Ed Stetzer broke the news to Southern Baptists recently that the Southern Baptist Convention is contracting faster than the United Methodist Church. Baptisms have fallen in 8 of the last 10 years. Membership is down, average weekly attendance is down, and the SBC is spiraling faster and faster away from the Great Commission activity that …
Everyone should read C.S. Lewis. His wisdom is timeless and his journey of faith is beneficial for the Christian mission. His intellect and ability to communicate are a gift to the church and his ministry continues many years after his death. He is not only a Christian writer, he is a fantastic writer who happens …
Patience is a virtue. But it is also a Fruit of the Spirit and it is an aspect of God’s nature. He is patient, but he is not patient without purpose. God is patient because he is a God of redemption. God is patient precisely because he longs to save sinners and restore them to …
As a pastor, I love it when people “get it.” When the gospel finally clicks and people get saved, when parents figure out their responsibility to spiritually shepherd their children, when men begin to share the gospel regularly, all of these are examples of people “getting it” that thrill my soul. Recently a young woman in …
How does the cross inform our response to the Supreme Court’s ruling on gay marriage? What do we do as it becomes increasingly apparent that we can no longer claim The United States as a Christian country? The response to the Supreme Court ruling has been wide-spread and predictable. Liberals have lauded the court, conservatives …
Last year I asked the question, Do Christians Have a Responsibility to Observe Halloween, and I still stand behind everything in that article. I do believe that Halloween represents a unique opportunity for Christians to be on the offensive against the darkness of sin in our culture and to communicate the gospel with our lost and …
As I was researching some leadership development options for use among our staff, I came across a Forbes article from 2012 that argues leadership training should be scrapped in favor of leadership development. The author lists 20 of the primary differences between leadership training and leadership development, and I couldn’t help but see the ways …
For the past several weeks I’ve been posting our family’s verse of the week. I was asked yesterday on Facebook whether we memorized it or talked about it during the week. The answer is both. We memorize it, talk about it, and engage in other Bible reading that is related to the verse. We are …
I have good friends, the kinds of friends that will recommend good books and occasionally mail me a book without solicitation. This month represents the first time that a friend mailed me a book and assigned me homework. The enclosed note: “read this and write a review.” Well, I have completed the reading part and …
Dethroning Celebrity Pastors— Celebrity pastors are a reality in our world today. Joe Thorn warns us to be concerned for the celebrity pastor, especially the one that can emerge from our own hearts. The Spasmodic Hercules— Odd title, I know, but I was very thankful for this article from Tim Challies on getting things done. Over …