All Posts (Page 32)
From First Baptist Church to a House Church
The first church I pastored was a fairly traditional First Baptist Church (FBC). We met in a brick building. The Sunday morning gathering had the largest attendance, and the numbers dropped off significantly on Sunday evening and Wednesday. The sanctuary itself was typical, with pews arranged in rows and a stage at the front with a pulpit and choir loft. Our meetings had Scripture reading, prayers, singing, and preaching, as you might expect. When I arrived, there were 155 people…
Herbert Brown: The Anointed Stutterer
James Alexander Stewart was experiencing enormous success as an evangelist. By the age of 20, he was so sought after that he was preaching four or five times a day. He also filled his hours with evangelism in the streets and in homes. This was too much for a young man to handle alone. Stewart comments about his burden: I began to feel that I needed a co-evangelist to labor with me . . . My heart longed, also, above…
Leaving the Work Undone
One of the saddest notes in biblical history is found in the book of Joshua. The children of Israel were coming into the land that had been promised to them after 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. God had set everything up. He put dread into the heart of the people in the land, His usual pre-war tactic. He provided an able leader, Joshua. And He promised, and God’s promise is always enough. It was as good as done.…
Public Debate with Bart Ehrman in Seminaries: A Bad Decision
Last week a debate was held in a close-by conservative seminary between Dr. Bart Ehrman* and another apologist. I won’t mention the name of the school or the apologist, though I am free to, since I hope this little piece will be useful for a variety of situations yet to come. Why is it wrongheaded to set up such a debate with Ehrman in seminary, or, for that matter, any unbelieving skeptic? First, because Ehrman is a false teacher and…
The Conviction of Fleshly Man
You may or may not be aware that Romans 7:14-25 is a controversial passage of Scripture. The controversy centers around Paul’s use of the pronouns “I” and “me,” as well as his use of present tense language, in describing a serious and seemingly futile struggle against sin. Many interpreters insist that Paul’s use of the first person present tense proves that he was describing his own present experience as a Christian, which naturally leads to the conclusion that the passage describes the…
Trusting God Like Muller & Elliff: Our New Approach
A former seminary professor of mine lets me speak in his classes when I’m back on campus. He gives me about 10 minutes to discuss both my church and Christian Communicators Worldwide (CCW). I also give away CCW resources. I concluded my time with one particular class by asking if anyone had questions. Someone wondered how I was paid. At the time, my income included a small stipend per month from the church, support from friends and family, wages from…
What If Churches Started Churches?
I’ve been in some churches that should not take the advice I’m about to give. They are much too weak, or sinful, or distorted in their beliefs and practices to be in the business of starting anything. It would be better for them to concentrate on the simple things, like breathing good spiritual air or eating good biblical food. But good churches should add “church starting” to the list of ingredients that define their health. In the same way that…
What is Gained by Removing Members from Church Rolls?
This article provides motivation to do what God requires of us. Doug leads a church in Excelsior Springs, Missouri called Pisgah Baptist. I wish all churches with bloated rolls would follow Mt. Pisgah’s lead. May their tribe increase. Jim Elliff Recently we reached an important milestone for our congregation. Since my arrival as Pastor of Pisgah Baptist Church nearly five years ago, I’ve formally and informally preached toward a proper understanding of what it means to be the Body of…
Saved by Grace by Anthony Hoekema: A Critical Review
Anthony Hoekema (Th.D., Princeton Theological Seminary) taught Bible at Calvin College from 1956 to 1958 and systematic theology at Calvin Seminary from 1958 to 1979. The books he authored include The Four Major Cults, What about Tongue Speaking, and Holy Spirit Baptism. He died in 1988. Saved by Grace (Eerdmans, 1989) is the third and final in a series of theological studies. The first two books are The Bible and the Future (on eschatology) and Created in God’s Image (on…
A Critical Review of John Eldredge’s Wild at Heart
(This book review was revised on 03-30-10) Eldredge, John. Wild at Heart. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2001. (Spirituality/Christian living; 222 pages; hardcover; suggested retail price, $19.99) John Eldredge’s book Wild at Heart was recommended to me by several different Christians. Partly out of respect for them, and partly out of my pastoral sense of obligation to “Test all things; hold fast what is good,” I made the time to review what Charles R. Swindoll endorsed as, “the best, most insightful…
A Review of Krista Horning’s Just the Way I Am: God’s Good Design in Disability
Krista Horning was born with a rare genetic disorder called Apert Syndrome and has undergone over sixty surgeries in her lifetime. I first heard about her book, Just the Way I Am: God’s Good Design in Disability, from John Knight, the senior director of Desiring God Ministries, who writes at www.theworksofgod.com. Horning’s book is a glorious achievement and a demonstration of God’s grace in her life. I eagerly anticipated its arrival for two reasons: First, I have a daughter who…
Another Faithful Church Removes Deadbeat Members
At the end of a 4 year process, 1st Baptist Church, Gonzales, Louisiana, removed the final 250 people from the rolls of the church who do not attend. Now the remaining attendees are the real members of the church. Not every church will need to spend so long at the process, admittedly, but I commend the patience of this traditional SBC church for arriving at their goal without alienating the church itself. Only two voted against the final stroke of…
Book Review: A Thousand Miles of Miracle
Book by A. E. Glover, Christian Focus, 2000 They were locked in a tiny, bug-infested jail in inland China. The heat inside was suffocating, and the doors and windows were sealed tight by the guards. Outside their prison, crowds of people called for their death, rioting until late in the night. At daybreak, it began again. “Mie yang,” they shouted, “Destroy the foreigner!” Archie and Flora prayed for a miracle. It was 1900, the third year of worsening drought and famine…
Bound to the Brochure: Why I’m Not a Fan of Topics for Conferences
Perhaps the dilemma I’m expressing, one which has caused me untold agony, will not seem important to many. Yet, I must express myself. It has to do with the practice of binding speakers to set topics in conferences. Here’s the way it happens. A pastor (or set of leaders if it is a larger conference) determines who should speak at their next conference. Perhaps he really prays about it, but sometimes not. He jots a few speakers’ names down. Then…
By Faith Alone: The Conversion of Martin Luther
It was the moment he had been waiting for. His father was in the audience watching, as were his fellow monks. It was time for Martin to offer his first mass, and he was overwhelmed with the solemnity of the event. He led the congregation, saying, “We offer unto Thee, the living, the true, the eternal God.” Suddenly Martin froze. He couldn’t go on. He later wrote: “At these words I was utterly stupefied and terror-stricken. I thought to myself,…
Exploratory Ministry Trip to Ethiopia
I accompanied CCW’s newest communicator, Selamab Assefa, to Ethiopia from September 20-October 6, 2010. Selamab was born and raised in Ethiopia, but has lived in the United States for the past five years. He is a recent seminary graduate and a member of my church, and his relationships with churches in Ethiopia will seemingly provide decades of ministry opportunities there. (I like to tease him by calling him our “Ethiopian Sensation.”) This first trip to Ethiopia was for ministry, but…