A Pulpit Is Not A Platform Since the early 18th century, American Christianity has been dominated by personalities. George Whitefield, the Wesleys, and Jonathan Edwards feature prominently in any narrative of the history of eighteenth-century American Christianity. When we think of the . . . Continue reading →
A friend and I were talking recently about a mutual friend, who had been a pastor and a strong advocate for the Reformation doctrines of sola scriptura (according to Scripture alone), sola gratia (by grace alone), and sola fide (through faith alone). Suddenly, however, this . . . Continue reading →
We have seen heretofore, that Eliu intending to rebuke Job, protested that he himself was a mortal man as Job was, to the end he should not complain that he was handled with too high a power. And so he showed that . . . Continue reading →
If skilled professionals (e.g., cops, nurses, and physicians), who deal with such cases routinely, are capable of failing to address the danger in which Nicole Brown Simpson founder herself, how much more difficult might it be for ministers, elders, and deacons to see the symptoms and address the problem? We (ministers, elders, and deacons) need to learn the symptoms and signs of abuse and must become prepared to take concrete steps to help. Continue reading →
Westminster Seminary California was founded more than 30 years ago principally to prepare men for pastoral ministry. The seminary educates students from all across the world to fulfill a variety of callings but they are still committed to that original vision because . . . Continue reading →
One of the most remarkable aspects of the Roman claims about an alleged Petrine papacy, apart from the utter lack of historical evidence for any such thing, is that Peter did use two different nouns to characterize his offices and ministry, apostle (ἀπόστολος) and presbyter (πρεσβύτερος). As a matter of fact, the papacy per se did not really come to exist until well the 4th century and even then its occasional claims to authority were rebuffed. As late as the 7th century Gregory I (c. 540–604), who was arguably the first Roman bishop to begin to exercise anything like the authority attributed to later popes, rejected the idea of a universal episcopal see. Continue reading →
Office Hours usually focuses on the process, i.e., on what the faculty says to the students and to others about what scripture says and what it means. That is as it should be because that is what we do at Westminster Seminary . . . Continue reading →
With the stench of decades of sweat fixed permanently in the air, its tile floor, and its fan-shaped basketball hoops mounted to the brick wall—the only protection against which being a thin, worn wrestling mat—the Community Center was the epitome of an . . . Continue reading →
One of the most frequently recurring set of search terms that brings readers to the HB is “pastors” and “wives.” They get here from this January, 2013 post on What Pastors Shouldn’t Tell Their Wives. The combination of the terms “pastors” and . . . Continue reading →
In the wake of the recent discussions about church discipline there have been many online discussions about whether churches should exercise ecclesiastical discipline (yes, it’s one of the three marks of the true church—see Belgic Confession art. 29), how, and when. In . . . Continue reading →
In the Reformed tradition, pastors and elders typically are required to visit church members in their homes at least once per year. In larger churches, an elder assigned to care for a certain number of families often does the visits. Unfortunately, home . . . Continue reading →
Remember this, at least — the things in which the world is now interested are the things that are seen; but the things that are seen are temporal, and the things that are not seen are eternal. You, as ministers of Christ, . . . Continue reading →
The church always exists in some culture, somewhere. Prior to the new heavens and the new earth, the church will never be free of the influence of the prevailing culture where it finds itself. Because we’re in the culture, because we are . . . Continue reading →
The post, “What Pastors Shouldn’t Tell Their Wives” is now available for Czech readers.
The question came up on the PB whether pastors are overworked. Most people work hard but not everyone works in the same way the pastor does. Some compared the pastor’s work to physical labor. That’s a poor comparison. The labor of the . . . Continue reading →
There are three great idols that all ministers must tear down daily cast into the fire for scrap: buildings, bodies, and budgets. These are the three things that almost invariably come up in conversation with pastors and, I must confess, I’ve too . . . Continue reading →
As a follow on to the recent post about what confidential information pastors should (or shouldn’t) share with their wives, it seems worth spending a moment thinking about the idea office. In this sense it refers to functions and particularly to duties. . . . Continue reading →
Megan Hill, a Presbyterian pastor’s wife, has been writing about what pastors tell their wives and what they should tell them. I can answer that question in one word: nothing. By nothing, I mean “no confidential information.” A pastor may tell his . . . Continue reading →
The Rev. Mr David Strain is speaking now in chapel at Westminster Seminary California. He is pastor of Main Street Presbyterian Church in Columbus, MS (PCA) and the guest of the student association. He talking about Colossians 1 as a realistic pattern . . . Continue reading →
I know some preachers who are very good men, and very devoted to Christ, who seem somehow to let their Christianity make them cold and dead to all the movings of friendship. They do not outwardly lead the lives of hermits; on . . . Continue reading →