Bounderies

We're often told by gurus of church-growth and guardians of postmodern values in the evangelical community that we mustn't erect "boundaries."

I gather from the way such comments are often bandied about that the word boundaries is supposed to have totally negative connotations. Honestly: I don't see why. I can understand how worldly people whose minds are enslaved to earthbound, man-centered, self-indulgent thoughts might wish for a world without any lines or borders. But candidly, it's an attitude that's hard to reconcile with the whole tenor of the New Testament.

Contemporary evangelicals' resistance to boundaries is especially hard to reconcile with the fact that pastors (the word means shepherds) are expressly charged with guarding the flock and keeping predators out of the fold. And there simply is no realistic way to keep sheep in the sheepfold and wolves out if you refuse to observe any boundaries. In John 10:7, Jesus famously said: "Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep." I cannot envision any useful purpose for having a "door [for] the sheep" if there is no sheep-pen or enclosure of some kind with well-defined, secure barricades, sturdy fences, or a protected perimeter of some kind.

But mainstream evangelicals have been indoctrinated along with the rest of postmodern society to think walls and borders are inherently sinister. We're conditioned to favor a whole different set of more stylish and more politically-correct values: tolerance, openness, diversity, mystery, indecision, broad-mindedness, and liberality. It's considered humble and generous to entertain perpetual qualms about what we believe. We're not supposed to think any single perspective can righteously claim to be true to the exclusion of all others.  Continue at Phil Johnson

Should Christians Try to Win Morality Through Legislation?

In our current culture, especially as we are heading into the next election cycle, moral questions are being hotly debated and people are looking to to political leaders to solve these problems. For example, perhaps the two mostly controversial subjects are the definition of marriage and the issue of abortion. 

Everyday, we hear news reports of organizations petitioning political leaders for changes to these laws. Everyday, state governments pass, or attempt to pass, a law that will define marriage as either traditional, being between one man and one woman, or redefining it to include same sex couples. Abortion laws continued to be hotly contested as states pass laws that require women be informed of a baby’s development or the use of ultrasound to show them the child. Yet, efforts to extend personhood rights are being denied due to political machinations. 

As we see cultural diversity, political correctness, pluralism, post-modern and secular humanism spread throughout, and erode, the culture, Christians rightly see the damage this does to the understanding of the word of God. Additionally, because these concepts demand that Christians capitulate their exclusivist position, which we are often unwilling to do, Christians are often seen as obstacles to unity within the culture. We recognize that the culture is moving to a point where Christianity could conceivably be seen as a threat. The further the culture takes this perception, the greater the possibility that one day Christianity could be outlawed. Therefore, Christians are rightly seeing a growing threat to the practice of our faith and, ultimately, the moral degradation of a country in rebellion to God.  Keep Reading >>>

Depression and the Ministry, Part 4: The Need for Wise Disclosure

Editor’s Note: The following is part four of a five-part series on depression and the ministry. The series is a joint effort of the Biblical Counseling Coalition and The Gospel Coalition.

• Paul Tripp, Part 1: The Setup
• Garrett Higbee, Part 2: Occupational Hazards
• Steve Viars, Part 3: A Ministry Sabbatical

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During the past year, I have had the privilege of working very closely with Paul Tripp in the development of the Center for Pastoral Life and Care. That experience has given me a deeper understanding of the particular stresses and temptations experienced by pastors in ministry, and will considerably inform the comments that follow as it regards the questions, “How much should you share about your depression with a congregation? How do you explain it?”

Given the diversity of church cultures represented in the body of Christ, offering a blanket statement on the appropriate quantity of information to share with a congregation would seem a bit myopic. Instead, I believe it to be more beneficial to consider several components that may serve to shape a wise decision as a pastor considers disclosing personal struggles with depression. Keep Reading...