Articles (Page 12)
When Pastors Aren’t Able to Pastor
The church is medium-sized in attendance, yet, on paper the membership roll is even larger. Its solo pastor is a frustrated man. There are some good days, and certainly some fine people who encourage him, but he’s frustrated because the job God called him to do just cannot be done. He has many people to tend to, numbers of which are missing, and even those who are present are more than any average man could possibly care for—that is, really care for. So,…
An Appeal to Churches to Use Bibles
I’ll never forget my shock the first time I attended a Bible-less church. My kind of church was a Bible-teaching one and Bibles were standard operating equipment. The last word I heard as I got in the car to drive to church was, “Jimmy, do you have your Bible?” A child might forget his belt or socks, but never his Bible. Just as dutifully, the church children found their mothers after the church meeting to load her up with their…
The Gospel and Divine Visitation—An Indivisible Union
It was spring in 1630. A few ladies were traveling through the Scottish countryside near Shotts when their carriage broke down. Thankfully the minister of the Kirk of Shotts, John Home, was able to assist them in their predicament. Struck with the poor condition of his manse, these wealthy Christian ladies determined to build another one for this kind man. Naturally, the grateful Home asked if he could do anything in exchange for their generosity. The ladies asked if they…
How Inclusive Should the Local Church Be?
I once attended a Methodist church Bible study in another city. In the study I was verbally accosted in the class by the husband of the teacher for some things that I said. To my knowledge, I was only saying what any true believer ought to say, but he took exception. After the class we talked further about the different way we looked at the issue. At one point I asked him about an even more foundational matter: Do you…
Above Reproach — But What About the Kids?
The wise Apostle Paul insists that overseers be above reproach. By overseers he means those who not only are called by that title, but also that of pastor or elder. These words are used for the same person. That person, that overseer, that pastor, that elder, MUST be above reproach. Between Paul’s words — “IF ANYONE IS ABOVE REPROACH” — and “AN OVERSEER, AS GOD’S STEWARD, MUST BE ABOVE REPROACH,” he brings the family into our perview. See what I…
Memories of Apartheid
Years ago in what was then called a “Colored Township” in Capetown, South Africa, I wondered at the hatred that caused that circular black burn mark on the street close to the front door of the gentle believers who had opened their hearts and home to me. What causes a person to “necklace” another with a flaming tire? In those days of both Apartheid and tribal strife, nerves were strained. Many mornings in that enchanting country we awoke to read…
Note to Bible Readers: “I Married an Ugly Man!”
Suppose you were a mail order bride from another country. You dream about what kind of husband this foreign man will be as you take the boat across the ocean. When you first set your eyes on him, you’re disappointed. He’s ugly! But the contract is signed and as he throws your bag on to the carriage, you have your first realization that, in fact, he’s a kind man and really wants the best for you. As you travel down…
The Role of Timothy and Titus: Apostolic Representatives, Not Pastors
I sometimes hear respected Bible teachers refer to Timothy as the pastor of the church in Ephesus. One of my favorite expositors also refers to Titus as the pastor on the island of Crete. But were Timothy and Titus really pastors? Pastor Titus? Titus is never mentioned in Acts, but his name is found often in Paul’s letters. After Paul was released from his first Roman imprisonment (at the end of Acts, around A.D. 62), he ministered with Titus on…
The Riots: What’s Obvious
What has become obvious in the riots is that the old evolutionary hope in the innate goodness of mankind and its gradual improvement over time is entirely unfounded, just as the Bible states, and that there is no answer therefore except in Christ who was sent to us to deliver us— again, just as he has said. We should not hold any vestige of remaining hope in religious rituals to save us, or yet other social constructs or programs but…
He Leads for His Sake
Part of our problem with God in the midst of difficulty is that we continue believing that our lives are all about us. And when we turn inwardly, becoming preoccupied with self, we quickly spiral into fear and anxiety. But, Psalm 23:3 says, “He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.” Here, the Lord frees us from our deadly self-centered trajectory though the reminder that God’s work in our lives is for his name’s sake. Your present…
From My Isolation: Two Questions Concerning COVID-19
Everybody is talking about it. I can’t stop thinking about it. I am writing this from my bedroom where I’ve been self-isolated, separated from my wife and child for four days, due to certain symptoms. The existence, spread, and devastating effects of COVID-19 over the last couple months are causing many people to ask a lot of questions. The first question is, “Where is God in all of this?” The short answer is: where He’s always been. God is currently…
What About Untimely Death?
If God works all things according to the good of those who love Him (Rom 8:28), why do some believers suffer and die? It is helpful to remember when answering hard questions like this that it is always gain for a Christian to die (Phil 1:21). God will sometimes override the good thing of temporal provision to bring the better thing of going to be with him (Phil 1:23). This is not a surprise, even for the Christian, because no…
The Surpassing Worth of KNOWING Christ
Most do not understand the implications and ramifications of KNOWING Christ. It has a comparative value. Notice what one like Paul will forfeit to know Christ. I’m quoting only part of the long sentence, but it conveys what I want you to see: “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered…
The Guarantee of Holiness
“Say not that thou hast royal blood in thy veins and art born of God,” said puritan William Gurnall, “unless thou canst prove thy pedigree by daring to be holy.” There is no such thing as an unholy Christian (at least in any ongoing sense.) Can Christians commit any sort of sin? Yes. Can Christians repeatedly commit sin? Yes. Can Christians commit the worst of sins? Yes. But it is inconceivable that a person could be a Christian without holiness…
Disinterestedness
Disinterestedness. This compelling word is not about what you might expect. We have all seen (and been) the disinterested student, expressionless, gazing into some unknown blank space outside the classroom, waiting out the final eternal moments of the professor’s pedantic, sleep-inducing hum. That describes a use of the word, but not our use. What we wish to say with this word is immensely desirable; it was once employed to describe the best of conditions of the believer. The following intriguing…
The Head of the Church Knows Best: Benefits of Having a Team of Elders
In the first church I served as a pastor, I was the only elder. I was in that position for nearly five years. Since 2007, I’ve served as one elder on a team of elders. In the 1990s, I became convinced biblically that this is God’s design for each local church — to be led by multiple qualified elders (cf. Acts 14:23; Titus 1:5). I’ll not argue for that here. I simply want to list some of the benefits of…