T. David Gordon’s  Why Johnny Can’t Preach has put forward that current day preaching is not particularly good, and that most churchgoers do not expect it to be. In his argument, the typical 21st-century sermon is a rambling, inarticulate, and unsuccessful attempt to say something that is somehow connected to the Bible. This is the... Continue Reading

With respect to the formation of the Committee and its charge to seek a successor to Dr. Pipa, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Mr. C. Fredric Marcinak, III, stated that “The members of the Board, the faculty, and staff of the Seminary, the distinguished alumni of this institution, and the current student body... Continue Reading

We need to remind ourselves of the significance of what we are watching: this case will be a textbook case for decades on the failure of a church — its Elders, its Boards —  to listen to women, to evaluate accusations, and to have policies in place for handling a one-of-a-kind world-influencing leaders. How the Elders handled this case... Continue Reading

“Maybe they never stepped foot inside a church so they have no idea what the Bible teaches about anything. Either way, they’re the person walking into McDonald’s with a Wendy’s bag. They haven’t fully bought into church or God, but they want to come anyway. And if you’re a true warden of your church, you... Continue Reading

If you’re one of those rah-rah guys firing on all emotional cylinders for everything from bake sales and the book table to baptisms and baby dedications, you create an equality between minutiae and missional milestones that can be disorienting, and ultimately dulling.    Generally speaking, a church will over time become affected by, influenced toward,... Continue Reading

Last week, the Washington-based Human Rights Campaign released “Coming Home to Evangelicalism and to Self,” a 32-page guide containing resources, advice, and testimonials for evangelical Christians who are “on the journey toward living fully in their sexual orientation, gender identity and expression and in their faith and its traditions,” according to its website.   Some... Continue Reading

Bottom-line: stress can be good. Wise leaders leverage good stress for the sake of those they lead and the mission they are leading. But how can you tell the difference between good stress and bad stress? Here are three differences between good stress and bad stress.   “Working for him is stressful.” “Her leadership stresses... Continue Reading

These two questions, and their sermons, were the opening salvos in the modernist-fundamentalist battles of the twenties and the thirties in American Presbyterianism: (1) “Shall the Fundamentalists Win?” was preached by Harry Emerson Fosdick at First Presbyterian Church of New York City on May 21, 1922, pleaded for tolerance of more liberal views of Christianity by... Continue Reading

And other institutions don’t have what Christian ministries do have, like: the resurrection power of Christ, the indwelling Holy Spirit, the love of Jesus Christ in their hearts and the incredible privilege of prayer.  The turn inward is deadly, imperceptible, natural, powerful and fortunately, reversible. Does your ministry need to reverse the turn inward?  ... Continue Reading

Ironically, the squeaky wheel may not actually be the biggest problem anyway. It simply is the one that is most noticed. Chaotic leaders run from squeaky wheel to squeaky wheel and accomplish very little.   “The squeaky wheel gets the grease” is an expression used to describe the reality that the most noticeable problem often... Continue Reading