Pastoring in a Pandemic: Of Grey Hair and Glory
Having been unable to see my friend, who lives just across the border from me, for roughly two years during Covid-19, I was a little startled when we met and…
Mark Jones
Did the second person of the Trinity die?
Who died on the Cross? Did the Second Person of the Trinity die on the cross? We affirm. (But not all of us) I recently read an argument by R.C.…
The Friendless Flatterer
One of the most publicly and socially acceptable sins is flattery. That’s why it is also such a dangerous sin. Consider this Yiddish proverb: “Flattery makes friends and truth makes…
Sex, Power, and Money: Be Careful Who Owns You
“If you want to know who rules over you, find out who you are not allowed to criticize” – Voltaire If the three sisters of grace are faith, hope, and…
The Westminster Assembly: A Parachurch?
The response to my piece on the Ligonier statement was interesting. So far I haven’t seen any critical engagement with the content of my criticisms, though many have asked why I…
Reviewing Ligonier’s Christology Statement
Ligonier Ministries have produced a Creed, as well as Affirmations and Denials, with a focus on Christology – a “Christology Statement”. While I wonder what possible ecclesiastical authority a Creed…
Can God’s Love for Us (and Christ) Increase?
Likeness is the ground of delight; God loves himself for his own holiness, and they are best loved and liked that are most holy. – Manton Can God’s love for…
Airing Dirty Church Laundry
Most pastoral situations involving sin are quite complex. For example, when someone tells me about a person who got a divorce and then they proceed to ask me whether I…
Spoiled for Riches
I’m off to South Africa to give a series of lectures in Cape Town at a new seminary that has been started in Hout Bay. This “township” (Imizamo Yethu) is…
A Name or a No-name?
I’m currently editing a book with Michael Haykin on intra-Reformed debates in the Long Eighteenth Century (1688 to 1815). It is a sort of companion to this book, and part…