It was God’s eternal design in eternity to manifest His plan of redemption and the creation of His church. The Father from eternity agreed to send the second person of the Trinity, the Son, into the world to accomplish this plan of redemption. Together, the Father and the Son agreed to send the Holy Spirit... Continue Reading

Over the next 10 years, a lot of established churches will struggle to find a pastor for the next generation. Why would a Millennial want to pastor an established church with a large portion of older congregants?….The wave of retiring Boomer pastors will swell to the point that many churches will struggle to find a... Continue Reading

This house of worship in central Seoul is one of the tens of thousands of small Protestant chapels across the country that are trying to lure believers away from South Korea’s megachurches. Some, like this one, are doing so by satisfying the longing for a close-knit religious community as well as the craving for a... Continue Reading

“The pastor loves his flock well when he preaches Christ to them and constantly, prayerfully, and tirelessly points them away from themselves and this world to Christ Jesus, the Lord. No Christian should ever underestimate the divine power that attends the faithful heralding of the Word of God.”   The measure of a pastor’s love... Continue Reading

Commission chairman David Blumberg said the two commissioners who ruled on the case told him one reason they denied Cook parole was that she “took no responsibility” and “showed no remorse” for her actions during the 90-minute hearing.   Heather Cook, the former Episcopal bishop who is serving a seven-year prison sentence for a drunk-driving... Continue Reading

It’s not because we don’t want or need the help. It’s that we’ve grown weary of hearing advice that’s offered with the best intentions, but is more hurtful than helpful. If you’re in a position to speak, write or counsel small church pastors, here are 5 things small church pastors regularly hear that you should... Continue Reading

As good as translated hymns may be, they’re often not in the “voice” of the people. For example, I’ve traveled several times to Brazil and had conversations with missionaries and native speakers about this problem. Brazilian churches have many hymns that were translated from English to Portuguese. These have provided a good repertory of Christian... Continue Reading

Much of the beauty of Reformed worship is in its simplicity and ordinariness. It is simple (not simplistic) and ordinary because it aims to do simply what God has commanded and ordained—nothing more, nothing less. It values divine receptivity (what God says) over human creativity (what man conceives). John Calvin rightly and repeatedly warned believers... Continue Reading

Fighting rather than going and doing. A church without unity is a church headed for decline and death. We have plenty of critics, second-guessers, and bullies in many of our churches. But we have few believers who are excited to talk about Jesus (Acts 4:20). This danger reveals itself when the former outweighs, outlasts, and overshadows... Continue Reading

Hatmaker did more than break ranks with evangelicals (what does “evangelical” even mean anymore?). And certainly, I could care less if you call yourself an Evangelical or an Underwater Basket Weaver. I don’t know who the “powers-that-be” are, either, although Merritt makes much of some highfalutin aristocracy that presumably controls all of us (is this... Continue Reading