God Has Spoken
In early 2008 some of my college roommates and I spent our Spring Break hiking through a beautiful section of the Appalachian Trail. During our first night in the mountains of western North Carolina the biting cold awakened me. I…
Category Reformation21
The First Commandment and the Church
What use are the Ten Commandments today? We already know them, and we already know no one follows them. Except Jesus, and that’s why we need him. Let’s move on. Yet, as Treebeard would say, let’s not be so hasty.[1]…
Ready to Testify
When the great Protestant reformer Dr. Martin Luther famously stood before the Roman Catholic Diet of Worms in Germany in 1521, he had been called upon by the Holy Roman Empire to explain himself—or more specifically, his doctrine. He did…
Run to Win
As we saw last time, a Christian is like a runner in a race in that he must run. Obviously, a runner doesn’t take a seat in the stands when the starting pistol goes off. He runs. How does a…
Pastoring the Police
It is always tragic to hear of a police shooting or an unjust use of force by police officers. Anytime anyone in a position of authority abuses that authority, it is especially abhorrent in God’s sight, because God ordained authorities…
Welcome to God’s House
Walk prudently when you go to the house of God; and draw near to hear rather than to give the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they do evil. Do not be rash with your mouth, And…
A Simple Way to Speak to Jehovah’s Witnesses
For the most part, Christians know that Jehovah’s Witnesses (JWs) are a cult and have some strange beliefs. But when they begin to talk about God and his Son, Jesus; when they ask about faith and salvation; when they use…
4 Predictions for the Post-Pandemic Church
We are rounding the curve into the reckoning phase. When disaster strikes, people (or communities, or nations) often move through three stages: crisis triage, reckoning/ regrouping, and finally redirecting. Crisis triage looks like keeping the ship afloat and surviving till…
Pastors’ and Elders’ Wives, the Lord Knows You Are Weary
My pastor’s wife friend was nearly in tears. “We have to set up for church and take down every week. Then I lead the singing while I also parent my kids. Nearly every evening, we have someone from the church…
A Runner in a Race
Quoting his beloved mother, Forest Gump famously compared life to a box of chocolates: “You never know what you’re gonna get.” But what about the life of the Christian? To what can we liken it? In the New Testament, we find…