I am interrupting the series on the doctrine of God (again), I Am that I Am, to talk about a recurring problem in the church: abuse of the sheep by the shepherd. Recently Julie Roys featured audio from a public conference by . . . Continue reading →
Office Hours kicks off its 11th season (247 episodes so far) with an interview with our newest faculty member, Dr Craig Troxel. Craig comes to Escondido from Bethel Presbyterian Church (OPC), Wheaton, IL. Prior to that he was pastor Glenside OPC, in . . . Continue reading →
Investigative journalist Julie Roys has alerted us all to news published in the Palm Beach Post that Tullian Tchividjian has planted a new congregation in Palm Beach Gardens, FL. This is news because Tchvidjian’s ministerial credentials were revoked by his PCA presbytery on . . . Continue reading →
For most of world history, until quite recently, most of the world thought about the most basic questions in life categories of right and wrong or in legal categories. God was thought to be what he is thus we humans need to . . . Continue reading →
A few years ago I wrote an article on what pastors should not tell their wives. In it I argued that there is much that it said behind closed doors, in elder meetings (e.g.,consistory or session meetings), that should not be repeated . . . Continue reading →
Americans are We live in a revolutionary age. We are in the midst of a third modern sexual revolution. In April I sketched this history briefly in another article. One aspect of that revolution is what is known as “Third Wave” Feminism. . . . Continue reading →
35 years ago, when I began seminary, the “church growth” movement was hitting its stride. In a course taught by an adjunct professor with a Harvard MBA we were taught how be efficient just the way successful CEOs are. Later, in the . . . Continue reading →
Carl Trueman has been a university professor, seminary professor, a visiting professor at Princeton University, and a bi-vocational pastor. He is now Professor of Biblical and Religious Studies at Grove City College. He is also an old friend. We met in the . . . Continue reading →
The internet has created a new world of possibilities for education. Seminaries and theological colleges have seized upon the potential of the internet by offering online courses and online degrees. For older non-traditional students, for those who already have families and other . . . Continue reading →
As a child I was fascinated by “magicians” such as Harry Blackstone Jr. For a few dollars one could order a kit or study library books and learn to do “magic.” Of course, it was not magic at all. It was merely . . . Continue reading →
If you want to build an audience, talk relationships. It really works. Spiritual gurus have built their empires addressing the subject. After all, who doesn’t need help to improve their marriage? Talking relationship is the most relevant subject anyone could address. I . . . Continue reading →
I am just back from Cheyenne, Wyoming, which is cowboy country. While there I had opportunity to talk to an old friend and pastor about the business of shepherding and loving God’s people. Wyoming is cowboy country. The cowboy is Wyoming’s “brand.” . . . Continue reading →
Scripture says: “I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, . . . Continue reading →
This, of course, is not the world we live in. We live in the age of instant. We want our WiFi to fly, our coffee ready, our music streaming, our shopping at the speed of Prime, and our social media and news . . . Continue reading →
When I entered the evangelical world in the mid-70s there was much talk and teaching (and guilt manipulation) about personal evangelism but not much talk of church growth. A decade later, however, when I went to seminary, it was all the rage. . . . Continue reading →
The church growth movement has been one of the more influential movements in modern evangelicalism for the last 40 years. Pastors receive a steady stream of emails and advertisements promising to “grow the church” if only his congregation will buy this product or service. In some quarters it is unquestioned dogma, it is axiomatic that if the church is not growing numerically it is failing in its mission. Continue reading →
“Advice to Young Preachers” appears in the Summer issue of Expositor, a publication of Steve Lawson’s OnePassion Ministries.
It was announced this week that another pastor was recently removed from ministry. It has happened before and, sadly, it will happen again. As I write, a series of cases are running through my mind but one of themes that unites them . . . Continue reading →
At Westminster Seminary California, since our beginning in 1980, our primary mission has been to prepare men for pastoral ministry. We have graduated more than eleven hundred students about 70% of whom go on to pastoral ministry. Indeed, some of our earliest . . . Continue reading →