Debate Report: The PCA’s New Dilemma about Deacons (XI)
My argument against deaconesses and “commissioning” male and female deacons without ordaining them has nothing whatsoever to do with women being either inept or incompetent… However, as I will argue later, I also am fully convinced that the practice of “commissioning” male and female deacons is not merely a matter of preference. I will argue... Continue Reading
Lament For A Son – “I Am The One Who Lost A Son”
‘The traditional question of theodicy is, Why does God permit moral evil and permit suffering that serves no discernible good? If we hold that God is not impassible, then in addition to that question we have another: Why does God permit what disturbs God? Why does God allow what God endures in tears? I do... Continue Reading
In New Census, Young Americans Are Increasingly Diverse
Declines in the youth population over all have occurred twice before in the last century. First in the 1930s, when the Depression gripped the country, dragging down the birth rate, and then in the 1970s and 1980s, as the baby boomers aged out of childhood and women delayed marriage and went to work. Demographers sifting... Continue Reading
Cynicism – the enlightened suspicion of the shadows
Dear Shadow Guide, The enemy may now lay claim to your quarry, but he is still of great value to our cause. Our adversary, whom he now calls Lord, is not a realist. Idealism is the weakness of His kingdom. This specific prey of yours has a proclivity toward our utilitarian skepticism. Shadow Guide, you... Continue Reading
Creation vs. Evolution — The New Shape of the Debate
The New Testament clearly establishes the Gospel of Jesus Christ upon the foundation of the Bible’s account of creation. If there was no historical Adam and no historical Fall, the Gospel is no longer understood in biblical terms. The debate over Darwinism rages on, with almost every week bringing a new salvo in the Great... Continue Reading
Where Have All the Presbyterians Gone? – Nondenominational churches are the fastest growing in the country.
If denominationalism simply denotes a “brand” vying for market share, then let denominationalism fall. But many of us believe denominations can represent fidelity to living traditions of local congregations that care about what Jesus cared about—personal conversion, discipleship, mission and community. Perhaps the denominational era has just begun. Are we witnessing the death of America’s... Continue Reading
No offense in Super Bowl XLV? – No Communion With Pepsi and Doritos!
We live in a free country, and FOX can decide—based on its own business calculations and current FCC regulations—to air whatever it so chooses. No Doritos. No adultery. No John 3:16. As a Christian, I can live with that. Forget about tight ends, tackles, and touchdowns. What many want to know is whether the television... Continue Reading
Remembering the Centennial of Ronald Reagan’s Birth: A pillar of Reagan’s legacy – Religion
Retrospectives on Ronald Reagan as the nation marks the centennial of his birth will touch upon every imaginable aspect of the man. I suspect, however, that the thing most integral to the man, and most consistent throughout his life — that is, his religious faith — will not be as front and center as it... Continue Reading
Muddled Missionals and the Means of Grace
Thus the clear, bright line that Missionals seek to draw cannot be drawn with such clarity. God is a sending God. God is also an attracting God. He sends forth his Spirit and attracts the elect not only to himself, but also to his people. He may draw them to his people before he draws... Continue Reading
The Three Basic Forms of Defective Preaching
It seems to me that there are three ways you can preach the gospel defectively and as a result not see much if any lasting fruit: 1. No Law, No Gospel. 2. Law, No Gospel. 3. Gospel, No Law 1) The First and Most Catastrophic form of defective preaching is preaching that is completely devoid... Continue Reading