The mission of American Reformer (a project that fancies itself the brains of a movement that seems to major in morphing and losing its mind) sounds tame and broad enough: American Reformer’s mission is to promote a vigorous Christian approach to the . . . Continue reading →
Christian Life
The American Presbyterians Were Correcting The Tradition
I’ve written before about how Presbyterians changed their views on the civil magistrate and how this shift is reflected in the American revision of the Westminster Confession of Faith (WCF). When the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America adopted the . . . Continue reading →
The Ark Means More Than You Think It Does
At first glance, the flood narrative may seem like a simple tale of an ancient deluge or even God’s love for animal life. That was what I was taught growing up in the church. However, it’s so much more than that. When . . . Continue reading →
Yes, It Is Really Happening
“I hope everyone is enjoying the podcast that no one is allowed to admit they listen to.” When temptation arrives, it rarely announces itself. Instead, it speaks like a familiar friend. It preys on our vanity, arrogance, and curiosity—buttons it knows how . . . Continue reading →
Truth Without Love Is Brutality, Love Without Truth Is Hypocrisy
“Jesus, why are you being so insensitive? Why don’t you care more about the people? Don’t you realize that the people you just chased out of the Temple are good guys?” In our day, we wouldn’t be surprised if this was in . . . Continue reading →
Brad Was Wrong Until He Was Right
Mr. Moderator, Brad Isbell, ruling elder, Tennessee Valley Presbytery. At the risk of sounding like a politician—or Mel Duncan, for that matter—I was against the study committee before I was for the study committee, but this is a speech in favor. Last . . . Continue reading →
What Meekness Is
We tend to misunderstand what it means to be meek as the Bible uses that word. Perhaps you’ve heard of the group founded by J. Upton Dickson called DOORMATS. That stands for “Dependent Organization Of Really Meek And Timid Souls.” Their motto . . . Continue reading →
What Good Is A Neglected Tool?
Taking a step back and considering trends more broadly perhaps suggests missional pragmatism is behind some of the disuse or change. In a desire to be relevant or more easily understood, the catechism used and taught is changed to something newer, or . . . Continue reading →
The Tender Love A Father Has: The Christian’s Comfort, Even In Death
Our culture is not one that likes to think about death. Culturally, as others have pointed out, we have done away with the traditional churchyard. No longer are we forced to walk past the graves of our family, friends, and neighbors on the way in and out of Lord’s Day worship and, thus, forced to confront our own mortality. Continue reading →
Growing Reformed Churches: First Impressions Matter
It got me thinking about church. How many times does it happen that a visitor has a really unfriendly experience their first-time at church? You could have the best “meal” on offer in the city, the best preaching of God’s Word, but . . . Continue reading →
It’s Not Hopeless
On the other hand, believers often feel powerless over the lust that arises from within. This shameful experience often leads many Christians to bear the problem alone, with a rather hopeless outlook that maybe this deep struggle indicates that they are not . . . Continue reading →
The Reality Of Neo-Paganism
Two days ago (Monday, 21 June 2010) was the summer solstice (from Latin sol [sun] + sistere [to stand]). The AP reports that “Thousands of New Agers and neo-pagans danced and whooped in delight Monday as a bright early morning sun rose . . . Continue reading →
Dreher On The Woke/Anti-Semitic Right
I knew that the left had succumbed to the soft totalitarianism of wokeness. It was part of the reason that I moved to the former Eastern bloc country of Hungary—not to escape wokeness so much as the fact that, through the research . . . Continue reading →
Kuyper And The Moral Shift In Society
We are living in an age of profound cultural shift. Up until the early twenty-first century, Western history was dominated by a form of Christianity that was legally established and culturally honored. While not everyone was a Christian, being a Christian was . . . Continue reading →
The Ascension Of Christ: A Primer
Every week, in both our morning and evening services, our congregation confesses or sings one of the historic creeds of the church before we receive the Lord’s Supper. Sometimes it is the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed or the Apostles’ Creed, and other times it . . . Continue reading →
Concerning Scandals And Scandalizers
Richard Nixon (1913–94) was President of the United States from 1968–74. He resigned from office in disgrace because of his part in the cover-up of the Watergate scandal. By today’s standards, the Watergate scandal might be considered small potatoes. Nixon himself, who . . . Continue reading →
Calvin’s Prayer That The Lord Might Move Us To Ask For Forgiveness
Now let us prostrate ourselves before the majesty of our good God, recognizing the infinite faults of which we are guilty, praying that it will please him to make us feel them more and more, so that we may ask him to . . . Continue reading →
It’s Too Easy To Think The Worst
The importance of Christian charity was first impressed upon me in university by a friend named James. He was the older brother of a close friend, doing graduate studies in history. We were involved together in an evangelism project on our university . . . Continue reading →
Fleeing Biblicism: Away From Self, Unto Christ (Part 2)
Depending upon what purpose the biblicist has as they approach the text of Scripture, they could either wind up feeling victorious when their enemies are defeated (whether persons or ideologies), or they could end up feeling anxious and confused when their same interpretive method leads (if they would be consistent) to things like open theism. Continue reading →
Fleeing Biblicism: Away From Self, Unto Christ (Part 1)
Have you ever heard a Christian say something along the lines of, “Scripture destroys that argument!” At the best of times, this appears to be an excited proclamation of the Scripture’s power—indeed, the power of God and his truth over all things. . . . Continue reading →