prayer Because He Has Heard November 28, 2023 Within seconds I knew this was a serious phone call: "It's my son. I think he drowned. He was unresponsive when they pulled him from the water, but the ambulance got him breathing again. We need prayer."
pastoral ministry A Willing Shepherd October 25, 2023 With a double emphasis the Apostle makes his point negatively and positively — a shepherd needs to volunteer himself for his work and not simply be forced by arm-twisting.
Antichrist Remembering the Man of Sin September 22, 2023 Whether you align with that consensus or not, like the Thessalonians we need to receive and remember this Apostolic teaching. It has been revealed for our protection and good.
football Competing for the First Day September 07, 2023 On the one hand, there’s the rhythm, tone, and nature of the first day of the week prescribed by God. On the other, is the changed rhythm, tone, and nature that football has introduced into the life of our society.
pastoral ministry "God Knows I Love You" August 19, 2023 The voice on the other end of the phone sounded hollow and unhappy as he expressed to me his fatigue in the ministry: "I imagine I feel about my congregation how Jonah felt about Nineveh.”
encouragement Unfolding a Letter of Encouragement June 02, 2023 This world isn’t substantial — it’s fleeting and transient like a wisp of smoke. And he’s encouraging us to live for a much more substantive and concrete reality than all the comforts, happiness, and pleasures of life can offer.
pastoral ministry A Band of Brothers February 16, 2023 Faithfulness in the ministry requires pastors to bear the cross of impartiality — to cherish the relationships necessary for the work but to lean in no man’s direction.
Christmas Putting the Mess in Christmess December 12, 2022 Maybe Stephen Nissenbaum was onto something when he wrote: “It may not be going too far to say that Christmas has always been an extremely difficult holiday to Christianize. Little wonder that [some] were willing to save themselves the trouble.”
preaching Patiently Hearing the Word November 11, 2022 It’s fascinating that an inspired letter — a letter that is the very breathing out of God — needs an inspired command to be patient with the breathed out word of exhortation. And if the word of God requires an exercise of patience how much more the preaching of that word
sexual abuse Sexual Abuse and Outpacing the Church November 07, 2022 I am convinced that far from being behind society, the church should be leading in service to the abused. Why? Precisely because of who and what the church is. The identity of the church is not a liability in these matters but our greatest strength and advantage.
Spiritual Abuse Spiritual Abuse: Seeing What We Don't Want to See September 22, 2022 This is the world we live in. It would be nice if we could close our eyes and leave unseen the sin in, toward, and around us. But that kind of naivety isn’t proper for Christians. Being a child of God means we need to be willing to see the things we wish would remain unseen.
King Charles III and Securing the True Protestant Religion September 10, 2022 With the death of Queen Elizabeth II the United Kingdom and a watching world are preparing for a lot of royal pageantry. It's a pageantry that comes with a lot of history and even a little bit of theology.
Letter of James When You're Not at Home September 07, 2022 We are not at home. The church is a scattered people, and we will remain that way until Jesus with a call of command gathers us together and we will be with the Lord forever.
Forgiveness All Things Forgiveness July 09, 2022 Forgiveness is central to the Christian ethic. As a forgiven people the glory of the children of God is to be a forgiving people. But, important as forgiveness is, it's also misunderstood, trivialized, and in the hands of some even weaponized.
The Ten Commandments The Fifth Commandment July 08, 2022 “Honor your father and your mother.” This command was once engraved on the tablets of stone, was exemplified in the life of Jesus, and it is now written on the heart of believers by the ministry of the Holy Spirit and affirmed by Apostolic authority.
vaccination Employee Vaccination Religious Exemption August 23, 2021 Individual Christians, civil leaders, and even clergy must be careful not to exalt their preferred applications of God’s moral law as rules which prohibit, much less contradict others’ convictions.
Death "Where I Am" July 14, 2021 We cannot be with Jesus – in immediate communion with his glory – while we cling to the dust of this present and passing world. The answer to Jesus' prayer ordinarily requires that we die.
presbyterianism A City on a Hill June 09, 2021 Openness and visibility is the ordinary handmaid to the work of the church and not a liability to our public image, and secrecy and concealment have no regular part in our labors.
presbyterianism When Presbyterian Rubber Meets the Road May 24, 2021 This is where the rubber meets the road. This is Presbyterianism at work addressing what is, at least broadly speaking, the third mark of the church: issues of discipline. This isn’t ancillary to the work of the church but rests upon the very foundation of our identity.
Christian Attitude Towards Persecution Preparing for the Stewardship of Persecution May 07, 2021 If a coming persecution should dispel that appearance for what it is – a mere mirage – then let the church of Jesus Christ assume its ancient glory and rest in the infallible promise of Jesus.
Guilty! April 21, 2021 As I watched and listened I felt it. I didn’t feel sad and I didn’t feel celebratory. But I did feel the weight and heaviness of that word: Guilty.
pastoral ministry What Does a Pastor Do? April 01, 2021 “What does a pastor do?” Unsurprisingly, it’s a question I get a lot from people inside and outside of the church. Sometimes it’s asked with a note of interested inquisitiveness, and other times with a hint of jaded cynicism.
sexual abuse What If They Had Known? March 05, 2021 The church should be a pasture where the littlest lambs are loved and protected, safe and comfortable. It should be a place that mimics the tender and gentle watchfulness of Jesus, and where our youngest members feel as cared for by Christians as they are by Jesus. It shouldn't be hunting grounds.
3 John Diotrephes and the Fracturing of the Church March 04, 2021 Often the worst fracturing is done by arrogance, wicked speech, and divisiveness slowly seeping into the fellowship of the church and breaking it apart.
Lent Lent: Glitter or Gold? February 16, 2021 Just because someone wants something to promote a good and godly end, doesn’t mean it will. So, does Lent have the appearance without the power: the glitter without the gold?
