The Man Behind Monergism

It might sounds strange to hear someone speak of “the man behind monergism,” since the word monergism–in theological parlance–is used to denote the singular working of God in Christ for the justification of sinners. One might think the reference is to Jesus Christ, who is Himself the God-Man; but I’m actually referring to John Hendryx, the man behind Monergism.com.

The first time I stumbled across Monergism was also the first time I heard the word used–the meaning of which itself encourages careful theological study! Sometime late in the fall of 2001 I stumbled across this wonderful site. I was a newly converted Christian, eager to read everything I could so that I might better understand the theology of Scripture. I remember reading several articles on Covenant Theology, the role of Israel in the redemptive-history and Christology–all of which had a huge influence on my theological development.

Back in 2001 there were not many Reformed theological resource sites on line. John created the site on July 21, 2001, just a few months prior to my own conversion. Since then hundreds of thousands of sites have emerged. Many have come and gone. Some have fizzled out because of a lack of financial support or ongoing interest. Still others have gone into retirement for a variety of personal reasons. 11 years after first stumbling across Monergism the site is still up and better than ever. One of the unique things about Monergism is that, unlike many of the sites that are a collaborative web network or coalition, it is the product of the labors of just one individual.

Today John continues to keep Monergism full of rich theological articles and posts. In addition, has has recently revamped the audio library–making Monerism MP3 one of the best sermon audio resources to visit online. Many of our readers will also know that John runs Monergism Books–an online Reformed theological bookstore.   Continue at Nicholas T. Batzig

How to Conduct an Effective Membership Interview

At the outset, it may be helpful to acknowledge that there are no specific verses in Scripture that require a church to conduct an interview before recognizing someone as a member of its congregation. In the days of the New Testament, the process for becoming a member of the church seems to have been fairly brief and organic. A new member professed faith in Christ, was baptized, and was added to the church (cf. Acts 2:41).  

But for good reason many churches have found it helpful to set aside a time to talk with a membership candidate before he or she joins the church. In my experience, these interview sessions represent an extremely valuable pastoral opportunity. It's a chance to ask questions, provide pastoral care, and shape the candidates' understanding of their role in the church.

The purpose of this article is to provide some practical guidance on how to make the most of these interviews for the benefit of the member and the health of the church. And while there's no one set way to conduct a membership interview, I've found it helpful to try to achieve three things in the course of a one-hour meeting:

1. Get to know the candidate for membership.
2. Help the candidate understand the church.
3. Begin pastoral care for the candidate.    Continue at  Mike McKinley

Does Joel Osteen Not Know, or Does He Not Care?

Here we go again. Joel Osteen is in the news once again, this time for saying that Mormonism is just another form of Christianity. Osteen, pastor of “America’s largest church,” as the media repeat over and over, was speaking to The Washington Times in an interview that covered a variety of issues. It was the quintessential Joel on display.

Speaking to the newspaper on Monday, Osteen said, “I see faith in America at an all-time high.” His comments came just as a major research project detailed a significant loss of vitality in America’s Christian congregations. That loss of vitality can be traced, among other things, to a loss of theological and biblical conviction. Joel, of course, is proof positive that you can build a crowd without building a church. He is not inclined to deal in much theological conviction.

In the interview, he distilled his message in these words: “Part of our core message is that seasons change, and when you believe, if you don’t get bitter, and you don’t get discouraged, you may not change overnight, but you can get peace.”    Keep Reading >>>

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Keller on Salvation Outside of Christ

Editor’s note: Last week Justin Taylor featured a 2008 interview Tim Keller gave Martin Bashir related to the release of The Reason for God. Keller clarifies and corrects one of his responses in this article. If you’d like to learn more from Keller about the need to believe in Jesus Christ for salvation, watch this brief clip (also embedded below) and listen to his sermon “Exclusivity: How Can There Be Just One True Religion?” preached at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York.

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This interview from three and a half years ago was the first public event like this I had ever done, and a number of my responses were less than skillful. One in particular—the one about whether there is any way of salvation outside of faith in Christ—was misleading and unhelpful.

Then and now, when people struggle with something the Bible says, I sometimes invoke the principle of Deuteronomy 29:29: “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.” The thought that God doesn’t tell us everything there is to know, and that if he doesn’t we don’t need to know it, is helpful at a number of points in life. It’s helpful when people are struggling with the difficult doctrines—of the Trinity, or how God can be sovereign and yet human beings be responsible for their decisions, or over why God allows suffering to continue. At those points it’s helpful to say, “There is more truth than God has told us, and maybe when we get to heaven he’ll show it to us. That may shed new light on things that we find difficult. Til then, we go with what we are told. That’s all we need.”      Continue Reading....

Interview With Mike Horton: Part Four

This is the fourth and final part of my interview with Mike Horton on the nature of the gospel and sanctification. You can (and should) read Part One , Two, and Three.

A friend of mine recently wrote this to me. How would you respond? “I’ve not heard many of the folks who focus on the indicative be very specific about how they handle the imperative in preaching and counseling. They keep saying, “Of course we believe in the imperatives…” Then what? It think it would be very instructive to have some “indicative folks” post specifics on how they preach and counsel with the imperatives. What is the role of the imperative in preaching, counseling, personal sanctification, etc.? What does it actually “look like” in real life ministry to build the imperatives on the indicative? 

I wonder if this is quite fair. Speaking in my own defense, I’ve written a book on the application of the Ten Commandments to us today and I can’t think of any book I’ve written on the gospel that doesn’t include the claims of God’s law as well. When you’re trying to shift the focus, it’s easy for people to think that this is all you talk about in the pulpit or in counseling. However, when preaching through the whole of Scriptures—which full-time pastors are privileged to do—there’s no freedom to cherry-pick your favorite verses and emphases. To be sure, “the sacred writings…make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ” (2 Tim 3:15).  Nevertheless, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work” (v 16). Containing both indicatives and imperatives, Scripture itself gives us what we need; our job is to make sure that we distinguish these and recall which does the saving work.    Keep Reading...

Thinking About Rick Warren & John Piper

A Theological Chameleon
One of the most common critiques of Rick Warren and one of the most important is that he is something of a chameleon. There is a kind of pragmatism to him where he will be A and Not A depending on the context. I have little confidence that in a different context Warren would have answered the questions the same way. I am not saying that he outright lied to Piper, but simply that his track record shows that he adapts to fit the context.

Warren has been lauded in the secular media for speaking for a long time to a large group of Jewish leaders without ever using the name of Jesus. He is now being lauded by Calvinists for affirming the doctrines of grace. He has received praise from Roman Catholics. After all, he recently wrote the introduction to a special edition of TIME magazine that celebrated the life of Mother Teresa. This introduction praises the woman and holds her up as a model of Christian virtue. There Warren tells about a handwritten note by Mother Teresa that adorns the wall of his office. He proclaims that Mother Teresa “offered the same unconditional love our Savior did. By being the hands and feet of Jesus, this petite Albanian nun became one of the great evangelists of the 20th century.” He declared her “exhibit A of a true hero—a saint.” Mother Teresa, though, was a Catholic of Catholics, a devout follower of her church. She was also a universalist and one who saw no reason to seek to convert people to the gospel.

I think I am right to be confused here, right to ask questions. How do the doctrines of grace allow for an ardent Roman Catholic, one who denied those doctrines as anathema, to exemplify the Christian faith, to be a true hero—a saint? Surely I am not the only one who sees a contradiction. Surely I am not wrong to balk at Warren teaching Jewish rabbis how to increase the strength of their congregations. Read it all HERE 

See Also: John Piper Interviews Rick Warren

Holding the Line: An Interview with R. Albert Mohler Jr.

TT: In 1993, shortly after your appointment as president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, there was substantial faculty fallout and a sharp move in an orthodox direction. Would you give us a glimpse into that time for you and how a seminary could do an about-face in such a short span of time? 

AM: My election as president of Southern Seminary came in the course of a larger movement within the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) — a movement that was specifically an attempt to bring the denomination back to its theological roots and especially to ground the denomination and its schools in a very clear affirmation of biblical inerrancy. The seminaries of the SBC had drifted considerably to the left over the previous half-century to the point that, in many ways, they were almost indistinguishable from mainline Protestant institutions. Keep Reading...

10 Questions with John MacArthur

A couple of weeks ago I asked the readers of this site to help me interview John MacArthur. I collected several of the best questions, added in a few of my own, and sent them off. Dr. MacArthur was kind enough not just to answer them, but to answer them very thoroughly.

I am posting the first 5 questions and answers today and will follow up with the next 5 tomorrow. Today the questions revolve around his new book Slave, the best Bible translations, avoiding scandal, the challenges he has faced in ministry, and the advice he would give himself if he could go back to the early days of his ministry. Tomorrow he talks about time management, about critiquing people “in our camp,” about theological crises, about the Reformed Charismatics and about Christians who deny a literal 6-day creation.

Without further ado, here is the interview with Dr. MacArthur:

Slave. What is it about this word that merits a whole book?

Sometimes one word can make an enormous difference. For example, the Latin Vulgate’s translation of metanoia (repentance) as paenitentia (penance) in places like Acts 2:38 led to all sorts of problems in the Roman Catholic Church. Continue Reading>>>

An Interview With John MacArthur - Shepherd's Conference 2010

HT: Truth Matters