Flannelgraphs, alternatively named flannel boards, are sturdy panels covered with flannel. Displayed on an easel, they facilitate the telling of stories, usually in the small nooks and crannies of basements (called “classrooms”) in many Christian church buildings. While most basements reek of . . . Continue reading →
The confessional Presbyterian and Reformed churches are facing a challenge that I have not seen since I first joined St John Reformed Church over 40 years ago: a shortage of pastors. For decades, there have been more candidates for ministry than there . . . Continue reading →
Joel Kim and Chris Gordon talk about how to prepare pastors. Continue reading →
What happens if we run out of pastors? Continue reading →
Commencement addresses are typically forgettable—not this one. David Hall is married to Ann, and they are parents of three grown children and grandparents of eight grandchildren. He has served as the Senior Pastor of Midway Presbyterian Church (PCA) since 2003. Previously, he . . . Continue reading →
When I tell people that I pastor a church in Illinois, they invariably assume that I mean Chicago. And when I tell them that the church is actually in southern Illinois, in a city of just 4,000, they generally do not know . . . Continue reading →
A former student of mine many years ago at Westminster Seminary California once mentioned that he was feeling concerned about his devotional life since beginning seminary—a thought many first-semester seminary students have. He said that before attending seminary, he had an active . . . Continue reading →
This is a sensitive topic. People do not always think rationally, biblically, and confessionally about the office of pastor. Many do not understand what ministers do, and most people who are involved in the pastoral search process are well-meaning but inexperienced. And . . . Continue reading →
According to new research by the Barna organization, nowhere are pastors feeling the pressure on this point more than on matters surrounding the ethics of sexuality and of reproduction… Yet more worrying than the specific examples cited by Barna is the more . . . Continue reading →
So, in general, there is some awareness in the wider church of this reality in underserved America’s small-town and rural regions. There is still, however, a greater need to raise up an explicitly Reformed and Presbyterian witness to serve these areas.
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Last week in Romania a 2000 year old, fully intact, Roman road was discovered. It was well-built and intact. Many Roman era roads are still used today. This road was built in 106AD. For generations, Roman road engineering was passed down from . . . Continue reading →
The imagery of the band of brothers has been used for wartime propaganda. In popular culture it’s most recognizable by Stephen Ambrose’s record of Easy Company of the 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment assigned to the 101st Airborne Division in World . . . Continue reading →
While our Constitution does not require the candidate’s affirmation of every statement and/or proposition of doctrine in our Confession of Faith and Catechisms, it is the right and responsibility of the Presbytery to determine if the candidate is out of accord with . . . Continue reading →
I wrote this and “How Not To Train Pastors (Part 1)” and “How Not To Train Pastors (Part 2)” near the very beginning of the Heidelblog in 2007. This portion of the essay began as a response to a correspondent on the . . . Continue reading →
I wrote this and How Not To Train Pastors (Part 1) near the very beginning of the Heidelblog in 2007. As high-speed internet service was becoming more widespread, online education was beginning to catch on and many seminaries were beginning to adopt it. . . . Continue reading →
I wrote this near the very beginning of the Heidelblog in 2007. As high-speed internet service was becoming more widespread, online education was beginning to catch on and many seminaries were beginning to adopt it. The world has changed since then. The . . . Continue reading →
I hate talking about abuse. I hate writing about it. However, as long as it’s happening, we must continue to face up to it. The church that puts its head in the sand is doing irreparable damage to its members. This book is about the particular problem of . . . Continue reading →
Michael Kruger has written a gem of a book, addressing one of the most prominent issues troubling the church today. Increasingly, we are faced with stories about pastors who misuse their position of authority to achieve their own selfish ends to the . . . Continue reading →
It is now around nine months since my wife and I moved to Grande Prairie (GP) in Alberta, Canada where I have taken a call as Minister of Word and Sacrament at Covenant Reformed URC. We are so thankful to the Lord . . . Continue reading →
Pastoral character, responsibility, accountability, and confessionalism have weighed heavily on my mind and heart for the past several years. We must by now be tired of the proliferation of scandals about pastoral abuse even in Reformed churches. I realize that some of . . . Continue reading →