw every line in the sand.... Continue Reading

Praying for one another is one of the ways we practically live out our union with one another. When we pray, we beseech our mutual Father to meet the needs of our brothers and sisters. The Reformer Martin Luther suffered from chronic physical ailments as well as emotional torment and despair. He relied upon other... Continue Reading

The entitled church member sees the church as an organization that doles out perks and benefits somewhat like a country club. The church, therefore, exists for the members rather than the members serving sacrificially as the body of Christ (see 1 Corinthians 12). What are some of the negative consequences of this entitlement mentality?  ... Continue Reading

In brief, dementia is a cognitive disorder. The affected person’s thinking ability gradually deteriorates. It interferes with judgment and memory and also can create confusion, fear, and irritation. There are several types of dementia. The best known is Alzheimer’s, which was experienced by former president, Ronald Reagan.   When you hear the word dementia, what... Continue Reading

A hypocrite is someone who does things he claims he does not do. Outside observers of the Christian church see people who profess to be Christians and observe that they sin. Since they see sin in the lives of Christians, they rush to the judgment that therefore these people are hypocrites. If a person claims... Continue Reading

Walk into each sermon with the assumption that God has already written the sermon for you, and you merely need to follow the text. A text-driven sermon will eventually take both the preacher and the congregation to the foot of the cross, or else it is merely empty speech.   No preacher should expect to... Continue Reading

If someone’s life is already full of unwitting cultural liturgical practices, then why would our default be to offer a pick-and-mix set of other liturgical practices to slot into the increasingly narrow timeframes? That’s a recipe for frustration and busy-ness for churches.   That is the #1 question newcomers ask when wondering if they should... Continue Reading

After watching these recent proofs that the ELCA is pretty much both “in the world” and “of the world,” however, I want to write this as a warning. First, to those orthodox souls who remain in “evolving” churches. They belong to and support churches that increasingly depart from right teaching. Indeed, those churches suppress it.... Continue Reading

McGrath reveals what is an ironic truth about heresy. It is often propagated by those who appear to have good motives. It is advanced by those who think they are doing the Lord’s work by reconciling the Christian faith with some perceived conflict with the age. The problem with such efforts at reconciliation is that they can... Continue Reading

A few years ago I wrote an article entitled, ‘The Slow Death of Congregational Singing’ (The Briefing, April 2nd, 2008). I now believe my title was too generous. In fact, what we are witnessing in our churches is ‘The Slow Killing of Congregational Singing’. I’ve just returned from another National Christian conference. Never have so many people complained to... Continue Reading