One of the largest Presbyterian Church (USA) congregations in the United States is presently weighing the possibility of leaving the denomination due to theological differences. First Presbyterian Church of Houston, founded in the early nineteenth century and with an estimated 3,600 members, voted earlier this year to enter a discernment process over the possibility of... Continue Reading

The transition plan is expected to begin in September, with the search for replacements beginning Jan. 1, 2014. A new coordinator, it is believed, will be hired between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2014.  In a letter to MTW missionaries, Paul Kooistra said, “My desire and prayer is that we bathe this entire process, maybe... Continue Reading

At an ARP historical conference in 2003 I presented a paper on the theological and confessional history of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church in the twentieth century.  … The article will, I think, be of interest not only to ARPs but also to those who seek a better understanding of how the ARPC differs from... Continue Reading

Kara said many churches are built on how together they are, how good they look, how together the members are. “Within our new congregation, four people have cancer, one woman’s aunt was murdered, another was robbed at gunpoint, five were in the fire and one woman lost her home. So, our little community has really... Continue Reading

Church commissioners backed his motion to “affirm the Church’s historic and current doctrine and practice in relation to human sexuality, (but) nonetheless permit those Kirk Sessions who wish to depart from that doctrine and practice to do so”. Today’s historic vote effectively means that the traditionalist position holds, but congregations will be able to choose... Continue Reading

While 85 percent of YEC pastors assert that “Christian disagreement on matters of creation and evolution is compromising our witness to the world,” 63 percent of TE pastors disagree with the statement. Meanwhile, 63 percent of TE pastors assert that “The church’s posture toward science prevents many non-Christians from accepting Christianity”, while 59% of their... Continue Reading

Redeem the time: We all have time in the car, doing chores, or relaxing after the kids are in bed when we can have some audio going in the background.  Providing sermons gives us more “meat” to listen to while doing those other activities.   A while back I reviewed the book SimChurch (part 1... Continue Reading

We sing the Psalms because the people of God have been doing so since as early as Moses (Ps. 90) and especially during the days of David, when the Psalter became the “hymnal” of Israel. When we sing them, we identify with our most ancient forefathers and offer transcendent praise, applicable in all times and... Continue Reading

He once told me that he found Christmas and Easter services the least effective, relative to ordinary Sundays – and Sunday-evening services perhaps most effective – in mediating redemptive grace. Indeed, his ministry confirms the observation of British historian Herbert Butterfield that “the church has best served civilization not on the occasion when it had... Continue Reading

North Park Presbyterian church of Jackson, MS, has always loved us and cared for us well.  Even greater was their love for Christ and their desire to see His church spread to all corners of the earth.  Their zeal for global missions was evident when their doors were open, and it will continue to be... Continue Reading