Sam Storms has written a brief article making a complementarian argument that would allow women to serve as pastors.1 He argues that pastoring is a gift not an authoritative office in the church. While all elders need to have the gift of pastoring, it does not follow that all “pastors” must be elders. After doing a brief survey of biblical texts that employ “pastor” terminology, he surmises: It stands to reason that all Elders must, in some sense, be pastors. But nothing in the way this verb is used should lead us to believe that all pastors must be Elders. No text asserts the latter. Because a pastor is not…
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Praise and Prayer for Kanye
Over the weekend, I had a chance to listen to Kanye West’s new album and to watch some interviews with him. It’s an amazing thing to watch because everything I’ve seen points to a radical conversion to Jesus Christ. In an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel last week, Kimmel asks West, “Would you consider yourself to be a Christian music artist now?” West responds, “I’m just a Christian everything.” That is certainly clear in the lyrics of West’s new album “Jesus is King.” The track “Selah” has a line that gets to the heart of West’s conversion:
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What can happen when a transgender child transitions…
Like many of you, I have been watching the news out of Texas about a mother who was just awarded sole custody of her gender-confused child. The details of this custody battle are disturbing. Here’s the gist of it from Lifesite News: A jury in Dallas, Texas has ruled against Jeffrey Younger, the father who is trying to protect his seven-year-old son, James, from chemical castration via a gender “transition.” This means James’ mother, Dr. Anne Georgulas, will be able to continue “transitioning” him into “Luna,” and now has full authority to start him on puberty blockers and eventually cross-sex hormones. The jury’s decision likely means that Mr. Younger will…
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“…while doctors strip our children of their healthy reproductive organs”
I just read the heartbreaking words of a mother of a transgender child—words that were delivered recently at a demonstration outside the Supreme Court. In this speech, she testifies about what transgender propaganda has done to her daughter. The propaganda has created “standards of care” that are harmful to children. Read for yourself what this mother describes:
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Albert Mohler Offers 10 Points on Complementarianism in the SBC
Earlier today, Albert Mohler delivered a timely and needed chapel message on complementarianism. It is a message that is timely not only for our seminary community but also for our entire denomination—the Southern Baptist Convention. In the last half of the message, Mohler offers ten points on complementarianism in our denominational life. I have the video above cued up to begin at those ten points. Below you can read my notes on the ten points. I have some quotes sprinkled in here and there, but my notes are no substitute for listening to the entire message. I hope you will.
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Presidential candidate promises draconian crackdown on religious liberty
Beto O’Rourke on religious institutions losing tax-exempt status for opposing same-sex marriage: “There can be no reward, no benefit, no tax break for anyone … that denies the full human rights and the full civil rights of every single one of us” #EqualityTownHall pic.twitter.com/0ruxeIao8o — CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) October 11, 2019 At CNN’s “Equality Town Hall,” Beto O’Rourke was asked if churches and other religious institutions should lose tax-exempt status for opposing same-sex marriage. Beto says in no uncertain terms that Christian churches should in fact lose their tax-exempt status unless they endorse gay marriage. This draconian assault on the first amendment is now the mainstream view within the Democratic…
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Adultery or Rape? What happened between David and Bathsheba?
I haven’t followed all the twists and turns of the social media debate about David and Bathsheba and whether their sexual relationship was rape or adultery. But I do know that there is a debate, and it provoked me to take a closer look at the question for myself. I have no dog in the Twitter fight. My goal in this is simply to understand what the Bible says and to believe it. If I have misunderstood what the Bible teaches on this in the past, then I want to correct my views based on what scripture says. Semper reformanda. My aim in this post is simply to pass something…
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Is Egalitarianism within the Pale of Southern Baptist Cooperation?
In the year 2000, the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) made complementarianism a part of its foundation for cooperation by including the doctrine in The Baptist Faith and Message 2000. Two additions to the BF&M are worth noting. Article VI on “The Church”: “Its scriptural officers are pastors and deacons. While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture.” Article XVIII on “The Family”: “The husband and wife are of equal worth before God, since both are created in God’s image. The marriage relationship models the way God relates to His people. A husband is to…
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Abortion clinic offers mothers the opportunity to embrace their deceased baby
A late-term abortion clinic in Maryland offers mothers the opportunity to cuddle with their deceased “baby” after the abortion is over, according to a brochure from the clinic. When I first read about this at The Federalist, I thought it too ghoulish to be true. And then I tracked down the source myself, and it turns out that it is true. And it is indeed ghoulish.
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Botham Jean’s brother to Amber Guyger: “I forgive you”
The woman who killed Botham Jean was sentenced to ten years in prison earlier today. During his victim impact statement, Botham Jean’s brother Brandt stunned the courtroom. You can see and hear his statement above. The Dallas Morning News reports: