Donald Miller has written a lengthy follow-up to his original post explaining why he has left the church (to which I responded yesterday). In this second posting, he doubles down on his original position that Christians need not involve themselves in a local church. They can attend if they want, if it helps them. But it is not necessary. It is certainly not a norm that should be imposed on all Christians everywhere. Because Miller’s essay is so long (over 3,000 words!), I will not attempt a point-by-point rebuttal. Nevertheless, a response is in order since he takes issue with my contention that leaving the church is “spiritual suicide.” Under…
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Brief reflections on the creation debate
The creation debate just ended. I do not plan on giving an extended commentary and analysis of this, but here are some of my initial impressions:
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Donald Miller’s prescription for spiritual suicide
I just read a rather stunning admission from Donald Miller. In a short blog post, he says that his learning style is not conducive for learning in traditional worship services. He doesn’t “connect” with God in singing praises or in listening to the preached word. On the contrary, he feels most connected to God when he is working to “build his company.” As a result of all this, he makes this confession: So, do I attend church? Not often, to be honest. Like I said, it’s not how I learn. But I also believe the church is all around us, not to be confined by a specific tribe. I’m fine…
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Forged in Forgiveness: Erik and Matthew’s Story
This is a remarkable story. Erik Fitzgerald was a youth pastor in Georgia when he awoke one day to the terrible news that his wife and son had been killed in a car accident. The video above is the story of what happened after he met the man driving the other car.
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Speaking of contraception…
It just so happens that Dennis Hollinger has an article in the most recent issue of JETS on the issue of contraception: “The Ethics of Contraception: A Theological Assessment.” Hollinger’s article focuses on the differences between Roman Catholics and Evangelicals on the propriety of modern contraceptive technologies. Evangelicals tend to allow for the use of birth control devices by married couples, so long as those methods are truly contraceptive and are not abortifacient. Roman Catholics, however, oppose all use of contraception—even those methods that are not abortifacient. Hollinger gives a brief but helpful history of why Evangelicals and Roman Catholics have differed on this issue. Hollinger also sets forth a…
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Why Rachel Held Evans is wrong about contraception
Rachel Held Evans has recently written a lengthy blog post expressing her views on the morality of contraception. She basically defends Obamacare’s contraception mandate and complains that evangelicals are mistaken in their views on modern birth control methods and “morning-after” pills. Andrew Walker and I have published a response over at the First Things website, and we argue that her essay is mistaken on a number of levels. For instance, Evans denies that “morning-after” pills have an abortifacient mechanism. Yet somehow she misses that the FDA label on Plan B’s package says otherwise. But you don’t have to believe me. You can read the label for yourself. Notice the second…
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Mark Dever to speak at Denton Bible Church
When I was in college, Tommy Nelson of Denton Bible Church had a shaping influence over my desire to become a verse-by-verse Bible expositor. When I was in seminary, Mark Dever of Capitol Hill Baptist Church had a shaping influence over my views of ecclesiology and congregationalism. I cannot overstate how pivotal both of these ministries have been to me both in my formative years and even now. That is why I was thrilled to see that these ministries are coming together for one night only in Denton, Texas next week. Mark Dever will be speaking at Denton Bible Church at 6:30pm, February 3. He will be delivering a message…
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More on the gospel and Macklemore’s “Same Love”
Frank Sontag hosts a talk radio program on KKLA FM in Los Angeles, California. Last night, I had a discussion with Frank about the gospel and Macklemore’s performance of “Same Love” at the Grammys. I’ve been under the weather, so I apologize in advance for the froggy voice. Nevertheless, here it is. You can listen to it below or download it here. [audio:http://media.kkla.com/Podcasts/2709/2014012701.mp3]
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What Macklemore got wrong…and right
Last night on the Grammy’s, hip-hop artist Macklemore performed his song “Same Love” as Queen Latifah presided over a “wedding” ceremony for about thirty couples. Many of the couples being married were same-sex, and that was the point of the entire event—to show that there is no moral distinction between same-sex marriage and conjugal marriage. It’s all just the “same love.” The lyrics to Macklemore’s song took aim at Christians and their views on marriage. To be more precise, it takes aim at the God that Christians worship and offers another god in His place—a god that bears no resemblance to the God of the Bible. Nevertheless, these performers were…
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Don’t waste your theological education!
John Piper preached a special message in Southern Seminary’s chapel last Thursday titled, “Don’t waste your theological education!” It’s vintage Piper. If you are a student of theology in any setting, I highly recommend it to you.