• Christianity,  Complementarianism,  SBC

    Responding to Opposition to the Law Amendment

    Pastor Steven Bezner has published an article arguing “Against the Law Amendment” in which he urges messengers to to vote against the measure at the upcoming SBC meeting in Indianapolis. Interestingly, Bezner doesn’t really argue against what the amendment actually says but against what he perceives as ulterior motives on the part of those who support the amendment. He writes: The Law Amendment seeks to clarify the extent of complementarian commitments within the SBC, answering this question: can a church remain in good standing with the Southern Baptist Convention if they have women staff members holding the title of pastor? If the question stopped there, the conversation around the Law…

  • Christianity,  Politics

    Moral seriousness and the post-Christian right

    Two sad things happened over the holidays that ought to arrest the attention of Christian conservatives everywhere. The first is the revelation of a calendar featuring scantily clad “conservative” women and being marketed to “conservative” dads. The second is a social media posting from former President Donald Trump calling for his political enemies to “rot in hell.” [Read the rest at WORLD Opinions]

  • Christianity

    A Plan to Read through the Bible in 2024

    In years past, my customary mode for reading through the Bible every year involved starting in Genesis and reading right through to Revelation. I estimated that about four chapters per day would get me through in under a year’s time. The method worked reasonably well, but it wasn’t without its problems. Sometimes I would miss a day (or days) and get behind, and I had no way to keep up with my progress. I needed a schedule so that I could keep myself accountable for finishing in a year. In 2009, therefore, I did something I had never done before. I followed a Bible reading plan. I adopted Robert Murray…

  • Christianity,  Christmas

    Let Every Heart Prepare Him Room!

    How could there possibly be anything more mysterious and wonderful than the incarnation of Jesus Christ? God became a man. God took on mortal human flesh. Even though he himself was unfallen, he subjected himself to the brokenness of this fallen world. He sneezed. He coughed. He got headaches and an upset stomach. Every morning he got up, shook the dust out of His hair, and put his hand to the plow in his Father’s field. The incarnate Son of God was obedient even to the point of death. And three days later, what was mortal became swallowed up by immortality in the resurrection. Even now, the resurrected Christ sits…

  • Christianity,  Culture

    Fading Glory and Permanent Things

    I just finished watching a documentary about a band that was popular when I was a kid. If I told you who the group was, you would recognize them immediately. But I suppose naming them is pointless. It’s the same story after all. A love for music, a quest for fame and glory, hedonistic indulgence along the way, unhappiness and depression in spite of fame and fortune. The lead singer has been dead for several years now. As the film finished, this is the word that stirred in my heart: “All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field The grass withers, the flower…

  • Christianity,  Complementarianism,  SBC

    Can’t we all just get along in the SBC?

    I just read a helpful thread by Bart Barber, the President of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), about cooperation and non-connectionalism in Southern Baptist life. Among other things, he writes: This local-church non-connectionalism simply says that two churches can do something together without taking on any responsibility before God for the other church… This idea is woven into Article XIV (“Cooperation”) and Article XV (“The Christian and the Social Order”) of The Baptist Faith & Message. Those articles remind churches that it does not compromise a church’s faith to cooperate with other churches who differ theologically. Quoting from the Baptist Faith & Message, he elaborates: “Christian unity in the New…

  • Christianity,  Theology/Bible

    What Happened at ETS 2023?

    Another annual meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS) is now in the books. We met last week in San Antonio, and I heard a lot of talk about the basement of the Alamo. I was so busy with meetings, however, that I never made it over. Seriously though, for those of you unfamiliar with ETS, it is a society of theologians and biblical scholars who are dedicated to biblical inerrancy and a belief in the Trinity. At the annual meeting, members come together to present academic papers, meet with publishers, and catch up with old friends. Keep in mind that I only experienced a narrow slice of things, but…

  • Christianity,  Egalitarianism,  Homosexuality,  Theology/Bible,  Transgenderism

    An Evening with Rosaria Butterfield | “Five Lies of Our Anti-Christian Age”

    From The Kenwood Institute: On October 6th, Rosaria Butterfield joined the Kenwood Institute for an evening organized around her new book, Five Lies of Our Anti-Christian Age. Rosaria Butterfield is a wife, homeschooling mom, and a best-selling author and cultural commentator. Her latest book, Five Lies of Our Anti-Christian Age (Crossway, 2023), is a much-needed, prophetic word to our current culutral moment, which is growing increasingly hostile to Christian faith and practice. In this video, we hear from Rosaria and then she and her husband, Kent, participate on a panel discussion with Colin Smothers and Jim Hamilton. 0:00 Introduction 4:04 Rosaria Butterfield, “Five Lies of Our Anti-Christian Age” 57:55 Panel…

  • Christianity,  Sermon,  Theology/Bible

    The Serrated Edge of Doug Wilson

    In a message to my church on Sunday, I gave a biblical evaluation of the so-called “serrated edge,” which Doug Wilson defines as the use of biting and satirical speech that sometimes includes obscenities and vulgarities. You can download the audio here, the manuscript here, listen below, or read below. Please be advised that the manuscript version of this address does contain quotations of obscenities and vulgarities, although I have tried to use asterisks in some of the offensive expressions. ?? Introduction The elders have set aside the last couple weeks in the Sunday School hour to address and confront post-millennialism and theonomy. If you haven’t heard those talks yet,…

  • Christianity,  Homosexuality

    Christians Cannot “Agree to Disagree” with Wolves

    As has been widely reported this week, Andy Stanley and North Point Community Church recently hosted an LGBTQ-affirming event called the Unconditional Conference. The church’s pastor Andy Stanley defended the conference in his Sunday morning message. He also argued that following Christ might be “unsustainable” for some Christians but that churches should nevertheless recognize them as true followers of Christ. If that seems like a contradiction, that’s because it is. And that’s precisely the problem with Stanley’s approach. It’s fundamentally at odds with the Christian faith. Anyone who claims to follow Christ but then denies him by their deeds is lying, and the truth is not in him (1 John…