Ministering to Felt Needs
There was this nice, new family who was visiting your church for the past month or so. But you haven’t seen them now for a couple weeks, and so you ask someone who was more connected with them: “What happened…
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When Our Children Sin
Do you remember when you first learned you would have a child? You likely prayed over your little one day after day. Even though you’d never met him or her in person, you loved your child more than anything. You…
Complementarian Cappadocian Brothers
One of the fruits produced by the Trinity Debate of 2016 is renewed focus on the teaching of the Cappadocian Fathers of the 4th century: Gregory of Nyssa, Basil the Great, and Gregory of Nazianzus. Their theological works are pivotal…
Classical Theism in the Pastoral Key
Just over a decade ago, the big surprise in American evangelicalism was the sudden popularity of Calvinistic theology captured by Collin Hansen’s memorable phrase, ‘young, restless, and Reformed.’ More recently, another unexpected trend has emerged – an interest in classical…
The House of Omri
The Mesha Stele is an ancient slab of basalt stone from the 9th century BC. It was named for Mesha, the king of Moab (2 Kings 3:4). This stele is actually an ancient document which records the struggles of the…
A Better Endgame
Last week, Avengers: Endgame, the final blockbuster Marvel movie, was released, smashing box-office records. The movie is the culmination of an ambitious story arc encompassing 22 movies that Marvel Studios began planning 14 years ago. Endgame brings that plan to…
Dogmatic Art
As I’ve been reading through G.K. Chesterton’s book Heretics, I was interested to happen upon his treatment of dogmatism and the arts. Reflecting on his consideration of the life and work of Rudyard Kipling, Bernard Shaw and H.G. Wells, Chesterton…
Turretin’s Treasure
Many years ago, at one of the annual meetings of the Evangelical Theological Society, Allan Fisher gave me (a poor doctoral student at the time) one of the best gifts that an aspiring student of theology could ever receive: a…
Jones and the Stones
The recent New York Times interview with Serene Jones, President of Union Theological Seminary, is one for the ages. Indeed, critique is almost pointless as the interview itself begs not so much questions as gasps of amazement at the breathtaking…
Power for Missions Restored
Since the early 19th Century the American church has largely taken for granted the necessity and legitimacy of mission agencies, both church and para-church. By the mid 20th Century they were as firmly entrenched as any feature of American church…