In our desire to win the lost we must never surrender this basic premise and presupposition of the Gospel: Christ died for the elect who, sooner or later, inevitably and inescapably, will listen to His voice – that principle is decreed and fixed by God. If, as we are convinced, the Saviour speaks through His... Continue Reading

Be careful what drives your emotion and in which direction! In pop-Christianity, people claim they are elevating God; they just functionally believe that is done by emoting passionately during the service to “give everything to Him.” Me-centered Christianity is very expressive, but we must take great care as to the content of the worship.  ... Continue Reading

In contrast to Berger’s aphorism, the elites of the Southern Baptist Convention do not rule Southern Baptist churches. But they do run the institutions and enjoy the handsome salaries paid for rank-and-file Baptists. As trusting, instinctual conservatives, it’s not easy to rouse the Southern Baptist masses to activism that targets the SBC. But if history... Continue Reading

As Christians, we should pray continuously (1 Thess. 5:17), taking each other’s anxiety to our caring God (1 Pet. 5:7). We should also pray with thanksgiving, bringing one another’s requests to God (Phil. 4:6). The Lord also invites us to pray expectantly for wisdom (James 1:5). We shouldn’t grow weary of faithfully praying these prayers.... Continue Reading

Richardson has not faced the dire consequence of some of his fellow pastors in Canada who have also taken principled stands under their respective circumstances. Three of them—particularly James Coates, Artur Pawlowski, and Tim Stephens—have been jailed for their opposition to the public health guidelines.   The Rev. Steve Richardson, formerly a pastor in the... Continue Reading

 If we are to recover our confessional integrity, brothers and sisters, we must do more than analyze what is wrong. We must take our own responsibility seriously to love and defend and promote a healthy adherence to the Westminster Standards, in the firm conviction that the theology, piety, and practice expressed and promoted in them... Continue Reading

The arguments that are made—when they are allowed to be made—are theologically vacuous. Add to that the two previously mentioned concerns—rejecting theological precision and the chance to talk about CRT—and it does not bode well. If we cannot ground our convention in biblical doctrine, and if we replace such exegetical theology with pragmatic decision-making and... Continue Reading

If you want to see ethnic harmony in your church—if you want to see the unity that can only be explained by the gospel—you must fiercely proclaim justification by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, but you must also not be afraid to both call out ethnic disparities in the church when you see... Continue Reading

I need men who unabashedly profess the whole doctrine of God, all of Scripture, who are not ashamed of its direct language. I need pastors who exegete these difficult and sometimes uncomfortable passages, who explain the entirety of God’s Word plainly to me and to my children without embarrassment. I need in my pastors’ examples... Continue Reading

If there is a crisis of confidence in preaching, it is a crisis in the pulpit as much as in the pew. “Who is going to believe,” asks Stewart, “that the tidings brought by the preacher matter literally more than anything else on earth if they are presented with no sort of verve or fire... Continue Reading