Reformation21

I return from a welcome holiday (during which the growing murmur of delight at the prospect that I might have been banished, or for some other reason no longer be contributing here, was becoming distinctly audible) to find that life continues apace at Reformation21 (and I shall have my ear open for...

I was back in my pulpit yesterday after a relatively short Summer break. Our Summer was not the one we had planned. Our eldest son was due to get married on July 25th, and three days before the event it was all called off. The emotional, financial and legal implications of the decision we are still...

One of the joys of Fridays in the UK is 5 minutes with.... on the BBC website. Someone of some relative interest is given a 5 minute interview by Matthew Stadlen, this week columnist Peter Hitchens is interviewed , Hitchens is right wing, holds some odd views but is a Christian and gives great...

I'm so grateful for my friend Carl's reply. It appears, perhaps, that I was a bit too subtle in the single point that I was trying to contribute, so I thought that I might take another run at it more directly. If a seminary's purpose is to train ministers and those who serve beside them, then I...

I have enjoyed the exchange between my fellow church historians (and pastors) Carl Trueman and Michael Haykin on spiritual formation and seminaries. I wanted to make one brief observation on the exchange and it centers on what seminaries are for and what ministers need. One of the major tensions in...

In April 2010 Martin Salter wrote an article in Themelios '' Does Baptism Replace Circumcision? An Examination of the Relationship between Circumcision and Baptism in Colossians 2:11-12 '' . At the Carey Conference in January 2012 Salter gave a similar paper ( see here ) , John Benton reported in...

On Friday night CRT was installed as pastor of Cornerstone Presbyterian Church. Derek Thomas preached, you can hear the charge to the congregation and the to the pastor plus the sermon here . There's a great photo of the men involved evoking the spirit of 'Reservoir dogs' on the site too.

I've been on holiday and August is always a lighter month, so I'm catching up on some reading over the next while. For all the ''take 20 minutes in the morning, afternoon and evening'', finding time to read is hard work in the midst of ministry, plus there are ridiculous amounts of good books...

I've really enjoyed James M.Kittelson's ''Luther the Reformer'' which sadly is out of print in the UK. In it he gives Luther's 8 rules for preachers (page 249/250) ''First , a good preacher should be able to teach well, correctly and in an orderly fashion. Second, he should have a good head on his...

I've come back from holiday to find that it's Christmas and all because of the Banner of Truth. 7 cloth bound volumes of JC Ryle's Expository Thoughts on the Gospel for £45 or or $65. That's nothing short of crazy prices but then read the small print for ministers - you can get them for £15 $25 ,...