There are presently many discussions and a plethora of books about what women’s ministry ought to look like, and how to form mentoring relationships. It’s not a novel concept that instruction in a mentoring relationship can go both ways. But have we fleshed out the notion in specifics?    Some years ago, I received an... Continue Reading

It is commonly reported that denominations are dying in America. Their demise is sometimes equated with Christianity’s decline, which is a mistaken equation.  By some measures overall church attendance has remained remarkably constant across 80 years.   How many Christians do you know under age 50, much less age 40, with passionate attachment to a... Continue Reading

Our singing is more than a warm-up for the sermon or a filler in the service. Colossians 3:16 is clearly laying out for us that: Singing stands alongside of preaching as one of the two great ways that God has ordained for his Word to dwell richly in each one of us!   Have you ever wondered... Continue Reading

Wanting to leave is OK. You shouldn’t feel guilty when you wrestle with the call of God on your life. You don’t have to push the idea of leaving into the back of your mind. You do have to be honest with yourself, and you also must use caution as you face this issue. Here are five warnings to... Continue Reading

It may initially seem absurd to claim a group of Christians who believe the KJV is divinely inspired is like a group of Christians who believe gender identity is so fluid it can change several times a day. But as I’ll show, both fundamentalist groups are strikingly similar in at least seven ways.   In the book of Judges,... Continue Reading

This is a tricky question because it’s so easy to caricature any answer other than a straightforward “No” as sinful Bible-undermining compromise. “See, he says the Bible is not enough. He says the Bible is not sufficient, etc.” So let me try to take some of the heat out of the debate by asking another... Continue Reading

The human preacher is to put for the time and effort to be schooled in preaching, to study and prepare and exegete for preaching, to hone and craft his sermon for preaching, but, in the end, “success is God’s work.”[1]As humbling as that is for preachers, it is absolutely true.   From Toastmasters to TED... Continue Reading

Being clear about policies is fine. But even more central is being clear about what a church believes. A church’s policies ought to be grounded in clear biblical teaching, but “Church Clarity” does not aim at “evaluating theology or doctrine.” And yet this is precisely what the Lord expects churches to do.    On Wednesday,... Continue Reading

Luther preached about a direct encounter with the Lord, and preached in a way that expected listeners to experience the Lord directly. At the heart of the success of the Protestant Reformation was its bold and clear proclamation of Christ.   It’s not just in Wittenberg, Geneva or Cambridge that you can find one. In... Continue Reading

The principle of Scripture alone, rightly understood, does not mean the church of any given time or place operates by the Bible alone without reference to the traditions of the church through the ages. Rather, the sola of sola Scriptura means that the Bible alone is the fountain and touchstone for all authoritative teaching and tradition. This point especially... Continue Reading