But if we dig down deep enough, behind the logic of these excuses, we’ll find a horrible emotion is at the root of all these evangelism-choking weeds: FEAR   If “he who wins souls is wise” (Prov. 11:30), why are we so good at thinking up excuses for not evangelizing? The Calvinism Excuse: ”If God’s... Continue Reading

Salem’s dismissal policy required that two-thirds of the church’s active membership be present for each vote taken, which was the case for the church. Ninety percent of Mebane’s active voting membership agreed to the dismissal terms during a Jan. 27 vote, nearly eight weeks after the church’s session and the Salem Presbytery Resolution Team hammered... Continue Reading

The session of First Presbyterian Church of Fort Collins – the second largest congregation in the Plains and Peaks Presbytery behind First Presbyterian Church of Boulder – withdrew its request for dismissal on Jan. 13, ending a 13-month journey that started out as a means of discerning where God might be leading them.   Six... Continue Reading

Estimates of annual church closures range from 3,500 to 7,000. That’s likely to increase as younger generations, including the rise of the “nones,” increasingly avoid organized religion. One of the biggest dangers facing those churches is the failure to see the financial trap that puts them in,” said Chris Gambill. “A lot of established, traditional congregations... Continue Reading

The mainstream, Mainline Protestantism began its decline into radicalism in the mid 1960s, mostly in reaction to the Vietnam War. No longer moored to a firm theology, groups like the NCC were easily susceptible to take-over by radical activists. And having tied themselves to American culture and modern secularism, they were ever anxious to stay... Continue Reading

If the NT writers were citing other NT writers as Scripture, then that suggests the canon was not a later ecclesiastical development, but something early and innate to the early Christian faith. And that is a basic fact that all Christians should know.   One of the most controversial issues in the study of the... Continue Reading

Recognize there is no biblical category for a Carnal Christian. Just because there are those who meet the characteristics of a “Carnal Christian” in our churches, does not affirm this as a legitimate biblical category of a Christian. This person is simply deceived and needs Christ. There is no salvation without the cost that comes... Continue Reading

Sometimes I think we also need to examine our own prejudices against the youth. With their skinny jeans, blue striped hair, and their faces buried in their phones, we may be turned off by the culture of the youth in the same way that we accuse them for not valuing us. Can we look past... Continue Reading

Change in the name of “always reforming” is often justified as contextualization “to better reach our generation” as though this generation is somehow different in their depravity than previous generations, and needs a different message and worship, one that is unique to them. Instead, it is often change in worship and teaching to conform to... Continue Reading

This idea of the Lamb of God is a strand that runs throughout the history of redemption. It can be traced all the way back to Genesis 22, when God called Abraham to go to Mount Moriah and offer his son Isaac as a sacrifice. Abraham, in obedience to God, was prepared to do just... Continue Reading