Suicide, Christians and the Church: A Reflection

I can remember driving down the highway in Virginia in a state of depression. I’ve slipped into depression – probably a milder form than many have experienced – two or three times in my life. One was during my first pastorate, back in the late 80s. Every Saturday I’d get a copy of the Richmond newspaper and peruse the help wanted ads to see if there was a way for me to provide for my family if I threw in the towel on ministry. Honestly, if I’d had a fall-back option then I’d probably not be in the ministry today. As I drove down the rural highway in Southside Virginia my mind was walking through the valley of deep darkness that David spoke of in Psalm 23.

I looked at trees in the median and thought I could just swerve the wheel into one of those and the pain would stop.

I never seriously considered turning the wheel, but I had a deep longing for death that was evidence of the hopelessness and despair in my heart.   Continue at Dave Miller

Own Your Desperation

Don’t be fooled by the world’s paradigm for leadership, or the whisper of your indwelling sin.

We cringe at the thought of being seen as needy and coming off as desperate. Especially in positions of leadership. Don’t disclose your flaws, we hear from without and feel from within. Exhibit your strengths, demonstrate your capabilities, win their confidence. But a different word comes from above.

Good spiritual leaders — indeed, healthy Christians — are not those who suppress their failings and tell themselves over and over again they can do it. Rather, they own their neediness and acknowledge they are helpless to do what matters most.

“All true spiritual leadership,” writes John Piper in The Marks of a Spiritual Leader, “has its roots in desperation.” The spirit of the true Christian leader is not, “I’m up for the task,” but, “Who is sufficient for these things?” (2 Corinthians 2:16).   Continue at David Mathis

50 Shades of Strange

I have not read 50 Shades of Grey, nor do I plan to. The book is a bona fide publishing phenom, but every description I have read is that the story amounts to literary pornography. For that reason, I can’t imagine anything helpful coming from the film version set to be released later this year. I’ll be sitting that one out too. So I have great sympathy for the concerns Aimee Byrd expresses about the reception of the forthcoming movie. 

She writes: Now the trailer is out for the movie. And just this week, I am encountering more shades of strange for a movie that isn’t even releasing until February. I am shocked by some of my mom friends that have posted the trailer on Facebook, tagging some of my other mom friends about the “Mom’s Night Out” they look forward to having in February. Some of these women profess to be Christians. They all have daughters in middle or high school. And sons.   Continue at Denny Burk

9 Things You Should Know About Male Body Image Issues

Body image is the mental representation we create of what we think we look like; it may or may not bear a close relation to how others actually see us. Body image issues are often treated as if they were only a problem for women (see here for 9 Things on female body images issues). But men suffer from many of the same debilitating problems caused by skewed perceptions of their bodies. Here are nine things you should know about male body image issues:

1. When it comes to weight concerns, a key difference between young men and young women is that females want to be thinner, while males tend to feel pressure to gain weight. “There are some males who do want to be thinner and are focused on thinness,” says Dr. Alison Field, an associate professor of pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital, “but many more are focused on wanting bigger or at least more toned and defined muscles. That’s a very different physique.”

2. One common body image problem for men is dissatisfaction with their muscularity (i.e., with having well-developed muscles). Research suggests that exposure to the media ideal of muscularity, and not muscularity per se, elicits body dissatisfaction in men with pre-existing muscularity concerns.  Continue at Joe Carter

Does Struggling with Pornography Disqualify a Pastor from Ministry?

It seemed like just another picture perfect fall day. My grandfather called my teenage cousin and me to go with him for a ride. We loved to spend time with him—especially on road trips. As it turned out, this would be a very different kind of trip. Coughing all along the way, he drove straight to the hospital. While my cousin and I waited for hours, my grandfather was admitted. That was our final road trip. My grandfather died after a brief stay in the hospital.

 

I loved my grandfather. It ached my heart to think: what if he had gone in sooner? Would his doctors have discovered the cancer in time? But men don’t like to go the doctor, do they? We don’t like to admit that we have problems, and we certainly hate confessing that we need help. But acquiescing to the fear of vulnerability and to our culture’s false standard of masculinity (i.e., “I’m a man, I can handle it”) often makes for tragic endings. There’s a lesson in this for all pastors. Living by the motto, “I don’t need help, and I can’t expose my vulnerabilities,” can lead to ministerial death, even when Christ offers abundantly abounding grace to rescue us.

In his classic essay on the dangers of ministry, “The Almost Inevitable Ruin of Every Minister,” Donald Whitney writes that:   Continue at Bobby Scott

The Dangers and Duty of Confessing Sin to One Another

“Open Confession is good for the soul,” or so the maxim goes. Perhaps it might also be said, “Open Confession is  good for your relationship with God and men.” While Scripture supports both of these statements, there is something of a haze that lays across the surface of the meaning of such statements in Scripture as, “Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed” (James 5:16). Is James speaking of going around and confessing any sin that you can point to in your life to just about anyone you are in fellowship with in the church so that they will pray for you? Or, does he have in mind the practice of “keeping short accounts” with the brethren? Does he mean going to an offended brother or sister and asking forgiveness for a particular sin that was committed against them? Or, as the context might indicate, is James instructing  individuals in the congregation to come to the elders and confess particular sins of a scandalous nature in order to be healed of a sickness with which they had been chastened by God? While we may not come to a completely settled agreement on the precise meaning of James 5:16, there are 2 dangers and 3 applications of our duty that we should be able to agree upon when reflecting on this subject.   Continue at Nicholas T. Batzig

What Are We Saved From?

A number of years ago, R.C. Sproul wrote a book with a title that asked a vitally important question. It was Saved from What? He began by recounting a time almost forty years earlier when a stranger abruptly had stopped him and asked, “Are you saved?” Sproul was taken aback by the intrusion and responded with the first words that came into his mind: “Saved from what?” Here is a good question that every Christian witness should be able to answer. But the man who had stopped Sproul stammered and stuttered, unsure how to respond. As Sproul points out in his book, unless we know what we need to be saved from, we do not have an adequate understanding of the gospel and cannot truly share the Bible’s message with others. He remembers: “Though this man had a zeal for salvation, he had little understanding of what salvation is. He was using Christian jargon…. But sadly, he had little understanding of what he was so zealously trying to communicate.” Continue at Richard Phillips

The Gravity of Sin

Christians are not meant to be spectators in the sanctifying process. Believers are commanded to strive against their flesh for the sake of holiness and spiritual growth. At the same time, true righteousness is only possible through the power of God. As we’ve seen in recent days, biblical sanctification is a cooperative work between the Lord and His people.

The apostle Paul spells out the paradoxical nature of that cooperative work in Philippians 2:12-13.

So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.   Continue at John MacArthur

What Makes for a Good Elder?

This past week one of the best elders I ever served with went home to glory. I lost a dear friend. This has led me to reflect on what makes for a good elder. Of course, a good elder will fulfill the qualifications of 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1. That is foundational. He must be a man of character, the Word, and prayer. He should be hospitable, not a lover of money, rule his own household well, and the husband of one wife. These are just some of the biblical qualifications. However, there are also qualities that make for a good elder beyond the actual biblical requirements for service. Here are some that I have noticed over the years:

Theological, but Fiercely Practical: He will know the scriptures and revel in the doctrine and theology of God’s holy Word. And at the same time, he will know how to apply those truths of Scripture to the lives he is privileged to serve. As this man ministers, those under his care do not receive platitudes. Neither do they need to have a PhD in theology to sort through his advice and counsel. He is theologically minded and fiercely practical in applying that theology.   Continue at Kevin DeYoung

A Sexual Revolution for Young Evangelicals? No.

In any discussion about the future of religion in America, especially as it relates to stalled growth in churches and denominations, those outside our religious communities find one theory especially compelling. This is the idea: that young Evangelicals are frustrated with Christian orthodoxy’s strict standards of sexual morality. We’re told that these young Evangelicals will soon revolutionize our churches with liberalized views on same-sex marriage, premarital sex, gender identity, and so on. But a new study by a University of Texas sociologist finds that Evangelical Christians ages 18 to 39 are resisting liberalizing trends in the culture.

The suggestion of a shift in attitudes does sound plausible. Indeed, one of us has warned for years that conservative Evangelicals are often “slow-motion sexual revolutionaries,” adjusting to the ambient culture on, for instance, divorce in ways that have harmed our witness and compromised the Biblical message. How much more vulnerable would Evangelicals be in a culture that is shifting roller-coaster fast on the definition of marriage itself and related issues? But recent data suggest otherwise.   Continue at Russell Moore

The Primary Reason I’m a Preacher — John MacArthur

“Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.” — 1 Peter 2:1-3

While preaching on the verses above, in a sort of aside, John MacArthur stated his primary reason for being in the ministry. I personally believe it is also the primary reason the Lord has blessed his ministry:

If Peter was going to exhort his congregation through this letter, he could have chosen a number of approaches to this. He could have said to them, “You need to read the Word.” That’s what Paul said in 1 Timothy 4:13. He could have said, “You need to study the Word so that you’re not ashamed, rightly dividing it,” as Paul said in 1 Timothy 2:15. He could have said what the psalmist said in Psalm 19:14 what Joshua 1:8 says, what Paul said in Philippians 4:8, he could have said, “Think on the Word, meditate on the Word.” He could have said what Paul said in 1 Timothy 4:11, “Teach the Word.” He could have said what Paul said in 2 Timothy 4:2, “Preach the Word.” He could have said what it says in Acts 17:11 about the Bereans, “Search the Word.” He could have said what is instructed to us in the armor of the Christian in Ephesians 6, “Take the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God,” or wield the Word, but he didn’t. I suppose he could have said what is in Psalm 119:11, “Hide the Word.” Put it in your heart. All of those things are certainly critical.    Continue at Eric T. Young

Biblical Theology and Shepherding

How would you write a pastor’s job description? Where would you look for models? Maybe you’d ask a few other local churches for theirs and make a few tweaks to reflect your own church’s schedule and programs.

That assumes, of course, that everyone already knows what a pastor is supposed to be and do. But how do we know what a pastor’s fundamental role is?

Certainly we should look to Scripture to tell us what a pastor is. But where in Scripture? We could start with the work implied in elders’ qualifications (1 Tim. 3:1–7; Tit. 1:5–10), and carefully consider explicit commands given to church leaders. When we scratch beneath the surface of some of those commands, though, an interesting picture emerges. Consider Acts 20:28 and 1 Peter 5:1–3, both addressed to elders of local churches:

Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for [Gk. poimainein] the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. (Acts 20:28)

So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd [Gk. poimanate] the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. (1 Pet. 5:1–3)   Continue at Bobby Jamieson

When the Abortion Industry Self-Destructs

In one sense, there are really just two types of people when it comes to the topic of abortion: those who think it is okay to kill unborn babies, and those who think it is wrong. If you don’t think you’re in one of these categories, you still are; you’re just confused.

Confusion, though, isn’t the most terrible thing. It means there is still hope, and in fact, this hopeful condition likely characterizes the general public of the United States. Most people don’t have a deep conviction about unborn babies. Most people don’t even think about unborn babies unless it’s an election year or the news runs a story. Even most who support abortion could only repeat the rhetoric they’ve heard from devotees.

And therefore, if confusion is what’s really popular, the question becomes: What will it take for abortion activists to convince the general public that their position is a psychotic threat to humanity?   Continue at Jonathan Parnell

Who was George Blaurock?

George Blaurock’s name marks Truett-McConnell College’s proposed student recreation center (SRC) – a facility not yet built, but already called the Rock.

Like a rock, Blaurock stood stone stiff in his faith and practice, and that example provides the impetus for his name donning the SRC.

Swiss-born, Blaurock’s early years are a mystery. Even his birth is cited by some historians as ca. 1492. But of the evangelical aspects marking his adult life until his death in 1529, much more is known.

Educated at the University of Leipzig, Blaurock was a Roman Catholic priest until his conversion to Christ and evangelical Anabaptism. Before arriving in Zurich with his wife around 1524, however, the seeds of radical transformation apparently had taken root in Blaurock’s heart and life because he evidently had abandoned the priesthood.

Perhaps attracted by the significant changes and the Reformation already begun in Zurich by Zwingli and others, Blaurock’s search for truth led him in 1525 to Zwingli. Blaurock wanted to consult with him concerning the gospel, but being disappointed turned to Conrad Grebel and Felix Manz for the truth.

These and other men, known as the Radical Reformers, believed the so-called Reformation did not go far enough, as Zwingli was defending, among other things, the baptism of babies, or, paedobaptism.   Continue at Norm Miller

6 Reflections on Sleepovers

I didn’t see this one coming. After over ten years of daily blogging, I tend to have a pretty good sense of which articles have the potential to cause a reaction and which articles have the potential to fizzle. I might have guessed that an article on why my family doesn’t do sleepovers would have attracted a few more readers than usual, but I wouldn’t have believed that in its first week it would be read by nearly 750,000 people. But it was, and I found myself wondering why.

I’ve spent some time reading through comments and responses to try to understand why so many people were interested in reading about sleepovers. Here are a few personal takeaways from the discussion.   Continue at Tim Challies

Is God Too Holy for You?

God’s holiness carries a sense of loftiness and purity and awe-inspiring wonder and perfection. It is awe inspiring, but it also can be intimidating and even terrifying. Sure, we worship the holy God for his holiness, but the more we see of him, the more we’re reminded of how unholy we truly are. It’s not a comfortable thought. The way we think — even subconsciously — about God’s holiness will likely impact our worship on Sunday morning.

The Scary God

Think of Isaiah, who when he was brought into the presence of the Lord, cried, “Woe is me! I am lost (or ruined or undone); for I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” (Isaiah 6:5). Or think of John in Revelation 1:17, who when he saw the Lord, “fell at his feet as though dead.”   Continue at Adrien Segal

Missing the Point About the Contraceptive Mandate

We at Answers in Genesis have been praising God this week for the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in favor of the Hobby Lobby company regarding its free exercise of religion as guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. It should have been an easy decision, but the vote was 5-4. Four justices ultimately had wanted to decide to oppose the free exercise of religion for certain Christians—the Christian owners of Hobby Lobby, who did not want to offer abortion-causing drugs to their employees as mandated by Obamacare. Instead they wanted to abide by Christian principles and not be forced to accept a secular view on the sanctity of life (i.e., not be involved in killing children in the womb).

Denying the sanctity of life by four justices and tens of millions of Americans is reflective of something alarming in our culture. Many who supported the Obamacare mandate seemed either to miss the biggest problem with the law or flatly opposed what God says in His Word. (Or they just didn’t care.) Regardless, many people have bought into the false religion of man’s word determining truth—and that it is greater than God’s Word on a host of issues.   Continue at Ken Ham

Is Feminine Modesty About Sex?

During the summer, the topic of modesty comes out from hibernation. But with the renewed conversations come many assumptions about modesty, assumptions that are always worth re-thinking.

Here’s the main assumption: Feminine modesty is about sexual provocation. If a woman’s skirt is too short or blouse is too low, it will cause her Christian brother to lust.

Two Important Texts

This assumption raises two challenges. The first one is whether feminine modesty is about sex in the first place. If it is, the two main texts in the New Testament don’t make this point very clear.

1 Peter 3:3–4:

Do not let your adorning be external — the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear — but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.

1 Timothy 2:9–10:

. . . women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness — with good works.    Continue at Tony Reinke

The Bible’s Clear Condemnation of Homosexuality

“For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.” – Romans 1:26-27

Duncan,

Paul himself in this passage makes it very clear that what he is saying about homosexuality is, in fact, based upon the Old Testament Law. And especially Leviticus, chapter 18, and Leviticus, chapter 20. But Paul doesn’t say, you know, that unbiblical. What he says is, it’s unnatural. What does he mean by that? He means a lot of things by that, but he means at least this.   Continue at Ligon Duncan

Life as an “Ordinary” Pastor’s Kid

Over at the Blazing Center, Barnabas Piper, son of pastor John Piper, has an article on what to do when you meet a pastor’s kid. He’s apparently written a book about what it’s like to grow up in a pastor’s family. As a pastor’s daughter and missionary’s granddaughter, I’m generally interested to hear other “stories from the trenches.” Life in a pastor’s family has its challenges, but it also has great blessings. My friend, Megan Hill, has written a series of great articles on the subject that I highly recommend: part 1, part 2, part 3. (Megan is both a pastor’s daughter and a pastor’s wife, so she knows what she’s talking about.)

Back to Barnabas’ article. I was interested to read his take on being a pastor’s kid. Reading his list, though, I realized that I couldn’t relate to his concerns at all. It took me a minute to realize why: I’m not a celebrity pastor’s kid. Apparently it makes a big difference.   Continue at Rachel Miller

Two Cautions for Conservatives

I am a conservative. I am a conservative in religion, politics, family values, and even fashion. I am an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church in America, prefer less government to more government, believe marriage is to be between one man and one woman for life, and believe men should never be allowed to wear open-toed sandals. I am by all accounts, a conservative. I don’t wear it is a badge of honor or as my identity. I am happy to move from any position I hold if convinced by a contrary argument, whether it is considered a liberal, moderate, or conservative position (though, you will never convince me that men should show their hairy toes in public). However, having said this, I find that I am usually one of the more conservative people in any given room. This has led me to watch and observe others who tend to lean conservative. There are two cautions that I would offer to myself and others who tend to be consistently conservative.   Continue at Jason Helopoulos

Be the Opposite of a Hypocrite

Knowledge doesn’t terminate on the knower. We don’t learn in order to conceal, just like a lamp isn’t lit to be put under a basket (Matthew 5:15). We learn in order to express — to lead others in seeing and savoring what we have seen and savored. And that means we don’t merely say it, but that we say it effectively.

To encourage this kind of communication, John Piper recently explained four characteristics of helpful speaking and writing to new graduates of Bethlehem College and Seminary. He counsels communicators to say what they’ve seen with truth, with logic, with pictures, and with love.

It’s perhaps that first point, though, that might surprise most of us. It could seem redundant to say that communicators of truth should communicate with truth. But as Piper explains it, he doesn’t mainly have in mind that we be the opposite of liars, but that we be the opposite of hypocrites. He then continues by giving a profile of hypocrisy:   Continue at Jonathan Parnell

10 Questions with Barnabas Piper on His New Book “The Pastor’s Kid”

Today Barnabas Piper’s book The Pastor’s Kid: Finding Your Own Faith and Identity is being released. Being the son of John Piper (who wrote the forward), he draws on his own experience of growing up as a PK. Pastors who want to raise their kids as best as they can will benefit immensely. Barnabas provides several quotes from many other PKs, too, representing a broader perspective on being raised in a minister’s family than just his own.

I was greatly helped by The Pastor’s Kid. Barnabas addresses many dynamics of the PK’s experience that I never could have seen coming. I recommend it not only to pastors, but also to their wives (Mrs. McKiddie swiped my pre-release copy, and she’s already a third of the way through it).  Curious to find out more, I threw a few questions his way about what it’s like being a pastor’s kid.   Continue at Pastoralized

Biblical Theology and the Sexuality Crisis

Western society is currently experiencing what can only be described as a moral revolution. Our society’s moral code and collective ethical evaluation on a particular issue has undergone not small adjustments but a complete reversal. That which was once condemned is now celebrated, and the refusal to celebrate is now condemned.

What makes the current moral and sexual revolution so different from previous moral revolutions is that it is taking place at an utterly unprecedented velocity. Previous generations experienced moral revolutions over decades, even centuries. This current revolution is happening at warp speed.

As the church responds to this revolution, we must remember that current debates on sexuality present to the church a crisis that is irreducibly and inescapably theological. This crisis is tantamount to the type of theological crisis that Gnosticism presented to the early church or that Pelagianism presented to the church in the time of Augustine. In other words, the crisis of sexuality challenges the church’s understanding of the gospel, sin, salvation, and sanctification. Advocates of the new sexuality demand a complete rewriting of Scripture’s metanarrative, a complete reordering of theology, and a fundamental change to how we think about the church’s ministry.   Continue at 9Marks

Is Religious Freedom Under Attack in the USA?

Actually, I don’t believe it’s “religious” freedom that is under attack in America, but “Christian” freedom is certainly under fire in this nation. Increasingly, we are seeing a court system and legislature that want more tolerance of a certain form of religion, but at the expense of an intolerance of Christianity. More and more this culture seeks the absolute tolerance of the religion of secularism and its moral relativism, but at the same time intolerance of the absolutes of Christianity built on the foundation of the absolute authority of the Word of God.

Personally, I believe the U.S. Supreme Court case about Obamacare and Hobby Lobby (our lead article on the Court’s important decision today will be posted soon) has been just another blatant example of the attempted erosion of Christian freedoms in this nation. Yes, the news this morning from the U.S. Supreme Court was encouraging, but how did this nation even get to the point where Christian-owned businesses would be forced to offer abortion-causing drugs in its health coverage for employees?   Continue at Ken Ham

Confessing Our Sins Together

In a chapter on confession and communion in Life Together, Dietrich Bonhoeffer writes that “he who is alone with his sin is utterly alone. . . . But it is the grace of the gospel, which is so hard for the pious to understand, that confronts us with the truth and says: You are a sinner, a great, desperate sinner; now come as the sinner you are, to the God who loves you.”

I’m sure that most of us agree with Bonhoeffer that the confession of sin, grounded in the gospel, is a vital component of our personal spirituality. But we get a little uncomfortable when it comes to corporate dimensions of confession. It’s not too threatening to engage in silent confession when the liturgy calls us to do so in the weekend service, but when it comes to times of confession in small-group settings, we often settle for less-indicting statements like “I’m struggling with . . .” Even then, we have the gnawing sense that our vague, toothless non-confessions aren’t fulfilling the exhortation of James 5:16, “Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed.”   Continue at Ryan Griffith

7 Good Reasons To Stop Looking at Porn Right Now

There are certain topics I return to on a regular basis and, if you are a regular reader of this site, you know that one of those topics is pornography. I return to it again and again because I see the damage it is doing and I see the despair of those who are caught up in it. My goal for today is simple: I want to give you 7 good reasons you need to stop looking at porn right now.

 

1. The Cost to Your Soul

 

I want to begin here: With the cost to your soul. If you are consumed with pornography and unwilling to put this sin to death, you have every reason to be concerned with the state of your soul. God promises that if he has saved us we will gain new passions and new affections. We will have not only the ability but also the desire to replace sin with holiness, to replace immorality with sexual purity. If you have no sorrow for sin, if you have no real desire for victory, if time and again you recklessly choose your sin over your Savior, you need to ask yourself this: Do I love pornography enough to go to hell for it? If this sin continues to dominate your life, it may stand as proof that you do not have a saving, sin-slaying faith. For the sake of your soul, stop looking at pornography.  Continue at Tim Challies

Let’s Be Watchful Out There: About Relational Heresy

It’s instructive that the Bible not only alerts us to watch out for doctrinal heresy, but also for relational heresy. 

The Bible commands us not only to be careful out there about people who are false teachers; we also must be careful out there about people who are false lovers—divisive, biting, devouring, overbearing, quarrelsome, and contentious people. 

Consider just a few of the times that the Bible warns us to be careful, to be on guard against, and to watch out for divisive people. 

Romans 16:17-19: Watch Out for Those Who Cause Divisions 

“I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people. Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I rejoice because of you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil.”   Continue at RPM

Seven Reasons the Pastor’s Salary Can Be a Source of Tension

If you want a lively discussion, then the topic of the pastor’s salary can usually meet that need. I have discussed this issue in the past on both my blog and my podcast. In both cases, the conversation was, well, interesting.

So why does this topic seem to evoke strong emotions in some pastors and church members? I have seen at least seven reasons it does so.

1. The pastor’s salary is often public information. In some cases, the entire church sees the amount on a regular basis. In other cases, certain members have ongoing access to the information. The constant availability of the information can engender discussion.
2. Some church members view a low salary as a necessary tool for the pastor’s humility. No, I am not kidding. But I bet those people would not like the same humility for themselves.  Continue at Thom Rainer

Cutting through the Confusion about What to Call “the New Calvinism”

The mention of Calvinism may provoke revulsion or comfort—but it rarely produces apathy. 

“Calvinism,” journalist H.L. Mencken opined in 1937, “occupies a place in my cabinet of private horrors but little removed from that of cannibalism.” Mencken included these words in his obituary for J. Gresham Machen, a Presbyterian theologian who whispered on his deathbed, “Isn’t the Reformed faith grand?” The same doctrines that elicited exultations from the lips of one man incited comparisons to sautéing your next-door neighbor in another. Perhaps it shouldn’t surprise us, then, that the most recent surge of interest in Reformed theology has ignited joy in some hearts and panic in others.

Over the past several years, an overabundance of possible names for this movement has also sparked no small measure of confusion. “Young, restless, Reformed” was the nomenclature that Collin Hansen selected for an article and book about his journey with “the new Calvinists”—a group that’s also been dubbed “neo-Reformed,” “neo-Calvinist,” and even “neo-Puritan."

Continue at  Timothy Paul Jones

The Seven-Year Itch and the Joy of Lifelong Marriage

German politician Gabriele Pauli shocked her conservative party and sent waves through news outlets worldwide when she proposed in September 2007 that marriage should only last seven years.

Described at the time as “Bavaria’s most glamorous politician,” the 50-year-old, twice-divorced, motorcycle-riding Pauli campaigned for party head, in part, with the hopes of institutionalizing what some have called “the seven-year itch.” Her plan was that marriages would automatically dissolve after seven years, at which point the spouses could renew their union or go along on their own merry ways. Pauli did not win in her bid for party leadership.

Seven-Year What?

The “seven-year itch” is a widely recognized psychological term suggesting the seven-year mark as a common time when spouses sense they have drifted away from each other and desire to explore other romantic interests. It’s also the title of an iconic 1955 motion picture, which popularized the phrase in relation to marriage.   Continue at David Mathis

What Is Hell?

We have often heard statements such as “War is hell” or “I went through hell.” These expressions are, of course, not taken literally. Rather, they reflect our tendency to use the word hell as a descriptive term for the most ghastly human experience possible. Yet no human experience in this world is actually comparable to hell. If we try to imagine the worst of all possible suffering in the here and now we have not yet stretched our imaginations to reach the dreadful reality of hell.

Hell is trivialized when it is used as a common curse word. To use the word lightly may be a halfhearted human attempt to take the concept lightly or to treat it in an amusing way. We tend to joke about things most frightening to us in a futile effort to declaw and defang them, reducing their threatening power.   Continue at R. C. Sproul

The Deep Joy of Self-Denial

Jesus gives us commands — “demands,” we might call them. They are words issued to us from his comprehensive authority in all of heaven and earth, all linked together in some way, forming a beautiful tapestry of what it means to live under his lordship.

But the question remains for us in how they are connected. How do we understand them in relation to one another? Take, for example, the commands to rejoice and renounce.

Jesus tells us in Luke 6:22–23,

Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets.

This command is to rejoice. Paradoxically, we are blessed when we’re reviled on account of Jesus. And when that happens, “in that day” Jesus tells us, we should rejoice and leap for joy. Why? Because our reward is great in heaven.   Continue at Jonathan Parnell

The Goodness of Gender

The jarring “It is not good for the man to be alone” was not an “oops” moment in the creation story. Adam’s aloneness was underscored as he named the animals. There was no creature that corresponded to him, who glorified and enjoyed God with him, who communicated with him. Then, God gave him a helper who was equal but different, and their perfect complementarity reflected the glory of the ontological (pertaining to being or essence) equality and functional diversity of the three-in-one God. It was very good.

God gave man and woman the cultural mandate to be fruitful, multiply, and take dominion by extending the beauty and wonder of Eden into all the world. They were created for something bigger than themselves, but they believed Satan’s lies and lost it all. Then God gave the gospel promise that the woman’s offspring would crush the enemy, and Adam responded by naming his wife Eve, which means life-giver, pointing to the One who would give His life for and to His people.   Continue at Susan Hunt

Should We Pray for Revival?

When do you think the following observations were made?

• Ministers today seem more concerned with political power in society than spiritual fervency in the church, while pop culture contributes to the moral decay among the youth.
• While marked by an increasing ethnic diversity and various religious beliefs, the nation’s established religious groups –– particularly Protestants –– demonstrate a sterile spirituality. One pastor bemoans the obsession with gambling and rudeness, while churches are attended at convenience.
• College campuses teem with students chasing after the latest philosophies, the more unbiblical the better. The more educated a person you find, the less likely you are to discover a Christian. Meanwhile, churches are filled with people who listen to pastors preach then contradict the sermon by the way they live.    Continue at Alvin Reid

9 Things You Should Know About Transgenderism

Transgenderism has been a frequently discussed topic over the past few weeks. On May 30, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services review board ruled that Medicare can pay for the "reassignment" surgery sought by the transgendered. A few days later Time magazine's cover story on the "transgender tipping point" declared the social movement is "poised to challenge deeply held cultural beliefs." And last week the Southern Baptist Convention, America's largest Protestant denomination, overwhelmingly passed a resolution titled “On Transgender Identity.” Since the topic will be coming up for some time to come, here are nine things you should know about transgenderism.

1. Transgenderism is an umbrella term for the state or condition of identifying or expressing a gender identity that does not match a person's physical/genetic sex. Transgender is independent of sexual orientation, and those who self-identify as transgender may consider themselves to be heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, pansexual, polysexual, or asexual. Approximately 700,000 individuals in the U.S. identify as transgender.

2. Transgenderism differs from intersex, a variation in sex characteristics including chromosomes, gonads, or genitals that do not allow an individual to be distinctly identified as male or female. Intersex is a physical condition while transgender is a psychological condition. The vast majority of people with intersex conditions identify as male or female rather than transgender or transsexual. (The term "hermaphrodite" is now considered outdated, inaccurate, and offensive as a reference to people who are intersex.)   Continue at Joe Carter

When It’s Time to Leave a Church

I detest church hopping. Yet I accept the fact that there are times when Christians transfer church membership. But there is a proper time and way to leave a church.

What are the legitimate reasons for leaving a church? When is the right time to leave a church? How should one leave a church to join another?

Red Lights: Wrong Reasons for Leaving a Church

Here are seven wrongs reasons for leaving a church. 

Sin. Someone has sinned. Maybe it was a leader. Is this a good reason to leave? No. It is not promote holiness to leave because of sin. There was gross sin in the church of Corinth. But Paul commanded the church to deal with the sinning member, not leave the church (1 Corinthians 5:9-13). When Paul bids the saints to “come out from among them,” he was talking about the world, not the church (2 Corinthians 6:14-18). We should respond to sinning brothers with restoration, not amputation (Galatians 6:1-5).

Disagreements over secondary doctrinal issues. Biblical convictions matter. But don’t be willing to die on every hill. Contend earnestly for the faith (Jude). But don’t break fellowship over every disagreement about scripture. Paul advised Timothy, “Remind them of these things, and charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers. Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness…” (2 Timothy 2:14-16)    Continue at H. B. Charles Jr.

Why Churches Talk the Great Commission but Don’t Do It

In seventeen years of doing church consulting, no church leader has said to me, “Our church really doesn’t want to do the Great Commission.” I’ve worked with many churches, though, that proclaim the Great Commission but never get around to doing it. Here are my conclusions about why churches so often fit this description.

1. Church leaders talk the language without letting the biblical texts “sink in.” They speak about the Great Commission because the Bible so obviously commands it (Matt. 28:18-20, Mark 16:15, Luke 24:45-47, John 20:21, Acts 1:8). I suspect many leaders, though, echo the words out of evangelical habit more than out of heartfelt burden. When we proclaim the message without obeying the command, the words have not settled firmly in our heart.
2. Pastors are themselves not committed to this task. Again, leaders whose ministries are built on the Bible often do proclaim the mandate. I cannot say these words strongly enough, however: I have never seen a Great Commission church led by a pastor who was not himself deeply committed to the task. Unless a pastor bleeds for his neighbors and the nations to know Christ, the church he leads will not live out this burden, either.   Continue at Chuck Lawless

Hope in the Struggle with Sin and Self — A.W. Pink

“He who is really honest with himself and has had his eyes opened in some degree to see the awful sinfulness of self, and who is becoming more and more acquainted with that sink of iniquity, that mass of corruption which still indwells him, often feels that sin more completely rules him now than ever it did before. When he longs to trust God with all his heart, unbelief seems to paralyze him. When he wishes to be completely surrendered to God’s blessed will, murmurings and rebellion surge within him. When he would spend an hour in meditating on the things of God, evil imaginations harass him. When he desires to be more humble, pride seeks to fill him. When he would pray, his mind wanders. The more he fights against these sins, the further off victory seems to be. To him it appears that sin is very much the master of him, and Satan tells him that his profession is vain. What shall we say to such a dear soul who is deeply exercised over this problem?…   Continue at Eric T. Young

Seven Ways to Hurt Your Pastor

If you really want to hurt your pastor, then this blogpost is for you.

 

This past week alone, I had conversations with dozens of pastors. These pastors love their churches and the members. They are really committed to their callings.

But they are real people who can really be hurt.

The pastors I spoke with this past week shared with me seven common themes of the things that hurt them the most. So, if you really want to hurt your pastor, follow these guidelines carefully.

1. Criticize the pastor’s family. Few things are as painful to pastors as criticizing their families, especially if the criticisms are related to issues in the church.
2. Tell the pastor he is overpaid. Very few pastors really make much money. But there are a number of church members who would like to make the pastor feel badly about his pay.
3. Don’t defend the pastor. Critics can be hurtful. But even more hurtful are those who remain silent while their pastor is verbally attacked. Silence is not golden in this case.   Continue at Thom S. Rainer