I have been asked to offer my thoughts as to why I, as a self-described “confessionalist” at the more conservative end of the spectrum of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), am encouraged by the state of the PCA. And, indeed, I . . . Continue reading →
Pastoral Ministry
How Not To Train Pastors (Part 3)
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 →
How Not To Train Pastors (Part 2)
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 →
A Resource For Churches Dealing With Abuse
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 →
Review: Bully Pulpit: Confronting the Problem of Spiritual Abuse in the Church by Michael J. Kruger
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 →
Abuse, Burnout, and the Pastoral Remit
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 →
A Sociological Note To Pastors About Boys
Today, undergraduate enrollment has flipped—female enrollment is at 58 percent. Women are awarded 53 percent of PhDs, and they make up the majority of law students. Whole professions, like psychology and veterinary medicine, are becoming overwhelmingly female. Forty percent of American women . . . Continue reading →
We Are Not Professionals But Ought To Be True Confessionals
I recently wrote a book review about a volume by an author whose works usually prompt me to significant disagreement, but, in this case, whether because of a change of his mind or coincidence of the material, I found that I generally . . . Continue reading →
Social Media and Pastoral Ministry
If I may, I’d like to begin by voicing a concern. What I’m about to attempt is to outline some of the benefits and dangers of social media for pastors as well as a few suggested guardrails that might protect a man . . . Continue reading →
Wolfish Benefits
I finished The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill last week (I know, I’m behind on the times, please bear with me), and the reformed world is currently re-embroiled in staving off Federal Vision for a second time, as Doug Wilson is experiencing a . . . Continue reading →
He Is A Pastor, Not A Priest
One of the great temptations that reporters face, especially as they become famous (or notorious), is the temptation to think that they are part of the story or that they are in charge of the story. In other words, it is tempting, . . . Continue reading →
She Is Not A Pastor
A Gospel-Double-Decker Not A Law-Sandwich
We were walking out of chapel after our weekly prayer group and a student said to me, about a sermon he had recently heard, “It was a law-sandwich.” That might not have been the first time I had ever heard that expression . . . Continue reading →
Review: Coleman and Rester, Eds., Faith in the Time of Plague
The past two-and-a-half years of COVID-19 fears, restrictions, and dissensions have led to strenuous circumstances for many professions and vocations. The callings of pastors and ministers have been no exception. It has been especially difficult for sessions, consistories, diaconates, and congregations in . . . Continue reading →
Justin Holcomb To Speak On “Abuse, Healing, And The Church” At Christ Reformed in D. C. May 12, 2022
Jesus is the Great Physician, and the church is his hospital. It is a place for sinners—and those who have been wounded by the sins of others—to heal. Justin Holcomb describes in his speaking and writing how the heartbreaking statistics on abuse . . . Continue reading →
Parachurch Or Pastoring? (Part 1)
The church has a mission and purpose, received directly from Christ’s appointment. Despite her imperfections, Scripture does not seem to suggest that Jesus thought the church would need support from further external organizations. Rather, the Bible indicates that the church would perform . . . Continue reading →
A Pastor’s Public Persona
In many ways, the pastor lives his life in front of his people. Apart from mega-church pastors who might choose to isolate themselves from the people they shepherd (which notably does not apply across the board to every pastor of a large . . . Continue reading →
An Emerging Pastoral Problem? Teens And Masks
Who knows what the social and spiritual outcome of the Covid regime will be but
Brothers, The Time Is Now
In 1643, George Gillespie traveled to London as one of the eleven Scots chosen to participate in the Westminster Assembly. Initially tasked by Parliament to revise the 39 Articles of the Church of England, one of the most contentious topics of the . . . Continue reading →
Review: Grant Macaskill, Autism and the Church: Bible, Theology, and Community (Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2019)
Since first being credentialed by a presbytery in 2014, several topics have occupied my thoughts for extended periods of time regarding how best to preach and to pastor people wrestling with difficult issues, but none so much as the matter of mental . . . Continue reading →