Conflicts over pastoral appointments have led other conservative congregations to leave the UMC, which is waiting on a delayed vote to split the denomination over LGBT issues. Though the UMC officially does not permit same-sex marriages or clergy in same-sex relationships, the position has not been enforced in its regional conferences, and conservative churches are... Continue Reading

I won’t go so far as to say that the breadth of God’s love (or any other dimension in particular) refers specifically to His plan to pour out His grace upon the Gentiles. Nevertheless, the expansiveness of the love of God is manifested in the expansiveness of the Gospel to all nations.   Much ink... Continue Reading

When 25,000 people are leaving through death and only 5,000 are being replaced through children who stick around  – the end is near. I don’t think that it’s an exaggeration at all to believe that the Episcopalians will no longer exist by 2040…can a denomination continue when it has money but no people? That’s the... Continue Reading

To some observers, McLean’s conflict seems like a replay of other recent episodes from American evangelicalism, where leaders who appeal to Scripture to address social issues are accused of theological liberalism or secular influence even if they continue to hold traditional Christian views. The level of suspicion around such leaders appears to have grown during... Continue Reading

Ultimately, our conflict is about accepting, holding to, and defending the Moral Law of God, or “The declaration of the will of God to mankind” (Westminster Larger Catechism, Question 93). When others seek to change or diminish God’s law, we must stand firm in upholding and safeguarding it.   There was a sweet, but momentary,... Continue Reading

Through fund-raising, he was able to purchase some land to build a church and a cemetery in Kingston, Jamaica. Unlike other ministers who had constant problems with land-owners, he only allowed in his congregations slaves who had obtained permission by their masters. In fact, he used a church bell to signal when the services started... Continue Reading

True praise that God loves comes out of a whole heart, in the gathered assembly, as all the voices of the people together are raised, because the marvelous works of the Lord have been sought out, comprehended, and believed. People who have delighted themselves in Christ and his steadfast love shown to them in his... Continue Reading

It’s a mystery, but in God’s wise plan, He has made it so that through simple words His saving work is made known. In the famous words of the Second Helvetic Confession, “The preaching of the Word of God is the Word of God.” If we recaptured this high view of preaching, we would engage in... Continue Reading

If our goal is to present Jesus Christ authentically as the savior of our sins, the presentation must be just as authentic in the life of the one who is delivering the message. A sincere preacher, who is genuinely taken in his heart by the gospel, will, from that heart, deliver messages blessed by the... Continue Reading

At the moment the Roman Catholic Church condemned the biblical doctrine of justification by faith alone, she denied the gospel and ceased to be a legitimate church, regardless of all the rest of her affirmations of Christian orthodoxy. To embrace her as an authentic church while she continues to repudiate the biblical doctrine of salvation... Continue Reading