In Defense of the Sabbatical
Pastoral ministry often feels like a 24/7 calling. A pastor can’t leave the care of the people of God at the door of the office when the clock strikes 5 PM. While pastoring in the First World requires considerably less…
Category Reformation21
These Present Sufferings
As I write, the United Kingdom is still reeling from the latest terrorist atrocity to be unleashed in one of our major cities. It was particularly horrific in that it was deliberately targeted at children and teenagers attending a pop…
How Then Should We Preach?
However well constructed and attractive, a car is useless without fuel. On the flip side, a motor may have fuel without being a vehicle. Likewise, preaching is a vehicle that requires fuel. God designed preaching to bring us to himself…
Expect the Unexpected
Last night, I had the great privilege of delivering the baccalaureate speech to the 2017 graduating class at Veritas Academy in Savannah, GA. While meditating, in recent days, on the multitude of truths that God has given us in the book…
Patriot-olotry: The Intersection of Theology and Politics
In many evangelical circles, it is still assumed that conservative theology means conservative politics. And to be fair, the same could be said of the “Evangelical left” and liberal politics. But when politics and theology are seen as synonymous, it…
Affliction Evangelism
“This light momentary affliction,” Paul writes, “is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2 Cor. 4:17). Paul’s use of the singular noun “affliction” in 2 Cor. 4:7 is intriguing. Paul doesn’t say afflictions (plural), which…
A Cloud of Reformers
Our friends, over at Place for Truth, have recently added Simonetta Carr’s blog, A Cloud of Witnesses, to their site. Simonetta is writing about the Reformers and those in church history who have influenced them. Her first post is dedicated to…
What You’re For, What You’re Against!
“Be known for what you’re for rather than what you’re against.” This statement–in various forms–has become something of a Christian cliche over the past decade. Nearly every time I hear it, I wonder if those who so often state it…
Giving the Devil His Due
Giving the Devil His Due: Demonic Authority in the Fiction of Flannery O’Connor and Fyodor Dostoevsky By Jessica Hooten Wilson Cascade Books, 2017 156 pages, paper, $21.00 It is a sad and tragic irony that many private Christian schools do…
Luther and Calvin’s Quiet Discussions in Heaven
Those who cherish the Reformation have often sought out what, if any, influence Martin Luther may have had on John Calvin. Did the two Reformers ever meet in person? Was Calvin influenced by the writings or ministry of “the Initiator”…