Books on New Testament theology are often stale and lack depth of real theological analysis. I have regularly felt that when biblical studies attempt to do theology, the fruit is either obvious or seriously off track. Against this backdrop, Matthew Harmon’s exploration . . . Continue reading →
The church has had pastors since our very beginning. Although that observation may seem obvious, we may yet overlook the important point that the pastoral craft is very ancient. We likely often envision the pastoral role only in terms of our modern . . . Continue reading →
Whenever someone introduces himself to me as a worship pastor, my standard response is, “Me too.” Inevitably, my reply prompts inquiry about how I lead worship. So, I explain that I call the church to worship, I pray a lot, I read . . . Continue reading →
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When the strongest criticism I can make of a book is that the author used an obscure word (complexify, 45) that says something about the strength of a work.1 Let me say at the outset, I really like this book. This is . . . Continue reading →
Myles Coverdale (1488–1569) was a champion of the Word of God in sixteenth-century Europe, especially in England. He translated the Word, preached it, embraced new insights into its meaning vis-à-vis justification by faith alone, rejection of Christ’s physical presence in the Lord’s . . . Continue reading →
Girolamo Zanchi (1516–90) is certainly not a household name in Christian circles. He was very well known among seventeenth-century Reformed Christians, however. For just one example, Puritan Thomas Goodwin wrote that Zanchi was “the best of Protestant Writers.”1 So why are many Reformed . . . Continue reading →
Leadership comes with the territory of pastoral ministry. The trouble is that we do not always embrace it as a reality. It can be hard to see how the obviously distinct aspects of the pastoral call fit alongside normal assumptions about leadership . . . Continue reading →
Can we learn anything from the disputes between two seventeenth-century theologians in England, John Owen and Richard Baxter? In this book, Tim Cooper makes the case that we can. And if we can, there are few better-qualified guides than Dr. Cooper. Extensively . . . Continue reading →
To say that this is a lifetime’s work by an elite historical theologian may be an understatement. Professor R. Scott Clark, who has taught Historical Theology at Westminster Seminary in California for decades, has been working on this project for decades. He . . . Continue reading →
As a minister who has the privilege of serving the Lord’s Supper on a weekly basis, I would love for more Christians to grow in their appreciation and understanding of what it is, what it does, and why we should want it . . . Continue reading →
Eschatology is one of those perennially discussed (and often debated) topics in Christian theology that, in my estimation, can often miss the main point by getting caught in the details. Usually, the first question it prompts is about what someone’s view of . . . Continue reading →
Among the sins you and I both have wrestled with is the sin of unjust anger. When faced with injury or injustice—whether real or perceived, whether against our person, someone else, or some group of people—we have been moved to respond in . . . Continue reading →
As advocates of the Presuppositional approach to apologetics remind us ad infinitum, no one is neutral epistemologically. That is true enough. We must not, however, draw the fallacious inference that no one is objective. That does not follow. In Histories and Fallacies . . . Continue reading →
Another book on worship? Well, yes. Though there seems to be a perennially voluminous output on the topic of worship (at least from among the Reformed and Presbyterian wing of Christendom), nevertheless, debates and disagreements on worship seem to persist. Beyond the . . . Continue reading →
The recent resurgence of classical Trinitarianism has borne tremendous fruit in bringing the reality of who God is to bear in the church’s ministry and proclamation. Even in confessionally Reformed circles where subscription vows have at least maintained a background fidelity to . . . Continue reading →
The Trinity is the heartbeat of the Christian faith, as Herman Bavinck reminds us.1 If this doctrine is indeed about pumping blood through our spiritual veins, then it must not be blockaded only into the academy halls and books inaccessible to ordinary . . . Continue reading →
The gospel is central to Christianity. Protestants and Roman Catholics have been reflecting on and debating the gospel’s content for centuries. However, Matthew Bates argues that most of Western Christianity to date—Protestant and Roman Catholic—has completely misunderstood the gospel. In Beyond the Salvation . . . Continue reading →
The earliest church experience I remember was in my hometown of Shreveport, LA. My mother made sure my brothers and I were dressed in our “Sunday best,” then loaded us into the car and drove us to a small white church building that could not have held more than sixty people. Continue reading →
The covenant theology roundup continues with part 2. Continue reading →
Growing up in the craggy mountains of Southern California, I developed a healthy fear of snakes, particularly of the venomous variety. As a young lad, whenever I would climb rocks and boulders, every crevice was considered a dark pit of hell from . . . Continue reading →